DCC #100 Design Diary: The Best Ideas
Design Diary: The Best IdeasBy Harley StrohSometimes as judges, we set aside our best games for the indeterminate future. The coolest monsters, and most awesome treasures; the cinematic visuals and deadliest environs. We set aside the best adventures like rewards to be earned, as if starting players don’t deserve amazing adventures, but ought to pay their dues defending caravans from kobolds.There’s nothing wrong with the purposeful...
Encounter Design in DCC #100
DCC#100 packs a powerful punch with its dense encounter design — and maybe that’s because Harley pulled out all the stops to give us the encounters he had been contemplating and planning for years!While it’s not a mega-dungeon, plan on this landmark 100th numbered Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure taking a bit more sessions for your group than might appear at first glance — between a spinning dungeon, shifting...
DCC#100 and the Zodiac
Design Diary: The Zodiac of the TheophagesBy Harley StrohGreat Sagar-Matha, the highest peak in the Known World, was hollowed out by the Theophages and transformed into a vast, alchemical alembic for the purpose of distilling raw chaos into living flesh. The yawning chasm is anchored on three sides by the elemental spheres of Earth, Fire, and Water. These levels and sub-levels contain passageways and hidden chambers that can only be...
DCC #100 and the Alembic Key
Spinning maps, a corresponding player aid, rotating elemental spheres, chaotically shifting portals, and a vile frothing green sludge slowly assuming a menacing shape — DCC #100 offers players a puzzle like no other!You might think it’s ok to play with your remote control all day, but not with Harley’s evil mixing bowl in the vicinity. Listen to Harley in the video below as he outlines how the Alembic Key works...
DCC #100 and the Art of the Reference
Design Diary: The Art of the ReferenceBy Harley StrohThe power of RPG art can’t be overstated. A writer can, at their very best, only tell you a story (and most of us fail at that). But a powerful painting invites the viewer to tell the story. A sixth grader huddled up in afterschool detention, drawing a dungeon or character inspired by their favorite painting, is a degree of art-viewer engagement we should all strive...
DCC #100: A Multidimensional Dungeon
DCC #100: The Music of the Spheres is Chaos includes some novel mechanics for players to wrap their heads around — and some unusual multi-dimensional metaphysics for characters to ignore at their peril!Join Harley for some advanced sixth dimensional game theory in the video below, and pick up the landmark adventure DCC #100 today! Dungeon Crawl Classics #100: The Music of the Spheres is ChaosThe boxed set is bursting with the...
DCC #100: An Objet d’Adventure Meant To Be Played
Harley is back today with another DCC #100 Design Diary, discussing some of the unique mechanics of this landmark adventure. To read more of Harley’s diaries and see video discussion of The Music of the Spheres is Chaos, see our complete DCC #100 article list.Design Diary: Objet d’ AdventureBy Harley StrohAs an objet d’art (hat tip to Gygaxian treasure tables!), DCC#100 The Music of the Spheres is Chaos is beautiful, but first...
100 DCC Adventures: A DCC Video Retrospective
Journey with us down memory lane!During the DCC #100 Kickstarter, the Goodman Gang assembled for a 100+ adventure retrospective looking at the history of Dungeon Crawl Classics and Goodman Games. This revolving-door panel discussion between GG designers, artists, writers, and developers talks about the earliest days of the game, the major developments in DCC over the years, and the current crop of awesome material surrounding the...
The Zodiac of the Theophages in DCC #100
What’s your star sign? Goat? Wolf?Spinning the map in DCC #100 isn’t just about solving a cartographic puzzle — there is also the element of the Zodiac to contend with! While the PCs navigate the confusing dimensions of DCC #100 (The Music of the Spheres, after all, Is Chaos!) they will also create positive and negative effects for various character classes based on which house of the zodiac they are in as they...
Beyond TPK: The Total Universe Kill of DCC#100
DCC #100 gives player characters a lot of latitude to spin the Alembic Key, for woe or weal. Players who spin it too freely discover there is a cost. That led us to discuss a new term: TUK, or Total Universe Kill. As Michael Curtis said, “In how many other adventures can 5th-level adventurers destroy the multiverse? It’s really a selling point!” Here’s a short clip where Harley explains a bit more about how...
DCC #100 Design Diary: Distilling the Chaos
This is the first in a series of design diaries. The Music of the Spheres is Chaos has been years in the making. Let’s learn more about the design process from author of DCC #100, Harley Stroh.Design Diary: Distilling the Chaosby Harley StrohThe first iteration of The Music of the Spheres is Chaos was shared somewhere around Gen Con 2015. The core of the pitch was a central spinning map, with four spinning sub-maps. It was a fun...
DCC #100: The Music of the Spheres is Chaos Live Play on YouTube!
What’s so special about DCC #100 that it’s got heads spinning?The spinning game board mechanic is just a fraction of what this boxed set adventure full of handouts, tactile props, and mind-bending puzzles contains. For our 100th module in the DCC RPG line (well, it’s the official #100, of course there are actually more!) we knew we needed something special, something big-deal, something truly memorable. And Harley...