DCC seems like this weird gonzo take on AD&D, if it was remade from scratch.  It is one attractive option, via the core rulebook that has been printed and sold for years on end.  A complete game in one book. 

I display it side by side, with my AD&D books, because it's an heir of sorts.  I'm just waiting for the poor fellow who asks to play it.

Even if you don't want to support the company, many used copies exist.

To me it feels more like 3E on Acid...

I think Pundit has been running a DCC campaign for about 12 years, so it can sustain campaigns

If you mean legacy- it's ~15 years old, no 2e, just reprints (although they changed the language and newer prints seem of thinner paper stock. my 8th printing is built like a tank). I believe it's here to stay but can't see it coming close to mainstream

It's one of my most beloved systems

I feel like it is more than just a fever dream at this point, it completely became its own thing by now, a full blown waking vision-quest. Insane amounts of truly high quality material, system expansion into multiple different settings, active and productive community, just a well rounded beast.

I've been playing it actively since 2015 and, while I get that it isn't for everybody, I'm loving every moment of it.

I've been running a campaign in DCC for about 2yrs now. I really enjoy the setting. I have to agree with @a_wanderer about the new paper stock they are using and that it will never reach mainstream.

I am also a bit disappointed by their choice to move away from the OGL to a closed license (not that they moved away from the OGL, but that they chose to go with a closed license).

It is probably currently tied for my favorite system with Castles & Crusades (which I will note also moved away from the OGL to a closed license).

P.S. Edit: A question that comes to mind for me is; Do the games/companies (DCC/Goodman Games and C&C/Trolllords) have the ability to continue without their creators? Both are operated/owned by their creators and I have to image they will eventually want to retire and will inevitably pass.

Quote from: Man at Arms on December 17, 2024, 05:52:13 AMDCC seems like this weird gonzo take on AD&D, if it was remade from scratch.

"Seems like" is sort of an odd observation, as this is exactly the way it was advertised. (Well, OD&D and not AD&D.) Goodman's entire premise was to "go back to 1974" and remake original D&D, but with modern mechanics. He started this journey by taking the Gygax "Appendix N" of literary inspiration (from the AD&D DMG) and read everything on Gary's list. This inspired him to create the RPG.

It's a solid game system, but pretty gonzo in places. The spell tables seem pretty cumbersome, but can generate some pretty memorable effects depending upon the dice rolls. DCC is fundamentally a simple system (rules are something like 30 pages) but with a lot of twists and turns. Fighters, for example, can do a special action every turn if they want. The Goodman DCC modules (#66.5 and up) are highly innovative overall, with crazy new and unique monsters in each module. DCC RPG works well for one-shot adventures and for long-term campaigns.

I don't think it's anything like AD&D. For all the talk about Appendix N, nothing in DCC seems to actually fit those books, least of all not the 0th-level funnel crap which is the antithesis of sword and sorcery literature.

It comes off more like some moron thought he read Appendix N, completely missed the point, and made a game that doesn't at all fit what it's meant to portray. Because not one thing in DCC actually fits that. Sorcery doesn't work the way it does in DCC in sword and sorcery novels (his whole premise seems to be based on Sheelba and Ningauble from Lankhmar and they are extraplanar aliens, their mutations are not from being spellcasters since in one of the stories Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser face spellcasters who are basically just throwing lightning bolts from a balcony nonstop, without any issue at all, and in Conan sorcerers might make some deals with demonic powers but they aren't mutated), PCs are random dirt farmers who have to "earn" their levels, which isn't even close to a thing in the literary roots of the game, etc.

None of it seems to actually be what he's saying it is meant to be.

If you can't tell, DCC is one of the only RPGs that I actually loathe and think is completely worthless.

Quote from: finarvyn on December 17, 2024, 08:36:30 AM

Quote from: Man at Arms on December 17, 2024, 05:52:13 AMDCC seems like this weird gonzo take on AD&D, if it was remade from scratch.

"Seems like" is sort of an odd observation, as this is exactly the way it was advertised. (Well, OD&D and not AD&D.) Goodman's entire premise was to "go back to 1974" and remake original D&D, but with modern mechanics. He started this journey by taking the Gygax "Appendix N" of literary inspiration (from the AD&D DMG) and read everything on Gary's list. This inspired him to create the RPG.

finarvyn always drops wisdom!

The typically obvious clue as to whether something uses OD&D or AD&D as a base is if they use race-as-class. Since DCC has both an elf and a dwarf class, that'd be OD&D (or Basic D&D).
I generally find race as class less appealing, though the each race has sort of custom classes in ACKS (Adventurer, Conqueror, King) has always intrigued me. 

I finally picked up a copy of DCC this year at my FLGS, and it seems solid. If a friend was running it, I'd be very happy to play. There is a ton of content for DCC and it seems like you can just use any classic adventures for it too, which is a plus.

For whatever reason though, reading through it just made we want to play Hackmaster 5th. Which wasn't the reaction I anticipated because I have mostly pivoted to lighter systems.

Quote from: Nobleshield on December 17, 2024, 08:53:40 AMI don't think it's anything like AD&D. For all the talk about Appendix N, nothing in DCC seems to actually fit those books, least of all not the 0th-level funnel crap which is the antithesis of sword and sorcery literature.

No game portrays books accurately as books tend to only show the heroic parts. Games are not books and the comparison has more to do with the background world than the heroes themselves.

For all you know Conan went through a heroic funnel on his way out of Cimmeria and REH didn't write about it because his readers wouldn't give a crap about the other ten guys getting slaughtered. 

Quote from: Ruprecht on December 17, 2024, 11:02:05 AM

Quote from: Nobleshield on December 17, 2024, 08:53:40 AMI don't think it's anything like AD&D. For all the talk about Appendix N, nothing in DCC seems to actually fit those books, least of all not the 0th-level funnel crap which is the antithesis of sword and sorcery literature.

No game portrays books accurately as books tend to only show the heroic parts. Games are not books and the comparison has more to do with the background world than the heroes themselves.

For all you know Conan went through a heroic funnel on his way out of Cimmeria and REH didn't write about it because his readers wouldn't give a crap about the other ten guys getting slaughtered. 

If it wasn't written about, it didn't happen. Point remains that DCC has this ridiculous idea that's not in any of the sources. The funnel is probably the #1 reason I loath DCC, because it's garbage outside of very specific situations (maybe if everyone was a slave and escaping or lost on an island), and #2 is the awful "lol magic corrupts you" Warhammer bullshit which also isn't how magic actually works in sword & sorcery.

Quote from: Nobleshield on December 17, 2024, 11:14:35 AMThe funnel is probably the #1 reason I loath DCC, because it's garbage outside of very specific situations (maybe if everyone was a slave and escaping or lost on an island)

Yeah, but it's a game and this part of the game. It seems like you're mad that DCC isn't a S&S epic tale and instead an RPG that does stuff that might have no bearing on S&S epic tales.

This is the sort of disconnect I am tired of, people thinking that RPGs are fiction generators and not GAMES.

Quote from: Brad on December 17, 2024, 11:22:30 AM

Quote from: Nobleshield on December 17, 2024, 11:14:35 AMThe funnel is probably the #1 reason I loath DCC, because it's garbage outside of very specific situations (maybe if everyone was a slave and escaping or lost on an island)

Yeah, but it's a game and this part of the game. It seems like you're mad that DCC isn't a S&S epic tale and instead an RPG that does stuff that might have no bearing on S&S epic tales.

This is the sort of disconnect I am tired of, people thinking that RPGs are fiction generators and not GAMES.

No, I'm mad that DCC claims to try to emulate Appendix N, which is 100% a lie, and mostly in part due to that funnel shit which just seems like taking the piss. Even in D&D/AD&D PCs were a cut above average, not some dirt farmer.

If someone like that, more power to them. But it's why I won't touch that game or anything from Goodman with a 10 foot pole.

Quote from: Nobleshield on December 17, 2024, 11:23:52 AMNo, I'm mad that DCC claims to try to emulate Appendix N, which is 100% a lie

Fair enough.

No, Goodman Games does not have the capability to take on the AD&D mantle. 

Their spell rules are incredibly cumbersome and requires the players to have them in front of them when casting spells, that alone is stupid.  Its one thing to have a basic spell failure chat but a 100 of them is retarded.

Their crit chain with additional special dice is super retarded and a gimmick to get you to buy their dice.

Lastly, do you like sucking tranny clit at their conventions, you don't well you are a bigot.  Their rules for play are wokiest of woke.

Their older content be shifted into other RPG's easy enough and are playable.  But their rules are arse, their staff is arse and the company is arse.  It's red for a reason on the TTRPG guide.

Nobleshield, have you tried Barbarians of Lemuria (or Legend, the lighter version) and/or the Everywhen Sword & Sorcery Codex? Not trying to alter the entire thread, just asking one person a question.
As for DCC, it can be fun to run. I ran it in public for years at a bar as part of the Road Crew and the gonzo side can make for a raucous table.

DCC is a great game if you are at ease with its unpredictability and general Wolkswagen-van-airbrush-painting flavour.
 It is clearly not for everyone, I would recommend to try it first.
 The illustations are ultimately the best indicator of the feel of the game.