Goodman Games

I am a huge fan of DCC RPG, and I found myself disappointed with the GenCon announcements by Goodman Games. I wanted to hear something more substantial concerning the DCC "Annual" and possibly some campaign setting support. The stuff Goodman Games has in store for the near future concerning DCC sounds good, but it is nothing more than what one would expect (adventure modules mostly). The special announcement were mostly concerned with reprinting stuff, like Judges Guild material from the past. As for the D&D 5e adventures, I understand that supporting 5e is a matter of survival, something to bring in a steady income. In the meantime, I am left to my own devices concerning a campaign setting--with no option for using the Known Realms outside of conversion. Also, items DCC is missing or falls short regarding--such as gods, patrons and more monsters--is either being ignored or set apart for the more distant future. My own desire is for Goodman Games to use its limited time and resources mostly for DCC and less for JG reprints. I fully expect to be lambasted for this opinion, but I wanted GG to hear my voice anyway. Keep on rocking....

What do we want? More crazy arsed super cool DCC stuff! When do we want it? NOW!

chill. If they become a one-trick pony they might put themselves at risk.

They want to sell us stuff we want, have no fear.

but there are two mini-settings for the dcc in the works right now - shudder mountain and the purple planet. i can't wait for all those ks awards to arrive.

i, for one, am super-hyped on journey to the center of aereth and hope that it will also get boxed set treatment.

Although they are not GG products, one could easily use Ur-Hadad, the Sunken City, the Crawljammer solar system, or Umerica (Crawling Under a Broken Moon) as a setting. If you want more detail, Tales From the Fallen Empire has you covered. For a more kick-ass Gothic take, try Transylvanian Adventures.

If you are building your own campaign setting, the CE series products I wrote for Purple Duck Games are designed to be plugged into (or help build) such a setting.

Materials from older games, esp. Judge's Guild, early TSR modules (D&D, Gamma World, Conan), MERP, 1st ed Warhammer, and Hawkmoon translate very well into DCC (setting materials and converted adventures). More recent materials are just as easy to convert, and the d20 Conan game, Solomon Kane, or even some of the Pathfinder or 3e materials might be of use. Just make sure that they have the tone & feel that you want, replacing material that does not.

fanditch wrote:I wanted to hear something more substantial concerning the DCC "Annual" and possibly some campaign setting support. . . I fully expect to be lambasted for this opinion, but I wanted GG to hear my voice anyway. Keep on rocking....

Hello Fanditch,

While I'm not an official Goodman Game representative, I've been around for a while on these boards. I don't think anyone should lambaste you. Your concerns are expressed well and are well intended.

Regarding the campaign setting may I suggest something to you?

If you are enjoying the modules that are on the market, both Goodman Games and Third party support for DCC-RPG, than allow your campaign to grow organically. Let the world develop from the adventures you take your friends through. One of the premises in this game is the PCs don't really know what is beyond the next hill since they are peasants with no experience beyond the five or ten miles that surround their homes. As each module plays out, the story of your and your friend's world grows. Together you create the world. Start them out in a funnel and as the module is coming to an end or has been completed ask them which adventure they would like to explore next. If you own several lay them on the table to let your players look at and decide which is of interest. If you don't own any, have pictures of several you think would be enjoyable for them to pick from.

This is extremely fun and takes a lot of work off you the GM. That is how I've been running my games for almost thirty years and over the years, we've had no complaints. The players get input and together you weave a vast world replete with villains who got away which you can toss at them between modules (you know they picked the next adventure and you add the encounter of that escaped Rat King into the mix) and treasures that stay on as memories of that great adventure (yes, I claimed the bronze sword from the undead corpse of the evil baron).

That's my two cents worth.

Don't worry, there are some big DCC projects in the works. They're just not all announced. The two boxed campaign settings from recent Kickstarters are obviously in the works (Purple Planet and Chained Coffin). Beyond that, make sure you attend our seminar at Gary Con 2015. There's something in process that I think will meet your requirements. More to come on that.

goodmangames wrote:Don't worry, there are some big DCC projects in the works. They're just not all announced. The two boxed campaign settings from recent Kickstarters are obviously in the works (Purple Planet and Chained Coffin). Beyond that, make sure you attend our seminar at Gary Con 2015. There's something in process that I think will meet your requirements. More to come on that.

what about punjar city set that is teasingly part of harley's bio at the peril at the purple planet KS page?

I would add my own opinion on this -- This is a DiY game. And it doesn't have to be difficult. Straight conversion of any d20-based resource can typically be done on the fly at the table. Other than setting the right tone with treasure/magic items, this is what I do:

Monsters -- There are thousands of monsters out there from a number of different OSR/D&D/Other sources. Conversion is a flick of the wrist and a bit of brain power - if you're running a home game, you don't even have to formalize the conversion. AC, HD, hp, attacks and a special power or two and you're good. Remembering that there should never be "monsters;" there are only Monsters. Raiding the currently published GG modules and the 3PP stuff should give you more monsters than you'll ever need, if you don't want to spend time converting.

Patrons/Gods -- These should be highly subjective to your game. The current set of DCC products from Goodman has a LOT of this. More patrons than you would ever use, in my opinion. But there's also third-party support for patrons, in addition to lots of patrons floating out there that people have done and put up on their websites. Mike Evans is a great resource for weird gods and a "Invoke the Name" mechanic that formalizes the cleric's ability to call directly upon his or her god.

I have some of my own on my site, as well: http://www.mysticbull.com

I have a resource for coming up with patrons on the fly (sort of) here:

Patron Generation: http://mysticbull.blogspot.com/2014/02/ ... ation.html

Better Description of the Tables: http://mysticbull.blogspot.com/2014/02/ ... scure.html

Spells -- Similar to monsters, there are hundreds of spells out there for the taking -- conversion seems like it's a daunting task (and frankly, it is, if you want to be very formal about it). In my home game, I use this formula for on the fly at the table. If the spell is more than one use, I'll go back and tweak it to a more formal write-up -- the important thing to me is that I only have to tell my players what happens at the result that they roll at the table :

Level+AbilityMod+Other > 11+CL=SPL.
Roll of 1 - Corruption and misfire
SPL-10 Failure, lost
SPL-8 Failure
SPL+2 Base Effect
SPL+4 Increase Range
SPL+6 Increase AOE / Number Affected
SPL+8 Increase Damage / Duration
SPL+12 Increase 2
SPL+16 Increase 3
SPL+18 Increase All
SPL+20 Corruption + All x10.

With the currently published and very soon to be published GG stuff, taken with the Third Party supported stuff -- cobbling together a campaign setting as rich and diverse as you want it to be isn't hard.

But, I also understand having a fully realized product from the original publisher in your hand....

So, it's either "do it yourself" or "wait another year before we possibly announce a product"? Oh well, the game still rocks. I used to love make my own settings, but I no longer have a lot of time to give. Besides, I love reading campaign worlds.

Man, give 'em chance! They are storming loads of cool stuff out those doors

It's a pretty small team behind all that juicy roleplaying goodness that's transmogrifying the world of stale old gaming hacks, lurking in the swamps and demanding satisfaction...

It's perhaps unfair to expect Joseph to tell us everything all at once. He might have negotiations that need to take place first or perhaps time to decide what direction to go in. The really great thing is that this freight train of glorious gonzo gamery is going full steam ahead with a ton of ideas and products, which makes the possibility of some of that tomfoolery suiting each and every one of us. Fingers crossed you get that official setting and fingers crossed I get an official Dungeon Crawl Classics in SPaaaaaaceeeeeeee!!

Safe to say that the future of DCC is bright and campaign settings are the 'in' thing. Sure DCC can publish stand alone adventures but most gamers really love a box set with a campaign setting included and a series of adventures for it....Chained Coffin and Purple Planet come to mind

Now if only Areath can come back from the dead....

I won't be happy until the Aereth Pantheon is given the full DCC RPG cleric write-up.

If so, let it be a parallel Aereth, with far more Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. The original Aereth was great for 3e. The first universe over was adapted well for 4e. DCC needs its own version, if Aereth is to be used.

Raven_Crowking wrote:If so, let it be a parallel Aereth, with far more Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. The original Aereth was great for 3e. The first universe over was adapted well for 4e. DCC needs its own version, if Aereth is to be used.

Agreed!

Agreed also.

RevTurkey wrote:Agreed also.

GG can start out with the remaking of Areath on the small scale. Have the newer adventures highlight certain areas of the Areath world with a full atlas coming at a later date. The beginning adventure maps can be detailed but 'open'. Having enough details to link them to certain areas within Areath. Like for example the The Keep on the Borderlands map. It was not a BIG campaign world but had enough information that made the players feel like this place is home and a good starting off point for more adventures.

Well if you're going to be in the Cincinnati area on Saturday, October 25, here's something to consider attending...

The Dying Aereth: A DCC RPG Character Funnel Tournament
The Dying Aereth DCC RPG tournament will present unique encounters and multi-genre play based in every version of the DCC RPG available, from straight-up medieval fantasy to play in the worlds of The Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad, Crawljammer, Crawling Under a Broken Moon, Tales of the Fallen Empire, and Transylvanian Adventures. This event will feature 1-3 tables of simultaneous “drop in” play from 12 noon - 6PM on Saturday, October 25, 2014. Trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
https://www.facebook.com/events/603226289788460