2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimoire

DCC has inspired many folks to produce their own supplements and adventures for the game. This is the place for discussion of all 3PP products for DCC RPG.

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smathis
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by smathis »

New blogpost up on the blog: Land of Phantoms: Tales From the Tomb
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by smathis »

And another new post up on the blog: Mad, Mad Libs.

This one describes the random character "background" generator and what a finished character would look (or read) like in TATG.

It's been a fairly popular addition to the Character Creation chapter.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by GnomeBoy »

smathis wrote:It's been a fairly popular addition to the Character Creation chapter.
...because it's just an insanely good idea.
...
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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GnomeBoy wrote:...because it's just an insanely good idea.
Thanks, GB!

Some good news over at the blog.

Summary: Draft is done. Proofreading now...
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by Hoplitenomad »

There was an update to " Winter Home" on 7-29-13. It was listed on the blog but not here.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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Hoplitenomad wrote:There was an update to " Winter Home" on 7-29-13. It was listed on the blog but not here.
That's true. My bad on that. I cleaned up a couple of things that came up in playtests and added a male Valiant and female Hunter to the pre-gens.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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What?! A free version of TATG?!

All will be revealed over at the blog:

http://landofphantoms.blogspot.com/2013 ... g.html?m=1
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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Double post. My bad.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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The update that's promising but not incredibly substantial has been posted at the blog.

http://landofphantoms.blogspot.com/2013/08/update-so-proof-reading-takes-forever.html

I'll be seeing some of you at GenCon. Stop by the Goodman Games booth to track me down.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by smathis »

I've been busy on the blog. Which should tell you one thing... We're getting closer.

I've got two more chapters to proofread. Finished two of them after I got back from GenCon.

Hoping to finish these last two this week.

As for the blog, we've got Terrifying Tales of GenCon 2013, Part 1

...and the first installment of a short series comparing TATG characters with characters from that other game Paper Hero vs. Transylvanian Bad A** (Level 0).
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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I put up another post over at the blog.

As for the first book, it's still in layout. Up to Chapter 6 right now.

It's looking like it's going to be a very big book.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by Deadstop »

I know you're probably very busy trying to make the answer "yes," smathis, but is Halloween still looking good for Book 1?

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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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Deadstop wrote:I know you're probably very busy trying to make the answer "yes," smathis, but is Halloween still looking good for Book 1?

Deadstop
I think there's a possibility that the POD book might fall into November. But I would be shocked and very disappointed if the PDF wasn't available by the end of the month. It's pretty far along.

Sorry I haven't put up any updates in a while. I've been putting in 70+ hours at my day job. Working on the book when I can. And also fighting off a nasty bout of food poisoning.

I wish the book were further along. But I still think there's enough of October for us to at least get the PDF out, if not both the PDF and POD.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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This has been an exhausting month. I've put in 70-80 hours a week at my day job and tried eeking out as much of TATG as I could in my spare time with the clock seriously winding down. I'm a little loopy.

Tonight I've finished the index. Yes, there's an index. Not going to pretend it's a good one but there are somewhere between 70-100 entries in there. Next step is the cover and the art. I'd like to make a few changes to the character sheet. But nothing major.

I've made a number of changes based on playtest observations and feedback. Nothing major though. A couple of sections were clarified. One table was removed. I reworked one of the Reaver's class abilities.

I got some great help on edits. I was able to accommodate almost all of the suggested changes. Some of the suggestions conflicted, so I went with one over the other. Other suggestions weren't feasible given time constraints. Most of the suggestions were imperative.

This weekend the focus is on the art and getting this together for proper presentation.

Thank you all for your patience.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by MrHemlocks »

My group is dying to play this! Any chance of selling a preorder copy of the beta rules...art optional?
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by Ragingsystem »

Hey just curious how this is coming along?
I can't wait to run a short episodic break from my main DCC game using it.
And then convince everyone to use it for my next game, some sort of mix up between Castlvania, Nightmare Creatures, and Silent hill.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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Ragingsystem wrote:Hey just curious how this is coming along?
I can't wait to run a short episodic break from my main DCC game using it.
And then convince everyone to use it for my next game, some sort of mix up between Castlvania, Nightmare Creatures, and Silent hill.
We can see a small sliver of sunlight emerging over the dark mountains on the horizon.

At this point, layout is 95% complete. What remains is... inserting the title page. Inserting the character sheet. Formatting the index. Adding the OGL section.

The hope is that all of this can be completed this evening. But the realistic timeline is that the PDF will be in Joseph's hands for approval sometime this weekend.

I'm hoping to get the PDF available by Oct. 31st. Print on demand shortly thereafter.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by MrHemlocks »

I really want the print book...least two copies. Now the PDF will be first but will you have an option to preorder the print book at the same time(OCT 31) and get a free PDF with the deal? Or will those that want the print copy still have to buy a separate PDF also?
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by Skars »

Oh man, I was already looking at running The Winter Home on the 31st...now there is a chance of the full monty being released in PDF right around then? *phew* I'm pretty darn excited :P
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by smathis »

Well, that was exciting...

You should be hearing from me more frequently now. RSI willing, I will try to put up another blogpost soon.

Transylvanian Adventures has been submitted to Joseph for approval. It weighs in just south of 300 pages.

I should also be able to put up some details about a Halloween game I ran using TATG/DCC. I've been testing out different ways of doing monsters. Much like the riddle of how to run an OSR-inspired game without magical healing, it's a tough one. I'm VERY close, though.

In fact, I'm RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!

Boo!

Hopefully, we fly through the approval process like a witch on a broomstick and get this animated and half-rotting puppy out to you all by the scariest night of the year.

Thanks for your patience and support.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by reverenddak »

Skars wrote:Oh man, I was already looking at running The Winter Home on the 31st...now there is a chance of the full monty being released in PDF right around then? *phew* I'm pretty darn excited :P
It's also my plan! Since Thursday is my regular game day, and most folks I know don't have kids, we're playing!

Any tips on squeezing the module into a single session?
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by Maxwell Luther »

It's a pretty extensive thread, so forgive me if this question has already been asked, but how are you handling the printing? Are you going POD or do you have a publisher?

Also, as I planned to add a section on mixing other DCC material into Void Hunters to do science fantasy and science horror, so do you mind if I mention your game and how to convert some of the rules in the book?
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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Maxwell Luther wrote:It's a pretty extensive thread, so forgive me if this question has already been asked, but how are you handling the printing? Are you going POD or do you have a publisher?
The book will be available via PDF download at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG. It will be available print-on-demand through Lulu and RPGNow/DriveThruRPG. The priority is getting the PDF out there. Then Lulu. Then getting POD going at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG.

I had two publishers talk to me about TATG back in the early days. I decided to stay self-published for a number of reasons. They boiled down mostly to the ability to have a degree of creative control over the project and the freedom to "do it right". If I were going with a publisher, it's likely the Alpha version of the game would've been the one to see print. And... well... TATG is much, much better now than it was back then.
Maxwell Luther wrote:Also, as I planned to add a section on mixing other DCC material into Void Hunters to do science fantasy and science horror, so do you mind if I mention your game and how to convert some of the rules in the book?
[/quote]

The entirety of the Rules Enhancements chapter, as well as the rules and Crit/Fumble tables for Firearms, are designated as OGL. So you can include those in Void Hunters whole hog, if you want. Joseph could too, if he wanted to -- say -- add black powder weapons to DCC.

Rule Enhancements (at a high level) include keeping a party alive without Clerics and magical healing. This includes all sorts of fun-ness including recovering HP in media res, post-scene bumps, and a different approach to getting dropped. There's also a simple mechanic for bumping ability scores at each level. An alternate take on Luck points. Fear saves. And fumble tables that are not tied to Armor Class.

EDIT:

Specific to what you're working on... I'd check out the rules on Death and Dying (called "Ruin") in TATG. As well as the rules on bumping HP. Those could be useful. The firearms rules could be handy for lasers and such. It's very different -- and was a brilliant suggestion by one of the play testers -- but works very, very well at the table.

It might also be interesting to check out the classes in TATG. They're very, very different from classes in other OSR games. They're modeled after archetypes in Gothic horror movies and books (the everyman hero, the wise doctor, the determined hunter, the hybrid human-monster, the kung-fu, spiritualist foreigner, the rapscallion, etc.) as opposed to roles in combat like wizard (artillery), cleric (support), fighter (infantry), and -- well -- we all know the thief was a lapse in judgment. ;-)
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

Post by marshal kt »

Everythign sounds interesting. My only problem is when I say fantasy game, players from both of my groups think Tolkein. Those that have played some form of RPG; especially D&D think Ravenloft when you mention vampires.

I'll keep my eye on this thread to see how it progresses. Maybe I can convince one group that Vampires can be hunted by 'normal' humans.
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Re: 2012: Transylvanian Adventures & The Transylvanian Grimo

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marshal kt wrote:Everythign sounds interesting. My only problem is when I say fantasy game, players from both of my groups think Tolkein. Those that have played some form of RPG; especially D&D think Ravenloft when you mention vampires.

I'll keep my eye on this thread to see how it progresses. Maybe I can convince one group that Vampires can be hunted by 'normal' humans.
TATG has been played by everyone from people who've never heard of roleplaying games to grognards who wince at the thought of level drain when a vampire is mentioned.

Characters in TATG are "normal" onlysomuch as Sherlock Holmes or Captain Kronos are normal. The classes are based on fictional archetypes but that doesn't make them weaksauce. This is very much not Call of Cthulhu. Since I've been running and playing, here are just a few highlights...
  • One player punched a shark in the face. And killed it.
  • Another player mowed through waves of zombies three or four at a time (lol, Reaver) before taking down two animated dire wolves in one round.
  • One group cast a ritual (in classic Castle Ravenloft) that protected Strahd's love interest to such a degree that the entire adventure was derailed. Not only could Strahd not get within a football field of her. But he could no longer sense her presence on his plane of existence.
  • Repeated groups of 0-Levels have faced off against Dr. Frankenstein's monstrosities. Sure, they may have felt a little trepidation at first. But the attrition rate is no greater than a regular 0-Level funnel.
Just because the classes are based off of fictional archetypes, doesn't mean they're "normal people". If you've seen Brotherhood of the Wolf, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing in the early Hammer films, or read any Tomb of Dracula, that's about the type of character players could expect to play in TATG.

So, if you consider Blade a mook...

Maybe those who've played it can chime in on the topic with more details. There are spells, guns, kung-fu, and a list of bad-a abilities. Most people have responded positively.
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