Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

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Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

I am phrasing my question like so because I know all of DCC is considered sword and sorcerian in some respect.

But now I am asking specifically about modules that do not emphasize the "weird" (as in aliens or lasers or lionmen) or enters "sword & planet" territory or is more like early gygaxian D&Dish, but is content with the basic traditional stuff, such as the Schwarzenegger Conan movies. My attempt to clarify (and yes, simplify) this focus for the title was to simply refer to Frank Frazettas wonderful and lurid imagery! :)

Other inspirations:
- Kull the Conqueror
- Barbarian Queen
- Korgoth of Barbaria
- heck, even the very first The Mummy movie!

I have already found the funnel module Death-Slaves of Eternity and it is excellent. I am pilfering DCC Lankhmar for rules and snippets, but am primarily interested in S&S adventures in this thread.

Asking which DCC modules you would recommend for a continued DCC campaign along these lines?

Zapp

PS. I am loosely placing the city in "World of Xoth" just so I have a map to show to curious players (not that it matters during that adventure ;) ), but also to be able to illustrate various races/ethicities/nationalities for their all-human team. I also know of the handful of adventures written for this world, but they're not using DCC.

PPS. Since this is the sort of S&S campaign it is, I have a rule where characters (of any gender) may choose to use Strength in place of Personality when it comes to influencing/impressing/persuading female characters*. This rule is obviously intended to explain what otherwise is inexplicable - why ladies would fall for wooden hunks like most actors playing barbarian heroes... ;-)

This way, your regular muscle mountain, who might have Strength 18 but only Personality 6, will still find that most womenfolk will throw themselves at him.

*) To be exact, this is not exclusively geared towards heterosexual women. The beauty ideal of the world is such that muscular men are considered to have a great personality. Nobody can explain it, it just is a matter of fact. Whether the target is a straight woman or a gay man or anything else is of course not the point, and all are welcome to declare the "I'm vulnerable to social checks made using Strength in place of Personality". The point is instead that what you might assume as a given, that most people find strong barbarians wooden, one-dimensional and uninspiring just isn't true in this world ;) Just like S&S movies simply take it for granted women fall for well-oiled muscles, I take that for granted too! :)
Last edited by CapnZapp on Wed Jan 19, 2022 2:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by Raven_Crowking »

Congrats on discovering Death Slaves! I agree; it is excellent!

Here are some things you might want to look at. Not every thing on this list is going to meet your needs, but it is a place to start. Some of these items have entries in the DCC Trove of Treasures, which might give you more insight: https://dcctreasures.blogspot.ca/

The Village of Death (2 Old Guys Games)
The Fell Folk of the Moors (Astellan Press)
Appendix N Adventures #1: The Ruins of Ramat (Brave Halfling)
Appendix N Adventures #2: The Vile Worm (Brave Halfling)
Appendix N Adventures #3: The Treacherous Cobtraps (Brave Halfling)
A Faceless Enemy (Chapter 13 Press)
BF1: Tower of Skulls (Cut to the Chase Games)
BF2: Crypt of Bones (Cut to the Chase Games)
TG0: Depths of the Croaking Grotto (Cut to the Chase Games)
TG1: Lost Temple of Ibholtheg (Cut to the Chase Games)
TG2: Tongues of the Screaming Toad (Cut to the Chase Games)
TG3: Shadow out of Sapphire Lake (Cut to the Chase Games)
WK0: Night of the Mad Kobold (Cut to the Chase Games)
WK1: Caves of the Kobold Queen (Cut to the Chase Games)
WK2: Curse of the Kobold Eye (Cut to the Chase Games)
WK3: Revenge of the Over-Kobold (Cut to the Chase Games)
The Ghoul Prince (DIY RPG Productions)
Wrath of the Frost Queen (Fireinthedust Productions)
DCC #66.5: Doom of the Savage Kings
DCC #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea
DCC #68: People of the Pit
DCC #69: The Emerald Enchanter
DCC #70: Jewels of the Carnifex
DCC #71: The 13th Skull
DCC #72: Beyond the Black Gate
DCC #73: Emirikol Was Framed!
DCC #74: Blades Against Death
DCC #75: The Sea Queen Escapes!
DCC #76: Colossus, Arise!
DCC #76.5: Well of the Worm
DCC #77: The Croaking Fane
DCC #77.5: The Tower Out of Time
DCC #82: Bride of the Black Manse
DCC #82.5: Dragora's Dungeon
DCC #83: The Chained Coffin
DCC #83.1: Tales of the Shudder Mountains
DCC #83.2: Death Among the Pines
DCC #85.5: The Curse of the Kingspire
DCC #89: Chaos Rising
DCC #92.5: Dread on Demon Crown Hill
DCC #99: The Star Wound of Abaddon
DCC Horror #3: Shadow Under Devil's Reef
Crypt of Morgrath (JLHB Polytechnic)
The Palace of Unquiet Repose (The Merciless Merchants)
The Vertical Halls (Phlogiston Books)
Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride (Planet X Games)
The Forgotten Rites of the Moldering Dead (Psychodia Press)
AL 2: Sepulcher of the Mountain God (Purple Duck Games)
AL 8: Danger in the Deep! (Purple Duck Games)
CE 1: The Falcate Idol (Purple Duck Games)
CE 2: The Black Goat (Purple Duck Games)
CE 3: The Folk of Osmon (Purple Duck Games)
Steel and Fury (Not an adventure, but an expansion of Mighty Deeds by the same author as Death Slaves; Purple Duck Games)
Feast of the Preserver (Shinobi 27 Games)
The Treasure Vaults of Zadabad (Stormlord Publishing)
Stronghold of the Wood Giant Shaman (Thick Skull)
The Haunting of Larvik Island (Thick Skull)

Best of luck & let us know how it goes!
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Thank you very much... though randomly googling a couple of suggestions, I get many instances of "default world" adventures I cannot immediately distinguish from the regular faux-medieval gygaxian take. It's almost too much advice :) it would almost be better if you just provided those few(?) entries actually written with Sword & Sorcery in mind. Can I ask you what selection criteria you used when you compiled the list?

Again thanks.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by Raven_Crowking »

CapnZapp wrote: Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:29 am Thank you very much... though randomly googling a couple of suggestions, I get many instances of "default world" adventures I cannot immediately distinguish from the regular faux-medieval gygaxian take. It's almost too much advice :) it would almost be better if you just provided those few(?) entries actually written with Sword & Sorcery in mind. Can I ask you what selection criteria you used when you compiled the list?

Again thanks.
Ah, well, perhaps I didn't read you clearly enough. I thought you meant to say NOT sword and planet BUT early Gygaxian as well....rather than NOT sword and planet OR Gygaxian. Reading comprehension was apparently suffering!

Revising that list, you might want to take a look at:

A Faceless Enemy (Chapter 13 Press)
The Ghoul Prince (DIY RPG Productions)
DCC #66.5: Doom of the Savage Kings
DCC #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea
DCC #68: People of the Pit
DCC #70: Jewels of the Carnifex
DCC #71: The 13th Skull
DCC #74: Blades Against Death
DCC #76: Colossus, Arise!
DCC #82: Bride of the Black Manse
DCC #82.5: Dragora's Dungeon
DCC #85.5: The Curse of the Kingspire
DCC #89: Chaos Rising
DCC #99: The Star Wound of Abaddon
The Palace of Unquiet Repose (The Merciless Merchants) <---especially this
Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride (Planet X Games)
CE 1: The Falcate Idol (Purple Duck Games)
Steel and Fury (Not an adventure, but an expansion of Mighty Deeds by the same author as Death Slaves; Purple Duck Games)
The Treasure Vaults of Zadabad (Stormlord Publishing)
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Much appreciated! :D
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by Raven_Crowking »

CapnZapp wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:02 am Much appreciated! :D
My pleasure!

But look into them first, because your idea about S&S may differ from mine.
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

I have now (briefly) perused them, and/or consulted reviews for them.

The overall impression is unfortunately that not many of them hit my spot. One module retells the Beowulf saga, another is inspired by the Warhammerian battle between Law and Chaos... There's a lot of "northern European" imagery. But I don't want to appear ungrateful, so let's instead specify what I am looking for! :)

I'm looking for sandy wastelands and bone-dry mountain ranges, goat-herders instead of pumpkin farmers, endless citizens toiling under the yokes of cruel sorcerer-kings, voluptuous princesses involving you in affairs you instinctively know are bad for you, merciless snakemen and brutish apemen, ignorant but desperate commoners invoking hideous gods... Athas, not Dragonlance! The Barrens, not Elwyn Forest! Mad Max, not Lord of the Rings! :)

I would say People of the Pit fits the bill perfectly. But that's one adventure out of a dozen. (I did find "The Red Prophet Rises" which appears very promising, though it is not written for DCC specifically, so thank you) There are others I could reskin, but I really wanted to start by looking at modules that hit the bull's eye right of the bat!

So I hope you all reading this, please don't consider the thread done. I would very much appreciate your suggestions :)
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by Raven_Crowking »

Okay. You are looking for something very, very specific. Most adventures are written to be as widely applicable as possible.

You may wish to check out The Palace of Unquiet Repose (The Merciless Merchants). I think that hits your mark. The Black Goat (Purple Duck Games) might fit into your setting, but take that with a serious grain of salt. The 13th Skull might also fit. You should also check out Colossus, Arise! (although it is 8th level). Again, take these with a grain of salt.

It isn't difficult to adapt adventures from any system to DCC. If you know of a few good adventures where you wish the work was already done, ask the publisher to contact me!
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Thank you!

(I honestly didn't think I was asking for something "very, very specific" though.)
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by Raven_Crowking »

CapnZapp wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:13 am Thank you!

(I honestly didn't think I was asking for something "very, very specific" though.)
Desert environment, downtrodden population, etc.?

The truth is, "very, very specific" isn't a bad thing (at all!). It is just harder to find.
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by GnomeBoy »

Bend the adventures into what you need...

The Beowolf riff just needs a crueler Jarl and a more arid setting. A 'wet' monster becomes a 'sandy' monster. The sinkhole being supernatural can remain the same, or you can change the adjectives there, too. No numbers need to change.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

I can absolutely reskin things.

And Conan didn't just visit arid steppes. There can definitely be steaming jungles too.

Except you seem to underestimate the number of cases where the adventure uses illustrations and maps that clearly portray the usual faux-European background. Or tie the story to faux-European concepts. Adventures that simply don't give me any Conanish vibes.

Still, I could theoretically reskin even those adventures, just with more work.

This thread, however, exists, because I thought it would be natural to have lots of ready-made Sword & Sorcery DCC adventures (keeping in mind the distinction I made in the first post), saving me a lot of trouble :)

Another way of asking, that doesn't start the tired old "what is Sword & Sorcery?" argument, is, what DCC adventures can you recommend whose settings are clearly distinct from the traditional faux-European setting?

I do realize I open myself up to adventures set on alien spaceships now :? , but still, that criteria might give me better options. After all, if we agree all of DCC is Sword & Sorcery, then perhaps I should ask for adventures that simply look and feel different, rather than asking for exactly what I want.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by GnomeBoy »

Are the illustrations tripping you up, or is it that you want something to show players and these illustrations aren't going to convey the right feel?
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Well, partly yes of course, but partly, I'm simply reading about feudal lords or wizards in taverns or muddy turnip farmers or whatever and just getting another vibe than the one I'm going for: camel caravans bringing pungent spice, bleached monster bones, dancing slave girls, inhuman cave dwellers, you know.

It's not that I'm condemning those modules permanently. Just that on first blush, I'm setting them aside hoping for something that just fits from the get go! :)
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

So... to reiterate: any modules with a different setting from ye olde dungeon with beleaguered villagers, elves & dwarves, lords and castles I should know of? :)

Now I am no longer asking you to mind-read my take on S&S; I realized my previous approach took too much for granted. Instead I simply hope to get some of you to recollect if you remember any module that doesn't give off the usual faux-European vibes, that isn't based on Western Mythology and/or similar? (I'll weed out the alien spaceships myself 8) )
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Here's an example of the difficulties, that perhaps you all have never thought about. Let's discuss module DCC 66.5, "Doom of the Savage Kings". What would be needed to run this adventure in a faux-near Eastern locale? That is, the geography, customs, language of a pretend version of a bygone era, that geographically looks something like the Atlas Mountains (in Algeria). Or the Caucasus region and their culture. Or perhaps Iran (Persia)...

There's just soo much to change for an adventure to feel properly Conanesque - the locale of an adventure just permeates a module and it's really easy to forget a detail. Let's go through the module, shall we?

SPOILERS (I'm not trying to spoil the adventure; but probably will anyway)

I'm calling the village Herat instead of Hirot.

The trope of the damsel in distress is perfect so the start of the scenario is promising - we'll just rename Morgan into Tamara, and change her clothing to "naked, restrained by leather straps". (Why am I conjuring Sean Connery in Zardoz here :oops: )

Obviously the module is Viking-themed, so the Jarl needs to become a Sheik or Emir or other tribal leader. Physical strength is a sign of a brave male warrior in my take on S&S, so we'll make Emir Banu Tamim assume the description previously given to Sylle Ru: "A thin, weaseling wretch of a man". Based on the above description on how he treats his captives, he sounds like he's into leather and some light bondage, so maybe describe his household as a place of dampened spirits, where his dancing girls are visibly afraid to make a mistake that makes them have to taste the whip. We can add an imposing man-at-arms, Ahnaf the Fair, to make heroes think twice of straight-up assaulting the Emir. He's based on the brother with the big great bonky club Conan faces in the first movie. And, when I come to think of it, this guy :)

The Wolf-Spear of the Ulfheonar needs a rename. The Lion-Spear of the Azraddi, maybe? (But see below)

Both the Seer and the Mad Widow are old and wrinkled. I realize there's a point to this in the latter case, so we'll either introduce a young sorceress somewhere or we'll simply flip the gender and attractiveness of Sylle Ru: "a dark-haired beauty with a dangerous flash across her sneering face, Sylle Ru is defined by her hip-length thick lustrous hair. She otherwise wears only a long split oryantal dress. She appears to be the only woman unafraid of the Sheik. In fact, she appears to share his proclivities - her eyes burn bright whenever he punishes some servant girl.

I added hair to her description to set up a "who has the most lustrous hair?" type rivalry with the Widow. Perhaps Sylle knows Ymae's true nature?

Broegan “Bull” Haverson needs a complete make-over. As written, he's a giant of a man that defends his guests. But he's completely powerless to save his own daughter? In the context of this style of S&S, that's inexplicable. But suspecting him to be ensorcelled would just be a red herring. So we'll make him a merchant - not a warrior. Plus, there wouldn't really be any "taverns" in a small village - travellers would much more likely rely on the hospitality of prominent villagers. That he needs a new name is a given, so we'll make him Bulgur Haf'huz, a reasonably well-off merchant, yet with no influence over the Sheik and his seeress. IF the heroes rescue his daughter Tamara, he'll of course shower them with refreshments (and maybe even offer Tamara to them, after first giving her a glance to see if she would approve of course, he really loves his daughter). If they don't, he'll simply never feature in the scenario - they will have to make do with the flop-house.

Chapel of Justicia. Everything about this screams western morality, and needs to go. There just aren't any lawful deities, and there certainly aren't any lawful Clerics. All sorcery is dark in S&S. Not sure what to make of this. The simplest solution would be for Bulgur Haf'huz to give the heroes the weapon... which probably should be remade into a scimitar; not too many hammers in arabesque imagery. But hold on.... There might be a rumor Sylle Ru possesses a weapon a hero once used to vanquish the devil-hound, so they go steal it from her. (Perhaps she's magically hidden it in her quarters, so they need to trick her somehow, or perhaps persuade her. This adds a great opportunity for some social interaction with an "enemy" NPC. She might see the utility in vanquishing the hound, but she would ask a price. And not your good old regular night of debauchery either...) Anyway, the hammer - it would obviously give its power to anyone that dares to wield it. If it remains a hammer, perhaps make it preternaturally sinister and heavy? (You need to sacrifice 1 point of Strength each combat you wield it).

Sign of three rats. Just add an equal amount of female gang members, Azadeh, Farah, Nahid, and Ziba are their names; they all partake in everything the gang does, plus they aren't above gaining extra coin as prostitutes. Master Jenks can thus remain as written.

The Mad Widow Ymae. Her name indicates she's from a far-away country (I mean, Scandinavia, or Ultima Thule, is at the furthest edge of the world) but we can make that work. Her appearance as an old crone is obviously a point of the adventure, so we'll keep it. The bit about what happens if the heroes succeed is confusing to me. My best guess is the author didn't want to saddle the hero with an actual marriage? That's not a problem in this style of S&S - in fact it's a trope to be leaned into!

"However, if the PC makes good on his promise, he is treated to a surprise. The Widow opens the door to her hovel, and is now a young lovely woman, taller than most men, with flowing golden hair, stoutly built with heavy breasts and wide hips. She awaits her betrothed with a wide smile, clothed only in flowers, apparently ready for a pagan wedding! There is no trace of sulphurous fumes or mottled cats, and the hovel is a regular hut. (In this version, fulfilling the promise freed Ymae from her patron. Yes, she lost her powers, but she got what she wanted all along - a new second life as a wife and mother) Of course, the player of the PC should not be told any of this; and will probably remain just a little bit afraid of Ymae forevermore... ;)

This rumor: "The hound takes beautiful women to be its brides in a kingdom beneath the moors." Replace "moors" with "heavens", and this is an idea too good to be false. In other words, have Tamara not be the first sacrificial victim, so that there can be at least one earlier female "sacrificed" that now serves the hound. Let's call her Gamora. We're still talking Tomb-Ghouls, except only male victims are reduced to being those shriveled husks described in the module. If anything females gain supernatural luminosity and attractiveness, and will combat any heroes using wiles and deception rather than teeth and claw. (think one third Beauty and the Beast, two thirds Dracula's Vampire Spawn for Gamora and possibly Tamara)

(Should Tomb-Tamara be "rescued" from the hound, provided she suffered no great damage that would make her undead state obvious, it's even possible the heroes will reunite her with her father, who's relief and love will blind him to her altered psychology and personality. To Bulgur Haf'huz, her new aloof and debased nature is simply her way of "coping with the trauma of being ravaged by the Hound of Hirot". That she will eventually turn into some blood cultist or beast hedonist will probably never become the heroes' problems... unless the Judge secretly recruits a player to play her as a very Chaotic PC :) )

As you probably realize, reusing classic adventures is almost not worth it since reskinning is soo... much... work... (I'm not through the entire module but you hopefully get the point by now).

Just a final thought - in S&S there are no heroes that just do good for the sake of it. The hound obviously needs to attack anyone trying to leave the village. I mean, assuming heroes would just want to help because that's the right thing to do would be a fatal flaw if this module were to be converted into S&S. Unless you're fine with them just walking past saying "not our problem; village didn't seem rich enough; bye!"

Thanks for reading,
Last edited by CapnZapp on Mon Feb 07, 2022 2:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by GnomeBoy »

If memory serves, it's not that Broegan can't save his daughter -- it's that everyone has agreed to the lottery system that's in place to try to limit the damage the Hound is doing. Without it, it was showing up more often and killing multiple people each time. It's a stop-gap tactic at best, but it's the best they've got (as far as they know).

I don't have time at the moment to deep dive into what you've put together, unfortunately. But I will say, yes, sometimes the DCC ethos leads to "well, it's not out problem -- see you later!" Characters are expected to make choices and be free to pursue them...
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

GnomeBoy wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:28 pm If memory serves, it's not that Broegan can't save his daughter -- it's that everyone has agreed to the lottery system that's in place to try to limit the damage the Hound is doing. Without it, it was showing up more often and killing multiple people each time. It's a stop-gap tactic at best, but it's the best they've got (as far as they know).
First off I think we can agree modules keep down the verbiage which is generally a good thing, but here means we can only speculate.

I simply think it makes more sense if Broegan/Bulgur is not described as a huge warrior even in regular DCC. Otherwise the question arises why he just sits on his hands back at the inn, instead of, I dunno, doing a suicide mission to kill the Jarl or something. (It comes across as especially nonchalant since the module writer is clearly open to making it real easy to save her: just accept the sacrifice but then free the daughter before the hound can find her. Sure a NPC can't be expected to find solutions to everything but come on. If it is that simple and Mr B is a trained warrior, what's wrong with him?)

Now enter a Conan-style movie. I think it is a very distracting casting choice to have a "giant" that sleeps at the front door "to better defend his guests" just let his the life of his own daughter slip between his fingers with zero activity.

It would be much more spot on and expedient to make this NPC a civilian that clearly can't take matters into his own hands; this explains why he could not save his own daughter. Otherwise players might despise him or even suspect foul play ("this giant warrior must be ensnared in dark magic if he doesn't risk his own life even when his daughter's life is at stake"). And that's just unnecessary; and it doesn't play into the module's themes.

But let's not make a mountain of a mole hill. It remains a small issue - though it is a good example of the little things you need to catch when you convert a module from "classic" old-school D&D vibes to the specific vibe of S&S discussed in this thread.
I don't have time at the moment to deep dive into what you've put together, unfortunately. But I will say, yes, sometimes the DCC ethos leads to "well, it's not out problem -- see you later!" Characters are expected to make choices and be free to pursue them...
Well... yes... and no :)

If you have a classic world of D&D with Justicia Clerics that can vanquish demons and undead fueled by their holy god, then it is much more reasonable to offer up adventures that ask heroes to do the "right" thing.

Obviously DCC eschews the rigid constraints of a Good-Neutral-Evil alignment scale, but the game does comes across to me as significantly more traditional than what S&S needs, especially since it remains rooted in faux-european fantasy.

Remember that I am fully aware that DCC considers itself a Sword & Sorcery game. But we're not discussing Appendix N in general here. We're specifically discussing the almost sword & sandal-y or sword against sorcery primitive sandblasted genre of S&S best exemplified by the sources I've already mentioned upthread. Barbarians vs Ape-Men, not Knights vs Orcs (Whenever I use "S&S" in this thread, I suggest y'all read the thread title to be reminded of what I am talking about :))

There you can't simply hope heroes will stay and help random villagers for pretty much no reason. Note how the adventure clearly assumes the regular "hero's mindset" - it never even discusses who could offer gold to get the heroes to help out, there are no NPCs that try to shame hesitant PCs into action, etc.

If Broegan/Bulgur offered a lot of money, that could get the module off the hook (by offering an alternate hook for less unselfish characters). But the module clearly isn't thinking in those terms, since it wants the hound to just eat the sacrificial victims straight-up: there just is no motivation since there's no hope victims are still alive.

Another very S&Sian approach (that might come off as a tired trope) would be for Morgan/Tamara to be so alluring one hero simply "must" save her. But that excludes (heterosexual) female heroes and I hesitate to go there.

Neither do I want to go down the road of a villager declaring they will set out to save Morgan/Tamara, and asks if any of the heroes are courageous enough to join them. (Her sister perhaps, or a village boy infatuated with her) I dislike this kind of emotional blackmail (do you want to live with the death of this hapless villager on your mind). Being jeered and taunted in a tavern is one thing, as long as the hecklers are ultimately too afraid themselves. In S&S it is okay to fear clearly superior monsters, but the goal of the genre is not to emasculate heroes. Plus, S&S (and DCC) is generally not fueling the Luke Skywalkerian trope anyway.

So no, I would argue that this particular module does need "conversion" for its initial hook. Or, let's phrase it like this: in my opinion it will be improved by getting rid of the classic D&D expectation that "an adventure is its own reward".

Now then, please remember I have now written many words on what still remains a small subject. The greater point is not to quiblle over details, it remains to offer many examples of the big and small things you need to take into account to make a module truly fit the genre. This is hard (harder than many of you might casually think), so ready-made S&S modules are very valuable to me.

Yes, recommendations are good, but recommendations where I don't need to reskin churches and knights are even better :D

I'm new to DCC, and so I would first like to Judge a couple of prepublished modules to get a better sense of how lethal they should be, before I write my own stories (and/or use modules from other game systems). I want to get a feel for the balance and rhythm specific to DCC before I accidentally import my experiences from other games.

Cheers
CapnZapp
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Here's a sweet and short suggestion:

The Imperishable Sorceress (from DCC Free RPG Day 2013)

This one practically runs itself, very little tweaking needed. :) Sure it has a weird science sheen, but nothing that doesn't work. It starts by forcing the player to play the scenario, but for a 4-hour convention slot that's reasonable; expected even. In a regular campaign (like mine) I'll have the dreams want the players to travel to the mountain of their own free will.

Of course you might want to play up the sexiness of the "main treasure find" (to speak in non-spoilery terms) just because. I'd award +3 Personality points to the brave or reckless character that "jumps in" (read the scenario to understand what I'm talking about).

There's potential here for a very cool moral conundrum and opens the door for future body horror* and/or personal sacrifice. It's all good.

*) Since this is OSR and not, say, 5th Edition, there's no reason to play fair, and the critical sentence of the module is: "Although the body
does not die, it eventually becomes a trap for the being whose mind is caught within it." I look forward to seeing what the players choose - myself, I see three main possibilities: 1) a player character opts to inhabit the body 2a) Ivrian is allowed to inhabit the body, and she becomes a new PC recruit, 2b) Ivrian inhabits the body as the borderline hostile NPC the scenario outlines.

Obviously scenarios 1 or 2a are greatly desirous! :)
CapnZapp
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

The next module I'm going to give a nod to is The People of the Pit. (the level 1 DCC adventure, not the level 5-7 OSRIC thing)

The notion the world just has a canyon filled with a humongous tentacle monster that nobody except the locals care about is extremely Sword & Sorcery, and not just in general, but spot on for the particular take on S&S discussed in this thread! :)

Again, I'm not going to talk a lot about what makes the module so good, since I want to focus on my tweaks, so let me just quickly say its ideas for the dungeon are deliciously weird and still makes a lot of sense! It really is evocative and varied and covers all the things you need from a tentacular scenario!

SPOILER ALERT. MATURE THEMES ALERT.

Instead, let's quickly mention the areas where you might improve upon the adventure as written. First off, yes, DCC proudly boasts of the "good old days, when adventures were underground, [and] NPCs were there to be killed" so this isn't really a criticism, but more of a "how to do it differently, if you actually LIKE (gasp! 8) ) roleplaying when the heroes TALK to your NPCs"; one reviewer even felt obliged to list the few opportunities there are for such things, finding very few (such as the toad demon).

At this point, I found it useful to back up and consider what's going on behind the scenes. There's basically four monster "types": cultists, toans, people of the pit, and Palimdybis himself. And the back story where some warrior-priest attempted to placate the beast. Villagers are converted into cultists but the module doesn't go into much detail. Toans are presumably Palimdybis eggs. Not sure where the people of the pit comes from. And then there's the Octo-Mass, which an expansion called "Assassins of the Pit" attempt to give a greater role.

Let me first say that leaving things unexplained and unexplainable is a great thing. But I see opportunities to strengthen the module's themes (horror, body horror, tentacles, alien thinking) here, and so hear me out: I'm making cultists more human, at least the greys. I'm giving the Octo-Mass the function of being embryo Toans. Also, new cultists are created simply by a cultist giving enough "gifts" to a human*. I'm reserving the "faceless horror" for the degenerate People of the Pit.

Okay, so the grey cultists. They're villagers after all. Erasing their face just robs the module of opportunities for non-combat interaction. I WANT there to be at least a brief moment where players remain unsure whether to slaughter every cultist they meet. Plus, I think it's better to gradually increase the alien-ness of the various inhabitants of the Pit than to go full out alien right off the bat. The purpose of this cult should be more inscrutable and less overtly evil. So:

Gray cloaks: These are the lowest-ranking cultists, still very much like a level-0 human but carrying a pulpy red tentacled mass (an "octo-mass") inside their bodies. They wear hooded cloaks** and may carry weapons or fight unarmed. Their skin and flesh is rubbery, and on a critical Perception check, a hero can see something moving under their skin. They retain most of their human personality except their individuality - they come across as distant and detached, placing little value on the sanctity of life (their own as well as that of others). Their default stance towards heroes is indifferent, but they may be curious or even friendly. Especially scouts outside the Pit! After all, they're the "recruiters", the most sociable members of the cult. And so they see no particular reason to attack heroes (like monsters do and players expect!). After all, they are supremely confident nothing the heroes can ever do is able to threaten the well-being of Palimdybis (that's actually a very reasonable assumption!) Grey-cloaks thus become hostile only when ordered to. Not even killing another cultist will make them flinch. When wounded, their red spongy goo-oozing interior is revealed, and you might even see the end of a tentacle quickly hiding behind folds of spongy intestines. When killed, their bodies burst asunder and their Octo-Mass emerges to attack independently. Gray cloaks contribute 1d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.

Next, the Toans and how to give the Octo-Mass a greater role:

Pregnant Cultists: Both male and female cultists can become horribly bloated in unnatural places by their Octo-Mass being supernaturally impregnated by Palimdybis (could be vibrations in the Aether for what I care). If they drink a Black Potion (see below), this gives them enough temporary hit points to survive long enough to cut or tear themselves open, which in turn allows them to pour the Blood of Man onto their Octo-Mass; this kills the Cultist but transforms the Octo-mass into a much more powerful creature, a Toan. It’s three actions minimum to transform (drink potion, open body, pour blood); however, a cultist will normally want to savors his or her moment and not hurry the experience.

Black Potion: a lumpy oily liquid providing 3d6 temporary hit points and makes you numb to pain for one hour. So far this sounds great, but the lumps contain tiny embryos for larval tentacles - after one turn you gain 1d6 “gifts” (see below). On a roll of 6 (or if you reach 8+ “gifts”), an Octo-Mass develops only to burst out of its own volition. Since you're presumably still human at this point, you automatically provide the necessary ingredient for it to immediately transform into a rampaging Toan.

Blood of Man: This is regular human blood, nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully it hasn't coagulated yet.

Now, the remaining cultists:

Crimson cloaks: A tactile suckered tentacle has burst forth, replacing (choose or roll d6): 1-2) a leg, 3-4) an arm, 5) grows out of their groin or 6) replacing the cultist’s head(!). They remain open to persuasion, much like greycloaks, except they’re less curious about the the world. On the other hand, they're really interested in making you see their perspective. They give out “gifts” just like Grey Cloaks, except they're able to hand out 1d6 “gifts” per day (even all at the same time). This is obviously perilous all by itself, but should they roll a 6, they get a bit over-excited and their entire Octo-Mass bursts out. Not only does this kill the cultist, it likely disgusts the recruiting target, spoiling the recruiting attempt. Crimson cloaks contribute 2d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.

Purple cloaks: (Color taken from the Assassins of the Pit supplement) These are the undercover agents (far-roving rangers, spies and, yes, assassins) of the cult. My intention is mainly to provide a rank for hero level cultists (whether controlled by the judge or a player), not to explain the use of Octo-Masses (I've already done that above). So, any promising recruit that has more than one hit die (like a classed PC) can be given special concoctions to horribly dissolve the bone structure and make his body features malleable. Take 1d6 damage; if you're reduced to 0 hp you dissolve into a pile of goo. Essentially, I'm going with the same basic idea as in the supplement, except not as powerful. The cultist can switch two physical ability scores as needed and mold his features to mimic any body shape, gender or ethnicity. This requires a full turn. The ability is not so powerful you can clone an individual, but you can certainly attempt to impersonate him or her. And yes, you become immune to critical hits mentioning bone. As for the purple cloak? While the agent can certainly wear any clothing required for the mission, molding your shape is a ritualistic celebration of Palimdybis, and most purple cloaks feel only comfortable doing it while wearing nothing but his purple cloak.

Yellow cloaks: Their faces are a blank rubbery mass, and have vestigial tentacles growing from their abdomens. They have lost the art of human interaction. Yellow cloaks contribute 3d6 to checks to control a pit-beast tentacle.

Blue cloak: This is of course the warrior-priest, transformed beyond recognition. By the way, I'm inventing a reason for the cloaks: The leader quickly found that Palimdybis ate his guards just as happily as the sacrificial virgins, until he came up with the bright idea to give the women crimson cloaks and his men gray cloaks. This helped the great tentacle beast to distinguish between food and feeder, and losses among his guards were immediately cut in half.

Not sure how to give this information to the player. (That Blue Cloak is what's remaining of the warrior-priest, that is. The cloaks doesn't really need explaining) Perhaps mention his order was named something a long the lines of "order of the blue canyon" or something (where "blue" was meant to evoke heavenly tranquility). And yes, if PCs think to change into grey or crimson cloaks, that should give them some small bonus/penalty against tentacles. Maybe the color of your skin (including clothing) replaces the usual focus on attacking heroes with (bad) Luck.

Off-Map additions:

Let's add the potential for non-hostile interaction as areas 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, and possibly 0-4. This enables the Judge to not start the adventure already at the rim of the pit. These areas represent possible encounters while traveling from civilization to the pit.

0-1: they encounter impossible tracks, as if a giant worm has slithered past. A successful tracking roll suggests the worms are all over the place, traveling in both directions. (In reality this is a tentacle extending, and then retracting back again)
0-2: They approach a humble farm, three simple clay dwellings. In each of the two smaller huts there’s a single Grey Cultist curiously rooting around. When approached, it greets the heroes asking “what this is?” or “how did I use this?”, holding up a piece of trivial farm equipment. In the main building there are five humanoids. One is dressed in a grey hooded cloak, holding two more identical cloaks neatly folded. She is watching four naked humanoids writhing in ecstasy on the floor with disinterest; these are two cultists and the middle-aged husband and wife that farms this patch.
0-3: They stumble upon five Grey Cultists resting outside. The most attractive female cultist of the lot stands up, throws back her hood, holds up her hand in peace, and invites them into their midst. Curiously there’s no tent, no fire and no food.
0-4: In the distance, they see a great tentacle seemingly without end. It’s herded by six humans clad in grey cloaks (there's actually a great image of this in the module); another three walk alongside the tentacle perhaps a hundred paces behind. It will probably seem like a dangerous thing, but the three cultists in the back are easy pickings if attacked; they do not think to warn the front six.

Here are some suggestions on how to run the scenario if the heroes join up (or pretend to):

At 1-1, friendly scouts acknowledge the sacrifices “made before my time”, but then adds that this barbaric practice has stopped now. (This is actually true, since sacrifices are now made at 4-9 instead!) At this time, friendly scouts get really agitated if no hero has yet accepted "the gift"*.
At 1-2, the lead guard cultist tells the party to “turn back, you are not welcome here” unless brought back by a scout party. Even so, unless at least one party member carries “the gift” they will not be persuaded to let them pass. Otherwise, the guards as well as the scouts all escort the party to 1-3.
At 1-3, assuming a non-hostile party with at least one member having accepted "the gift", the guard tells them to wait here. Ten minutes later all present cultists start chanting; this is to “call the taxi” = to allow a Yellow Cultist to appear via tentacle. At this time, count the total number of gifts accepted by the party. Unless the number of gifts at least equal the number of PCs the Yellow Cultist accuses the friendliest scout cultist of bringing infidels to their home. All cultists attack her, which likely kills her before the PCs can do anything. Then the yellow-cloak calmly asks the heroes to accept "the gift". If the party somehow still remains non-hostile after seeing her Octo-mass burst forth, and they accept enough gifts, they are allowed inside. But at this point, I have no further advice to give, since the scenario will likely not play out as written! (You have very cool but strange players! :)

Finally a couple of random suggestions:

Area 1-21: Add three female Grey Cultists, tending to the large devil toad’s every need. Note: They do not help the toad in combat. (The toad clearly has Jabba the Hut as his idol ;) )

Areas 3-1 through 3-3 (the incubation chambers): Inside each large leathery egg there’s a naked bloated cultist, sleeping or maybe only daydreaming. If it is pierced, it drains to reveal white and a yolk that reminds you of a regular egg, only with a blackened Octo-Mass in the center. This Octo-Mass is incapable of attacking, and quickly dies.

Area 3-4: In this room, the Toan is, just like in the module, close to hatching. While the yellow-cloak attacks, the gray-cloak inside the egg drinks a Black Potion, screams “Palimdybis, I honor thee!” and then cuts herself open to allow human blood from the crimson tubes to pour over her innards. This takes two rounds. In the third round, her Tanoan stumbles out, but is incapable of action that round.

I found there to be a curious lack of opportunities to peacefully interact with crimson cloaks, so I'm changing room 3-8:

Area 3-8: Den of Crimson. Three Crimson-Robed Cultists live here. Two are “dressed” and awake, sitting at a small table while the third is slumbering on the bed, his cloak hanging from a peg on the wall. The two have no visible tentacles but the sleeping one has a tentacle instead of his head. The female is hostile and wants to attack: “kill the intruders!” while the male is friendly and curious, and holds her back: “lets first hear them out”. The third Cultist sits up to “watch” any combat with disinterest, and is genuinely surprised if he too is attacked.

There is almost zero time to react to the People of the Pit as written. So lets add some:

Area 4-6: Half a dozen beings mill about this square, doing strange but ultimately menial tasks. They resemble humans with smooth gray skin, but they are stunted and bent like apes, their entire unclothed bodies covered in cilia-like growths of tiny wriggling pseudopods. The males are bald while the females have waist-long hair that is gray or even white for young healthy females and brown for old withered ones. The most horrible aspect is that their faces lack eyes and mouth.

These "civilians" ignore strangers, though they flee if attacked. (Alerting the cultists is not a good thing! The best approach is to just casually saunter into the village as if nothing was amiss.)

Area 4-7A: Of the four villagers, two have unbroken wills and may be recruited. These urge the heroes to act “before Scylla is sacrificed too!”. The explain: Scylla is the village elder’s virgin daughter, and the leader of the cult is here to perform such an important sacrifice!

Area 4-8: Here two female people of the pit sit, each in front of a bowl filled with gravel, sharing a clay jug of water. They are “eating” by snorting crushed minerals mixed with water. They arm themselves with spiked clubs if they detect the heroes and take a defensive stance.

The virgin sacrifice: Scylla is a level-1 chaotic cultist of Palimdybis with one extra vulnerability or taboo. While she was fine being sacrificed to her god, she sees her rescue as Palimdybis simply saving her for an even greater fate than being lunch. As long as she remains a virgin, she has +2d on all saves. She happily joins the party as she sees it being her ticket to fulfilling the fate her master has for her. She will even suggest pretending to go back home first in order to get the party their reward (two oxen).

Finally, in the words of Ten foot pole: "And then there’s crap like +1 mace." Definitely do remember to change up the treasure of area 4-4.


Thank you for reading all the way through. As you can see, this module has massive potential of Awesomesauce! :)

Zapp


* Yes, you guessed right; by "passing a gift" I'm using an euphemism. If I have to spell it out cultists have the ability to expel a small pulpy red larval thing (max 1 per day) that seeks to enter the "recruit" through an unguarded orifice. Either the recruit is fully aware and willing, or the cultist uses deception/distraction (most simply, a kiss). I could have went for simply "one gift and you're done for" but I prefer the gifts actually having a beneficial effect where players must weigh the advantages against the risk of "turning":
1 gift: You can work or run twice as long, and you need half as much sleep. Make a DC 2 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 2 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
2 gifts: You heal twice as fast from natural resting. You find the musk of cultists intoxicating and will want to be near them. (No mechanical impact or forced actions, just an opportunity to roleplay your descent into further depravity.) Make a DC 3 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 3 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
3 gifts: Your flesh beneath the skin turns red and spongy. You take half as much damage from bleeding and Critical hits mentioning blood. Your priorities change. You value accomplishing your mission and goals higher than your life. Make a DC 5 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 5 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
4 gifts: Your skin becomes rubbery. You gain damage reduction equal to the number of Hit Dice you have. You find the musk of cultists bewitching and you must make a DC 10 Will save to tear yourself away, even in dangerous situations (such as when you are presented with another "gift"). Make a DC 8 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 8 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
5 gifts: Your flesh completes its transformation into a spongy alien mass, and you become desensitized to pain. You no longer bleed, you ooze. You still recover hit points as normal, but instead of healing, this is represented by you simply holding torn flesh together until wounds glue shut by themselves. You may stitch nastier gashes to help out with the gluing process - as you survive more and more grave wounds, your body will look positively Frankensteinian. You realize your own insignificance in the cosmos, and are no longer bothered by bloodshed or the loss of your friends. You become immune to Critical hits mentioning blood and pain. Make a DC 13 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 13 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
6 gifts: You find the musk of cultists irresistible and will go to great lengths to be near them. You dream of giving birth to a round, blubbery mass with long black tentacles, and I don't mean a nightmare. Make a DC 21 Will save or you succumb to the Call of Palimdybis. Make a DC 21 Fort save or you sprout your very own Octo-Mass.
7 gifts: You realize you have been a fool for having individualistic goals, and you readily sacrifice yourself or others if it is the will of the Tentacle. You succumb to the Call of Palimdybis.
8 gifts: You gain a warm fuzzy feeling whenever some thing inside you shifts, and you instantly sprout your very own Octo-mass.

Note how I'm going for effects you could conceivably explain cultists having, without actually having to track the details for NPCs. For instance, if a Grey-Cloak is killed for taking 3 damage, and this somehow becomes a matter of discussion, you simply say the cultist had 2 hp and DR 1.

The larger idea here is that as you gain ranks within the cult, you're given more gifts, this time by your superiors. However, the mechanical details of how these gifts make you sprout tentacles like crimson-cloaks, lose your face like yellow-cloaks and so on is outside the scope of this adventure.

The Call of Palimdybis: The default here would be for the character to become a NPC cultist under the Judge's control (and have him seek out full transformation asap, most simply by gorging himself on "gifts"). But since I envision cultists as possibly curious about the world, and not ever ever worried for Palimdybis, it could be interesting to have a hero basically have Palimdybis as his Patron.
Your own Octo-Mass: Over one day and night, the gift(s) grow to form a proper Octo-Mass inside you. Assuming you have not yet fallen for the Call of Palimdybis, this is a very traumatic experience. Mostly, this is a roleplaying challenge but you do get -2d on all Saving Throws as your Octo-Mass distracts and undermines your body. This penalty instantly disappears when you join the cult and accept Palimdybis as your Patron. When you are killed, your body burst asunder and the octo-mass emerges to attack independently. Since your flesh no longer bleeds as normal, the rules for Bleeding Out and Recovering the Body do remain in effect (a hero whose Octo-Mass has left them will, assuming the scenario plays out as intended, have his body slowly reverting to normal if the Judge feels benevolent. Otherwise, the Octo-Mass deposited 1d8 embryos or "gifts" before it burst out, and it is a DC 10 Medicine check to find each one (removing them is trivial if found), assuming the players even think to do this before healing the PC back up).

**) like the one Red Riding Hood has; here's an inspirational image, that I might hand out in black and white. If you don't want players to conjure images that great artists like Frazetta, Royo, Sanjulien etc could have drawn, you could have cultists still wear their peasant garb underneath I guess.
hJmQNW3.jpg
hJmQNW3.jpg (8.48 KiB) Viewed 30321 times
https://i.imgur.com/hJmQNW3.jpg as you can see from the thumbnail, this is suggestive without showing any nudity, so it probably won't melt your eyes, but still: link probably NSFW
CapnZapp
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Another shout out goes to The Dread God Al-Khazadar, a level 4 DCC adventure.

I like the epic ending and its twist, so here are a couple of initial thoughts:

* I will probably place the world of Madkeen inside the campaign world Hollow World style, simply to keep it Sword & Sorcery and not have to expand the campaign into "actual" Sword & Planetary.

* I see absolutely no need for the railroad. I don't think players find it fun or useful to have "pointless" combats they cannot win, or find hopeless. I want to run the adventure, but will simply do what many other DCC adventures do: simply expect heroes to step up! There's no reason why this adventure must force the heroes any more than another adventure, and I wished the author simply went with the "if the heroes shy away from heroism, there simply is no adventure".

So in great S&S style, the next town the heroes reach is this Punjar town, and it is in bedlam. True heroes will simply stick around to investigate this "dread god", which leads to them getting on Marsullas "radar". She can be the one calling them in her dreams, so it is the heroes who open a conduit to her prison.

In the dreams, she appears in her prime. After all, no true S&S (male) hero should need more motivation than getting to talk to a nekkid hot chick. (She will still be the old crone she's described as once they reach her). :twisted:

* They reach Madkeen simply by falling down a big-ass hole, right into the center of the Earth. (They will possibly have to walk up a million stairs to again reach the surface, depending on how the module ends, but "three months pass where you do nothing but walk up stairs all day long" is an easy thing to say :P )

* I quite like the "falling in true love with an Alien Princess" idea and I absolutely will allow it for any royal the heroes encounter, not just alien ones, and not just in this adventure!

Basically, a hero can declare some random royal they've just met is their "true love". When making rolls to defend or support one’s true love, including daring rescue attempts, the character gains a +1d bonus to all die rolls.

Of course, the adventure skips the part where we ask ourselves whether the princess or price reciprocates these feelings, so I'll have the hero make a Personality check* to infatuate her with him. (or them with them as the kids say nowadays)

If more than one hero declares his true love towards the same princess, or the princess does not love anyone back, that doesn't really matter does it. As the adventure suggests, the heroes can still be obsessed with the princess, gaining much the same bonus. In addition, this bonus also applies when trying to one-up your rivals, that is actions and checks taken to compete against them, or taken to impress the princess. Maybe the Judge will have her relent after a while, allowing a second round of Personality checks...?

Also, since this is S&S, let's ditch the romance idea of "only one true love ever". In this type of campaign, these princesses will have to cope with the fact they can get dumped, or cheated on, by barbarians that just think of themselves! (This goes both ways of course. Nothing says a particular Princess can't manipulate the party by having multiple true loves, using the rivalry of the heroes to get what she wants, at the small price (which really isn't a price at all*) of having to give all of them her love.

The point is: this only works with royals. After all, S&S is a retrograde campaign setting where it makes perfect sense people with blue blood are just better than the peasants. (No, I don't condone this view in real life)

* So, while Zardu and Zarya are simply wearing loincloths etc when first encountered, we make sure to add a scene where they later thank the heroes decked out in full regalia as befits a Space Prince and Princess. Here are their tweaked stats:

Zardu: Str 16; Agl 12; Sta 13; Int 7; Per 10; Luck 12. Init +4; Atk +2 melee plus deed die for +1d8+1 plus deed die damage; scale mail; shield; AC 15; HD 4d12+4; hp 33; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP Deed Die (d6), critical range of 19-20, birth augur (the bull); mild telepathy; AL L.
Zarya: Str 7; Agl 13; Sta 10; Int 12; Per 16; Luck 12. Init +1; Atk ±0 for +1d6-1 melee damage; Atk +2 for 1d6-1 ranged damage;; AC 14; HD 4d12; hp 28; MV 30’; Act 1d20; birth augur (the bull); mild telepathy; AL L.

Since I use the rule "you may add your Personality bonus to AC when fighting unarmored" this gives Zarya 13 AC as a base. I'm giving her some protective bauble granting +1 AC. Zardu on the other hand is better at attacking and deals more damage, and he might well wear armor. Let's give him some kind of alien scalemail of superior manufacture to allow him to stay mobile and a small shield for AC 15. Note how both twins are equally fetching in the eye of the opposite sex (she's using Personality, he's using Strength*).

We can still use the module's story about him getting in trouble and she bailing him out (until the heroes arrive). We're just doing it in a way that emphasizes how he is the warrior while she's more of a skirmisher. Let's say he gets trapped underneath his alien horse thing and she draws away the vatta monster.

*) Remember my Strength-in-place-of-Personality rule described in the first post, above.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

baophrat wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:21 am
I'm running a Sword & Sorcery themed campaign (think Conan the Barbarian)
> do you use Howard's world as it is or have you developed a similar but more personal framework ?
Thank you for asking. I'm running a string of DCC scenarios. Not only because I'm lazy (I am :) ) but because I wanted to get a feel for how DCC plays before I started making my own material. Since those aren't written for one and the same given world (and certainly not a Howardian one), the campaign will be episodic in nature.

On the other hand, many Conanesque stories ARE very episodic. Movies too - there are far too many S&S movies where the Barbarian and his friends just walk a path and encounter random sh*t... While a coherent world and campaign is always better, I'm hoping it isn't as necessary here. And since I'm basically lifting various scenarios it is what it is.

But a world map is a must. So to finally get around to answering your question ;) I have presented my players with the World of Xoth map, and pointed to the city of Jhaddar to serve as the Hazruun the Vile of my chosen starting scenario. The heroes are currently travelling across the mountains to the east toward Yaatana or possibly Lamra (they have two adventures under their belt by now). Whether these cities will remain as described by Xoth or if they too need to change is TBD.

(this post brings over a question posted in an unrelated thread about Elves)
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

It's going fairly well so far. We're into our third scenario (Death Slaves of Eternity --> Imperishable Sorceress --> Doom of Savage Kings) with one character having attained level 2. The players are slowly coming out of the brutal culture shock that is the difference between D&D/PF and DCC. :)

We haven't yet gone to "one hero per player" since players feel very protective of the idea to have several characters as a buffer against character death. Maybe I'm the only one noticing that while we have had nine character deaths, only one of them had reached first level (and he only died by running where he could have walked, and rolled a natural 1 to fall to his death).

But maybe everybody likes the concept of being able to rotate heroes, not just to play multiple classes, but to lessen the impact of getting spellburned out. (If you can simply have your spellcaster wait out a scenario the drawbacks of spellburn are alleviated). Or, the fact that there has been at least two close brushes with death when a non-frontliner happened to get attacked by a significant monster. (It takes some getting used to, to realize wizards and thieves aren't nearly as robust as in modern D&D, they just have no business staying within reach of a monster without a warrior or soldier stepping in to soak the hit. The difference between a AC 15 Soldier with 15 hp and a AC 11 Thief with 8 hp is huge, even at first level, and the difference is obviously only going to get larger)

So I'm currently handing out two sets of xp (=each player has two active heroes). There are more characters but we treat them as torchbearers et al. They don't gain XP - but the player is obviously free to redistribute xp from their main heroes to level up these; after all whenever a main hero needs to recuperate they can switch that PC out, and obviously having given the fresh recruits enough XP to reach level 1 and gain a class is a huge step up compared to playing a character that's still level 0. (At least at first, obviously you gain 10 XP fairly quickly)
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

Actual play report:

As far as the Sword & Sorcery theme I'm pleased to say the players are slowly adapting to this, by having their characters not hoard loot as much (since there aren't magic items to purchase), to carouse and generally live life as if it is your last day alive (since that is literally what the level-0 rules lead to :) ).

For instance, something as simple and primitive as having female player characters seek out big strong men for company, even if you're not sure they're friends or enemies, is a staple of the genre. When we play regular D&D or PF heroines almost never do this, as they prefer being independently strong women (if not outright sexless playing pieces regardless of gender). But here we already have one female thief hooking up with the warrior of another player, that same warrior attempting to seduce NPC wives in every town, and one female raider immediately cosying up to Ahnaf the Fair (look upthread for who this is), spending the night with him in order to gain future access to sneaking around inside the Emir's great hall.

Of course, I have spent some effort in helping players get into the right mindset. Possibly repeating myself, here are a few of my houserules that help encourage Frazettan behavior:

Men are from Mars; women are from Venus.
Gender plays a large role in how your character is treated by others. This is not a gender-neutral fantasy game world. That said, you determine how much or how little you play up your character's sex.

§1 Right after generating your Strength score, roll a 1d7 and add your Strength modifier. If the result is 5 or higher, the character is male. If not, you may make your own choice either now or when you've finished generating the remaining stats.

This solves an age-old conundrum where realistically gender should give a large modifier to Strength, but as a game it would suck to get penalties. DCC allows for a brilliant solution where female characters with Strength 18 are possible (without any penalties or drawbacks) but rare.

§2 I made gender-specific occupation tables (using Muscedere's S&Sy occupations from Death Slaves of Eternity as a starting point), making it more probably for male characters to gain "violent" occupations than for female characters.

§3 Most importantly: supplementing the importance of (bad) luck in monster targeting with gender. That is, any intelligent foe will by default consider male characters more threatening than female ones, and will attack the male if they are both in the same general luck category (negative modifier, no modifier, positive modifier). This reinforces gender roles, and actually can HELP a warrior control "aggro". Some threats (like falling rocks and amoebas) still ignore gender, of course. And if you wear armor heavy enough to impose a speed penalty I rule this covers you up so much your gender is no longer immediately apparent - anyone in scalemail on up is treated by monsters as "male", so it's not that I'm making it impossible for a lady warrior to take the heat of wizards etc.

§4 Female characters (PCs and NPCs) are affected by Strength and Personality equally. By this I mean male (and female!) characters can use Strength in place of Personality when it comes to social skill checks, such as persuasion or information-gathering, when the character they're addressing is female.

The obvious goal is to enable the genre trope where every movie features its wooden muscle mountains still somehow attracting the attention of conventionally attractive females despite this often being the least realistic aspect of said film ;)

The following aren't actually gendered rules (they benefit male characters just as much):
§5 Everybody can add Personality (the modifier not the whole score) to their AC if they remain unarmored.
Since Warriors can also add Stamina such a character can potentially rock AC 19 just by rolling 18 in Agility, Stamina, Personality. Not that any character has even come close so far.

§6 Chaotic Cultists use Personality for spellcasting
This opens a bit of variety

§7 Personality is good for morale. A character with a Personality bonus (=positive modifier) can spend the night with a fellow PC and will allow that companion to heal up faster (add 1d4 per point of Personality bonus to the 1 point of healing per nightly rest). Do note: "Spending the night together" does not necessarily have to involve "carnal knowledge". The same rule can be used to narrate characters spending time hunting or telling tales or wenching or whatever. (Though healing is seldom a concern when taking time off between adventures to carouse, so I'm mostly targeting the concept of spending time with a fellow hero while resting near a dank dungeon to lift his or her spirits which translates to more hit points).

I believe I have created an environment that encourages S&S heroes and heroines to behave slightly differently (and appropriately to the genre) without actually forcing anything. I just don't believe in old school rules that restrict female characters or treat them as lesser adventurers (whether the ruleswriters intended to or not). On the other hand I don't believe in the "modern" approach that basically ignores gender either. That's just no fun, especially in Sword & Sorcery.
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Re: Suggestions for Frazettian Sword & Sorcery DCC modules

Post by CapnZapp »

This post was getting long, so here are my general additions to help amp up the sword and the sorcery:

a. Featuring a sword & sorcerian world. I chose Xoth. I am not yet using it beyond having a near-easternish world (for the dry rocky badlands vibe) and for the illustrations of its inhabitants (easily found online) - featuring character ethnicity with drawings of topless men and women is not unimportant to set the game apart from regular D&D in my opinion. (And Frazetta is mostly too distractingly NSFW to work as actual game material)

b. Random Sword & Sorcery theme. This is as simple as having your character roll a d20: 1. oath or honor, 2. blood, 3. mammoth or elephant tusks, 4. legend or lie, 5. dying or inherited curse, 6. betrayal or deception, 7. temple virgin, 8. plague, 9. servitude or captivity, 10. banishment or exile, 11. king of kings, 12. desert or wasteland, 13. corruption, 14. dragon or giant reptile from a lost age, 15. moon or moonlight, 16. tentacled monstrosity, 17. arcane or sacred ritual, 18. snake-people, 19. heir or chosen one, 20. childbirth.

What this means is left undefined, but it stoked the imagination of more than one player :)

c. Motivations & Flaws. Often attempted but seldom successfully in my opinion. To encourage incorporating a motivation or flaw into the game but not forcing players to use or even remember them, my rule is simple: you can gain 1 XP if you play up this, but rarely more than 1 XP per session. Ideally good role-play is its own reward, but the promise of a small gameplay boon isn't hurting, while remaining small enough that it can easily be ignored.

Instead of trying to reformat my table entries I simply give up and attach a (zipped) PDF to this post. (Its my work. It's inspired by things from the internet, not merely copied)
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