Surviving Kalmatta – A Player’s Guide to The Treasure Vaults of Zadabad

Surviving Kalmatta: A Player's Guide to the Treasure Vaults of Zadabad was written by Carl Bussler and Eric Hoffman, with cartography by Carl Bussler and Eric Hoffman. The publisher is Stormlord Publishing.

This product is a guide for players who are going to face the challenges of The Treasure Vaults of Zadabad. Kalmatta is the main island that the adventure takes place on.  The Guide serves to orient the PCs without giving away any of the adventure’s meat, and to provide a place for players to make notes, maps of their own, or fill in the unmarked map of the island itself.

The pdf is free.

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The Swamp Daughters of Marshund

The Swamp Daughters of Marshsund is an adventure by Oliver Korpilla and Mattia Giardini. Arct is by Bernd Jans (cover), MonkeyBlood Design (some elements used in map design), and the public domain. Cartography is by Dyson Logos and Oliver Korpilla. The publisher is Mount Parnassus Games. No level is given in the text, but this interview at the Goodman Games site indicates that it is a level 3 adventure, as does the product page on DriveThru RPG (“level 3 or higher”).

I am going to suggest that the seeds for this adventure could be set even in the 0-level funnel, as it provides a mini-setting with a hex crawl, rules for foraging, and local communities as well as the titular problem driving the narrative. Is there a dungeon? Yes, but it is not terribly large, and the setting material can drive play for many sessions before and after the Swamp Daughters themselves are resolved. This adventure is a bit of an odd bird with published DCC work, because there is no doubt that it is pitched towards campaign play rather than use as a one-shot adventure. The generous OGL terms all but invite you to expand upon it.

Although The Swamp Daughters of Marshsund came out in October of 2014, as of this writing I haven’t seen a lot of discussion about it, so I am going to avoid spoilers.  As with The Headless Horseman, it is clear that the authors’ experience with other games informed their design here. In fact, the words “Stat Block (DCC)” appear before every statblock, suggesting that a version for a different system was at least considered.

If you are looking for a plausible basis to build a campaign setting, this provides a simply developed but narratively complex starting point. The actual adventure could be built up to, so that the players felt that they actually know the Marshsund villagers before events unfold. In this case, the judge would be well advised to create some additional marsh encounters, and place other potential adventures in the vicinity. The Croaking Fane would definitely fit in here. The Folk of Osmon is more of a stretch, but is a possibility.

The people of Marshsund have allied with strange powers, but for almost a hundred years nobody bothered investigating. Now the daughter of a powerful lord has gone missing in the Dystermarsh, and he is looking to you for help. Can your players unravel the mystery of the Swamp Daughters and find a solution in time?

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Sword in the Jungle Deep

Sword in the Jungle Deep is a 0-level funnel adventure by Francisco Duarte. Art is by Alena Lane (cover and cartography), Francisco Duarte (cartography), and Lonny Chant. The publisher is The Keep Studios LLC.

This adventure offers a jungle outing for 0-level PCs. Most DCC funnels are created to be useful in the widest possible range of settings. Sword in the Jungle Deep breaks with that, offering a world in which some things beyond a local village can be known by the PCs. For instance, the city of Caster's Crossing is known far and wide.

Appendix N has a wide range of voices, and there is nothing wrong with offering something a little less modular. If the judge wishes to assume a more "standard" Sword & Sorcery world, they can change parts of the background elements without too much effort.

Parts of the background gave me a strong 3rd Edition or 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons vibe, but these are, again, easily altered to meet the needs of the judge. Getting past the background, the adventure itself offers an interesting location and challenges that are definitely in keeping with DCC.

I found parts of the writing a bit stilted, but I have been criticized for being long-winded myself, so take that with a grain of salt. I was reminded of the pastiches of Lin Carter or Gardner Fox, although I didn't notice any direct links to those authors' works. The adventure does provide a "TLDR" section for all descriptive text, summarizing not only the highlights of the description, but also a capsule description of how the encounter itself works. That is gold.

Sword in the Jungle Deep makes a strong use of divine politics as its backdrop, although it is a divine politics that reaches far into the past. The Malikim, the remnants of that ancient conflict, are still found in the world of this adventure, dwelling among mortals. That no class is provided for these beings is a shame. Should The Keep Studios decide to explore this world more fully, this would be a welcome addition.

Judges looking to use this adventure may consider picking up The Lesser Key to the Celestial Legion (Psychoda Press) to flesh out their own unique takes on divine creatures and conflicts which are likely to come up if the themes from the funnel continue to play out in a longer campaign.

Long ago Angels waged war on the lands south of the famed city of Caster’s Crossing. In the wake of their awesome power grew a jungle of dreadful perils and treacherous hunters, known by the locals as Erset La Tari. The treasures and ancient relics hidden among the dark shadowy trees have been coveted by adventurers and profiteers for millennia, and now it will be your turn to attempt to uncover them.

Thrown into the wetlands by the devise of a mysterious Elven Warmage, you will need to best the horrors lurking at every corner. Will you be able to overcome the fierce jungle predators? Or the tainted artifacts blocking your way? And what will you do once you are finally face-to-face with the sword in the jungle deep and its fearsome guardian?

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Synthetic Swordsmen of the Purple Planet

DCC 84.2 Synthetic Swordsmen of the Purple Planet is a 5th level adventure by Jim Wampler. Art is by Doug Kovacs (cover), Mark Allen (cartography), Stefan Poag, and Michael Wilson. The publisher is Goodman Games.

This is the second of several supplemental adventures supporting Peril on the Purple Planet. As with the Barsoom stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, each additional "tale" adds new elements to the complexity of the Purple Planet without undoing what has gone before.

This is a relatively short, digest-sized adventure, but it packs a lot in for its size. Those familiar with Barsoom will certainly recognize an homage to the Atmosphere Plant which John Carter restores at the end of A Princess of Mars, as well as the polar excursion of Warlord of Mars.

When even the native lifeforms of the Purple Planet begin to wither and die under the weirdling sun’s punishing rays, you and your party of interplanetary freebooters quickly conclude that something is going wrong with the very sky above your heads. What ancient mysteries lie in wait for you at the planet’s northern pole, as you explore the timeworn and failing biosphere plant found sprawling there amongst the ice peaks? Will you save your harsh but adopted home, or hasten its eventual doom?

This adventure features new background material that expands the campaign setting, including a new House of Ascended Masters, new weapons and ancient technology to plunder, and a surprising new species of Kith warriors.

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Grimtooth's Trapsylvania

Grimtooth's Trapsylvania is "A Sourcebook for Grimtooth's Traps Locations", written by Grimtooth the Troll (the DriveThru RPG page identifies Steve Crompton), with DCC stats by Joseph Goodman and Terry Olson. Art is by SS Crompton, Liz Danforth, Micheal Von Glahn, Scott Jackson, Jeff Dee, and Phil Longmeier. The publisher is Goodman Games, under license by Flying Buffalo Inc.

So what is this thing? A tongue-in-cheek setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics adventures, which might be part of a normal campaign setting (although that would seem strange), the basis of a gonzo campaign setting, or a place which might be visited as a result of a planar step gone awry. Each area described contains maps, encounters, adventure hooks, and more. Not surprisingly, there are new traps. There is enough material in this book, if used as a campaign setting, to keep the average group busy for years.

Being Grimtooth's, building up replacement characters will be part of what keeps them busy! The Grimtooth's books hail from the early days of gaming, and have a slant mixing humor with slaughtering PCs, so nothing herein should be considered safe or fair. Nor is it necessarily politically correct by modern standards (the minor succubus found herein, for instance, can force a Will save that, if failed, causes her victim to disrobe and stand helpless for 1d3 turns). If this is what you are looking for, you will not be disappointed.

You get descriptions of a Seaport & Abandoned Village, Grimtina’s Petting Zoo, the Fetid Swamp, Warthog’s School for Wayward Trolls, the Death Maze Testing Center, Grimtooth’s Airship and its Hangar, the Lighthouse & Dragon Grotto, the Forest of Doom, the Hallway of Infinite Corridors, Grimtooth’s Inner Sanctum, and more. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Restrooms in Trapsylvania, and why you might wish to avoid them!

The DCC Trapsylvania Appendices supply game-specific statistics for the creatures, personalities, and objects found herein:

Appendix 1: Creatures contains full statistics for 87 entries (by my count), and offers a Snake Poison Table for some of the venomous serpents found in Trapsylvania. Yes, some of these monsters are a bit silly, such as the Kiwi Time Snitcher, "Merv" Griffin, or the Giant Killer Dodo - but a lot of them are surprisingly solid monsters that could be used in any DCC RPG campaign.

Appendix 2: NPCs gives stats for over 20 named beings in the Trapsylvania setting. This includes gods (Shub-Niggurath and Yidhra the Dream Witch Goddess), Grimtooth and his sister Grimtina, and more.

Appendix 3: Items contains over 20 items, and statistics for the minor (Type I) succubus. The author notes that "Many items listed below have magical powers that can significantly impact a campaign. The judge may decide that certain items’ enchantments only function in Trapsylvania." This is probably good advice.

For the first time ever: the Legendary locations of Grimtooth’s Traps revealed! And fully compatible with DCC RPG!

For over 30 years Grimtooth’s numerous Traps books have horrified players and inspired gamemasters with hundreds of dangerous devices, deadly deathtraps and hilarious hijinx! Now Grimtooth (with a little help from kid sister Grimtina) will take you on a personally guided tour of his realm and the central hub of his vast Traps empire.

Run your own Grimtooth campaign or pick and choose locations you can use in your own single location adventures.  Explore Grimtooth’s caverns, visit his Inner Sanctum, escape the Deathmaze Testing Center, attend Warthog’s School for Trolls, take a ride on Grimtooth’s Airship, tour Grimtina’s Petting Zoo or get lost in the Infinite Corridor of Hallways and many more gigantic places of doom. Each of these infamous locations include maps, descriptions, Non-player character details, scenarios, all with in-depth DCC stats and lots of art by Traps artist SS Crompton.

And can you uncover the horrendous secret that lies deep beneath Grimtooth’s caverns and back into his family’s history? It’s a great read and a useful campaign setting all in one book.  What are you waiting for? Get yours today!

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Shadow Under Devil's Reef

Shadow Under Devil's Reef is a 1st level adventure by Jon Hook. Art is by Peter Mullen (cover), Chris Arneson, Tom Galambos, Cliff Kurowski, Jesse Mohn, and Chad Sergesketter. Cartography is by Stefan Poag. The publisher is Goodman Games.

We all knew that, sooner or later, Goodman Games was going to release a module closely inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, and Halloween of 2017 was the time to do it. Jon Hook, who supplied statistics for 22 Lovercraftian Monsters for Dungeon Crawl Classics in the Goodman Games Gen Con 2017 Program Book was clearly the person to do it. His adventure in that same guide, The Thing That Should Not Be, is also solidly Lovecraftian, and would be a good follow up adventure to this one when the PCs reach 3rd level.

As the cover painting makes clear, Deep Ones are involved...but they are not all that is involved. Structurally, because both adventures pay homage to The Shadow over Innsmouth, there are similarities to The Portsmouth Mermaid. These do not, in any way, hurt either adventure, and it would be perfectly feasible to run both in the same campaign. Likewise, although this was released as a Halloween module, there is no reason to wait until then to play it. It is a good adventure with solid Cthulhu mythos elements.

The perfect October release! A raging storm has made the waters around Devil’s Reef impossible to navigate safely. The noble galleon, The Royal Dawn, has run aground and Princess Kaeko from faraway Fu-Lamia is now missing! Untold riches and glory await those who successfully find the princess and safely deliver her to Black Sand Port. As the greedy and ambitious adventurers set out to find the princess, their thoughts linger on the few Royal Dawn survivors that washed up on the beach with bodies that were corrupted by strange frog-like mutations. What kind of evil awaits the adventurers on that forbidden island?

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Trumphammer 2K

Trumphammer 2K was written by Author X and has no credit for illustrations. It is published by Author X.

Essentially, this is an unofficial mini-setting for DCC RPG games, wherein Donald Trump not only won the election in 2016, but in which there will never be another American election again, Canada has been nuked (for some unknown reason), and Mexico has united with a South American alliance to declare war on the United States under the God Emperor Trump. Players are part of the Resistance, with classes such as the Abortionist, Anon (members of a terrorist hacktivist collective), Embezzler, Euro (mystical European immigrant who has overstayed their visa), Grunt (illegal immigrant worker), Punk, or Thug.

For reasons which should be obvious, this is not an officially licensed DCC product. Author X’s sociopolitical views are the basis of this product, but whether this is a good thing or a bad thing must be determined by the individual reader.

So long as you don't take yourself too seriously, you might find some useful gaming material here. At the same time, it is impossible to describe this product adequately without some political discussion creeping in.

Trumphammer 2K was written in the months prior to the 2016 election, and the author hoped that it would have a “short shelf-life” because the political situation would change. There is satirical criticism of Republicans (in general and individually), the Green Party, the continued militarization of American law enforcement, far Right media figures, and so on. There is no mention of the corporate-leaning Democrats, the Sanders campaign, or the rigging of the 2016 primaries that was exposed by Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Russia doesn’t come up, and one imagines that is largely because RussiaGate wasn’t a thing at the time.

Trumphammer 2K offers a glimpse into a future (and present) which is far more dystopian than our current reality, but which echoes the fears and experiences of real people. It could be used as the backdrop of a Cyber Sprawl Classics or DCC XCrawl campaign. It could be treated as an alternate plane of existence that our normal PCs somehow find themselves within (illegally, no doubt).  It is also surprisingly robust as a setting for messed-up one shot adventures. I could easily see a luchador from the 2015 Gong Farmer’s Almanac Vol 1 crossing the Great Wall of Trump on behalf of the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas.

Another potential scenario would see a patron send the party into the world of Trumphammer 2K to recover some item needed…or perhaps some portion of spell knowledge needed by the party wizard can only be found among the glowing radioactive ruins of Canada? Mutant Crawl Classics might offer several ideas here, as might the various Umerican publications….

While I am willing to talk politics with almost anyone, please, please, please keep politics out of the comments section here as much as possible. Thank you. Consider this request as part of my projected Zone of Equality, 50’ Radius.

  

It is the year 2100…

and God-Emperor Trump is the undisputed ruler of the USA. Elected in the election of 2016, he ascended, consolidating the financial, military-industrial and religious complexes into a single force that has forever changed the face of this nation, for the better…

At least that’s what the Talking Heads would have you believe. You’re one of the few that knows the truth, that sticks their neck out to ensure that your children can live in a better world, a world free of Trump’s Tyranny.

There is no peace in this nation, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of a mad god…

Will you submit, or will you fight?

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