Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG

[Necron 99]

As an evolution from D&D, or the d20 system in general, I find DCC to be a much better match than the Frankenstein's monster currently calling itself D&D which comprises itself, at least in part, with bits and pieces from the past two iterations and newer stuff tossed in. I feel like D&D suffers from an identity crisis and while it's found some foothold with 5e, I still feel like the last edition died with 2nd (the real 2e, not the 2.5 stuff).

IMO, the folks at Wizards have lost sight of what D&D really is, just look at the multiple iterations of the game that have come out since it passed into their hands.

DCC actually GETS what D&D was, and should be about, DCC knows without a doubt, what it wants to be:

You’re no hero.

You’re an adventurer:
a reaver,
a cutpurse,
a heathen-slayer,
a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets.

You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them...

That, to me, is what the game should be and the more I see the direction in which WotC is taking 5e, the more I'm happy to leave "official" D&D in the dust for those that prefer more story-game styled play.

Some role playing games codify “game balance” in an abundance of character options. The DCC RPG takes an anachronistic approach to this concept by pursuing an even playing field through randomization rather than complexity.

Many players eschew randomness in their games, apparently uncertainty and lack of control is seen as a negative aspect. Personally, I LOVE randomness and uncertainty. Tables, charts, die rolls, bring it on. I'm going to get a bit blunt here, but personally, I think the best RPG players are those that can roll (pun intended) with the random aspects of a game, whether for weal or woe.

Some other choice quotes from the DCC Core Rulebook:

In DCC RPG character creation, you always roll 3d6, and you always roll and apply the scores in that same order. You do not roll more dice and drop the lowest die, you do not use a point-based buy system, and you do not assign ability scores in any order other than that defined above.

All characters start at 0 level. Most will die in a dungeon, alone and unknown. The few who survive eventually choose a class in which to advance.

Magic comes from gods and demons who are capricious and unconcerned with your character’s flyspeck of a life. Those who would use magic are best served to always have a backup plan. Summoning magical energies is arduous, expensive, and dangerous. No wizard does it lightly. As a result, there are no mundane magics, no spells used simply to light a corridor, for example. Use a torch, fool; it is much safer!

[Ancalagon]

As an evolution from D&D, or the d20 system in general, I find DCC to be a much better match than the Frankenstein's monster currently calling itself D&D which comprises itself, at least in part, with bits and pieces from the past two iterations and newer stuff tossed in. I feel like D&D suffers from an identity crisis and while it's found some foothold with 5e, I still feel like the last edition died with 2nd (the real 2e, not the 2.5 stuff).

You shouldn't insult Frankenstein's monster like that. He has feelings, y'know. :wink:

IMO, the folks at Wizards have lost sight of what D&D really is, just look at the multiple iterations of the game that have come out since it passed into their hands.

Once more...To Hell with WotC. From poor-mouthing the TSR versions when 3.0 came out, to releasing 3.5 just a few years later, to outright lying to the public by claiming they'd stick with 3.5 and there would be no 4e when, in fact, 4e was already on the drawing board, to the non-backwards compatible steaming pile of crap that 4e became, up to the current SJW-themed 5nowflake edition, WotC has pretty much disappointed me at every turn. And I owe crap an apology for associating it with 4e.

As for DCC, fun game! I enjoyed playing it with you several years ago and have had a good time playing a few sessions at conventions. If someone in my gaming group ever decided to step up and run DCC, I'd be all in .

[Necron 99]

We had an update from the DCC Annual/Chained Coffin Kickstarter. I'm looking forward to this book, it looks awesome.

[rredmond]

Huh? That's an interesting way to do the map. I know folks get upset with these bound books because it makes the maps hard to use.
But that looks like it just might be copy-able. I've never played DCC but I'm very intrigued by it, and probably would play it if'n I had the opportunity.

[Necron 99]

Huh? That's an interesting way to do the map. I know folks get upset with these bound books because it makes the maps hard to use.
But that looks like it just might be copy-able. I've never played DCC but I'm very intrigued by it, and probably would play it if'n I had the opportunity.

If all goes as planned, I will probably have at least one adventure thrown together to run at GaryCon next year using DCC.

Reading through the game some more, recently, I found some other sections that stand out in play style that hits home for me.

This manuscript will repeatedly stress the limits of knowledge in a medieval world. You, good sir, who read this manuscript, have access to an extraordinary amount of information. There is the internet and cell phones, there is television and radio, there are printed books, and there are libraries and universities and experts in your world. In a medieval setting, none of this exists. Pens and paper are expensive, there are no printing presses, and it takes a scribe almost a year to manufacture a single book. Most people are illiterate; there is no mechanized transportation, no long-range communication, and no photography. Information is communicated at the speed of verbal conversation, without photograph or illustration, and that information moves only so fast as a traveler’s feet or his horse and wagon. The traveler is the primary source of information in this world. With travel comes knowledge; without travel there is no information.

Most everyday peasants in a medieval setting never travel more than a few miles from their places of birth. Their lives are circumscribed by local terrain boundaries: a river to the east, the hills to the north, the village one town over to the south. In a game that accurately attempts to capture the medieval adventuring experience—or, phrased differently, in a game that retains the spirit of Appendix N—you do not need a vast space for adventuring. An area of land only 100 miles square should provide years of adventure, for it is a space larger than most living men will ever explore.

The castle is an important part of any medieval fantasy game, and it should remain always mysterious and be never taken for granted. Even if only a way station for the night, there should be stories: the walled-off tower where a princess once hanged herself; the collapsed east wing, never rebuilt after a strange fire took many lives; the bricked over fireplace in the great hall, said to contain the bones of a jester that japed too sharply about the lord’s homely wife; the shadowed staircase to the cellar, from which strange hoots erupt on moonless nights.

Make your world mysterious by making it small—very small. What lies past the next valley? None can be sure. When a five-mile journey becomes an adventure, you’ll have succeeded in bringing life to your world.

Let the characters die if the dice so dictate it. Nothing is as precious as a PC’s life when it can be taken away— and nothing is so unchallenging as a game where the players know the judge will not kill their characters. The DCC RPG is designed for high character death rates—let this be true in your game as well. Achieving 5th level in the DCC RPG is a true accomplishment.

[rredmond]

I have PDFs of their 1E conversions, and while I've never DMed or played them, they read like they'd be a lot of fun!

[Necron 99]

Finally received my DCC kickstarter package. Love the look of the alternate cover for the core rule book. Also got my Chained Coffin setting book and the DCC Annual, which adds new deities, patrons for magic-users, rules for creating magic items, like rings, new monsters along with tables for randomly rolling up original and unique critters, and a section on Mustaches and using their magic powers. The black cover was a book cover that came on the DCC Annual, and while nifty, I still prefer the original cover art.

I'm fairly certain at GaryCon in March, I'll be picking up the Lankhmar box set along with a couple of the modules/adventures.

[Ancalagon]

I never read any Lankhmar books. Gonna have to make time one of these days should I pick up any DCC material for that setting....

[rredmond]

The Lords of Quarmall was pointed out to me as a dungeon/mega-dungeon inspiration in D&D. It is interesting that it follows the dynamic duo (Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser) separately at first; but it's a good read. The magazine version of the story is public domain, not sure if you like digital versions of things:
https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/sff ... ischer.pdf

Pretty good though.

[Necron 99]

I never read any Lankhmar books. Gonna have to make time one of these days should I pick up any DCC material for that setting....

Some good fantasy short-stories, for sure. I had a collection of the original stories that I think I got back in middle or high school, I finally got around to reading it again a year or so back. I know that material for Lankhmar came out for both Savage Worlds, then for DCC. But I love the DCC system compared to SW and I've heard a lot of good things about Goodman's production of the Lankhmar material.

When/if PfCon comes around, I will most definitely plan on running some DCC adventures for the group to tackle.

-----

Thanks for the post of the PDF, Ron. Cool stuff.