Opinions on Dungeon Crawl Classics #39: DM Screen and Adventure

[Vanuslux]

I was pondering over Goodman Game's Dungeon Crawl Classics #39: DM Screen and Adventure and was disappointed that there aren't any Customer Comments. Has anyone here checked this product out for themselves? How's the screen? How's the adventure?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Me too, me too. I'm curious about this very thing. (Although I think it's odd someone would make a castle out of delicious deep-fried pastry covered in cinammon-sugar.)

 

[trancejeremy]

I would be surprised if there were comments at RPGnow, I mean, what's the point of a PDF of a DM Screen?

 

[Vanuslux]

I would be surprised if there were comments at RPGnow, I mean, what's the point of a PDF of a DM Screen?

Back in 2nd Ed AD&D days I made my own DM screen in MS Publisher and pasted the printed pages to two folders duct taped together because I didn't like the official TSR one. The first half of that endeavor was by far the most tedious and unfun part. A PDF of a DM screen saves me hours of making tables myself, but the price tag is a little friggin steep so I'll only bother if its well done.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

The screen is actually two screens (perhaps inspired by the old AD&D 1e screen).

Each screen has four panels.

The first screen:
Outside panel 1: 3 art pieces.
Outside panel 2: This is the "cover" and looks like the standard DCC module cover. In this case, it is for the module included with the screen. Kind of annoying to have a module cover as one of the outside panels, but whatever.
Outside panel 3: 2 art pieces and the words "Roll for initiative!" in red letters at the bottom.
Outside panel 4: 3 art pieces

Inside panels: armor and shield info, poison info, weapon info (damage, range, weight, etc), and then two panels of action summaries, including grapping, turning, splash weapons and more.

The second screen:
All outside panels contain 2 art pieces.

Inside panels: Summary of skill information and common DCs, followed by a list of conditions (confused, prone, etc).

The information on the inside of the screens is helpful. Before this screen, I had been using one that came with Dragon magazine around the 3.5 turnover... I don't think I ever glanced at the info on the inside. The DCC screen uses a big, clear font so it's easy to read from a sitting or standing position -- very important to me. The choice of information provided seems to be good... common things that can slow a game down if you have to look it up. I haven't checked it for errors or accuracy, however.

All the art is great, IMO. In the interest of full disclosure, I will state that I love Erol Otus and all the old-style art. My only complaint about the art is that the layout is very uninspired. Just cut and pastes of DCC cover/back-cover art. I would have liked for less art to have been used and displayed at a larger scale.

I haven't read or ran the adventure included.

 

[dragonlordofpoondari]

The adventure is 12 pages long, not including player handouts and map, respectively a page each. It is essentially a short, single-level dungeon crawl. I skimmed it, and it looks okay. Here's the adventure summary as written (spoilers hidden) ...

"A group of bandits, the Broken Knives, has stolen relics of significance from several temples in the town of Grozny. The bandits have made their base of operations in the ruins of Castle Churo, which is located in the middle of the thwn. From there they have tunneled into the vaults of the town's temples. The characters must investigate the ruins of the castle, exploring its basements and catacombs. They will discover that the magical accident that long ago destroyed the castle has left strange magical properties in the rooms that remain. The characters must overcome these challenges as they find and defeat the Broken Knives."

Encounters follow, in order
1 fiendish raven trap
1 fountain that bestows magical effects, sometimes good, sometimes bad
1 CR3 Kobold Cleric
4 Kobolds
2 Troglodytes
4 Tiny Monsterous Hunting Spiders
1 CR 3 Living Room aberration (magically enchanted area that can drag, improved grab, swallow whole, form tentacle, and disguise self)
1 captured town guard
1 Animated Grave Goods construct CR 1/2
1 Skeleton Key construct CR 1/8
1 Troglodyte
4 Kobolds
BBEG Kethos, human Cleric CR3
4 Guards CR 1/2

Not the best from the DCC line, IMHO.

The DM's screen is okay. The art is not my cup of tea. If it were done by Erol Otus, I'd have been satisfied. It was similarly crude, but each sub-panel was done by a different artist in a different style, lending a sort of un-unified look. Here are the charts in order ...

Armor and Shield: cost, bonus, penalties, chance for failure, speed, and weight
Poisons: Type, init dam, secondary dam, price
Weapons: cost, dmg, crit, range, weight, size/prof/type
Action breakdown by type (move, standard, full-round, free)
Summaries of Aid, Bull Rush, Charge, Disarm, Feint, Grapple, Overrun, Sunder, Throw Splash Weapon, Trip
Turn/Rebuke Undead Chart
Attack Roll Modifiers (PHB table 8-5)
AC Modifiers (8-6)
Skill descriptions with charts for Appraise, balance, climb, conc, disable device, handle animal, heal, jump, listen, speak lang, spellcraft, swim, tumble, use magic device, use rope
Summarized conditions for Ability Damabe, Ability Drain, Blinded, Blown Away, Confused, Cowering, Dazed, Dazzled, Deafened, Energy Drained, Entangled, Exhausted, Fascinated, Fatigued, Frightened, Incorporeal, Invisible, Knocked Down, Nauseated, Panicked, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Shaken, Sickened, Stunned.

That's it!

EDIT: w_earle_wheeler beat me. oh, well.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

The art is not my cup of tea. If it were done by Erol Otus, I'd have been satisfied. It was similarly crude, but each sub-panel was done by a different artist in a different style, lending a sort of un-unified look.

Erol did do some of the art. But yeah, I wish the screens had one big landscape piece of art each.

EDIT: w_earle_wheeler beat me. oh, well.

Just... barely...

 

[Wraith Form]

Here is the post from the Goodman message boards that I wrote as a description of what it contains. Inside jokes are intentional, and you'll have to go to their boards to have full appreciation of them.

"The first screen, aptly called Screen #1, has the title "The Ruins of Castle Churo"and the cool cover picture shown on the web site (the one with the Undead King and his hooded skeletal minions). Other paintings appear to include some favorites from the DCC series, including the cover from The Curse of the Emerald Cobra, The Sunken Ziggurat, and the little-known adventure (and secret Joseph Goodman favorite) "The Fane of the Church of the Temple of the Bloody Murderous Killer Flumph."

On the inside, it covers topics relating to Combat: Panel 1 is Armor/Shields and Poisons. Panel 2 lists all the PHB Weapons' stats (including Exotics). Panel 3 & 4 is a huge summary of the Actions you can do in combat, including quick breakdowns of Bull Rush, Charge, Grapple, Splash effects, etc. If it's an Combat Action from the PHB, it appears to be listed.

The second screen, called Screen #9 (after the Beatles song on the White Album), continues to display paintings from the DCC series, including the sweet new Otus cover from Bloody Jack's Gold and (a personal favorite) Otus' cover to "The Dread Crypt of Srihoz". Very Lovecraftcthulhuian. ...And I would know. (Don't ask--I'm under an unspeakable oath not to talk about it. Besides, it's stuff man was never meant to know. *sigh* Fine, Private Message me and I'll tell you.)

Panels 1, 2 and part of 3 on the interior summarizes many Skills (Climb, Concentration, Heal, Jump, and others) with charts on modifiers, etc. Panel 3.5 (see how I did that? Wink ) and 4 give definitions for multifarious topics such as "Ability Damaged," "Confused," "Paralyzed," "Sickened"....and one that my characters often need to use, "Nauseated". These definitions detail the rules effects for each topic.

Then there's the credits listed in the right corner. I love how Harley Stroh managed to subliminally work his name into the Goodman Games logo about 27 times. (Bloody egomaniac.)"

As mentioned above, the actual adventure is pretty stinkin' weak compared to what I expect from the DCC line, but the screens themselves are incredible. I used them for the first time in last week's game. We sit at a kitchen table, and the screens stretched lengthwise from one end of the table to the other, and even had to be 'accordioned' to fit, they're that long side-to-side. Last game there was only 1 combat, and the rest was role play, so we didn't have a trial by fire of the screen's ability to walk me through certain combat rules. I expect this week will be a very different story...

 

[John Cooper]

The information on the inside of the screens is helpful...I haven't checked it for errors or accuracy, however.

I have - I edited the DM's screens.

 

[DaveMage]

I have - I edited the DM's screens.

Cool!

Good to see someone putting your talent to use.