Crawl! fanzine #6

Crawl! fanzine #6 is written by Jose Lira, Yves Larochelle, Raskal, and Colin Chapman, and published by Straycouches Press. This issue is the "Classic Class Collection", and within we will find four new classes and a modification to the core Thief class.

Disclaimer: I have another illustration in this issue.

Within we find:

Bard

You are a storyteller, a jester, a clown, an orator, a singer, the greatest of all performers! Designed by Jose Lira, this bard is similar to that we've grown accustomed to from 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons onward.The "Talent Check" is a good innovation, taking a bit from Mighty Deeds and a bit from Spell Checks to rank the bard's performance.

Gnome 

Yves Larochelle gives us a gnome class which includes a new spell, Scripted Illusion. These gnomes are closer to the 1st Edition AD&D gnomes than those we see in Pathfinder, etc. They are more folkloric tricksters, and are certainly not tinker gnomes. They only gain five class levels, which is actually a nice limitation, in my opinion.

Paladin

Jose Lira's version of the paladin allows for paladins of any alignment. Other than that, they feel pretty Old School. There is a section on Fallen Paladins which may warm the heart of anyone who grew up on 1st Edition AD&D. This is the class I did an illustration for.

Ranger

This is Raskal's take on the wilderness warrior epitomized by Aragorn and Robin Hood. This class seems to take a simplified 3rd Edition D&D ranger as its inspiration.

My Thief, My Way!

Finally, Colin Chapman breaks down the Thief class skills so that you can customize what your thief is particularly good at.

Crawl! fanzine #5

Disclaimer: I produced a piece of art for this issue. Apart from that slight blemish, the art in this issue (produced by Mitchell Hudson, Jason Adams, Count Spatula, Tomi Baranya, and John Becaro) is outstanding.

Crawl! fanzine #5 (Monsters!) is written by Reverend Dak, Shane Clements, Sean Ellis, Jeff Rients, Jeremy Deram, Brad Littman, and Colin Chapman. Crawl! is published by Straycouches Press.

In this issue we have:

Monsters with Class

Modify your monsters by giving them class levels, similar to those enjoyed by the PCs. This article, by Reverend Dak, offers judges who care about those sorts of things an easy way to create versions of classed monsters whose class abilities roughly parallel those of the PCs. The math involved is easier than, say, Pathfinder, but I prefer to simply make those decisions on the basis of what feels right. If you want more guidance, this article is for you.

Orc: A Monstrous Class

Shane Clements offers a Dungeon Crawl Classics orc class that appears to be based of the 3rd-edition era Dungeons & Dragons orc (although the illustration is pure 1st Edition AD&D!). This class would be easily adaptable to any sort of barbaric humanoid...including human berserkers (if you ditch the infravision).

Quick Monster Stats

Originally published at People Them With Monsters, Jeremy Deram offers a quick "cheat sheet" for creating your own monster stats. Again, this article can help give the prospective judge some guidance.

Consider the Greenskins

Sean Ellis provides alternative versions of goblin-type humanoids.

Quickie Wandering Monster Tables

This article, by Jeff Rients, is exactly what it says on the tin. The charts are provided for up to five dungeon levels, effectively ranking the monsters in the Cyclopedia of Creatures roughly by power level.

Fung-eye and Stonecrawler

Two original monsters by Brad Littman, one of which is clearly inspired by Jim Henson's Labyrinth, and the other by the moving stones of Death Valley in California.

Hounds From Hell

Colin Chapman offers the blood hound and the gloom hound.

The nicest thing about the monsters offered by Brad and Colin are that, to me at least, it is immediately possible to see how they could be used in an adventure or a campaign milieu.

Crawl! fanzine #4

Disclaimer: I received a "special thanks" from the author, along with several others, for proofreading and/or playtesting the adventure (proofreading in my case).

Crawl! fanzine #4 is the first adventure published by Crawl!, and the first adventure in a Dungeon Crawl Classics zine. It is also the first published Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure to feature a dragon! This issue is The Tainted Forest Near Thorum, a 5th level adventure by Yves Larochelle. Crawl! is published by Straycouches Press. Additional Writing by Reverend Dak.

This is the only issue of Crawl! to date where the cover is not attached. Instead, it is removable to reveal a map of the village of Thorum and its environs.

Nothing more can really be said without spoiling the adventure. There is something going on near Thorum, and the PCs are drawn into determining exactly what that is. 

Crawl! fanzine #3

Disclaimer: I produced some art for this issue, as well as some writing.

Crawl! fanzine #3, the Magic Issue, was written by Reverend Dak, Sean Ellis, Brent Miller, Daniel J. Bishop, Jon Wilson, and Colin Chapman. It was published by Straycouches Press. The complete patron write up for Van den Danderclanden is included free with the pdf version.

This issue contains:

NPC Magic and Spellcasting

If you read the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook, you will know that NPCs do not have to be treated like PCs in the system. In this article, Reverend Dak offers a simple system for statting up those NPC spellcasters from other OSR games, and for resolving their spells.

Consider the Kobold

Sean Ellis provides a kobold based on folklore rather than the traditional Dungeons & Dragons reptilian humanoid.

Patron Spells of the Supernal Archmage

Brett Miller scribes Van den Danderclanden’s patron spells and Spellburn results table.

Magic Wand

This is my version of the 4th-levelWizard Spell, Magic Wand. This is also the article I did the illustrations for.

The Talismans of Anti-Magic

Jon Wilson’s article describes items that can adversely affect spells while they are being cast. This is an immensely cool idea that can make life difficult for your spell-slinging PCs. Alternatively, the PCs might need to seek out an anti-magic talisman to stop the machinations of a potent wizard, elf, or cleric.

Let’s Get Familiar

The core rulebook lists fourteen physical manifestations for familiars (per alignment); Colin Chapman brings this up to 20. 

Crawl! fanzine #2

Disclaimer: I did a couple of small pieces of art for this issue.

Straycouches Press continues with Crawl! fanzine #2, the Loot Issue! This issue was written by Rev Dak, Colin Chapman, and Jon Marr. This was a fantastically useful issue, which I once listed as the second most-important must-have non-adventure product for Dungeon Crawl Classics.

This issue includes:

Loot!

A random generation method for DCC treasures. This includes gems, jewelry, and magic items.

Lucky Items!

Items with their own Luck score that can be burned.

Legendary Items!

An article describing how items might become enchanted through the things the PCs do with them.

OSR Conversions: Treasure!

This article provides tips on converting treasure from other OSR game adventures to Dungeon Crawl Classics.

Honest Orkoff!

Jon Marr provides a personality from the Sunken City who can help you monetize those weird items you found.

Shattered Shields!

The OSR "Shields Shall Be Splintered" rule (attributed to a blogger called Trollsmyth) for Dungeon Crawl Classics. This is one of the two articles I drew an illustration for.

Helmet Law!

Rules to making wearing a helmet have actual value in Dungeon Crawl Classics. This is the other article I drew an illustration for.

Killin’ Time!

More than a dozen new weapons.

Be Prepared!

New equipment for Dungeon Crawl Classics - an extremely handy reference to keep near the table. Sooner or later, your PCs will need shovels, skis, a wooden peg leg, or something else author Colin Chapman remembered to pack!

Crawl! fanzine #1

The original Dungeon Crawl Classics zine, Crawl! fanzine sprang into existence in 2013, not long after the game itself saw the light of day. The first issue was written by Reverend Dak and Brett Miller. Crawl! is published Straycouches Press.

The zine contains several articles.

Wizards & Warriors! Part 1

This article discusses ways to make DCC seem more like the "Pulp Fantasy and Swords & Sorcery Campaigns" of Appendix N fiction. Everyone is human, there is no cleric, and all the PCs have some thief skills.

Van Der Dandenclanden! Part 1

What if your patron was an aspect of yourself from one potential future? This is the first third-party patron published for the Dungeon Crawl Classics game.

Save or Die!

A variation on the bleeding out rules in the core rulebook.

Variable DCs!

Dungeon Crawl Classics has pretty simple rules for skill checks. This is an equally simple way to make the DCs for those checks a little more random that 5/10/15/20. The "Class Skill Die" is a good idea, which follows pretty intuitively from the concept of Deed Dice and Luck Dice for thieves.

OSR Conversions: Spells!

Imagine that you are in the early days of Dungeon Crawl Classics, and there aren't as many DCC adventures out there as there are now. What do you do? Use older adventures, of course! What do you do about the spells in those adventures? Rev Dak has you covered!

I personally use non-DCC adventures all the time, including things like Death Frost Doom for Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Barrowmaze, Stonehell, and Anomalous Subsurface Environment for Labyrinth Lord. This article was of tremendous help in the early days of doing so.

Finally, when you buy the first issue of Crawl!, you now gain the complete Van Den Danderclanden as a separate pdf booklet.

Colossus, Arise!

DCC #76: Colossus, Arise!, is by Harley Stroh and published by Goodman Games. In this adventure, 8^th level PCs are pitted against the 300-foot-tall cadaver of a Chaos Titan. The adventure promises to offer “many opportunities for a quick and inglorious death” while bringing PCs “back to the start of their careers, where the difference between life and death can hang on a clever decision or the throw of a die.”

We didn’t have 8^th level PCs hanging around in my campaign, so we made some. Really, I should have waited for Colossus, Arise! to be worked organically into ongoing play, but there are limitations to my patience. The adventure rocked!

Starting this adventure, the PCs are literally sneaking through a lost city in the desert inhabited by an army of giants. If you have not read the entry for giants in the Cyclopedia of Creatures in the core rulebook, go ahead and do so. Take a gander at what giants do for critical hits. Then be afraid. Be very afraid.

Now, here’s the weird thing. When I ran this, my players were not so very afraid. They took to the adventure like they were invincible. And, seemingly, they were, despite every die roll occurring in the open. And there is a real chance for some really serious action to go down here. Multiple chances for critical hits from giants. A 300-foot un-dead Chaos Titan making wildly random attacks. Strange magics. The brain on the module’s cover. Protected by Fate and the blessing of the Dice Gods, my players sailed right through it.

And this is the really great part about Dungeon Crawl Classics: They loved it anyway. They knew that the dice were with them. They knew that things might have worked out otherwise (but how far otherwise they never learned).

I think I might dust this one off for another run.

Giants stalk the shifting sands as the lost city of Stylos awakens from its deathless slumber. The Fourth Age of Man is at hand! All that stands between the gigantic hordes of Stylos and their conquest of the world is your band of adventurers. Sinister traps, implacable foes, and the crushing tread of the dread Colossus all lurk within these pages, eager to test the courage and cunning of even the most accomplished adventurers.