DCC Level 0 Character Funnel is a Bad Concept

[Grendel_Khan]

So I had the misfortune recently of playing a Level 0 Character Funnel for my first experience of Dungeon Crawl Classics. I'll describe the ordeal for you.
1) Six players. Four characters each. Two actions a turn. For a ridiculous 48 actions per turn (plus the monsters actions.) Keeping up with positioning of 24 characters, what they're doing, etc.
2) Random character creation is awful in the system, because your class/background has no bearing on your ability scores. So I had an elven sage with a 4 Int. Even if he survived, what would I have wanted to do, play a worthless elf who couldn't even use magic.
3) Random die rolls to kill characters. If you're going to use a character funnel with a stable of characters, the player should be able to volunteer the character to be killed as "tribute" - or at least have their actions lead to the character death. My best characters died before I got a chance to make a single decision and I was left with garbage tier random generated losers unfit to adventure.
The experience has completely soured me on the game system.

Sounds like your Judge deeply misunderstood the specific processes of a funnel, but also the spirit of the thing, and also the more interesting character creation options. I think they just didn't read the rules? Which...there aren't all that many of...

 

[Arilyn]

It's a crazy game, but if not taken too seriously, is a lot of fun. Playing it right now. My elf managed to survive a funnel with 1 hp and bad stats. She's manged to get to 2nd level and is actually a very useful member of the party. She has amazing luck with her spell rolls, even though she is neither lucky nor particularly intelligent.

This is the first elf I've had that has survived. And she's awful on paper, but fun to play, as a kinda dazed out hippy who's beating the odds. So far.

 

[payn]

It's a crazy game, but if not taken too seriously, it's a lot of fun. Playing it right now. My elf managed to survive a funnel with 1 hp and bad stats. She's manged to get to 2nd level and is actually a very useful member of the party. She has amazing luck with her spell rolls, even though she is neither lucky nor particularly intelligent.

This is the first elf I've had that has survived. And she's awful on paper, but fun to play, as a kinda dazed out hippy who's beating the odds. So far.

Right, I think folks get really worried these days about random chargen. I dont blame them since most modern crunchy RPGs will punish the hell out of you for random chargen. Games like DCC and Traveller are built around the idea that random chargen isnt going to make huge gulfs of power disparity amongst players in a group.

Sounds like your Judge deeply misunderstood the specific processes of a funnel, but also the spirit of the thing, and also the more interesting character creation options. I think they just didn't read the rules? Which...there aren't all that many of...

This was going through my head the entire time I read the OP. You should never have 24 characters rolling in a single event. Thats just a waste of time and fun. A funnel should be at a good pace and tell a crazy story. Not feel like going through the motions and doing homework. This is part of why I gave up on Con gaming its a total crapshoot. So many factors can tank a good experience. Now, sadly, the OP thinks DCC funnel sucks.

 

[Ath-kethin]

A good Judge keeps in mind that a Funnel, despite being supposed to kill off 75% or so of the characters, is supposed to be fun. People should be laughing at the horrible demises of their characters and cheering the improbable successes.

True dat!

DCC is the only game where I've had TPKs that left everyone laughing and rarin' for more.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Only one character made it out of the Counting House of Count Perdusz I played in, and it was a complete blast. My character was eaten by a giant worm I had tried to summon to help against the other thing trying to kill us all.

True dat!

DCC is the only game where I've had TPKs that left everyone laughing and rarin' for more.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Only one character made it out of the Counting House of Count Perdusz I played in, and it was a complete blast. My character was eaten by a giant worm I had tried to summon to help against the other thing trying to kill us all.

See? That's the kind of stuff that just doesn't happen in other games. I love it.

 

[5atbu]

It's not your game, m8!

A funnel isn't a bad demo for DCC, in that you have to embrace the chaos and expect to die, messily and often with no purpose.
I really enjoy DCC and you don't have to use the funnel at all, but it's a wild ride and not for those who want a balanced min-max optimisation game. That's not a criticism by the way, I like both types of games but most people like one or the other.
I think theatre of the mind would better suit so many characters.

But you learnt it's not for you

Oh, and I suggest you don't try Mörk Borg either...

 

[Retreater]

Back in my day we'd roll four (or more!) sets of ability scores, scrap three of them, and choose the character with the scores that best represented what we wanted to play. It was done in 5 minutes, and that's all the character funnel we needed. Haha.
But now having purposeful character creation to match a concept is preferred. And if you don't have a concept for a character going into a new campaign, then spend a bit of time researching the setting, system, talking to your fellow players, or just brainstorming. It's going to be more satisfying for a long-term game.
As for the DCC Funnel "Lulz" - yeah, I can see how that might be fun for a one-shot - maybe a 2 hour session if the pace is good and the stakes are ridiculous enough. I just can't imagine wanting to start a campaign in that manner.
Don't get me wrong: I do like old school systems. DCC just seems to take the worst elements of the old school experience and rolls it into a single game.

 

[Retreater]

Oh, and I suggest you don't try Mörk Borg either...

I had a blast with Mork Borg, playing it the next day at the same convention. The difference was that what our characters did mattered. And they had flavor and could interact with the world. And when I died in a fiery blast at the end, it was because of my own choices, bad luck, and the decisions of the party.
It didn't feel like someone throwing noodles against the wall to see what sticks.

 

[payn]

Back in my day we'd roll four (or more!) sets of ability scores, scrap three of them, and choose the character with the scores that best represented what we wanted to play. It was done in 5 minutes, and that's all the character funnel we needed. Haha.
But now having purposeful character creation to match a concept is preferred. And if you don't have a concept for a character going into a new campaign, then spend a bit of time researching the setting, system, talking to your fellow players, or just brainstorming. It's going to be more satisfying for a long-term game.
As for the DCC Funnel "Lulz" - yeah, I can see how that might be fun for a one-shot - maybe a 2 hour session if the pace is good and the stakes are ridiculous enough. I just can't imagine wanting to start a campaign in that manner.
Don't get me wrong: I do like old school systems. DCC just seems to take the worst elements of the old school experience and rolls it into a single game.

You can for sure play DCC as a campaign, even using a funnel to kick it off. I prefer just funnel, modules, and especially tournaments for my DCC experience. I don't worry about backgrounds and RP its all about skill play and crazy Goodman stories to experience.