Question regarding Hit Dice

[redwizard]

Hi all,
I picked up the core rules and am planning to run my first session with my group soon. I am actually coming to DCC from a different starting point than most.

some background to clarify the question
I started with 4th edition DND, and my group recently move into the 5th edition playtest, and we loved the feel of the old school adventure so much that i shifted my group to DCC. Having neither played either basic or advanced and was not alive in the 70's, i have some gaps in my knowledge

On page 385 of the rules, under balancing it says "The DCC RPG has no such rules beyond the generalities of hit dice and dungeon levels". Which i think is awesome, but i want to know. What are the generalities of Hit Dice and dungeon levels?

Any help in grasping this concept would be great.
Cheers
Red Wizard

[finarvyn]

You might simply say that "low HD monsters are on upper levels of a dungeon, high HD monsters are on lower levels."

However, OD&D (1974) had a chart where they divided monsters into six categories ranging from easy to hard. An easy (type 1) monster might be something like kobolds or orcs, whereas a hard (type 6) monster might be something like a dragon or spectre. On level 1 of a dungeon, a random monster would be a type 1 on a roll of 1-2 (on a d6), type 2 on a roll of 3-4, type 3 on a roll of 5, or type 4 on a roll of 6. So, a starting party might encounter a type 4 monster (ogre, wraith, gargoyle) on the first level of a dungeon.

DCC's intent is to use modern rules to simulate much of the experience of the good old days. The secret is that in the good old days, you might find something nasty close to the surface and had to learn to judge when to fight it or when to run away from it. Modern RPGs tend to have this "if it exists, I must be able to kill it" because of a metagaming game-balance assumption.

DCC makes no such assumption. The DM can place anything anywhere.

That help?

[redwizard]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

[NJPDX]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

Generally speaking it's a good idea to present challenges to the party it has a shot of overcoming most of the time. But that "overcoming" doesn't necessarily mean that the party should engage a "monster" in combat. Overcoming can mean finding a clever way around something.

So back to your ten HD monster on the first level of a dungeon, I wouldn't be so hasty to disallow it. Maybe this creature is just an obstacle that can be bypassed with some bribery, or trickery instead of a frontal assault?

Ultimately, players should learn that it's not just permissible, but often times advisable to flee and that the dirty little secret of staying alive in an "old school" style game is that you want to postpone letting dice resolve "problems" as long as you can; when the dice start rolling PCs eventually start dropping.

[Raven_Crowking]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

Read Sailors on the Starless Sea.

[redwizard]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

Read Sailors on the Starless Sea.

I have, i have read the two adventures in the core book, sailors of starless sea, people of the pit, emerald enchanter, frozen in time and most recently fate's fell hand.
all i can deduce that about 4 hit dice at level 1 is the max

[Raven_Crowking]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

Read Sailors on the Starless Sea.

I have, i have read the two adventures in the core book, sailors of starless sea, people of the pit, emerald enchanter, frozen in time and most recently fate's fell hand.
all i can deduce that about 4 hit dice at level 1 is the max

Both People of the Pit and Emerald Enchanter include a monster that the PCs simply cannot meaningfully affect. Sailors (0 lvl funnel) includes a monster that can be chased off with 66 hp of damage, but cannot be slain by the PCs.

[DM Cojo]

Very much so, thank you. Basically, just try to pace the dungeon a little and don't have 10 hit die monster rock up to first level character. cheers

Read Sailors on the Starless Sea.

My thoughts exactly. This adventure was the first one I ran, and it is fantastic. It does a great job demonstrating just the questions your are asking about. I give it my highest recommendation.