Dungeon Crawl Classics - like 'em?

[ScotMartin]

As a player, I've been through three of these. I enjoyed Legacy of the Savage Kings, I thought the Talons of the Horned King had some problems but could be all right, and absolutely hated The Volcano Caves.

So, as some others have said, it's a mixed bag for me.

 

[Xyanthon]

I'm a big 1e fan and they definitely have that "old school" feel to them. I have over 20 of them and love em. My only complaint is that they are putting them out faster than I can comfortably afford to purchase them (or at least without my wife giving me the evil eye ).

 

[T. Foster]

I love the covers, especially the ones by Erol Otus. However, I've looked through a few in the store, and own one (the 1E conversion of DCC 12.5) and haven't been too impressed, either with the material itself or (in the case of DCC 12.5) with the 1E-conversion (it felt too much like they just changed the numbers and didn't give enough thought to the actual conceptual and stylistic differences between the editions). Sorry I can't be more detailed or specific.

 

[Treebore]

I love the covers, especially the ones by Erol Otus. However, I've looked through a few in the store, and own one (the 1E conversion of DCC 12.5) and haven't been too impressed, either with the material itself or (in the case of DCC 12.5) with the 1E-conversion (it felt too much like they just changed the numbers and didn't give enough thought to the actual conceptual and stylistic differences between the editions). Sorry I can't be more detailed or specific.

????

I think you may want to read it again. I found it to be so 1E I had to look at the cover and remind myself it was just printed a few months ago.

Plus, did you read the 1E conversion design notes in a couple of locations throughout the module.

 

[Crothian]

I've ran 5 of the 20 I own and all have been fun 3 of them are reviewed and the other two I hope to get reviewed soon.

 

[T. Foster]

????

I think you may want to read it again. I found it to be so 1E I had to look at the cover and remind myself it was just printed a few months ago.

Plus, did you read the 1E conversion design notes in a couple of locations throughout the module.

I'll admit that I didn't read it all that closely (which I consider the module's fault more than my own because that means it didn't hold my attention -- I'm not a paid reviewer so I'm under no obligation to read modules I'm not enjoying all the way through) but of what I did read I remember feeling that far too many challenges were based on the notion that challenging high level characters = harder die rolls (made up example: this door is locked, but since this is a high-level adventure the thief's Open Locks roll is made at -25%!), the same with the monsters (here's a wraith, but since this is a high level module it's a super-tough wraith!), which strikes me as a distinctly non-1E approach.

The key to high level modules in 1E isn't making the die rolls tougher or beefing up monsters with extra hp and damage-dice, it's in creating challenges where having a high Open Locks percentage, good saving throws, and a lot of hp won't help. I felt that the module either should've been adjusted for much lower level characters (say 7th level instead of 12th) so the die-rolls and monsters wouldn't have needed to be adjusted (i.e. a 7th level character's Open Locks skill is about the same as a 12th level character's skill at -25%; a 7th level party will have about the same difficulty with normal wraiths as a 12th level party will with uber-wraiths, etc.) or the whole thing should've been re-written to change the nature of the challenges (this is obviously much less feasible for a "conversion" but wouldn't it have been cool -- the same "plot," the same map, but totally different challenges emphasizing the different philosophy and approach of the the different editions).

 

[Celebrim]

of what I did read I remember feeling that far too many challenges were based on the notion that challenging high level characters = harder die rolls (made up example: this door is locked, but since this is a high-level adventure the thief's Open Locks roll is made at -25%!), the same with the monsters (here's a wraith, but since this is a high level module it's a super-tough wraith!), which strikes me as a distinctly non-1E approach.

You are right in that regard. What you are describing is the 'Diablo' approach, and yes, it annoys the heck out of me too, and for most the same reasons. It also annoys Monte as well, so you are in good company.

The key to high level modules in 1E isn't making the die rolls tougher or beefing up monsters with extra hp and damage-dice...

Well, typically, the first thing you do after about 8th level in 1E is not increase the HD but increase the number of monsters. It wouldn't be too uncommon in 1E to have encounters with 30 or more opponents, and I can remember alot of very long combats (20 or more rounds) in 1E with reinforcements arriving in waves every few rounds. In this fashion, and really in this fashion only, alot of the early Necromancer Games stuff felt very 1E in design.

But the approach of adding more HD is sometimes seen in 1E as well (I especially remember this as common in some of the Master and Companion modules I played converted to AD&D).

But even more typically, 1E would make the _environment_ tough at high level. So, instead of facing 4 trolls, you'd be facing 20 trolls in a quick sand bog, a fire dragon in a lava pit, a group of stone giants on the edge of a cliff, the villain would have thier own plane with wierd rules where magic didn't work as expect, would lair underwater, inside a glacier, or whatever.

 

[Psion]

Mixed. Some are great. I really have been getting tons of use out of The Adventure Begins, and the adventures are intriguing and creative. Crypt of the Devil lich is another creative yet classic and challenging dungeon crawl.

Some were a slog. I found that Bloody Jack's Gold somehow didn't live up to the intriguing feel projected by its theme.

 

[Abraxas]

I'm not terribly fond of them although they have some good parts.
The group I game with has been run through a number of them.
Some of the less than fun things (IMO) about these are

1) They foster a take 20 and search everything mentality, and I mean everything.
2) You pretty much have to have a character with the trap finding ability maxed out.
3) In a number of the adventures they more or less make up rules or mix 3.0 and 3.5 versions of rules.
4) In each one we have played through there have been one or more plot elements that just jar me out of my suspension of disbelief.
5) They have more than a reasonable number of gotcha type moments - things like you defeat the BBEG at the end and destroy the evil mcguffin only to have it explode for 1d10 x 10 points of force damage to everything within a 100 ft radius or the only way to open the secret door you have to go through is to manipulate a series of five levers each with 3 different possible positions and any wrong arrangement does damage to everyone in the room - and there is no indication on the correct arrangement.

 

[Nightfall]

*sides with Psion* There are some dogs and some golden ones. But overall I recommend the line over previous d20 adventures that didn't work out well. Necromancer Games and Goodman games are my ideals for gaming but doesn't mean GR's Bleeding edge isn't that bad either. In fact some of them are quite good. Dirge of the Damned for example was/is pretty darn sweet.