Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games

Thanks for a great review of a great game!

 

[Leif]

Ooops!

 

[Leif]

Does the DCC RPG use the OGL? I'm curious, as it sounds like it draws pretty deep from the well of D&D lore.

Yes it does. There are already 3pps working on DCC supplements and adventures. The first 3pp adventure (Perils of the Sunken City) is already available in pdf format.

That's great news! Thanks a bunch!

 

[IronWolf]

Great review! Looking forward to picking this game up as I keep hearing very positive things about it.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I preordered the Gold version of the book. It is, indeed, impressive and beautiful. Fantastic art leaps out. My personal favorite of the newer artists is Peter Mullen, whose work stands shoulder-to-shoulder with that of the classic artists who have work in the game.

I think it's worthwhile to mention that there is no index, and the table of contents is not that great. In fact, the ToC is a bit confusing in its layout. I've read that there is an effort underway to put together an index, but it's a lapse that is noticeable in a book of this size.

Regardless, this is a really cool book, and I'd love the opportunity to run the game. It definitely reminds me of old school D&D, but has its own unique take on it. Of the various Old School Revival games and retroclones, this is my favorite.

 

[Lord Rasputin]

I've played. It has an interesting magic system, but it needs to ditch the funny dice. It stripped 3e/4e to the roots (good) then added lots of arbitrary rules (bad).

 

[Kunimatyu]

If you really want to emulate Appendix N, you drop the Cleric entirely.

Joe wasn't willing to do that, sadly.

 

[Ravenheart87]

I've played. It has an interesting magic system, but it needs to ditch the funny dice. It stripped 3e/4e to the roots (good) then added lots of arbitrary rules (bad).

Like it or not, those are features and not bugs. Funny dice are in, because they're cool, plus they make some game mechanics more interesting. The arbitrary rules are usually there to help in capturing the feel of the classic sword fantasy literature mentioned in Appendix N.

 

[IronWolf]

... but it needs to ditch the funny dice.

Yeah, I have heard a few complaints about that as well. But to hear interviews with him they were sort of included to bring back the fascination with funny looking dice. Back in the day we were all new to the d4's and stuff. The funny dice in this game hope to do the same.

We'll see. I will likely need to get my hands on some.

If you really want to emulate Appendix N, you drop the Cleric entirely.

Eh, there is a reasonable thread over on the Goodman Games forums where they talk about the cleric and Appendix N. They made a good enough case for me.

 

[Alzrius]

Eh, there is a reasonable thread over on the Goodman Games forums where they talk about the cleric and Appendix N. They made a good enough case for me.

Link please?

 

[IronWolf]

Link please?

Sorry - even as I closed the tab earlier, I thought maybe I should have linked it!

Here is the link:

Goodman Games • View topic - Thoughts on a simplified SRD game.

The Death, Dying, and Healing section and Character Classes section in the post are most relevant. There is some discussion later in the thread as well, but the post I link to seems most applicable as to why decisions were made.