Anyone excited for DCC RPG?

[Jan van Leyden]

I don't think it'll see use in or group, but I'll buy it just for reading it, anyway.

The randomness makes for a strange breed, IMHO. It isn't really old-school because the player's ideas may (?) be stumped by unforeseeable results. It isn't really new-school because you can't make a sound plan due to the very random nature of results.

Character creation, though, is really cool. Send the legions to the meat grinder and live with what survives. A tad like the old Traveller system, only with a lot Death results in the prior experience system.

 

[MerricB]

Please explain. The randomness or the creeping corruption of wizards?

It's more the way clerics scale. Either the cleric keeps making sacrifices... in which case he's got very little to worry about - or he casts a spell and then can't cast anything more for the day.

 

[Ron]

I actually liked the high letality and some other features. However, my interest died when I found out it requires a few new weird dice and added some tables that needed to be consulted oftenly. I don't need a compilation of gimmicks in my table.

 

[nedjer]

After a real good look at clones in recent weeks I fall into the clones should be clones camp.

A new clone dropped into my lap while looking for options and it's been taking up far too much of my time. The instant familiarity with the rules, the spells, the classes . . . - without the extras/ variations intruding - made it very pick-up and go.

 

[mmadsen]

After a real good look at clones in recent weeks I fall into the clones should be clones camp.

I actually hold the opposite philosophy, and I think DCC fell down there, too. In my opinion, a game like DCC should try to combine the best "old school" elements with the best of modern game design -- and thus it (and other not-quite-clones) should drop silly-but-nostalgic rules, like different xp charts, "exceptional" strength, level-limits for demi-humans, basic-style elves switching between fighter and magic-user from adventure to adventure, etc. and avoid introducing clumsy new rules that require odd dice, look-up charts, etc.

 

[nedjer]

I actually hold the opposite philosophy, and I think DCC fell down there, too. In my opinion, a game like DCC should try to combine the best "old school" elements with the best of modern game design -- and thus it (and other not-quite-clones) should drop silly-but-nostalgic rules, like different xp charts, "exceptional" strength, level-limits for demi-humans, basic-style elves switching between fighter and magic-user from adventure to adventure, etc. and avoid introducing clumsy new rules that require odd dice, look-up charts, etc.

We seem to share much the same philosophy -I didn't register my low threshold for minor details/ nostalgia or my preference for streamlining. The clone I've been using is a pretty close match to the points you've listed - exceptional strength aside. However, the core mechanic, the classes and the spells offer a handy template/ platform.

Bolt-on mechanics that require re-jigging across the whole system - often to little effect - also get the heave-ho in my book

 

[Mallus]

I'm not interested in the whole retro-clone phenomenon, outside of thinking it's nice to see an active cottage industry producing RPG materials. So no, no interest in DCC.

Retro-clones offer me nothing. If I'm going to run old-school --which I am at the moment, as a matter of fact-- then I want a system I'm very familiar with. Something that delivers results fast. Learning a new system, even one modeled closely on one I have experience with, defeats (part of) the purpose of using an older system.

 

[darjr]

I'm interested. I want to kick the tires some more and really get some campaign play in but so far it's been pretty loose and fun.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Oddly enough, I understand why they choose to use new dice. Back in the day, people would look at a d4 and d12 and think, "WTF? this is dice?" Now we can look at the d24 and d17 and think, "WTF? this is dice?" The decision to use new dice was designed to invoke that feeling.

 

[Dausuul]

Oddly enough, I understand why they choose to use new dice. Back in the day, people would look at a d4 and d12 and think, "WTF? this is dice?" Now we can look at the d24 and d17 and think, "WTF? this is dice?" The decision to use new dice was designed to invoke that feeling.

Mmf. I believe the phrase "You can't go home again" would be appropriate here. It ain't 1980 any more; the modern geeky fantasy enthusiast has a million ways to get his or her pretend elf on. When D&D came out, it pretty much had the field to itself, so it could get away with forcing everyone to buy wacky dice. DCC has too much competition to pull such stunts.

Anyway, if I want to put up with unnecessary hassles for the sake of nostalgia, I'll break out my red box and run a real old-school game.