REV.

DAK
dungeon master

ISSUE No. 8, Free! Appendix N covers 20 Campaign Questions GM Questionaire A view on D&D Next Converting Magic Items to DCC RPG

DCC RPG PDF is out!

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REV.DAK
dungeon master
CONTENTS
DM's Notes - 4 Appendix N Covers - 5 20 Campaign Questions - 6 GM Questionaire - 8 A View on D&D Next - 12 Converting Magic Items to DCC RPG - 13
DESIGNED AND WRITTEN BY REVEREND DAK PRINTED BY STRAYCOUCHES PRESS
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ART BY COUNT SPATULA, JINGLES & REV. DAK

DM's Notes:

Why a good set of Core Rules are important.

The game I play is what I like to call My D&D. It's my version of D&D which is a hodge-podge frankenSystem of rules. But the thing that keeps it My D&D is what happens behind the DM screen. Most of the house rules, exceptions and changes are completely invisible to the players. Anything I add to character

generation has to be in addition to the core rules. My current set of core rules are the Dungeon Crawl Classics BETA rules. PCs are built using the rules as written, and any house rules are compatible with and "plug-in" to those rules. This allows someone to make a character, using the rules, and bring it to my game. So for a players purposes, they'll make a DCC RPG character. For about 6 months before DCC, it was Swords & Wizardry. This is why Classic & Advanced D&D were the best version of D&D to me. The core rules were designed to be core rules, and any additional things you want to add, like Non-weapon Proficiencies or Skills, or psionics, etc, were optional. That's what makes a good core system. 3e went overboard. They made things that I wasn't interested in, part of the core rules. Feats are not how I want to do fancy tricks. I never used non-weapon proficiencies in Unearthed Arcana or whatever they were called in 2nd Edition, so why would I want to use skills now? If I wanted a skill system I'd play another system. Classes are shorthand for what your character can do, races & background are factors that bring depth to those classes. That's all I needed to figure out if someone can climb a cliff, pick a lock, or hunt some deer. D&D Next has the opportunity to become my core-rules. So far they've promised HP, HD, AC, To-hit, Classes, Levels and Ability Scores--awesome. But will it be compatible with my what I'm using now? - Rev. Dak 4

Appendix N Collection:

Over at the Goodman Games Forums, we're sharing our Appendix N

This is my humble collection. I threw in some Flashing Swords for kicks, since most of the authors in those collections were Appendix N. While Swords & Dark Magic is a more contemporary book, it features new Cugal & Elric adventures. - Rev. Dak

20 Campaign Questions
Ability scores generation

From Untimately Zine as they pertain to my current campaign:

How are death and dying handled? Zero HP make a Luck check, DC 15, three fails you die. method? 3d6 in order.

What about raising the dead? No one has tried. But there would probably be a quest involved, and lots of blood spilled.

How are replacement PCs handled? Roll 3 zero leveled guys, level the best to the same as the lowest level PC in the party. Initiative: individual, group, or something else? Individual, d20 style. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? Yes, DCC rules as written. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? Not yet! But I've heard some good ideas. Will probably do something like this: Helmet will be -1 on "perception" type checks, but protect you from one CRIT per session or encounter.

Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? Yes. DCC RAW. 50% to hit an adjacent creature if you miss your target. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? Run.

Level-draining monsters: yes or no? No. Permanent stat drain, yes. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? Yes.

How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? Story dependent.

What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? Gold can be spent for XP as training.Spells found, from scrolls or books, can be usable when leveling permits. PCs can level after being issued XP. 6

What do I get experience for? Whenever I give em, typically after fights or other challenges.

How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? Logical combination of the two.

Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? Retainers, yes. They're basically 0-level characters, that can level and become full fledged characters if their master wants. Morale is a Will save. How do I identify magic items? With a spell, research, usage or finding an expert. There aren't many, so when they get one, the Wizard or Elf can try and identify it.

Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? No, no. Can I create magic items? When and how? When you get a spell that allows you to. What about splitting the party? Be my guest. Players are welcome to do whatever they want, but the more experienced ones tend to live by the code, "Never split the party." Advertisement

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GM Questionaire

My response to a questionaire on DND WITH PORNSTARS.

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be? I havent been very innovative, apparently. Most of the things I thought I came up with were been there, done that. Maybe this: I dont use a DM screen, so I roll multiple dice and never tell anyone which is the one that matters. 2. When was the last time you GMed? Last Thursday 3. When was the last time you played? About a year ago.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to. The adventurers get ship-wrecked on a mysterious island...is it going to be Gilligan's Island? or LOST?

5. What do you do while you wait for players to do things? Get another beer, pee, or eat. 6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play? Whatever junk-food my players bring to the game, or dinner I make myself. 7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting? Not really. Im pretty amped when I GM. Does this mean I can GM harder?

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing? Me, and a couple other characters, destroyed an artifact we were actually supposed to retrieve. Um, basically doing the job for the badguys, destroying the world--seriously. 9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither? Nah, I GM a pretty gonzo game, but no one has tried to break it.. I stick to Sword & Sorcery tropes and try to keep things scary, they seem to really enjoy it. There are some stupid PC names, but I tend to make stupid names myself.

10. What do you do with goblins? I re-skinned them as little peon lizard-like people. I dont give my monsters proper names, I let the party name them. 11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)? Oh, I do this with all kinds of movies. The last movie I ripped off was Rare Exports (dude, check it out.) It features hordes of naked santas and a giant horned end-monster. It was my X-mas/New Years adventure special.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now? A halfling forgot about a trap, and sprung it, getting himself teleported across the house into a death-trap, all while the naked santas were invading their stronghold. Someone had to run across the house to let him out or hed die from some poisonous gas. 13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it? Isle of the Unknown from LotFP/McKinney, Im thinking of having the adventurers get ship-wrecked on this island.

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator? Bill Sienkiewicz, I wish hed do RPG art.. 15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid? Id like to think so. I really dont know. I do try and get players invested in their characters, and try to kill them.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever) The past year has been a blast, and its been mostly pre-written mods. I hack a bit. My players arent afraid of breaking modules, and I encourage it. They broke my X-mas adventure. They never went to the dungeon, so I brought the monsters to them. 17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in? On a hill, over-looking a desert. Or in the middle of a dry lake bed.

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be? Drinking UNO & Video Games

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be? 80s adventure movies (Buckaroo Banzai & Big Trouble in Little China) and Glen Cook/Black Company novels. 20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table? I like newbies that are just learning the game, they dont have any expectations. Experienced players that respect and enjoy different GM styles are awesome too.

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms? Sports, specifically hockey. Skating & shooting pucks, defending, etc. I dont think I even wrote it down though. 22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't? Real healing potions, is this what you mean? An electronic dice roller that doesnt suck would be awesome. 23. Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go? My GF, she kind of gets it, is sort of interested, but intimidated. Thats mostly my fault because sometimes I assume that some tropes are universally known. Shes highly educated, and Im assuming again, so she thinks role-playing belongs in a classroom as a school exercise of some sort, instead of a game or lets pretend. This is where the assumed tropes cause problems. She's mostly shy. - Rev. Dak

10

A View on the New Edition of D&D

A new edition of D&D was inevitable. Currently being dubbed the "next edition", the 40th Anniversary of the game is in 2 years. Ample time for 4e fanboys to finish their campaigns, and plenty of time for WotC to play-test and finalize what may possibly be the Ne Plus Ultra edition of the game. I'm looking forward to it. I love D&D, I call my game D&D, but it's basically the BETA rules of DCC RPG with a couple rules from various OSR games such as LotFP & S&W, which means it is essentially a bit of 3e and 0e with some house rules, made up, forgotten and used on the fly. That's how I roll, and how I plan to run my home campaign for now on. There is nothing wrong with that, and Mike Mearl's statement validates it (not that we need it): "We want a game that rises above differences of play styles, campaign settings, and editions, one that takes the fundamental essence of D&D and brings it to the forefront of the game. In short, we want a game that is as simple or complex as you please, its action focused on combat, intrigue, and exploration as you desire. We want a game that is unmistakably D&D, but one that can easily become your D&D, the game that you want to run and play." D&D wasn't my only game. When 3.0 first came out, it only marked my return to the hobby. (I started playing D&D with the Holmes edition in 1979.) These new rules were so robust and complete, I didn't want to learn another game, so I stuck to just d20 varients to get my super-spy, sci-fi, horror & super-heroes in. It worked fine. Then I started to play games other than d20. While I whole-heartedly adopted 4e, ran some RPGA "Living" campaigns and Encounters, and honestly enjoyed 4e for a couple years. This helped me refine what I wanted in an RPG. I felt something was wrong with 4e, something that I've never been able to pin-point, much-less explain in a blog post. Then Essentials came out, it changed the rules and made previous 11

books obsolete, emphasised the web-based materials and

basically forced me to look elsewhere to get "my D&D." Then I discovered that Older Editions (OSR) were not only being played, but being supported through un-official channels and retroclones. I fell in love with the game, all over again. For the past year I've been playing the D&D I want to play, and it ain't 4e, it ain't even really 3e. My previous obsession with "official" rules were gone, my obsession became playing the game I wanted to play, and access to Older Editions (official and their simulacra) gave me a robust toolbox to do this. 4e basically forced you to play one way. The Next Edition promises another set of these tools. To officially use as I see fit. And I'm stoked. You can cool it now...

12

Converting to DCC: Part 1, Enchanted Items

This is the first in a series converting old D&D modules to Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.

In my ongoing Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG beta campaign Ive used primarily pre-made adventures made for older editions of D&D, some OSR adventures and the Free RPG Day DCC adventure, The Portal Under the Stars. When running pre-made adventures you come across tons of magic items as treasures. I ignored any mundane +1 items and potions and gave the goldpiece equivalent for most things. With the story specific items, I decided to convert them to be as dynamic and dangerous as spells are in the DCC game. I stuck with the following principles: Magic is dangerous. It throws off the natural balance of all existence. Its fickle and unpredictable. The more powerful the magic, the more dangerous it is to wield it. There is nothing mundane about magic, including magic items. A 1-level Enchanted Item should be no more powerful than a 1-level spell.

Each time it is activated, there will be an activation check, typically a d20 roll modified by class level and/or appropriate ability modifier. It should have at-least 3 levels of effects: A misfire (typically a natural 1), usually resulting in a corruption, disapproval or fumble. A failure (typically 10 or less), usually resulting in lesser or no effect. And a successful activation (usually 11 or more.) Modifiers to the activation roll and restrictions can depend on the nature of the item, and related to abilities, class and/or alignment. Any spell-caster can identify a magic item on a successful Spell Check, modified by caster level. DC = 15+Item Level. These are a couple that I came up with. Theyre both items found in pre-made adventures as noted at the end. 13 A standardized format.

The Shadowgem, 3-level arcane enchanted item.

DC 18 to identify: The shadowgem is a large black jewel the size of a small childs fist. It can only be used by Chaotic elf or wizards. When activated a shadow emerges from the gem to the wielders bidding.

Shadow: Init +4; Atk +2 melee (dmg 1d4+special); AC 13; HD 2D8+2; SP incorporeal (non magical damage inflicts only 1 hp damage); SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +0; AL C; XP 35. Activation: Chaotic Elf & Wizards only, d20+caster level. Check 3 or less Effect

4-14

15-23

Youre doing it wrong. No effect.

Uh oh, misfire! Roll 1d6 modified by luck: (1 or less) Shadow is angry and attacks the wielder and their allies until destroyed. (2-3) Shadow is angry and attacks the wielder and their allies for 1d4 rounds before returning to gem. (4-5) Shadow is annoyed and attacks the wielder once before returning to the gem. (6 or more) Shadow is busy and can't be summoned for another turn.

24+

Scrying Ball, 3-level arcane enchanted item.

I brought some friends. Summons 1d3 shadows for 1 turn.

Who do I need to kill? Summon one shadow for 1 turn. The shadow attacks the wielders opponents to the best of its abilities until commanded, the gem is destroyed or shadow is slain.

DC 18 to identify: This crystal globe emits an ongoing light. When activated, a wizard or elf can view the location he has seen or has reference to (e.g., can view a creature whose lock of hair he possesses).

Activation: Elf & wizards, d20+caster level. Other classes, d16+Intelligence modifier. All, -2 penalty for each consecutive use in a day. 14

Check

3 or less

Effect

4-14

15-23 24+

Reply hazy, try again.

Outlook not so good. Roll 1d6 modified by luck: (1 or less) The wielder and their surroundings are visible before the subject or in the location being viewed. Spell check, DC 15, to turn it off. (2-3) An alien countenance looks back at the wielder! The extraplanar being casts a geas or minor curse upon the wielder. (4-5) The extraplanar being says and does nothing. (6 or more) Subject, or subjects at a location, has feeling that theyre being watch.

You may rely on it. Viewing effect lasts for 1d6 rounds. It is certain. Viewing effect lasts for 1d6 turns.

Notes: The Shadowgem is from Out of the Shadows by Jesse Walker from Encounter Magazine No.2. The Scrying Ball is from The Portal Under the Stars by Joseph Goodman from Dungeon Crawl Classic RPG Free RPG Day 2011 Adventure Starter. Im open for suggestions, comments and ideas. Let me know what you think.

15

It's happening. I'm

Crawl! A fanzine for DCC RPG

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making a zine for DCC RPG. It's fully licensed to be compatible with DCC RPG and the first issue is being proofed and drafted right now. What is Crawl!? It's a fanzine. It'll be produced as a short, digest sized pamphlet. It'll be hand-made and stapled. It'll be just like your punk-rock anarchist zine. But instead of tape and clue, it'll be lay-out using state-of-the-art Desktop Publishing software... not really. I'm using Scribus, which is Open Source Software. It will be folded and stapled by hand, probably by me. It will be available exclusively in this zine format. Which is perfect to use at your table.

It'll have some good shit, I promise. The art is awesome and original and by members of my weekly DCC campaign. The articles will be written by me and hopefully YOU! Open submissions will start in March. The first issue will be out in April. And I'm really excited about it. Check out the website at http://www.crawlfanzine.com/ for updates, teasers and pre-order info.