Recommend me stuff for Dungeon Crawl Classics

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3rik

3rik

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So, I know there's a lots out there for DCC. I own the DCC book + GM screen, the MCC book + GM screen and I late-backed Weird Frontiers (formerly known as Dark Trails) on Kickstarter. I'm looking mainly for stuff that gives me some (rudimentary) setting elements, but I'm also looking for modules or even zines anyone deems particularly recommendable.

Going by title and first impression only, Purple Planet and Chained Coffin look good. Any experience running these?

Let loose on the recommendations!
 
Well...not really what you are after in terms of modules and 'zines, but HUBRIS is a pretty full-on sword & sorcery setting for DCC
(not for a young audience)

Ben Milton does a good review on his Questing Beast channel:

 
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Mankcam Mankcam Tales from the Fallen Empire also takes DCC and turns it into sword & sorcery with a fully fleshed-out setting. I'm looking more for setting elements for DCC proper, since there's not much of it in the corebook.
 
Apparently, Journey to the Center of Aereth combined with The Lost City of Barako gives you a kind of subterran mini setting. It seems a lot of these Goodman Games modules are for 4th or 5th level, though.
 
I'm fond of Classics #79 Frozen in Time, which is a bit like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks except with a time machine instead of a spaceship.

As far as third-party stuff goes, Shields of Faith Studios has a great post-apocalyptic setting outlined in either the Umerican Survival Guide or the 'zine series Crawling Under the Broken Moon. And speaking of 'zines, I would be remiss if I didn't point out Crawljammer, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Spelljammer-like fantasy space opera for DCC. C'mon, work with me here. :wink:
 
finarvyn said:
You might check out DCC Lankhmar. I feel like Lankhmar was the setting that Goodman Games really wrote DCC RPG for, then they got the rights to actual Lankhmar.
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I've seen very positive reactions to the Lankhmar material. Does everything from the corebook fit into the Lankhmar setting? Is there a lot of setting info to digest? Does it add or substitute any new classes? Any new rules?
 
3rik said:
Mankcam Mankcam Tales from the Fallen Empire also takes DCC and turns it into sword & sorcery with a fully fleshed-out setting. I'm looking more for setting elements for DCC proper, since there's not much of it in the corebook.
Click to expand...
I actually have both Tales of The Fallen Empire and HUBRIS, so I had to make a call, they are both pretty good. The first one is very Thurian/Hyborian Age, the second one is kinda 'Weirdark', like something out of the old Heavy Metal graphic comic maganzines. Both are pretty cool sword & sorcery settings.

HUBRIS has more things which can be ported into other settings, such as a different Profession table, new Classes (from memory it has adds Alchemists and Druids, and more), lots of charts for things that can be easily converted for different settings, such as random encounters in locations (swamps etc) stuff like that. It's also a bit more mature in tone.

Not exactly what you are after, but HUBRIS can easily be altered to be a general tool kit if need be.

I am considering getting the DCC version of Lankhmar, it sounds like a perfect fit for DCC.
I have the MRQ2 version of Lankhmar, and I have the original novellas, so I know the setting of Newhon is pretty cool.
The reviews I have seen indicate that Lankhmar definately doesn't feel like a bolt-on setting for DCC, it feels like the rules and setting are perfectly stitched together.

It does sound good, but I haven't got it yet to personally recommend
 
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It seems like you can piece together a kind of default DCC setting by collecting all the setting elements from the modules. Is this impression correct? And if so, which modules could be considered "essential"?
 
From what I can tell of my old notes, the first 61, #70, and Dragora's Dungeon modules are set on Aerith, the DCC campaign world. #35 is the Gazetteer.

There are several campaigns. Castle Whiterock is a megadungeon located in the upper center of the attached map. Punjar is a city that can be used for urban adventures or a base for expeditions. It is located on Not!Africa west of Not!Egypt. Other campaigns are more globe trotting - go here, level up, find clues to next place of mystery, repeat.

What are you looking for?
 

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3rik said:
It seems like you can piece together a kind of default DCC setting by collecting all the setting elements from the modules. Is this impression correct? And if so, which modules could be considered "essential"?
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I would say:
  1. Sailors on the Starless Sea. Generally thought to be the best funnel, but can be adapted easily to other purposes.
  2. The One who Watches from Below. Note: Involves a prop gimmick.
  3. People of the Pit
  4. Hole in the Sky. Very strong fairy tale feel.
  5. Chaos Rising. Collection of adventures.
  6. Imprisoned in the God Skull
  7. The Tower of Faces. Slightly more High Fantasy than most of DCC
  8. Frozen in Time
  9. The Winter Home. If you can get it
  10. Reckoning of the Gods: Into the Shadow Realm. The best 3rd party module I think, since each room exists in two planes of reality and puzzles can involve shifting back and forth between them.
Some of the Christmas modules like Trials of the Toy Makers are good if you want a sillier feel.

Conclave of Wizards is sort of a small mini-setting with an adventure included. Others have discussed Purple Planet and Lankhmar which are equally good, just depends on which genre you prefer. If you go with Lankhmar, the first adventure supplement "Gang Lords of Lankhmar" has a good initial set up laid out with various factions and NPCs.

Edgewise had some good previous posts about various DCC modules. I'd suggest having a search and reading them as well.
 
3rik said:
I've seen very positive reactions to the Lankhmar material. Does everything from the corebook fit into the Lankhmar setting? Is there a lot of setting info to digest? Does it add or substitute any new classes? Any new rules?
Click to expand...
Off the top of my head, Lankhmar characters start a bit more capable than straight DCC characters (i.e., no funnels). There is less chance for spellburn IIRC (or is it more?). There's also a "fleeting luck" mechanic to simulate the ebb and flow of Fafhrd and Mouser's fortunes that was such a fixture in Leiber's stories. There are new spells and Lankhmar specific tables in the GM screen. The box set is about $45-50 last I checked, and literally packed full of stuff. Leiber is my absolute favorite fantasy author, and DCC's box is the best version of Lankhmar yet, IMO.
 
Midas said:
From what I can tell of my old notes, the first 61, #70, and Dragora's Dungeon modules are set on Aerith, the DCC campaign world. #35 is the Gazetteer.

There are several campaigns. Castle Whiterock is a megadungeon located in the upper center of the attached map. Punjar is a city that can be used for urban adventures or a base for expeditions. It is located on Not!Africa west of Not!Egypt. Other campaigns are more globe trotting - go here, level up, find clues to next place of mystery, repeat.

What are you looking for?
Click to expand...
That all predates DCC RPG, and was built for 3.5 D&D, so the tone is quite a bit different than the gonzo/weird themes set by the modules purpose-made for the DCC RPG game (for instance, the handful of old DCC 3.5 modules converted to the new system don't always feel like that natural of a fit IMO.)

Of course that old material isn't bad, and could probably be used as the basis for a DCC RPG campaign easily enough, but the massive scale of the place and its kitchen-sink "not-Forgotten Realms" style kind runs counter to the implied "everything is strange and new just over that hill" ethos that the core book and modules push.
 
3rik said:
I've seen very positive reactions to the Lankhmar material. Does everything from the corebook fit into the Lankhmar setting? Is there a lot of setting info to digest? Does it add or substitute any new classes? Any new rules?
Click to expand...
The gazetteer is easy to digest and the rules are tuned a bit to fit the setting. There's a handful of changes worth noting
  • No clerics or magical healing
  • No mercurial magic and slightly different corruption rules
  • No zero level funnel, characters start at first level, and there's a rudimentary life path system called benisons and dooms to differentiate characters.
  • Luck is used up and replenished quite a bit more and as mentioned there's a fleeting luck pool for the group (iirc).
 
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3rik said:
I've seen very positive reactions to the Lankhmar material. Does everything from the corebook fit into the Lankhmar setting? Is there a lot of setting info to digest? Does it add or substitute any new classes? Any new rules?
Click to expand...
Yeah there’s quite a bit of additional detail. The DCC system is too light to accurately depict Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, so there’s additional rules to model them and allow you to make similar style heroes.
 
3rik said:
Mainly curious if there's any idea of a default setting behind the game or if it's just added to as you go.
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None. It’s kinda sorta meant to be in Aereth, the world of the 3e Goodman modules, but DCC implied setting is a Gonzo, multidimensional mess without detail or structure. It’s like the setting you would get from Flailsnails with 20 different GMs.
 
OK, so how does one present that to their players? I mean, they're going to ask where everything is "on the map", where they are from, etc. Do you just wing it and make things up as-you-go?
 
Séadna said:
I would say:
  1. Sailors on the Starless Sea. Generally thought to be the best funnel, but can be adapted easily to other purposes.
  2. The One who Watches from Below. Note: Involves a prop gimmick.
  3. People of the Pit
  4. Hole in the Sky. Very strong fairy tale feel.
  5. Chaos Rising. Collection of adventures.
  6. Imprisoned in the God Skull
  7. The Tower of Faces. Slightly more High Fantasy than most of DCC
  8. Frozen in Time
  9. The Winter Home. If you can get it
  10. Reckoning of the Gods: Into the Shadow Realm. The best 3rd party module I think, since each room exists in two planes of reality and puzzles can involve shifting back and forth between them.
Some of the Christmas modules like Trials of the Toy Makers are good if you want a sillier feel.

Conclave of Wizards is sort of a small mini-setting with an adventure included. Others have discussed Purple Planet and Lankhmar which are equally good, just depends on which genre you prefer. If you go with Lankhmar, the first adventure supplement "Gang Lords of Lankhmar" has a good initial set up laid out with various factions and NPCs.

Edgewise had some good previous posts about various DCC modules. I'd suggest having a search and reading them as well.
Click to expand...

Gonna second what I know from this list: Sailors of the Sunless Sea, The One Who Watches from Below, Hole in the Sky, Frozen in Time. And add Enter the Dagon and Blades Against Death (love the handy 'what happens after a TPK?' afterlife adventure).

DCC74-Blades-2ndPrint.png
 
Gringnr said:
Off the top of my head, Lankhmar characters start a bit more capable than straight DCC characters (i.e., no funnels). There is less chance for spellburn IIRC (or is it more?). There's also a "fleeting luck" mechanic to simulate the ebb and flow of Fafhrd and Mouser's fortunes that was such a fixture in Leiber's stories. There are new spells and Lankhmar specific tables in the GM screen. The box set is about $45-50 last I checked, and literally packed full of stuff. Leiber is my absolute favorite fantasy author, and DCC's box is the best version of Lankhmar yet, IMO.
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Spot on. Mike Curtis has done a great job of replicating the feel of Lankhmar in the boxed set. There are, I think, eleven modules already out there (although a couple are more sourcebook than adventure) so some decent product support for those interested in the setting.
 
Does anyopne know if there are plans for a hardcover reprint of Peril on the Purple Planet, like they did with the Chained Coffin box set?
 
Séadna said:
Yes, apparently later this year or early next year.
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Neat! I can say with certainty that I do not own anything in a similar vein as Purple Planet, whereas the mini setting from the Chained Coffin - the Shudder Mountains - seems less unique or distinctive. I may well pick up Purple Planet once it's available again.
 
3rik said:
Neat! I can say with certainty that I do not own anything in a similar vein as Purple Planet, whereas the mini setting from the Chained Coffin - the Shudder Mountains - seems less unique or distinctive. I may well pick up Purple Planet once it's available again.
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I'd say the Shudder Mountains is the more unique setting for a fantasy rpg, basically a fantasy Appalachia. I like The Chained Coffin but it it probably doesn't give as good a sense of the setting as the rest of the setting material does.
 
3rik said:
OK, so how does one present that to their players? I mean, they're going to ask where everything is "on the map", where they are from, etc. Do you just wing it and make things up as-you-go?
Click to expand...
Think smaller. Like a county or at most a duchy sized sandbox to play around in, because that's about as big of a world as your gong farmers and turnip peddlers are likely to be aware of.

If you really need the framework of a "big damn world" then the DCC modules aren't really setup that way, but there is usually enough connective tissue or hooks at the end of them that they can be strung together with a little brainstorming on the GM's part. Sailors on the Starless Sea, Doom of the Savage Kings and even Portal Under the Stars all have little details that should help spur you forward.
 
I backed this DCC zine as part of the recent Zinequest.

Terror of the Stratosfiend #3 : A DCC RPG #ZineQuest Zine, via @Kickstarter
 
3rik said:
And you gotta love that this Zine has a Canine character class!

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Actually, all the DCC stuff by Breaker Press Games looks pretty neat. It looks difficult to get in print, though.

I also like the look of these omnibuses by Purple Sorcerer Games. Anyone familiar with these?

The Sunken City Omnibus
The Sullenlands Adventures Omnibus
 
3rik said:
Actually, all the DCC stuff by Breaker Press Games looks pretty neat. It looks difficult to get in print, though.

I also like the look of these omnibuses by Purple Sorcerer Games. Anyone familiar with these?

The Sunken City Omnibus
The Sullenlands Adventures Omnibus
Click to expand...

The Sunken City is good, here is a review of one of the original modules on Tenfootpole for more details.
 
There are changes to occupations of course for the change in setting. The most changes are in magic- different patrons, penalties for magic casting in the presence of drawn steel, different spells. There's also technology, but it's like in the barrier peaks module- advanced enough that it's really just magic. It's very akin to something that would be at home in MCC, and they even admit they could have used MCC for it. It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, so either would have been fine.
 
I backed this Kickstarter from Breaker Press Games with Rabid Dogs Zine (2nd printing), Wide-eyed Terror Zine and The Tome of Debasement as add-ons.



I also backed this.



Also picking up copies of The Sunken City Omnibus, The Sullenlands Adventures Omnibus and Hubris should provide me with plenty of usable material.
 
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