''Shadis'' is an independent
gaming
Gaming may refer to:
Games and sports
The act of playing games, as in:
* Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming"
* Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles
* Playing ...
magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game, board game, and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California. Prior to getting into their cur ...
(AEG). It initially focused on
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s.
Publication history
Shadis was conceived and started by
Jolly Blackburn
Jolly Randall Blackburn is best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Knights of the Dinner Table''.
Biography
Jolly Blackburn went to Ball State University. Jolly Blackburn majored in anthropology, history, and classical cultures in colleg ...
as an independent gaming
fanzine
A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share t ...
in 1990. In 1993, Blackburn formed Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) to publish Shadis as a quality small-press magazine, and brought on
John Zinser and David Seay as partners. Printing of the first three issues was paid for by Frank Van Hoose, a friend of Jolly's, who also wrote for the magazine. A year later, in late 1994, the magazine received its biggest success by including a random ''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'' card in each issue at a time when booster packs of the new card game were scarce; many players bought multiple copies of each issue hoping to find a rare or out-of-print card. Many readers were also drawn to a small comic strip, ''
Knights of the Dinner Table
''Knights of the Dinner Table'' (''KoDT'') is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result i ...
'',
which was initially intended to fill a blank spot in the magazine, but later took on a life of its own.
[
In 1995, Blackburn left AEG because he felt that Zinser and Seay were too focused on the new collectible card game (CCG) industry while he wanted to keep the company fun and small and focus on ''Knights of the Dinner Table''.][ In a 2000 interview on the ''Gaming Outpost'' web site, Zinser explained that he had wanted the in-debt company to grow at a faster pace than Blackburn was comfortable with, hence Blackburn's departure.][
In 1998, ''Shadis'' went "on hiatus" and publication ceased.][
In drawing lessons from this magazine's demise, Wolfgang Baur, the editor-in-chief of '']Kobold Quarterly
''Kobold Quarterly'' was a roleplaying game magazine created by Wolfgang Baur and published by Open Design LLC.
Content
''Kobold Quarterly'' was published four times a year and focused on the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game system. Th ...
'', thought it was a mistake for ''Shadis'' to rely too heavily on content that was not focused on fantasy in general and ''Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...
'' in particular.[
]
Contents
Each issue contained a variety of articles covering many different aspects of role-playing game system
A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions.
History
By the late 1970s, the Chaosium staff realized that Steve Perrin's '' RuneQue ...
s and genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...
s. The series included game reviews, adventures, fiction, maps, gaming advice, and cartoons.[ In addition to ''Knights of the Dinner Table'', comic strips '']Fineous Fingers
Finieous Fingers (often misspelled ''Fineous'' even in Dragon magazine's own FAQ) was among the earliest comics that appeared in '' Dragon'' magazine.
Finieous Fingers, the title character and self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief", was a good ...
'' and ''Bright Future'' also proved to be very popular.
Reception
In the August 1994 edition of '' Dragon'' (Issue 208), Lester Smith wrote a favourable review, saying "A truly independent publication, it covers a wide range of topics in the gaming hobby, and always entertains."
Awards
During its five-year existence, ''Shadis'' was the winner of the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...
s for ''Best Professional Gaming Magazine''
References
External links
Index of issues
at the Pen & Paper RPG publishing database (broken link)
* {{cite web , last1=Martin , first1=Scott , title=Shadis Magazine , url=http://www.gnomestew.com/reviews/shadis-magazine , work=Gnome Stew , date=20 November 2008 , accessdate=2012-08-08
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1990
Magazines disestablished in 1998
Origins Award winners
Role-playing game magazines