I've been in awe of DCC adventures ever since before the game came out and I saw the lurid covers and titles like "Doom of the Savage Kings" and "Sailors on the Starless Sea" and "Beyond the Black Gate".
Which ones have you read/ran/played and enjoyed?
Also, do you anticipate any difficulty in running these games with the D&D RC, or AD&D 1e, or ACKS, or AS&SH? Can I run them as-is or do I have to do a bity of conversion work?
I haven't actually run any of them yet, but I've played a few and read through several others. On the conversion front, I don't anticipate anything you couldn't do on the fly. The AC flip is easy, and most of the spells are similar enough that you could translate them to equivalents in your mind. If you're running a DCC RPG adventure for B/X or AD&D characters, though, be aware that DCC PCs are designed to be tougher than their ancestors (almost double level) such that throwing six 3rd level B/X guys into an adventure built for six 3rd level DCC guys is going to be quite challenging... old-school characters don't dish out the same amount of consistent damage, for example.
I've read Doom of the Savage Kings, and played through part of it, and liked it well enough. I _think_ this one is still available for free?
Read through Blades Against Death, eager to run it when the opportunity arises and the plot makes sense in context of a campaign.
Played through part of The Sea Queen Escapes! and enjoyed it greatly.
Playtested The Black Manse at a con, loved it. Also playtested Peril on the Purple Planet, but that one's not out yet and I expect it will not resemble what I played through whatsoever, so that's moot.
I hear good things about a number of the third-party DCC adventures as well.
I think that all of the DCC modules #67+ are good (those are the ones for the DCC RPG, not the d20 or 4E ones). All have a fresh outlook on gaming, including clever monsters and cool maps.
My quick guide: look for anything written by Michael Curtis or Harley Stroh. Those, to me, are the "can't miss" adventures.
Quote from: VectorSigma;718993Also playtested Peril on the Purple Planet, but that one's not out yet and I expect it will not resemble what I played through whatsoever, so that's moot.
That sounds like a nice sword & planet adventure! Hope it's as good as it sounds.
I have run DCC #66.5: Doom of the Savage Kings, DCC #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea, DCC #68: People of the Pit, and DCC #69: The Emerald Enchanter. All four were excellent.
I don't think conversion to those other systems would be too bad. You would need to change the armor class of the monsters and adjust available spells for any spell casters. Any special abilities of the monsters are generally explained in the module.
Quote from: One Horse Town;719033That sounds like a nice sword & planet adventure! Hope it's as good as it sounds.
Basic gimmick in its then-current form was "botched spell sends you to dying world (the Purple Planet)". We popped in, investigated a bit, realized hordes of weird alien barbarians were en route and took shelter in the menacing-looking space ziggurat. Within that structure were many wonders, including a device which ended up sending our astral bodies back in time to inhabit other real bodies in ancient Punjar. Then it got really crazy with three GMs at once (Harley Stroh, Doug Kovacs, and Scott Mathis (of Transylvanian Adventures)).
Like I said, I have no expectation that the final form will contain all or even any of that (Harley rewrites heavily during the playtesting period, I'm told), even leaving aside the three-Judge madness.
Suffice it to say it's got a "forgotten space-temple on a dead planet at the end of time" thing going on, and I'll definitely pick it up.
I can't speak for for the recent ones meant for the DCC RPG, but I've been looking through my collection of d20 era DCCs and boy, most of them are really awful.
Yes, the old ones are terrible and the new ones are among the best being published.
Harley Stroh is doing the best. I've passed on Starless Sea and Frozen in Time.
You can seem my reviews for the new DCC line at: http://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?s=dcc+rpg
I ran Sailors on the Starless Seas. It was an amazing adventure. My brother's blacksmith died when he dropped a hammer on his foot for 1 hp of damage (he only had 1 hp). The switch from the top level to the bottom (I allowed the few surviving villagers to become full-fledged 1st level adventurers) was a great point of achievement for the PCs. The final confrontation was also really entertaining.
Quote from: VectorSigma;719051Basic gimmick in its then-current form was "botched spell sends you to dying world (the Purple Planet)". We popped in, investigated a bit, realized hordes of weird alien barbarians were en route and took shelter in the menacing-looking space ziggurat. Within that structure were many wonders, including a device which ended up sending our astral bodies back in time to inhabit other real bodies in ancient Punjar. Then it got really crazy with three GMs at once (Harley Stroh, Doug Kovacs, and Scott Mathis (of Transylvanian Adventures)).
Like I said, I have no expectation that the final form will contain all or even any of that (Harley rewrites heavily during the playtesting period, I'm told), even leaving aside the three-Judge madness.
Suffice it to say it's got a "forgotten space-temple on a dead planet at the end of time" thing going on, and I'll definitely pick it up.
I hope he doesn't change much because that sounds awesome.
All are decent but Jewels of the Carnifex, Swords against Death and The Emerald Enchanter are my favourites. I rank Stroh as the best writer with Goodman next and Curtis some way behind.
I thought Jewels of the Carnifex was pretty average. I've not run it though.
Quote from: Fiasco;719111I rank Stroh as the best writer with Goodman next and Curtis some way behind.
Accurate. Stroh is an insta-buy.
While the quality varies, they hit more consistently than any other publisher that is 'routinely' publishing. Their quality level is significantly higher than anyone else with a schedule.
Quote from: bryce0lynch;719119Accurate. Stroh is an insta-buy.
While the quality varies, they hit more consistently than any other publisher that is 'routinely' publishing. Their quality level is significantly higher than anyone else with a schedule.
Hey Bryce, great reviews. Question: Are you only reviewing DCC modules now or have you just been on a DCC kick lately?
When I went to GenCon 2013 I bought every module that looked remotely OSR. Because of that I ended up with A LOT of Frog God and 'new' DCC RPG modules. I went through and arranged the modules so I didn't review a single publisher twice in a row; that way leading to madness and burnout. Anyway, sheer numbers meant that I ended up with a pile of DCC and frog god at the end, and then finally a pile of just DCC. I just finished my last one though. I'm now moving on to things I picked up on an ad-hoc basis since then.
Quote from: bryce0lynch;719223When I went to GenCon 2013 I bought every module that looked remotely OSR. Because of that I ended up with A LOT of Frog God and 'new' DCC RPG modules. I went through and arranged the modules so I didn't review a single publisher twice in a row; that way leading to madness and burnout. Anyway, sheer numbers meant that I ended up with a pile of DCC and frog god at the end, and then finally a pile of just DCC. I just finished my last one though. I'm now moving on to things I picked up on an ad-hoc basis since then.
Ah, got ya! PM sent. Just don't forget about us little guys who can't afford GenCon! :)
The only DCC adventure I've run is
Sailors on the Starless Sea, and we only got halfway through it. A lot of fun, though.
I own and have read a number of others - here are the ones that I've enjoyed:
- Doom of the Savage Kings
- People of the Pit
- The Emerald Enchanter
- Beyond the Black Gate
These haven't left any real impression on me. Not awful but not inspirational.
- Jewels of the Carnifex
- The 13th Skull
- Emerikol was Framed
- Blades Against Death
- The Sea Queen Escapes
I have not been keeping up, but I was favourably impressed by some of the DCC materials released by Purple Duck Games (http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?cPath=9042). Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=25615) is neat, and In the Prison of the Squid Sorceror (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=26023), while a lot of its mini-adventures need extra work, has a lot of potential. Sepulcher of the Mountain God (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=25625), less so. And Through the Cotillion of Hours is very imaginative.
Generally, DCC adventures seem to be too enamoured with the 'funnel' idea, while Purple Duck's stuff takes things in a more interesting direction.
I haven't actually used any of the DCC modules; they're hard to come by around here. I'd love to get some as review copies, though after the huge hassle Goodman had in getting me the DCC core book I'd understand if they weren't interested.
i love them all but harley stroh is a genius.
btw, melan if i may correct you, gg dcc modules are not really funnel-focused. except for one (great sailors on starless sea) they are all for leveled characters.
I agree that Stroh is a great module author. My only minor criticism of the DCC module line is it's just a little too much. Trying to make a campaign out of the modules would be pretty crazy, every day is another Heavy Metal movie. I know that is kind of the point, but the rules could also support less gonzo S&S, just that's not reflected in the modules I've seen.
Quote from: CRKrueger;723527I agree that Stroh is a great module author. My only minor criticism of the DCC module line is it's just a little too much. Trying to make a campaign out of the modules would be pretty crazy, every day is another Heavy Metal movie. I know that is kind of the point, but the rules could also support less gonzo S&S, just that's not reflected in the modules I've seen.
I dunno. I think the whole DCC game and its modules are mostly meant (and suited for) play at conventions, not campaigns.
I used to think the same was true for Call of Cthulhu, but with DCC it's even more so