D&D 5E Incorporating DCC game mechanics into D&D 5e. Any tips or hints?

[GeekGuardianDee]

I am converting the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) adventure, Castle Whiterock, to 5e D&D for my next game offering. While making the conversions and looking through the content it has really re-ignited my interest in many of the DCC game mechanics. I am considering substituting the rules for these game mechanics from DCC into our 5e D&D game:

• Magic and Spells (the whole chapter!)
• Spell Duels
• Fumble and Critical Tables
• Mighty Deeds

Most of my players will choose non-caster classes, so at most I would have 2 experienced players opting-in to play these modified characters (plus any creatures I choose to put into their path). I am interested in incorporating these features to help instill a bit more color to the adventure, possibly enticing the players to get more into a role-playing mindset.

Do you have any ideas, considerations, tips, etc. for making this kind of adjustment?

I will write out my ideas of how to roll this out to my players in further posts, but would like to get some basic feedback while formulating my plans.

 

[Aoirorentsu]

I don't know DCC enough to give concrete suggestions, but if it's helpful I have some general principles for this sort of thing. One thing that game designers (including RPG designers) are really good at is understanding how a rule or mechanic will incentivize or otherwise impact player/character behavior. So, if your goal is to "induce a more role-playing mindset", you need to think about what sorts of player behaviors that would generate, and if cribbing mechanics from another system is the right way to go.

E.g. to induce "roleplaying" you could do whatever DCC does (again, I profess my ignorance), or do what Dungeon World does, which is key the activation of mechanics off of specific narrative triggers. For example, there is no initiative, rounds, or actions in Dungeon World. Its mechanics (called "Moves") key off specific things that happen in the fiction of the game world. A player saying "I jump into the fray, battering the orcs with my mighty hammer" might trigger the move Hack & Slash, which is the closest thing Dungeon World has to an attack roll.

So maybe, if what you want to is to create fictional immersion/role-playing, you adopt the rule of "Players can never use game mechanics to describe their character's actions". But that makes a lot of players who aren't used to the narrative style uncomfortable: and it's difficult to have fun when you're uncomfortable. Alternatively, you can make it a point to ask players questions about their characters, their actions, and what they look like in the game world. Your player might say "I attack it with my greataxe" and then you say "what is the orc doing that makes you think a strong overhand swing can penetrate its mighty defense?" and then they say something like "I don't know... [awkward silence]... [thinking]...[more awkward silence]... they're swinging their club wildly to the side" and then you say "Great... when did you learn that swinging your weapon to the side leaves you open to an attack on the vertical axis?"... and then they say "From my mentor, who hit me over the head with a mace every time I made that mistake" and then you say "Is that why you have an Int of 8?" and they laugh and say "haha maybe, yeah." . You can see how this spirals if you just keep asking your players questions about their characters. If what you want is more immersion in the world, you can ask your players questions without adopting complex mechanics from other games (and all mechanics are complex). Ask questions that require the kinds of answers (e.g. narrative vs. game-y) you seek.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Best of luck!

 

[Psikerlord#]

I am converting the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) adventure, Castle Whiterock, to 5e D&D for my next game offering. While making the conversions and looking through the content it has really re-ignited my interest in many of the DCC game mechanics. I am considering substituting the rules for these game mechanics from DCC into our 5e D&D game:

• Magic and Spells (the whole chapter!)
• Spell Duels
• Fumble and Critical Tables
• Mighty Deeds

Most of my players will choose non-caster classes, so at most I would have 2 experienced players opting-in to play these modified characters (plus any creatures I choose to put into their path). I am interested in incorporating these features to help instill a bit more color to the adventure, possibly enticing the players to get more into a role-playing mindset.

Do you have any ideas, considerations, tips, etc. for making this kind of adjustment?

I will write out my ideas of how to roll this out to my players in further posts, but would like to get some basic feedback while formulating my plans.

I suspect it would be easier to move from 5e to DCC than the other way around. Just take adv/disad and off you go.

 

[Daern]

Here's a Warrior class I made for 5e http://neradia.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-dungeon-crawl-classics-warrior-class.html