Magazine Review: Protodimension Magazine Issue #4 Gaming Support for the Horror Gamer

Protodimension Magazine Issue #4 Gaming Support for the Horror Gamer In review

It is primarily devoted to support for Role Playing Games. However there is a strong fiction and poetry component to the magazine, and that is the portion to be discussed here in this review. The full review is available on my Tabletop Roleplaying Games Resource Examiner Page

So Protodmension Issue #4 was released in May of 2010 by Kinstaff Media
The Editors are
Norm Fenlason
Lee Williams
Tad Kelson


77 pages of Free Gaming Material accompanied by artwork and did I mention Free to download in pdf format.

Protodimension Magazine is a direct descendant of the Demonground Magazine from a few years before. Two of the three editors on PDM also worked on DG. PDM, as Protodimension Magazine is referred to, is devoted to Horror, Conspiracy, Surreal, and Modern Gaming genres as support for those that run and for those that play these games.


Protodimension Magazine is a quarterly publication, much like the rest of the gaming industry publications of the last few years. This allows time for contributors to send in articles and artwork and time for the three editors to process and work with the authors to make it the best it can be. Submittables are wide open, from Fiction to Poetry to Real World examples and How to Articles along with Creatures and NPC writeups as well as Adventures (So far). The creators are not limiting the scope of what is acceptable (except for really gratuitous violence or those things not really socially acceptable in an online format), so the field is wide enough for most anyone.

In each issue there are only two recurring features. There is the Lead In Editorial appropriately titled From The Shadows. These are penned by the lead editor for that issue. The second feature is the Under The Floorboards Column which is written by the Chief Editor Lee Williams. The focus of Under The Floorboards is in offering ideas and advice to the gamer.

The rest of this short review is only discussing the Fiction and Poetry

• Silence, Poetry by music-freak101
• Market Direct, An Interview with Literature Innovator Jess Hartley
• Report on the Viability of, A Short Story, by CW Kelson III (Tad)
• Staring, A Poem, by music-freak101
• Memories Of A Killer, Fiction by Peyton Bisaillon
• The Big Long Wait, A Short Story by Tim Bisaillon
• Mechanisms, Fiction by CW Kelson III (Tad)

Looking over the table of contents the fare runs from poetry to gun write ups to off color comics and GM support, making for a wide gamut of materials. Now for a little bit about each piece in order, or so, as it appears in the issue.


There are two poems from a newcomer to the magazine, Silence and Staring both short and both from music-freak101 from his dA page.


Then there are some fiction from the Bisalions, Tim and his daughter Peyton. One is in a serial killer vein, the other a vignette related to a cycle of gaming and music that Mr Bisallion has created and still does so. These are two entries that are full of flavor related to the genres covered in the magazine.
There is more fiction from Editor Tad Kelson. A longer piece titled Mechanisms and a shorter piece that was submitted to the Ceramic DM contest on Enworld a few years ago titled, A Report On The Viability of. What are the aliens up to in both is left to the reader to wonder.
The last fiction related piece is an interview with RPG and Fiction Writer Jess Hartley, discussing her work and her Patron Project Shattered Glass.


Overall, this is an excellent support medium for the selected genres. It is of little to no use for those who only play Fantasy RPGs, where all others can draw inspiration from it.

Previous issues have included more fiction from Tad Kelson, Peyton Bisallion and poetry from Lester Smith.

PDM is located at http://www.protodimension.com/


The download page is conveniently linked off the main page leading to here http://www.protodimension.com/zine/?page_id=101


Note: I am one of the editors of this online free gaming magazine. I am not paid for the work, and the issues are free.