Default DCC setting?

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ScoobyThulu
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Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

Once upon a time D&D's default setting was Greyhawk or maybe Mystara if you prefer BECMI. Then came the Forgotten Realms, DragonLance, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Ravenloft and everything else. With 3e they made it Greyhawk again but the the Realms popped up and I have no idea about 4e and with 5e it looked like the Realms were it but now Ravenloft is roaring back and I think the default setting is now anything that Critical Role does.
I like pre-made settings as I know them from modules, comics, books, etc. However my best settings have always been a riff off of an existing one; I made one called Greyfall that was set within the Greyhawk setting and ones I write entirely on my own.
That said even the better ones are the ones that start very small; a town, a forest, a mountain, and that's about it and then fill it in as you go.
I got my family game to make a DCC switch after doing 5e Ravenloft, which Curse of Strahd is cool but a bloated mess, and they loved just playing through Portal so much that I am using the momentum to keep going.
I have some ideas but we are starting with the small town of ShinBone, near The Ruins from Portal which is near a currently unnamed mountain, there is farmlands nearby and a small forest known as Hart's Hollow. There is also an unamed river.
I have ideas that might come up after we play our next game as they are heading back to town after Portal (2 PCs killed, out of 7 overall played in this Funnel) and we will see what happens. Anyway.
Is there a DCC default setting world? Campaign? Whatever?
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by Judge Paul »

The "default" setting of DCC is what is laid out in the core rulebook. It is a world where monsters are mysterious, magic is unpredictable, and little is known about the world. It is a land ripe for exploration and discovery, steeped in the ancient lore of a thousand fallen empires. Other than these notes and a few general names, DCC makes no setting default by design.

The closest thing would be DCC's in-house "World of Aereth," which takes the proper nouns of the DCC Rulebook and expands from there. Goodman Games sells a gazetteer for that world if you are interested, but it is a very macro-scale world - providing you room to put in all the details.
ScoobyThulu
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

Judge Paul wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:36 pm
The closest thing would be DCC's in-house "World of Aereth," which takes the proper nouns of the DCC Rulebook and expands from there. Goodman Games sells a gazetteer for that world if you are interested, but it is a very macro-scale world - providing you room to put in all the details.
That is what I was wondering about, I prefer any in-house or pre-made settings to be a little more open. The 3e Forgotten Realms is awesome for it's detail, the 5e version is really good also but omits a large swath of the Realms. Another great setting is the 3e Greyhawk Gazeteer, lots of info but up for interpretation and filling it in yourself.
I used to use the Marvel Comics "Official Handbook of the Conan Universe" as a setting guide.
ScoobyThulu
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

Judge Paul wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:36 pm The "default" setting of DCC is what is laid out in the core rulebook. It is a world where monsters are mysterious, magic is unpredictable, and little is known about the world. It is a land ripe for exploration and discovery, steeped in the ancient lore of a thousand fallen empires. Other than these notes and a few general names, DCC makes no setting default by design.
Also, by the way, thank you for the patronizing explanation of DCC.
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catseye yellow
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by catseye yellow »

dude, manners. he wasn't patronizing at all.
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by Ravenheart87 »

I don't see either what's so condescending about Judge Paul's post.

As for Áereth, Goodman Games did create a boxed set during the d20 boom, but that no longer shows their current vision of the world. There have ben a few bigger adventures for Áereth (Chained Coffin, Journey to the Center of Áereth) and bits of information about the setting in various modules, but no single setting book that would sum it up.
Vorpal Mace: a humble rpg blog with some DCC-related stuff.
ScoobyThulu
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

catseye yellow wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:34 am dude, manners. he wasn't patronizing at all.
Dude, how about if I feel patronized and talked down to then I feel that way.
Manners?
I didn't swear, I did not insult, I did not impune, I stated my perception.
Manners?
Really.
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thogard
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by thogard »

ScoobyThulu wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:49 am Dude, how about if I feel patronized and talked down to then I feel that way.
Of course you're free to go out of your way to take offense at a straightforward response to your query. Seems constructive.
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

Ravenheart87 wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:47 am I don't see either what's so condescending about Judge Paul's post.

As for Áereth, Goodman Games did create a boxed set during the d20 boom, but that no longer shows their current vision of the world. There have ben a few bigger adventures for Áereth (Chained Coffin, Journey to the Center of Áereth) and bits of information about the setting in various modules, but no single setting book that would sum it up.
Geezum crow.
Thank you for stating an opinion.
Maybe I was having an off moment, I’m sure Judge Paul did not mean it come out that way but I was stating how it felt to me after a little bit of it sticking under my skin. If Judge Paul is reading this, I don’t know the guy, but I am sure he might take a reciprocal approach to this, I know I could have.
If I say it felt patronizing it does not stop that idea in my head by stating it’s not, this is just a person’s POV. Maybe we can respect that?
Then again maybe I am the @$$ because I know I like playing “advocate’s devil” on more than one occasion. I can own up to that.
I am relatively new to DCC but I am a long time gamer and Appendix N fan so I was trying to gauge some more information about that, not looking for a tutorial.
Judge Paul is a relative new guy as well, so this is what it is.
Let’s get back to games shall we?
I was wondering about setting because I was wondering about setting. I guess I am also looking at elements of setting and in particular in relation to some of the “classic” D&D settings.
Narnia, Forgotten Realms, Eberron; none of these have any feeling of a DCC game. A guy used to know said this of the Realms, “The Forgotten Realms, where trip over +1 swords.”
Middle-Earth surprisingly does, more than I thought upon a closer inspection. There aren’t that many wizards out there and elves are a little to elf-y and dwarves are dwarf-y but there lot sof unnatural horrors and a lot of stuff that is just over everyone’s level. Such as Balrogs and hordes of goblins, the Nazgul, Shelob, and cave trolls.
DraginLance could have more a DCC feel as it is a post-cataclysmic setting in a fantasy world. It has more of a feeling of a world coming out of a dark age.
Speaking of which Dark Suns has a nice, gritty element to it and the wizards smack of App. N wizards.
Oddly Greyhawk is the one that I keep coming back to, Gary’s baby. It is heavily influenced of course by App. N and those Greyhawk and AD&D and D&D modules are what DCC take a lot of influence from.
What elements from other settings do people want to bring into their settings? Personally I like the idea, like Gary originally intended, that humans are the primary characters and the only other races you would encounter, for the most part would only be if they were PCs, otherwise encountering elves is rare as they are… elves.
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by ScoobyThulu »

<b>f*ck</b> this.
I live in Indy, any of you want to sit down and have a beer and talk fine otherwise go <b>f*ck</b> yourself.
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by GnomeBoy »

Let's review...

A question was asked in a space on the forum which is designed as a starting point for new players.

An answer was given, which included some framing, which seems perfectly suitable in a sub-forum designed as a starting point for new players. And maybe even more so in the context that not just the OP is going to visit this post, but others who are also new, at later times.

Not everyone was happy with the framing as part of the answer.

Then things got a little snarky and a little heated.

There's no need for anyone to go do anything to themselves. If anyone feels like they maybe went too far, please feel free to clear the air and/or edit your post without defensiveness. Otherwise, let's have this thread end right here.
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3rik
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by 3rik »

So, which books for DCC (so, not from the pre-DCC series) can I find some setting info about Aereth in?
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thogard
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by thogard »

3rik wrote: Sun May 30, 2021 2:40 pm So, which books for DCC (so, not from the pre-DCC series) can I find some setting info about Aereth in?
DCC #35 https://goodman-games.com/store/product ... wn-realms/ would be the single biggest resource (pre-DCCRPG, adventures therein are 3.5 rules). Many (most?) urban DCC modules are set in Punjar, the archetypical Fantasy Metropolis. Anything else could be placed in Aereth, but I can't think of any other products with specific info on the setting.
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Re: Default DCC setting?

Post by finarvyn »

It's not Aereth, but the best DCC setting that I've seen so far has to be Lankhmar. During the original playtests I used some old AD&D Lankhmar products because I felt like DCC had the same vibe as the old Leiber stories, and now that DCC Lankhmar is a thing it's easy to use that directly with no conversion needed. While not the official setting of the rules set, I feel like it is pretty darned close. :)
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