Showing posts with label Dungeon Crawl Classics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeon Crawl Classics. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Last Night's Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventure: Spine Eaters from Hell!

The sad demise of Kragrock Hornhelm the dwarf miner and Jamril the animal trainer.



In our continuing Roll20 Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel adventure on Monday evening, the vengeful townsfolk of Coverdale pressed their pitchfork and torch assault on the Tower of Cyclopentaxor.
The overland map

Having slain the baby-headed rat demons creatures that were infesting the basement storeroom and having burned their nests, the party discovered a chamber with a trapdoor in the floor.

The Tower Cellar


Suspended from the ceiling directly over the trapdoor was a mysterious blue sphere, and similar pale white spheres were suspended over each of the four doors to the chamber.
The battle map

Kragrock Hornhelm, the dwarf miner, bravely strode forth and grasped the iron ring of the trapdoor.  As he began to raise the portal though, the blue sphere dropped from the ceiling, sprouting eight pointy legs and a fanged trunk as it fell.  With uncharacteristic agility, Kragrock managed to roll out of the way of this descending horror and sprang to his feet with his trusty pick ready for battle.  Sadly, the creature was quicker than Kragrock and speared him through the chest with its fanged trunk, spraying Kragrock's compatriots with dwarf blood and fragments of dwarf spine.

Kragrock buys the dirt mine
The party swarmed the beast and managed to defeat it without taking any more serious damage (my dice had gone seriously cold after killing poor Kragrock).  Jones the halfling chicken butcher, wielding the obviously cursed blade that had been transforming his body into something distinctly non-halfling, managed a critical hit and immediately doubled over, his body wracked by yet another transformation.
The cursed blade

Flush with victory, the party almost failed to notice that the white spheres above the doorways had begun to descend.  Gripped by indecision about whether to go though the trapdoor or to engage these new foes, the party hesitated until the white sphere were just above the doorways.  Jamril the animal trainer was the first to act, striding confidently toward the sphere nearest to him with his weapon drawn.  Unfortunately, Jamril's attack had little effect, and as the sphere neared chest height, a fanged trunk emerged from its smooth surface and tore through poor Jamril killing him instantly and once more showering the party with bits of spine.

And the other spheres continued to descend...

Thus ended another glorious evening.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Campaign map

While looking for a different file, I came across this map for a campaign that I never ran.  I had completely forgotten about it, but now I'm thinking that I may need to recycle this for my next DCC game.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Life (and death) in the DCC funnel

Here is a quick illustration that I did to explain the DCC funnel to my group. :-)

Friday, August 11, 2017

Miniatures: Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom III Kickstarter



     Alright, there are just 10 days left to get in on +Darcy Perry 's latest Kickstarter Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom III!  Both of his previous miniatures Kickstarter's have been fantastic.  This guy has talent.  I won't rehash all of the details of the previous campaigns here, but here are links to my review of Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom I and to a preview that I did for Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom II.  Those will give you a lot more detail, but just let me say that Darcy makes some great miniatures, and both previous Kickstarters have been right on time.  
     These are excellent miniatures for any fantasy game, but I particularly love them for Dungeon Crawl Classics.  If  +Goodman Games is ever planning on doing an official line of DCC miniatures, then +Darcy Perry is the guy that they should look to for the sculpting!  I mean, just look at these miniatures:
Miniatures from the first Kickstarter

Miniatures from the second Kickstarter

     Oh, and did I mention the Beholder with an optional party hat?  Or the Dragon?  Yes, if funding reaches $10k NZ, there will be a dragon add-on available...
     Also, there is a pledge option of around $370 US where he will sculpt a custom miniature for you!  That pledge level is limited, and there are only 3 left.  If someone doesn't claim those last slots, I may need to scrape together some more cash and subject my gaming group to a Skullsword miniature. ;-)
Let's be honest guys.  Nobody wants to see that, so hurry up and get on board while there is still time!

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Purple Sorcerer Games 2017 Free Tools Pledge Drive


There are just over 5 days left in the 2017 Purple Sorcerer Games Free Tools Pledge Drive.  If you are a Dungeon Crawl Classics fan, this should be a no-brainer.  If you aren't, well then you should be. ;-)  Purple Sorcerer makes some incredible RPG tools.  The free 0 level DCC PC generator alone would be enough, but add in the iOS and Android Crawler's Companion, or the Demon Generator, the Dragon Generator, or any of the other free tools that are available, and it's tough not to part with a few coins to support +Jon Marr in his efforts.  So come on guys, if you can afford it, reach into your coin pouches and send some gold pieces (or silver pieces) over to help support these tools!

Skull Sword Compels you to spread the word! :-)


Saturday, January 21, 2017

The last two weeks was great at the post box!

Not only did my leatherbound Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook arrive, but also my Sons of Gygax t-shirt (which sadly no longer seems to be available), an absolutely fabulous Patreon installment by +Tim Shorts (if you haven't check out his Patreon, you really should), and the latest edition of Crawling Under a Broken Moon by +Reid San Filippo .    Hooray for January!

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Now that's a book!

My DCC 4th printing Kickstarter rewards arrived today from +Goodman Games !  I'm so happy that I sprung for the leatherbound edition.  Number 85 of 400.  It is one sweet book.  Check out that awesome +Doug Kovacs cover!  It's got a place waiting for it beside my Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection.
This is indeed a tome.

Signed to boot!
I haven't even mentioned all of the extras that came with it.  The pad of zero level character sheets is amazing too.  A fantastic game and a fantastic Kickstarter!

Friday, June 24, 2016

Mutant Crawl Classics! (Links and video included)


It's here!  It's here!  The KickStarter for Mutant Crawl Classics is finally live!  There are 3 options, PDF only, PDF + Color Hardcover, and PDF + Foil Hardcover.  I've been waiting for this ever since the game was announced.  I'm a huge Dungeon Crawl Classics fan and a big fan of the old Gamma World system, so this one was a no-brainer for me.  Awesome +Doug Kovacs artwork certainly doesn't hurt!  Delivery isn't estimated until June 2017, so I guess that I'll need to be patient.  I got mine, who else has pledged?

Saturday, June 11, 2016

An Opportunity to Support Purple Sorcerer Games


Purple Sorcerer Games provides some awesome free RPG tools.  Now is your chance to help support them and help them to keep up the good work.  Plus, any donation will get you a PDF copy of their adventure Perils of the Sunken City.  Donations of $25 or more will get you even more of their PDFs.  I absolutely love their Android/iOS app The Crawler's Companion, and while it's got a lot of stuff in it specifically for Dungeon Crawl Classics, I think it makes a great dice roller for any game.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

The Ultimate Grimtooth's Trap Collection has finally arrived! (First Impressions)


I've been excitedly awaiting the arrival of my copy of Grimtooth's Traps from the Goodman Games Kickstarter, and yesterday, it was waiting for me on the porch!  Sadly, the condition of the shipping box did not bode well...
This looks Grim...Get it?  :-)
I could see the contents through the hole in the box, and there looked to be at least some damage to the contents.  My excitement quickly turned to dread.  Thankfully, I had ordered the slipcover edition and upon opening the box discovered that the damage was limited to one corner of the slipcover case.
Not too badly damaged after all.
Not too bad really, but still a bit disappointing.  Of course it's not Goodman Games' fault that the postal service dropped the box out of a tree or something.  :-)  They've shipped me dozens of things of the years that showed up without issue, so I suppose I was overdue for something like this.  The damage is only cosmetic, and probably not worse than what would have happened over years of use.  I do hope though that my leather-bound edition of DCC 4th edition comes wrapped in bubblewrap or something.  :-)
The good news is that the book itself is in great shape and the binding feels fantastic.  I was a bit concerned about such a large book (620 pages), but the binding is solid, it opens nicely, and it lays surprisingly flat for its size.  The pages are heavy and will probably stand up to a lot of flipping, which you will no doubt be doing in order to find the perfect death trap.  Plain and simple, it's a quality book.
For those of you who may not be familiar with Grimtooth, the book is a book of traps.  Mainly death traps.  Nasty, tricky traps, the kind that make you late for dinner...forever.  The book compiles all five of the original Grimtooth's Traps books as well as new material.  If you need a trap for your dungeon, this is a great place to look.
Honestly, this might be the thing that I'm most excited about...

The accompanying Module Grimtooth's Museum of Death,(a module done specifically for Dungeon Crawl Classics) looks to be a fun little romp through the notorious Grimtooth's base of operations.  The module is for first level characters but the introduction amusingly states that:

"This adventure is designed for 20 to 30 Twenty-seventh level characters accompanied by a host of 50 seasoned mercenaries, 200 hirelings, 3 ox-drawn carts loaded with chickens, wooden poles cut to varying lengths, and several siege weapons" 


It's quite a beefy book!

Good stuff.  I'd like to run my gaming group through this as a one-off, and if I do, I'll post about how it goes.  Overall, shipping issues aside, I'm very happy that it has arrived in my hands.  It is a lovely book that compiles all of the previous editions and then some into a single giant tome.  If there is a drawback to it, it might be that it is so large that I would probably get a hernia trying to take it to gaming sessions.  Of course it's really a design tool to be kept hidden from the prying eyes of players lest the surprise be lost, so that's really not a problem.  If you love traps, I would highly recommend picking up a copy when it becomes available for regular sale.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

DCC Magic Item:The Mutilating Battleaxe of the Frog

This oddly shaped battleaxe was created by the ancient frog god Umha as a reward for one of his most powerful frogman champions.  The axe is forged from a strange greenish metal which is lighter than steel and is resistant to all corrosive forces.  The axe imparts supernatural jumping abilities on the wielder, allowing them to leap a distance equal to their normal movement (30' for humans and Elves, 20' for dwarves and halflings).  In combat the axe acts as a +2 magical weapon doing 1d10+2 damage.  If the wielder scores a critical hit with the axe, the critical hit is rolled normally, but there is a chance that the axe will inflict additional mutilation to the victim.  Roll on the Additional Mutilation Table below:

Additional Mutilation Table:

d% roll    Effect
1-40         None
41-45       Right Hand Severed
46-50       Left Hand Severed
51-55       Right Foot Severed
56-60       Left Foot Severed
61-65       Right Leg Severed
66-70       Left Leg Severed
71-75       Right Arm Severed
76-80       Left Arm Severed
81-85       Right Ear Severed
86-90       Left Ear Severed
91-95       Nose Cut Off
96-00       Genitals Severed (if applicable) otherwise treat as None

As with many magic items created by the ancient gods, this one comes with a price.  Each time the axe inflicts an additional mutilation (any effect other than None), there is a chance the the frog god Umha will notice the wielder of the axe and grant him or her a "blessing".  Roll on the Blessings of Umha Table below:

Blessings of Umha Table:

d% roll    Effect*
1-95         Umha does not notice.  No effect
96            Wielder's legs are transformed into the rear legs of a frog
97            Wielder's left arm is transformed into the forearm of a frog
98            Wielder's right arm is transformed into the forearm of a frog
99            Wielder's body is transformed into the body of a frog
00            Wielder's head is transformed into the head of a frog (normal speech not possible)

* All transformations are proportional in size to the victim's original size.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

New Threads

Well, I didn't make it to Gary Con, but my new DCC shirt showed up yesterday, and it's pretty sweet.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot (Cursed? Magic Item for DCC)


     My random magic item generator spat out "The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot" yesterday.  I liked the name, so I decided to illustrate it and write it up just for fun.

The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot

    The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot is an artifact from an ancient kingdom whose history is lost in the mists of time.  The scythe is an unstable and dangerous weapon for both friend and foe alike.  Its blade is made from a shimmering greenish metal, and the crimson runes which adorn it are of an alien origin, resembling no known language.  A deep violet aura surrounds the blade providing an eerie light equal to that of a torch.

     The scythe acts as a magical polearm and requires two hands to wield.  It deals 1d10 + 3 damage on a successful hit, but the cutting damage of the blade is only the beginning.  Upon a successful hit, the target must make a Willpower save or suffer additional terrible effects.  If the target fails their save, they must roll on the effects table below.  Regardless of the target's save results, they still suffer the weapon's normal damage.

     If the target makes their saving throw however, the power of the scythe will be channeled back to the wielder, and the wielder will be required to make a Willpower save to avoid the scythe's baleful effects.  Failure to save requires a roll on the table below.

Effects Table (d100):

01-25 : Victim is stunned for 1 round and all attacks against them are made at +1

26-50 : Victim is blinded for 1d4 rounds

51-70 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-3: Minor Corruption (All results are permanent)

71-85 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-4: Major Corruption (All results are permanent)

86-95 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-5: Greater Corruption (All results are permanent)

96-99 : Victim is engulfed in a flash of green radiation and obliterated

00 : Bothe the wielder and the target are obliterated by the scythe's radiation

     Of course, no one in their right mind would use this thing, but I can imagine it causing a bit of fun in a zero level funnel...

Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Fish Slide Chamber


Back in the early spring of this year, I ran a Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel adventure of my own design.  The crux of the adventure was a treasure hunt in the tower of a long dead wizard.  The tower was on a small island just offshore, and a motley collection of candle makers, cobblers, and gong farmers braved its mysterious depths.  One of my favorite rooms was the fish slide chamber, which I've tried to represent here with only a modest level of success.  I'll leave it up to your imagination where the slides lead...

Sunday, November 29, 2015

The cover for a new 0 level funnel adventure that I'm working on for DCC.

Although, it's not something that I'd ever publish, I still felt the need to have a cover picture. :-)  The last Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel that I wrote was a bit long and would probably have worked better as a level 1 adventure.  This time around I'm looking to create a tighter adventure involving a group of foolish peasants seeking revenge on the Sorcerer who destroyed their village.  Not a terribly original concept,  I'll admit, but I'm hoping that it will be fun in any case.  Out of curiosity, how many encounters (including monsters, tricks and traps) do folks generally put in their 0 level adventures?

Sunday, November 22, 2015

My Game.

   
     Over that past few years, I've been working to whittle down my RPG collection, purging the games that I will never play.  Over the four decade that I've been gaming, I certainly collected a lot of different RPGs, some of which I've actually played, but many of why just took up shelf space.  This really got me thinking about the question of, "What is my game?", and what do I even mean by "My Game."  By "My Game", I'm talking about the game that I think in terms of regardless of what game I'm actually playing.  This isn't to say that I compare other games to it and find them wanting, but rather that it is the game that permeates my consciousness like a native language.  The game that I dream in, so to speak.    
     Way back in the day, circa 1979, the answer to this question would have been Dungeons & Dragons, as that was the game that I played the most and the one which informed my view of roleplaying as a whole.  As time went on, I found myself wanting more, and I was exposed to more varied systems.  I found other games that spoke to me more than D&D, games that let me do things beyond the strictures imposed by that venerable system.  By the time that I was in college, "My Game" was the Hero System.  It gave me free range to create almost anything that I could think of, provided that I had the time and energy to do the math.
     After college, real life intervened, and I gamed less for a good while, but I kept buying RPGs since I had a job and could better afford them.   However, I would still look at everything through he Hero System lens.  As I got back into gaming, and played newer systems, I found many to be very enjoyable.  Savage Worlds is now one of may favorite systems.  I love that I can create adventures quickly and get a session going without hours upon hours of preparation.  Also, I think that Savage Worlds works really well for the types of games that I like to run (Barbarians wandering around the wastelands killing evil wizards).  I'm also a big fan of the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.  I love the zero level funnel idea and the whole "You're not heroes" vibe, plus Goodman games puts out some great supplements and has amazing artwork.  Far Away Land is also a great rules light system with some wonderful art and some really fun adventures.
     If I were to run a game today, it would probably be Savage worlds, DCC, or Far Away Land, yet I can't call any one of them, "My Game".  "My Game" to this day  is still the Hero System, even though I haven't played it in over a decade, and very likely will never play it again.  I can't create a monster or a magic items for another system without at least vaguely thinking, "How would I create this in Hero?"  So, what is your game?  What system do you find yourself thinking in terms of even when you aren't playing it, and do you still play it? 

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Goodman Games has the best mailing labels

Honestly, To: and From: labels that form a laser battle!  What could be better than that?  Every time I get a product from Goodman Games, it's actually hard for me to throw the mailing envelopes away.  Just another way that they add extra fun to their products.  Well done guys!

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Some Film Inspiration for your Dungeon Crawling Enjoyment


Several years ago, I came across a lesser known German horror film from 1967 luridly entitled The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism.  As it starred Christoper Lee, and as I am a notorious sucker for bad horror flicks, I was of course obliged to watch it.  While the film falls squarely into the realm of gothic horror, I found that it provides great dungeon crawl inspiration as well.  Let's start with the characters who feel almost as if they were rolled up from a Dungeon Crawl Classics zero level table.  We have a Nobleman, a music teacher, a priest/highwayman, and a serving girl.  These three embark upon an overland journey by carriage to a mysterious castle which is said to be ruined, and about which the locals refuse to speak.  Their journey takes them through a phantasmagoric landscape of blood red skies and a forest where human limbs sprout from the trees, and dead bodies line the roadway.  Upon arriving at the castle they find that much like many classic dungeons, it turns out to be a ruin where only the dungeons below remain.  Descending into the dungeon, the heroes find themselves in a maze of twisting passages filled with secret door and falling portcullises.  Disturbing frescoes festoon the walls, and skulls abound.  The characters are obliged to explore this underworld by torchlight and encounter things like huge buzzards, a zombie, and an axe wielding vampire along with a multitude of deadly traps.  A pit trap opens beneath one of the daring explorers.  A sleep gas trap knocks a character out.  A retracting walkway threatens to drop one of the characters into a pit filled with poisonous serpents.  Now all of these things don't make for a great movie, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying, but the set design is great and it really got me in the mood to do some dungeon designing.  For those interested in checking it out, the film is currently available on Amazon Video, and it's free to Amazon Prime members.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Grimtooth is back!

This morning, I discovered the Kickstarter PDF of the new Grimmtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection in my inbox.  I've been a fan of Grimtooth's Traps for years, and still have copies of the first two around here somewhere.  I'm glad that Goodman Games decided to do this.  It really is perfect for Dungeon Crawl Classics.  I can't wait until the print version arrives!  ;-)

Monday, March 23, 2015

Free Map: Colorful Caves


     Here is a small map that I drew on a rainy day several months back for use in a game that I still haven't gotten around to running.  Originally, it was a black and white map on graph paper.  I've since taken the time to color it, and am pretty happy with how it turned out.  It's got some standard cavern things, stalagmites, an underground stream, a waterfall, a fountain with an eerie green obelisk, and of course some giant mushrooms. :-)  
     Fell free to take it, use it as is, or change it however you see fit.  Stock it with monsters, treasure, and nefarious traps, or stock it with unicorns, rainbows, and spun sugar.  Whatever you fee like.  So break out your favorite roleplaying game rules, whether it'sTunnels and Trolls, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Far Away Land or anything else you're in to.  If anyone does use it to create ann adventure, please feel free to link to your creation in the comments area, I'd love to see your work.

If you enjoy this may, feel free to check out the rest of my blog for more stuff: