What IS The Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad Zine, Anyway?

I just can't get tired of looking at this thing...


On G+ earlier today, +Darren Buettner asked:
I'm a little bit confused, what will be content of the magazine? Is it a complete campaign setting? Is it all DCC RPG I presume? A dessert topping?
To which my erstwhile collaborator and compatriot, the esteemed Dr. +Edgar Johnson replied: 
The content will include a bit of the campaign setting used in the Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad campaign. We use the setting mainly for DCC, bu t+Adam Muszkiewicz has run other rulesets. 
Part of what I like about it is that Adam has provided setting background for Ur-Hadad, but also demonstrates how ambiguity about particulars of any setting can be a GM's best friend. 
The centerpiece is a zero-level funnel, DCC style, which uses a "roll all the dice" city crawl/sandbox generator (including all the Zocchi dice, d3 through d30). The theme is similar to the 1970s film Warriors.  Players must send their zero-level urchins, orphans, and so forth across enemy territory to get back to their own neighborhood. The content of the tables is very much influenced by the campaign setting, but could work well for other campaigns. 
There's a lot of art by +Wayne Snyder in there, and he also has included a one-page dungeon, hand-drawn and lettered.
Those are the main parts.
Which is a damn fine explanation and nothing I can't completely agree with. Here's the blurb that'll be up RPGNow/DriveThruRPG and other places, Mr. Buettner:

Out of the howling wilderness,Amidst sunken cities, And long-buried secrets,Man has forged a sword and cast off his chains.
Swords and Sorcery and Metal Gods.Danger, treasure, blood and glory, all mixed up in a blenderAnd served up in Golden Ur-Hadad, First City of Ore. 
Enter, if you dare, the bitchin' muralOn the side of your cousin's Ford custom van.Enter the world of the Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad-- Edgar Johnson 
In many ways, the authors of this zine believe the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG to be the most Metal of the Old School-style RPGs on the market today. No other RPG consistently provides for us the same feeling of adventuring the through the worlds depicted on classic heavy metal album covers the way that DCC does. We love that feeling, that experience of wild abandon and reckless action drenched in blood and thunder, and we work hard to cultivate it in our games. Along the way, we made up some stuff to help us evoke that certain Metal feeling and this zine is our chance to share all of that with you. 

In this issue of the Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad you will find:


  • 20 pages of Metal-drenched DCC mayhem
  • Some background info on the Metal Gods and Ur-Hadad
  • The paradoxical problem of Assassins in Ur-Hadad
  • The staggeringly-amazing Street Kids of Ur-Hadad urban funnel adventure tool kit! Remember the Warriors? Edgar Johnson gives you all the tools you need to make your own urchin-grinding funnel adventure version of it.
  • A ton of art by the excellent Mr. Wayne Snyder, as well as a short, "one page dungeon"-style insert by him, ready to slipped into your next DCC session.

Other Details

A bunch of folks have been asking questions like "where can I buy this?" "how can I get a print copy?" and even "why won't you take my money now?" First, the pdf will be available through most of the usual sources. Your RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, all that. I'm also signing up for a shop at d20pfsrd.com, so that will be an option as well. If you're hungering for the print product, you'll be able to buy it right here at Dispatches from Kickassistan before it will be available anywhere else! With your purchase of a print product, you'll also get the pdf for free. 

As I've mentioned before, half of the proceeds from the sale of the pdf will go to support StandUp For Kids, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to fight teenage homelessness. Since we want people to be able to donate as much as they like, the pdfs (at least through the OneBookShelf options) will be Pay-What-You-Want. Further, when you buy a physical copy, you'll be able to tack on some extra as a donation. Our goal here is to allow people to support a worthy charity and get something in return, but not force anyone's hand on the matter and let you give what you want to. 

Right now, I'm in the "waiting for Joe Goodman to approve what we've done" holding pattern. As soon as it's live, folks, you'll have your chance.