Where i share my experiences with DCC (as a noob)

[not-so-newguy]

This is the thread where I talk about my experiences with Dungeon Crawl Classics. It's my first time using this system, so feedback is appreciated. I ran The Portal Under the Stars Funnel several weeks ago and the group made their characters. We're now moving on to our first adventure: Crypt of the Science Wizard by Skeeter Green.

I plan to share this intro blog post tomorrow with the group. I'm still working on it:

Spoiler

The Crypt of Kersete

It is a place out of myth. A place buried deep in the copper sands that you know as the Blood Plains of Esh. The royal wise-men of Iruk deny it's existence, though rumors and legends persist amongst the populace.

If the storytellers tell true, then there was once an advanced civilization that thrived on the desolate Blood Plains in the time before the years were counted. The lore tells of lush grasslands and vast cities led by powerful wizards who could weave technology and magic together. The inhabitants of Iruk are all that remains of this once mighty culture; a faded, withered shadow of a once glowing colossus. If the storytellers tell true, that is.

You believe the stories to be true, or at least you hope so. Those alien-goat-people told you that that is where you'd find the other half of the Rod of Rulership, so it has got to be true... right? Suuure. Why not. You've never met an alien-goat-person that you couldn't trust. Those moldy bones in that crusty crypt are sure to contain a sh!t ton of historical artifacts, priceless jewelry, and all sorts of magical fuckery. All for the taking or potentially sold for some sweet, sweet coin. It's just a matter of finding the front door, smashing it down, and getting to the loot. Easy peasy. (Hint: It will not be easy peasy. Bonus hint: Smashing of any kind should be done judiciously.)


What you've heard:
Strange and dangerous creatures stalk plains: Bandits on the outskirts of Iruk, some winged creature called a sphinx, roving bands of humanoids. That's what you have heard. There's probably more.
A group set out several months ago to find the crypt. Nope, they haven't returned.

What you know:
The Crypt is located several miles north of the God's Tear Oasis.

The set-up
You've managed to join with a large caravan traveling west across the Blood Plains of Esh. This should make travel easier to the Crypt, getting home will not be so convenient.

Link to the adventure:

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

That's how it started. This is how it's going....

I compiled the obituaries of PCs in this campaign, not including the Funnel. The list might not be complete. Despite their frustrations, the players say they prefer this style of play. I have checked in with them numerous times on this. i've even offered some house rules. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised since all of them (except one) have only played 5e.

Death Count: 17

Feb 27, Welcome to the Crypt

• Steve the Thief. Sucked down a hole while swimming underwater and the rushing water dumped him into a pit with heated copper coils. He was boiled to death. The Jar of Steve is named after him.

March 7, Like Banging your head against a Bronze Door

• Baltor the unlucky Warrior. A pair of statue constructs with halberds focused fire on the un-luckiest character.

March 20, The Australia of Dungeons

• Dwimble the Wizard. Opened an ancient jar which contained hundreds of mechanical scarab beetles which consumed him. There was nothing left.

April 4, Iruk Potpourri

• Franken Beans the Thief. Hit three times with poisoned hand crossbow bolts. He was leading the charge through the front door.

May 22, Palimdybis Strikes Back!

• Foddir the Elf
• Don Keykong the Warrior
• Kane the Cleric
• Dwight the Wizard

All died in defeating the Yellow Robe and his twelve cohorts. Eight slaves were freed. These four PCs are buried in a graveyard in Huary.

June 5, There and Back Again ...and There Again

• Lester the Cleric. Duped into teleporting to the wrong room by Iron the Warrior. He faced a Yellow Robe by himself and was killed
• Iron the Warrior. 30 seconds later, Iron pressed the same button. He teleported to the same room as Lester. By this time Lester had just been killed. The Yellow robe then killed Iron the Warrior.

June 13, No More Tentacles

• Iris the Thief. Died in final battle against the Cult of Palimdybis. Beaten to death by Pit People.
• Todd Sweeney the Thief. Died in final battle against Cult of Palimdybis. Stabbed to death by Yellow Robe.

June 25, Tomb of the serpent kings

• T Wiggums the Dwarf. Consumed by Black Pudding. We'll never know what the T stood for.
• Monty the Familiar. Sprung a lightning trap. Fried the little guy.

Early September, Blood Plain of Esh

• D Wiggums was slain in a Bandit Ambush

Late September, Blood Plain of Esh

• Manu-are was killed when the party destroyed a magical device that controlled Sand & Wind Elementals.

November 19, Saint Brynned's Abbey

• After diving into a well of blood, Orn was transported to the Abyss, and torn apart by frog demons. He has travelled the farthest out of anyone in the party.
• Actual photo take just moments before his demise
  Spoiler

  

 

[MNblockhead]

Looking forward to your thoughts. I've backed DCC's Dying Earth kickstarter. I've enjoyed playing in DCC, DCC Lankhmar, and MCC games but this is the first DCC game and adventures I've bought. I'm a bit worried about all the tables and having to constantly look things up during the game to resolve actions and effects. Would be interested to read your experiences and thoughts on this.

 

[DRIZZN'T]

Looking forward to your thoughts. I've backed DCC's Dying Earth kickstarter. I've enjoyed playing in DCC, DCC Lankhmar, and MCC games but this is the first DCC game and adventures I've bought. I'm a bit worried about all the tables and having to constantly look things up during the game to resolve actions and effects. Would be interested to read your experiences and thoughts on this.

As a DM, the sheer amount of random tables in DCC are definitely a concern of mine as well.

One time I tried homebrewing in the DCC magic system for a 5e one-shot. The random spell "aftereffects" were definitely a bit of gonzo fun, but rolling on tables every time a spell was cast definitely slowed down the game a lot.

 

[not-so-newguy]

Yeah, all the tables that need to be referenced is very daunting.

I've spent the past week trying to break things down and identifying what tables will be needed for play during the session. This includes players' spells, crit tables, and the fumble table. I took screenshots of these tables and shared them with the group via blog post.

There are 3 crit tables and 1 fumble table needed for play up to Level 2. The Warrior changes Crit table at level 3 and the Dwarf changes crit table at level 4. Every other Class sticks with the same Crit table throughout.

Spells are more difficult because there's so much more, but I think sharing the tables with the players via blog post will help by making it the player's responsibility. The idea is that the player can reference these Spell tables through their phone when the time comes to cast the spell.

We'll see what happens when the "rubber hits the road" and we start playing. Luckily, I've got a good group of players to test this out.

Edit: I would gladly share the blog posts, but I'm not sure if I'm breaking any laws by sharing screenshots of the book

 

[not-so-newguy]

Another thing I should note is that we spent a session taking the Funnel survivors and advancing the chosen characters to 1st level. I think this helps because the players now have a sense of how frustrating it is to have to flip through the book constantly.

 

[overgeeked]

Looking forward to hearing more.

DCC is addicted to tables. Thankfully this reference booklet was made. It’s just the tables.

DCC RPG Reference Booklet – Print + PDF|Goodman Games Store

goodman-games.com

There’s also a PDF but I can’t seem to find it.

 

[overgeeked]

Ah. Here's the legally free PDF.

The original creator posted it in their blog and sells print copies on Lulu. Goodman bought some / had some printed up and sells them on their store.

DCC RPG Reference Booklet - Revised and Expanded

Finally, after over a year of toil, I can present you with the updated version of the DCC RPG Reference Booklet . I expanded it out to inclu...

peoplethemwithmonsters.blogspot.com

 

[not-so-newguy]

Ah. Here's the legally free PDF.

The original creator posted it in their blog and sells print copies on Lulu. Goodman bought some / had some printed up and sells them on their store.

DCC RPG Reference Booklet - Revised and Expanded

Finally, after over a year of toil, I can present you with the updated version of the DCC RPG Reference Booklet . I expanded it out to inclu...

peoplethemwithmonsters.blogspot.com

YES! thank you!

 

[DRIZZN'T]

That reference doc is very helpful, I used it for the aforementioned one-shot!

 

[Archade]

I have a 5-panel DM screen that has the common critical hit/fumble tables, and use the purple sorcerer website to print spells out for my players -- beyond that, I really don't need to access many tables at all, maybe 1-2 a session like an adventure-based random encounter table, or a monster power result here and there ...