On the surface, creating a 'zine looks to be a study in how to create something from nothing. You've got no material, no money, no brand.

Perhaps this is the case in other fields. It turns out, however, the Fudge roleplaying has a great deal more than nothing. Since Carl Cravens first mentioned the idea of a 'zine, people have come out of the woodwork.

We have material, generously provided by authors who get little more than the chance to be read.

We have server space, donated by Phoenyx.net

We have staff, volunteers who review submissions, review them for clarity and content, edit them for grammar and spelling, correspond with the authors, compile issues, promote the site, and administer the server.

We have support, from a sub-group of the Fudge mailing list, offering advice, comments, suggestions, debate, and purpose.

And of course, we have Fudge, provided with a no-cost license to us by Steffan O'Sullivan.

With this wealth we have created this, our first issue. The first of many. Personally, I hope to use this wealth to create a hub of activity. I want new authors to get noticed by writing for us. I want experienced authors to have a place to put out material they want to retain ownership of. I want Fudge Factor to be a reference site that players, new and old alike, will constantly refer to and visit. I want authors to point to us as a model of good, responsive, and open communication, and I want readers to point to us as a model of quality and service. Mostly, I want people to have a good time.

So read on, and enjoy this issue. Be sure to stop back next month, we've got good things in the works, and not just another issue of quality articles. Please recommend us to your friends, and if you have a chance and the inspiration, write something up and send it to us.

Special Thanks to the following people who made special efforts for Issue 1:

• Carl Cravens, who did much of the initial article editing for this issue before stepping down because of time constraints. He remains an essential part of the staff providing technical support and server administration.
• Adam Jury, a staff member who has provided endless advice for our first issue based on his experiences with his own 'zine, The Shadowrun Supplemental.
• Bill Hamilton, a former editor who has stepped down due to a busy school schedule. His time with us was brief, but his willingness to step forward in the first place is exactly the attitude that has helped Fudge Factor exist.
• The authors who have submitted material are all to be thanked, but I'd like to particularly thank those authors of the articles in this issue, who all put in extra effort to make last minute revisions so that the first issue would roll out on time.

We're still growing and improving, hopefully we'll never stop, although I expect we'll do so at a slower rate once we get a few issues under our collective belts. If you have any advice, complaints, comments, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to contact us at editor @ fudgefactor.org. We'll be looking forward to hearing from you.