So all this talk about the recent DCC RPG got me to thinking about the whole Dungeon Crawl Classics series of adventure modules... I have zero experience with them.  Are any of them really good?  Which are the best of the bunch?

Were they all made for 3.x/D20, or are some of them actually made for old-school D&D?

RPGPundit

Some of them were republished for Castles and Crusades. These ones were generally pretty good.

There are about 70 of them.

Buy some, motherfucker.

Quote from: One Horse Town;549245There are about 70 of them.

Buy some, motherfucker.

Pretty much. I've read a few, and every single one of them had something I found interesting (whether we're talking about a base situation, some room or encounter setup in some dungeon, a map, something) and thought about using in an actual D&D game. I wouldn't say they're generally stellar (though I'm sure there are exceptions, in good and bad) in the way some early TSR or Judge's Guild modules are stellar, but there's always gaming value in picking them up, no doubt.

The one that came with the DCC RPG seems to be no exception to that experience of mine. I say you should totally check them out.

Quote from: RPGPundit;549241Were they all made for 3.x/D20, or are some of them actually made for old-school D&D?

We have done some for 1e and C&C, but nothing for true OD&D ... yet.

Most began as GenCon specials, that were later compiled for regular distribution.

QuoteLvl 1   The Golden Auroch / Tower of the Black Pearl   
Two level 1 adventures in "flip book" style

Lvl 1-6 Saga of the Rat King   
One of the most notorious villains returns in this 1E compilation!

Lvl 4 Saga of the Witch Queen   
A witch and her minions, lizardmen, secretive drow, and the icy reaches of the Northlands

Lvl 11-13   Iron Crypt of the Heretics   
Three mighty vaults: ingenious traps, deadly puzzles, devious undead, and strange animated magicks

Lvl 3-5 Talons of the Horned King
Special 1E version of Talons of the Horned King released at Gen Con 2009.

Found here:

http://www.goodman-games.com/dcc-modules1e.html

//H

Also Black Blade publishing has converted some of the DCCs to 1e. (I can't get their web page to load for some reason...)

//H

Quote from: One Horse Town;549245Buy some, motherfucker.

Going with some assumptions here, could you please throw down this line in a .wav or somesuch in what I can guess to be a sexy, English accent?  I want to put something like this as an e-mail alert or somesuch*

* Ideally, it'd be like, "...mail, motherfucker," or, "check this knowledge out, motherfucker."  You get the idea.

The early modules (1 through 52) are 3E based. Whether they are actually 3E ro 3.5 I don't know for certain. Some of these were specially re-done to be compatible with AD&D or C&C. I'd have to track down module numbers if you are really curious about this, but most 3E stuff can be converted to DCC without much problem.

The middle modules (53 through 66) are designed to go with 4E. I don't think these convert to DCC well.

The newer modules (66.5 and beyond) are fully compatible with the DCC RPG rules. I can't recall which ones are out yet since I have access to pre-release material and don't keep track of when they hit the game stores.

There are also a whole list of cool modules being prepared by 3PP companies. You can find a list here if you are interested.

Hopefully that helps.


EDIT: Don't listen to that Harley guy. He thinks that just because he writes most of this stuff that he knows what he's talking about. :-)

I've picked up the newest DCC specific mods, and any one of them is easily usable with any OSR game. They are also pretty damn good adventures.

Quote from: finarvyn;549852The early modules (1 through 52) are 3E based. Whether they are actually 3E ro 3.5 I don't know for certain. Some of these were specially re-done to be compatible with AD&D or C&C. I'd have to track down module numbers if you are really curious about this, but most 3E stuff can be converted to DCC without much problem.

The middle modules (53 through 66) are designed to go with 4E. I don't think these convert to DCC well.

The newer modules (66.5 and beyond) are fully compatible with the DCC RPG rules. I can't recall which ones are out yet since I have access to pre-release material and don't keep track of when they hit the game stores.

There are also a whole list of cool modules being prepared by 3PP companies. You can find a list here if you are interested.

Hopefully that helps.


EDIT: Don't listen to that Harley guy. He thinks that just because he writes most of this stuff that he knows what he's talking about. :-)

Thanks for this clarification about which ones are for which system, anyways!

RPGPundit

Dumping Ground Classics, I calls em.

Most of them are shit. I played in a couple. There are some good ones, but I only read them, didn't play or run them.

Don't ask me which ones, I don't remember.

I'm sure you can find a way to preview them.

I found most of these modules hit-or miss, mostly mediocre and with some really bad stuff (Bloody Jack's Gold, one of the most uninspired modules I have seen, graced by one of the best covers). They were packaged to appeal to old school players, but they were typically characterised by excessive linearity, over-templated 3e-style monsters (mechanics for mechanics' sake) and comparatively less interesting situations and location centred mostly on combat. I gave away most of my copies.

However, from the selection I have bought, Legacy of the Savage Kings and Into the Wilds were both relatively open, half-wilderness-half-dungeon scenarios. I think these learned the right lessons from Keep on the Borderlands, and have good, iconic moments with interesting variety. One is mostly concerned with a crypt, while the second with KotB-style humanoid lairs. Harley Stroh wrote both ot these, so it may be worthwhile checking out other modules of his.

I do not have any experience with the DCC RPG modules, but I am interested about hearing from people who own them. They have great art, but 1) I am not interested in the funnel concept so that's not a selling point for me; 2) they seem as linear as ever.

I just put it together that you are *the* Melan. Great article.

http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/dnd/dungeonmaps.html

//H

Thanks!