Core Rules Setting Sandbox?

[not-so-newguy]

Hi, first post here

I picked up DCC a couple of months ago and I can't wait to play it. We're currently playing Goodman Games' 5E conversion of Isle of Dread. I expect to run my first funnel in July or August.

Right now I'm rereading through the class descriptions, specifically the class faction descriptions that are embedded in the artwork. It struck me that the DCC Core Rules may have a sandbox style setting expansion. A type of sandbox that would incorporate some of these class faction descriptions and the Core Rules flavor. Is that the case?

[Raven_Crowking]

Yes and No.

Lots of people play a series of loosely linked adventures, and DCC works very well for that.

But, man, does DCC shine when you let the players take the lead, like in a sandbox. The game is full of adventure hooks just by itself, so players should be pondering which hook to follow, rather than the PCs siting bored in a tavern. Spellburn, disapproval, recovery of Luck, learning spells, and the whole Quest For It ethos fairly require the passage of time to be meaningful, and the world to offer more than a series of one-shots, for them to reach their potential.

I love this game.

Sandbox the hell out of it!

[CapnZapp]

Well, now you're talking about different things.

Yes, DCC is excellent for sandboxing.
No, there is no sandbox written for DCC (that claims to be the default one).

The game just isn't interested in providing any "default world" campaign material. What there is, is a lot of ideas that suggest a (somewhat) coherent fantasy world with lots of adventure leads, and there are a lot of adventures that doesn't (much) contradict this loose bunch of ideas... There are also several adventures and even campaign settings giving DCC a specific world to set your adventures in, but all of them are, in a sense, alternative worlds - none of them (AFAIK) claim theirs is the "default world" hinted to and suggested by the rulebook.

[Bobjester]

Hi, first post here

I picked up DCC a couple of months ago and I can't wait to play it. We're currently playing Goodman Games' 5E conversion of Isle of Dread. I expect to run my first funnel in July or August.

Right now I'm rereading through the class descriptions, specifically the class faction descriptions that are embedded in the artwork. It struck me that the DCC Core Rules may have a sandbox style setting expansion. A type of sandbox that would incorporate some of these class faction descriptions and the Core Rules flavor. Is that the case?

DCC does have a world setting called Aereth, IIRC, but I know nothing about it, as it came & went before I started playing.

Luckily for me, all of the suggested sandboxy descriptions in the core rulebook fit into my campaign world setting just nicely.

Everything presented so far, from these class faction descriptions, to wizard & cleric spells, patrons, Deeds, etc., would fit into any D&D campaign setting I wanted to run with DCC rules instead of D&D rules: the Default Land of Chainmail Battles and Dungeons filled with Rust Monsters & Slimes (errr, I mean the World of Greyhawk), Castle-Dungeon Floor plan Acid Trip (Blackmoor), the Known World (or Mystara if you prefer), Elminster Level Power-Trip (the Forgotten Realms), Crystal & Steam-powered Battle-Robot World (Eberron), Dune; Magic Sand Edition (Dark Sun to everyone else), The Demi-Plane of Universal Monsters on Steroids (Ravenloft), or even Barista! Another Round of Lattes! (Strixhaven) are all better off for using these 'sandbox' rules from DCC.

[TithianKing]

Unfortunately the good folks at Goodman Games have resisted writing a structured world. It is a bit problematic for those of us who would like to run a sandbox style campaign.

Isle of Dread would actually be an excellent DCC RPG campaign. That little module has potential for years of on-going play (depending on how often you play). And having the PCs shipwrecked on the Isle as level-0s is a great funnel kickoff.

I personally prefer the rules of DCC RPG to the modules. The modules are fun but they always seem a bit too short and straight-forward. For a game that prides itself on old-skool play - there is a noticeable lack of big, labyrinthine dungeon crawls. (Why not revise and re-release Castle Whiterock for DCC RPG, for instance).

Another good campaign setting for DCC RPG is Dwimmermount. Would highly recommend picking up that book. Its perfectly suited to the rules system.

[not-so-newguy]

I think I'm going to "start small" using a town-to-dungeon style of adventure. The one that I am looking at is "Hole in the Oak" by Necrotic Games. It's made for Old School Essentials, which seems easy to convert to DCC.

If things go well, then I will start adding other things:
-There's another adventure called "The Incandescent Grottoes" that can be added-on to "Hole in the Oak"
-These adventure are placed in a regional setting called Dolmenwood by Gavin Norman.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28 ... in-the-Oak
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/34 ... t-Grottoes

[Gameogre]

Unfortunately the good folks at Goodman Games have resisted writing a structured world. It is a bit problematic for those of us who would like to run a sandbox style campaign.

Isle of Dread would actually be an excellent DCC RPG campaign. That little module has potential for years of on-going play (depending on how often you play). And having the PCs shipwrecked on the Isle as level-0s is a great funnel kickoff.

I personally prefer the rules of DCC RPG to the modules. The modules are fun but they always seem a bit too short and straight-forward. For a game that prides itself on old-skool play - there is a noticeable lack of big, labyrinthine dungeon crawls. (Why not revise and re-release Castle Whiterock for DCC RPG, for instance).

Another good campaign setting for DCC RPG is Dwimmermount. Would highly recommend picking up that book. Its perfectly suited to the rules system.

Well said comment on the lack of larger modules.

[GnomeBoy]

What if Crypt of the Devil Lich were a toe-dip into larger DCC adventures?

Speculation, but if its success kept rolling on beyond the Kickstarter, perhaps that would encourage things...?

Personally, I've always found players are more excited for the "new/next thing" than lengthy campaigning (which is obviously what the game has emphasized so far), but I completely feel the lure of a giant adventure.

[JamesBeadle]

There are a nearly infinite number of game settings out there to use for a campaign, however I would suggest that if you do not want to spend money on a new setting and then do a bunch of reading, a spiral campaign can feel very sandbox to the players. You pencil out a start area and run a funnel, perhaps using one of the many GG products for this, and then sprinkle the area with three or four adventure hooks and let the players go wild. As they explore you pencil out more area so the game feels to the players as through it's growing organically as they explore, but that's only partly true. It's not as much work as it sounds, the majority being in the initial setup stage where you outline the region.

I'm also just starting with DCC, and I've run games for 44 years. I've decided that I'm going to use the Judge's Guild Wilderlands setting, which is mostly unexplored wilderness but nicely fleshed out for all that.

[finarvyn]

Today's "New Release Wednesday" email from Goodman Games had something perhaps relevant to this thread. The suggestion is that five adventures written by Harley Stroh could make a nice campaign. While they mention "adventure path" I think it could also be a sandbox if a GM were to take the core elements of each adventure and toss them around for players to pursue. Just a thought.

The perfect start to a campaign!

Let these five classic adventures from Harley Stroh guide your new Dungeon Crawl Classics gaming group along the road from humble beginnings to becoming mighty adventurers. An ideal, ready-to-go ‘adventure path’ for a group of new characters, the five modules in this value bundle include a level 0 funnel adventure (a fun DCC tradition in which players manage multiple 0-level characters through a deadly crucible — those that survive have earned the right to level 1!) and four more adventures taking your characters through levels 0-4.

Playing the adventures in order makes for a fun narrative campaign — all from the imagination of one of DCC‘s pioneering designer’s, Harley Stroh. Not only is the Adventure Path a convenient way to get these modules, but it’s also a great deal!

The Harley Stroh Level 0-4 Adventure Path Includes:

Level 0: DCC #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea

Level 1: DCC #66.5: Doom of the Savage Kings

Level 2: DCC #78: Fate’s Fell Hand

Level 3: DCC #70: Jewels of the Carnifex

Level 4: DCC #74: Blades Against Death

Whether they are lost at sea — or upon a sea of phlogistan — or questing for gold, glory, or possibly, to break through the gates of death itself, Harley’s following five adventures will grow any fledgling group into a formidable band of campaigners, with more than enough daring accomplishments, harrowing tales, and fearsome battle-scars to last a lifetime!

https://goodman-games.com/store/product ... print-pdf/

[Bobjester]

There are a nearly infinite number of game settings out there to use for a campaign, however I would suggest that if you do not want to spend money on a new setting and then do a bunch of reading, a spiral campaign can feel very sandbox to the players. You pencil out a start area and run a funnel, perhaps using one of the many GG products for this, and then sprinkle the area with three or four adventure hooks and let the players go wild. As they explore you pencil out more area so the game feels to the players as through it's growing organically as they explore, but that's only partly true. It's not as much work as it sounds, the majority being in the initial setup stage where you outline the region.

I'm also just starting with DCC, and I've run games for 44 years. I've decided that I'm going to use the Judge's Guild Wilderlands setting, which is mostly unexplored wilderness but nicely fleshed out for all that.

The Spiral Notebook Campaign? This is what I've done with my campaign. Just a bare-bones description of the surrounding landscape, towns, villages, lords, ladies, patrons, & terrain. Between each adventure, I let players go wherever they want to. Having read ahead in several modules, I can place a module in their path if it looks like it will fit. They can choose to take up the offer of adventure, or move elsewhere, and I will drop a different module in their path again at some point.