The DCC RPG fills the OSR stomach, but there's still a vacant spot to fill.

[jmucchiello]

The only reason I bought into the DCC RPG even with its level caps is because I see it looking pretty easy to develop it past that cap if I ever need to, and I bet Joe is going to eventually offer a supplement to take it past level 10 as well.

I bet you are wrong. Goodman originally wanted to make the level cap 5 but was convinced by the beta readers that 5 was just too short. He has said on the boards that he might include an article about in an "annual" release but I suspect he'll let a 3pp do it for him. I don't think he'll be developing said rules and I further doubt he will be developing and DCC adventures above 10th level.

 

[jmucchiello]

I was wondering if DCC achieved the stated goal of "rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery." Because when I was at a playtest session at Games Plus, the Cleric sure as hell seemed more like an archtypical D&D Heal-bot that any S&S story character I ever read about. Then the last time I glanced at the playtest rules Goodman had publicly available, it still seemed that was the case to some degree.

The beta forums complained about the cleric harshly. We constantly asked "what is the Appendix N original of "this" or "that"?" Goodman decided to stick with the cleric hoping the faith requirements would help. The gods are harsh in default DCC and using your clerical magic on a non-believer can result in the cleric being smited if you play it by the book.

But the class really shouldn't exist. He should have just put healing spells in the wizard spell list and made the downside of using those spells harsh. Wizards are already scary to play by RAW so I doubt they would submit to being healing-bots considering the downsides to a mis-cast spell.

I suspect Goodman wanted the game to look like BD&D and 4 human classes and 3 demi-human classes and he couldn't get away from the cleric as a class. It's somewhat weird since he insisted he was not making a retrocone. He wanted DCCRPG to be a retro inspired game.

 

[Treebore]

I bet you are wrong. Goodman originally wanted to make the level cap 5 but was convinced by the beta readers that 5 was just too short. He has said on the boards that he might include an article about in an "annual" release but I suspect he'll let a 3pp do it for him. I don't think he'll be developing said rules and I further doubt he will be developing and DCC adventures above 10th level.

As your own response illustrates, things change.

 

[justinhalliday]

I (humbly) suggest Heroes Against Darkness, which seems to cover off most of what you're after:

• IT'S FREE!
• It's self-contained (single 230 page PDF)
• Martial powers and spells go to Level 10 but they never become obsolete, so higher level play is supported
• Separate race and class
• Combines the best aspects of Basic, AD&D, 3rd Edition, and 4th Edition into a single modern system
• It's a neo-clone, not a retro-clone!

There's a thread about it here:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...against-darkness-neo-clone-released-free.html

And here's a bit of a blurb about the game:

Imagine an ancient world torn apart by primal powers. A place where magic runs through all living things and erupts from the minds of powerful magi, where humans, elves, dwarves and orcs walk the same earth, where ancient gods fight side-by-side with mortals in an endless battle between order and chaos.

Adventure is everywhere. This is the world of Heroes Against Darkness.

Heroes Against Darkness is a free, fast, flexible, and fully-featured fantasy d20 RPG system. The game is quick to learn and play, while offering progressively greater options and flexibility as players develop their characters and explore the breadth and depth of the system.

For Players:
• A game that’s fast, fun and deep
• Streamlined rules system using unified mechanics
• Eleven character classes for all play-styles
• Three martial classes: Warrior, barbarian, berserker
• Two specialist classes: Rogue, hunter
• One hybrid class that combines magic and martial: Hospiter
• Five magi classes: Warlock, healer, canonate, necromancer, mystic
• Extensive character background and skill options
• Fast character building with plenty of depth
• Martial and specialist classes get meaningful combat choices through class-specific techniques that are based on trade-offs and the unique capabilities of each class
• Anima points-based magic system with five main schools focusing on each of the following; physical, healing, protection, necrotic and controlling

For GMs:
• A system that’s easy for the GM to set up and run
• Intuitive and clear rules
• Set up unique combat encounters in minutes
• A simple ability test system for non-combat challenges
• Support for long-term campaign play
• Extensive GM’s Guide to help run the game
• Huge bestiary with over 80 monsters
• A framework for quickly making custom monsters
• A comprehensive world-building guide
• Appendix of key tables for GMs