The Devil's Chapbook

The Devil's Chapbook: A Game Designer's Notebook was written by Harley Stroh. The cover features art by Jeff Easley, and the interior art is by Doug Kovacs. It was published by Goodman Games.

Disclosure: I am mentioned in Harley Stroh's introduction.

When one thinks of Dungeon Crawl Classics, three figures loom large over all others: Harley Stroh, Michael Curtis, and Doug Kovacs. To my mind, their influence is even greater than that of the game's creator, Joseph Goodman, in that they have created between them the look and feel of the majority of official DCC products. I would imagine that Joseph Goodman feels much the same, because he gave each of them a chance to showcase their work in three unique products: The Devil's Chapbook (Harley Stroh), The Drain Chamber (Doug Kovacs), and Scrivener of Strange Wor(l)ds (Michael Curtis). Each may be considered a compilation of fragments, and an insight into works in progress.

The Devil's Chapbook is divided into several sections:

Forward (by Joseph Goodman)

Introduction: City of a Thousand Missed Deadlines: In which Harley Stroh discusses his fabled city of Punjar, its support, and the fact that there is still no official Dungeon Crawl Classics release for the city proper. In this piece, Harley Stroh gives Doug Kovacs credit for curating the city, sharpening and honing the material "like a murderer grinding blades in the dark".

Mockup Intro for DCC RPG Punjar CIty Set (2014): Yes, you read that right. Harley Stroh wrote an introduction for a Punjar boxed set in 2014. With Michael Curtis' DCC Lankhmar coming in early 2017, it seems unlikely at the time of this writing that this introduction will be used anytime soon. Still, if you intend on using Punjar in your home game, or trying to write Punjar material for Goodman Games, it is worthwhile to see where Harley Stroh was going.

Hirelings (2015): "When following a stranger into a black, Chaos-infested hole is a better alternative than going home at night, you might be ready to become an adventurer's hireling." A table with 12 Hireling Qualities is provided. While this material was intended specifically for Punjar, Dungeon Crawl Classics judges may find it useful for any milieu.

Caste (2016): Another Punjar scrap, indicating how people treat you depending upon your relative positions on the social ladder.

In the House of the Rat: A Fragment (2014): Part of an adventure taking place in Punjar...and one which would well be worth completing by an industrious judge. The adventure is clearly influenced by Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar stories, and I could easily see it moved to that setting without any real change. Unfortunately, Harley Stroh's fragment stops at the most interesting part of the adventure....Or perhaps this is fortunate, as the judge will certainly want to continue from here. How will you write the ending? You will also have to go back and fill in three statblocks.

Viking Crawl Classics: There is no date given for this. Who wouldn't want to play vikings in Dungeon Crawl Classics? Harley Stroh grants you the complete write-up of the Ulfberht Sword, "a mythic take on the real blades". These dwarf-made swords grant a unique take on Mighty Deeds of Arms, so that a non-Warrior gains a 1d3 Deed Die to roll on the sword's special table, but a warrior or dwarf uses his normal Deed Die to either roll on the table or, presumable, perform some other Mighty Deed of Arms. "Katanas & Cthulhu" is also mentioned, and this is an idea that should be turned into a real product.

DCC-Punk (2015): Some notes on Cyberpunk Dungeon Crawl Classics, which deals almost exclusively with armor and weapons. The Death & Dismemberment table on page 15 relates to this fragment, but it could be used elsewhere. Ideas for using modern weapons with Dungeon Crawl Classics are always welcome, and I am more than happy to see a "Chainsaw hand" given statistics!

Vinotok (2013): A carousing table based on the experiences of Harley Stroh and Doug Kovacs in Carbondale, Colorado. Some may be wholly false.

The back cover is a map of Punjar, the Tarnished Jewel.

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Jewels of the Carnifex

DCC #70 Jewels of the Carnifex is a 3rd level adventure by Harley Stroh. Art is by Doug Kovacs (also cover and cartography), Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Russ Nicholson, and Stefan Poag. The publisher is Goodman Games.

At the end of a forgotten back alley, in the weird and otherworldly marketplace of faiths known as the Bazaar of the Gods, stand the ruins of a forgotten chapel. All that remains are a fallen staircase, a mound of toppled stones, and a sickly, leafless tree placed squarely in the center of the ruins.

If you were uncertain that Harley Stroh's Punjar, the City of a Thousand Gates, is at least partially modeled off of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, the above paragraph should answer all doubts. Although this adventure is nominally set in Punjar, it is easily transplanted to any Dungeon Crawl Classics milieu. When I ran the adventure, I set the action in Denethix, the main city of Patrick Wetmore's excellent Anomalous Subsurface Environment (written for Labyrinth Lord, but easily converted).

Within this adventure, the PCs explore the ruins of a chthonic cult's temple, which is not completely abandoned, seeking the fabled and titular Jewels of the Carnifex. The Carnifex herself may be encountered, and, while the upcoming expansion, Lost in the Briars by Brendan LaSalle, is something to look forward to, a full patron write-up for the Carnifex would be rather keen.

The adventure was fun and challenging, and the mutated spider-thing in the outer sewer region worked extremely well in conjunction with Denethix's somewhat polluted waterways. The frog demon also worked extremely well, and it is only by dint of Mighty Deed and burnt Luck that the party cleric was not lost forever in the sewers beneath the city. Luthold the Mad was great fun to play, and dealing with Azazel and the Pious was interesting all around. The entire set-up could not help but create a dynamic, ever-shifting play experience.

My players also ran afoul of the descendants of the Swords of the Pious, who still watch over the ruins of the Carnifex's temple. This was another nice touch to the module, and again brought to mind the City of a Thousand Smokes.

Set amid the sprawling decadence of Punjar, Jewels of the Carnifex offers low-level adventurers a chance to plumb the mysteries beneath the city’s soiled streets, explore forgotten crypts lavished with weird artifacts, and – for the quick and daring – claim the lost Jewels of the Carnifex!

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The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2016 Vol 4

The 2016 Gongfarmer’s Almanac: Volume 4: Complete Adventures is a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Zine written, illustrated, and produced by the DCC RPG G+ community under the creative vision and direction of Doug Kovacs, Harley Stroh, Jon Hershberger, Marc Bruner, Matt Hildebrand, and Michael Jones, under the rubric of the Gongfarmer's Local #282.

This volume was written by David Coppoletti, Terry Olson, Paul Wolfe, and James V. West. Art is by Doug Kovacs, Marc Radle, Jeff Call, David Coppoletti, Claytonian JP, Benjamin Mara, Diogo Nogueira, Jürgen Mayer, Danny Prescott, and Shield of Faith Studios/Matt Jordan.

Disclosure: I am credited as an editor.

As the title implies, this volume contains three complete adventures.

The Orm Lies Down on Punjar: This is a Terry Olson adventure wherein the PCs somehow gain hold of a bottle of Purple Rhost (from Harley Stroh's Purple Planet) and have what can perhaps be described as a shared hallucinagenic trip from eating the worm contained therein....but one with real consequences and opportunities.

It should be noted that this adventure allows PCs to "gain an insight specific to some unsolved problem", and thus feeds into the Quest For It ethos of Dungeon Crawl Classics. In addition, it allows the judge to move the PCs from one location to another...even to another world.

Until the Sun Goes Down Forever: David Coppoletti offers an adventure wherein the PCs face off against the "coma cult known as the narcolepers" who "convert unbelievers by promising ultimate, unimaginable comfort in the soothing embrace of eternal drowsiness, dulling themselves against the pain and trauma of everyday life." This adventure includes a table of sleeping disorders.

Zeron Protocol: A low-level adventure by Paul Wolfe, this adventure deals with a parasite spawned from the blood of a slain demon. I could be wrong, but I believe that this is the first Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure that is actually focused on the perils of being a PC cleric, with unique disapproval effects and visions. The Chained Coffin, by Michael Curtis, may be this adventure's closest "ancestor" in this regard. Clerics are often an afterthought in role-playing game adventures, so this adventure comes as a pleasant surprise.

Finally, the volume is finished with a Character Record Sheet by James V. West (sadly without attribution to the creator).

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DCC Lankhmar: Masks of Lankhmar

Masks of Lankhmar is a 1st level adventure written by Michael Curtis and published by Goodman Games. It contains art by Doug Kovacs and Brad McDevitt. This is part of the DCC Lankhmar series, published under license from the estate of the late Fritz Lieber.

DCC Lankhmar characters start at 1st level, rather than experiencing a 0-level funnel, so this is an introductory adventure.

This is an urban-based scenario, as is appropriate for a game set in Nehwon. Not all of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's adventures occurred in Lankhmar's sprawling metropolis, but enough did to make the city feel more than "right" for a first outing. In DCC Lankhmar terms, this is the "meet", where Our Heroes encounter each other for the first time.

The adventure is written to accommodate the free-wheeling style of play in an urban environment (and DCC Lankhmar overall), including an optional encounter and event. Some rules for chases are included (pending full rules when DCC Lankhmar is released), which may be useful to judges of any flavor of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Certainly, the adventure would not be out of place if reskinned to Harley Stroh's Punjar.

The Fritz Leiber influences are strong, including a potential trip to the Plaza of Dark Delights. An encounter with "crypt spices" offers a nice homage to the Mouser's entrancement in Bazaar of the Bizarre.

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The Drain Chamber 2

The Drain Chamber 2: Doug Kovacs Sketchbook 2017 was written and illustrated by Doug Kovacs, with additional writing by Harley Stroh and Wayne Snyder. The publisher is DougKovacs.com.

Disclosure: Only 100 of these were printed, and I have #27 because Doug Kovacs kindly held it for me to purchase at Gary Con X.

As with the first Drain Chamber, this is primarily a vehicle to celebrate the wonderful art of Doug Kovacs. Also, as with the first Drain Chamber, I am going to focus on the content for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Despite this, anyone who is not inspired by looking at Doug Kovacs' art has no soul. Even the life drawings this man does make my creativity sing. The Green Man/Faerie art (reminiscent of Alan Lee's work) is amazing.

The directly gameable content is The City of Punjar: The Bazaar of the Gods by Harley Stroh and !!Warlands!! by Wayne Snyder. The first of these offers tables to use "when an exiled cleric is in search of absolution, the party is desperate to remove a hex or curse, or the judge simply decides to challenge the indifference of his godless characters". The second is two tables for a Dungeon Crawl Classics setting: Ancient Warlands Sauroid Slave Camp Over Heard Rumors and Doom Vaults Random Terrain Features. A note in one of the illustrations says "Look for Warlands in the Hobonomicon". Gaming content totals 4 pages out of 24 (plus covers).

This book includes gorgeous sketches, and some inks, from various Dungeon Crawl Classics and Mutant Crawl Classics products, as well as work done for other products and for no product at all. There is a two-page spread of art created for Inferno Road.

The Drain Chamber 2 was a limited run product. If you were unable to get one during that run, I cannot tell you where to get one now. Pay attention to ebay, I guess, and pay attention to DougKovacs.com so that you don't miss The Drain Chamber 3.

The Lost City of Barako

DCC #91.1: The Lost City of Barako is a 6th level adventure written by Harley Stroh, Steven Bean, Daniel J. Bishop, Tim Callahan, and Terry Olson. Art is by Doug Kovacs, Peter Mullen, and Stefan Poag. The publisher is Goodman Games.

Disclosure: I did some supplemental writing for this product. Specifically, I wrote the Drippling, Head Hunter, and Underbelly Stalker, so if any of your PCs fall to these menaces, you have me to blame.

Although described as a 6th level adventure, this "city at the center of Áereth" is more of a stakes-raising supplement to DCC #91: Journey to the Center of Áereth than anything else. It describes the lost pleasure palace of Barako, complete with tables to describe areas where game play might occur, creatures that might be found there, and information on the extremely creepy and potentially dangerous Akashic Library of Barako.

The product is new enough, and cool enough, that I don't want to spoil any of the surprises the lost city has in store. Suffice it to say that my contributions are far from the best material you will find herein.

That said, I was already considering how the Builders and the Adamantine Mole from The Imperishable Sorceress might fit into Áereth's inner world. If you notice a potential link between the Head Hunters, the No-Men in Lairs of Lost Agharta, and the Builders, I would encourage you to expand upon it!

It strikes me that the lost city is named after a certain former President of the United States. This might be coincidence...after all, I am told that Punjar wasn't named after a collection of money at the center of the gaming table, filled with the ill-gotten loot of numerous groaners. Nonetheless, once you see it, you cannot un-see it.

The pleasure palace of Barako rises above the Bleak Shores atop enormous stone pylons. The palace arches towards the cavernous gloom, lit by a thousand lanterns fueled by the rendered flesh of a thousand lamenting souls. Within the city, hellish figures dart and whirl in the flickering light, prostrating themselves before their Aghartan masters, all to the cacophonic beat of a thousand alien instruments. What adventures will you find here?

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Akashic Titan

Akashic Titan Volume 1: Starnheim & Related Locales was written and illustrated by Leighton Connor. The publisher is Spandangle Press.

Disclaimer: I supported the successful Kickstarter for this product.

Imagine magical steampunk mecha. Now imagine that they are used for travel, not across a single world, but from world to world through a rainbow of Bands that extends beyond the colors we know (and may not even include them), and which may in fact be inimical to life as we know it. Now imagine that this travel occurs far enough below the radar that the discerning judge can use it to transplant characters from Punjar to Lankhmar to Drongo to the Fallen Empire to Transylvania. Now imagine that, among all the other influences listed, the author includes Italo Calvino and Miguel de Cervantes.

Is it any wonder that I am in love?

Let's look inside!

Part 1: Journey to Starnheim: This section lays out some hooks that the judge may use to get the PCs interested in Starnheim, and some of the places they might encounter on the way there. Basically, this sets a scene that may be replayed, with countless variations on an infinity of worlds. You hear of a magnificent market - but what you find just leads you on farther. The PCs might be imagining that finding the "market town" is the adventure, but this is just the prelude.

Part 2: The Town of Starnheim: Describes the hidden market town of Starnheim in general terms. It is entirely possible that the PCs discover Starheim early in their careers, as a place to sell excess loot or buy rare goods. There are factions for the PCs to clash with or become involved with. Eventually, the PCs learn about the "Other Side" and the mysterious Gateway leading there.

Part 3: Mount Starnheim: Unless the players have peeked, this is a moment where their world is going to be turned upside down. Literally and metaphorically. The PCs have now found the port where the Akashic Titans dock, and it is not at all the same as the place they have left behind. Not only that, but there is an implication that such places exist in all worlds. 

Part 4: The Akashic Titans: If you are going to run a game with gigantic magical steampunk mecha, you will need rules for them. That is what this part supplies. Luckily, the writer realizes that this is not a one-player show, and when your akashic titan gets into combat everyone has things to do and ways to contribute.The rules are not at all convoluted, but there is serious chance of mishap (as there should be in Dungeon Crawl Classics. A sample titan is provided, but rules for statting up your own titans are fairly non-existent.

Part 5: The Bands: Imagine that the Bifrost was actually the phlogiston, and then imagine that the Bifrost extended beyond colors we know, to bands of dolm, ulfire, and jale...and perhaps farther. Now imagine that this is actually the akashic medium, and the color of the Band you are in affects what you might encounter and the rules of the universe around you. Not every Band is conducive to the living. Some Bands may be actively trying to kill you.

No one can tell you what is beyond the Jale Band. No information is given about passing from the Dolm Band away from the Ulfire Band back towards Blue. This is not really a problem. There are always things to worry about out there:

"Akashic titans are not alive, so it stands to reason that they could never be undead. Unfortunately, that is the best description of the akashic husk. Broken down akashic titans, usually with huge holes ripped in their hulls, their crews dead, yet their eyes still glowing, they are animated by some hideous force, and lurch their way through the Bands in search of functional akashic titans to destroy."

Part 6: The Elaborate Crystal Palace: This describes an interesting place in the Jale Band that the PCs are likely to come back to repeatedly. Chambers are randomly generated. There is more going on, and more for the PCs to get involved with, than this makes it sound like.

Appendix 1: Spells: Band Bubble is a 1st level wizard spell that "creates a mystical bubble that holds in oxygen and protects from the Bands’ toxic atmosphere and radiation." Don't leave home without it. Titan Bond is a 2nd level wizard spell that "enables the user to connect spiritually with an akashic titan, to feel what it is feeling, and to sense what is going on inside and out." Access Akashic Library is a 3rd level wizard spell that "enables the user to access the Akashic Library, a record of every sapient being’s every thought, word, and action." Compare with Walk the Akashic Record, a patron spell in The Revelation of Mulmo: Tentacled Edition and Angels, Daemons & Beings Between: Extended Otherworldly Edition.

Appendix 2: New Character Class: This describes the Akashic Pilot class. If travel through the Akashic Bands is the centerpiece of your campaign, this will make you a master of it. Of course, you will also be mutated.

Ellie O'Clock sits in her pilot's chair and gazes through the heavy glass, watching the aether of the Ulfire Band fizz and pop. Suddenly a nearby patch of void squirms, twists, and rips open, vomiting forth an obscene tentacled horror. A Stellar Squid! Ellie has no time to think--she grabs a lever, twists, and pulls. Instantaneously the metal behemoth she pilots reacts, swinging a giant metal fist . . .  

The akashic titans are giant, magically-powered metal constructs that soar across the endless Bands in their journey from world to world. Akashic Titan gives you the tools you need to incorporate these magical behemoths into Dungeon Crawl Classics games. In addition to giving an overview of the akashic titans and the Bands, this zine provides two settings: Starnheim, a port city for the titans that can be dropped into any fantasy world, and the Elaborate Crystal Palace of the Jale Band.

Also included are new monsters (such as the Stellar Squid, the Stowaway, and the Living Constellation), spells, NPCs, the Akashic Pilot character class, and random tables.

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The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2016 Vol 5

The 2016 Gongfarmer’s Almanac: Volume 5: Drop-In Adventures is a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Zine written, illustrated, and produced by the DCC RPG G+ community under the creative vision and direction of Doug Kovacs, Harley Stroh, Jon Hershberger, Marc Bruner, Matt Hildebrand, and Michael Jones, under the rubric of the Gongfarmer's Local #282.

This volume was written by Steven Bean, Marc Bruner, bygrinstow, Marzio Muscedere, Ron Tilton, and James V. West. Art is by Doug Kovacs, Marc Radle, Danny Prescott, and William McAusland.

Disclosure: I am credited as an editor.

Where the previous volume focused on complete adventures, this volume focuses on areas or events that can be dropped into an ongoing Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure, session, or campaign.

Let's take a look.

The Forgotten Library of the Toadfiend: Author Marzio Muscedere offers a "single room encounter for any dungeon or dire temple dedicated to the Evil Lord of Amphibians". Although it is a single room, there is enough to interest players here for hours.

Consider using this location in The Croaking Fane or as an adjunct to the Memories of the Toad God series by Cut to the Chase Games.

Tzolk’in Crawl: This mini-dungeon, by Marc Bruner, is inspired by the Mayan calendar, and offers a challenging puzzle with potential for combat as well as profit (if the PCs are daring enough to offend the gods). The area is Meso-American themed, offering both information on gods and a few choice monsters for the discerning judge.

There is a Meso-American themed lost race (the Xilonoc) in  the Memories of the Toad God series, which this location could easily be tied into. Crawling Under a Broken Moon also makes some use of Meso-American mythology, and has a planned expansion with the Umerican Survival Guide kickstarter.

Big Trouble in Little Punjar: Written by bygrinstow off of an idea by Terry Olson, this is a low-level adventure or a 0-level funnel loosely based off of the film Big Trouble in Little China.

The Forgotten Hall: This short adventure sees the PCs discover a cyclopean ruin. The judge must have a copy of The Monster Alphabet and The Dungeon Alphabet, and I would strongly recommend rolling ahead of time and developing statblocks for speedier play. R.S. Tilton is the author.

Crawling Through a Hell of One’s Own Making: Steve Bean offers a "Meta-Encounter" where the PCs gain a second change to save a fallen comrade from the lands of the dead. Thoughtful and evocative, this could easily be an ongoing part of any Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign.

Beyond the Portal Under the Stars: Bygrinstow supplied a toolkit for creating a follow-up adventure to The Portal Under the Stars, where the PCs can both find wood from a dryad's tree and ignite it with the spark of a living fire.

Finally, the volume is finished with three copies of the same Character Record Sheet by James V. West (sadly without attribution to the creator).

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Blades Against Death

Blades Against Death, by Harley Stroh for Goodman Games, is one of the real gems of the DCC Trove of Treasures.

This adventure, which takes place in the city of Punjar, gives PCs a chance to recover one of their own from the icy clutches of Death Himself. Not in a metaphorical sense, either. The adventure is written for 4^th level PCs, who get to do fun things like infiltrate a cult and locate the Gates of the Underworld. While the adventure has the potential to be combat-heavy, even to the point of a TPK, it doesn’t have to be. The players are allowed to determine how they deal with what they encounter. Deciding to let "Bob" stay dead is a valid choice, but the bold and the lucky will risk more.

Although not part of the DCC Lankmar line, this adventure screams “Lankhmar!” as loudly as anything I have ever read, for any game system. That’s not a knock against Michael Curtis’ releases, either – it’s a testament to the solid virtues of this gem. Along with The Jeweler Who Dealt in Stardust, in the Goodman Games Free RPG Day 2012 module, and reprinted in DCC #89: Chaos Rising, anyone interested in running a game based on Fritz Leiber’s iconic Nehwon should have this adventure in their judge's toolkit.

Peril on the Purple Planet

DCC #84: Peril on the Purple Planet is a 4th level adventure written by Harley Stroh. Art is by Doug Kovacs (including cover and cartography) and Stefan Poag. The publisher is Goodman Games.

DCC #84: Peril on the Purple Planet was published as a boxed set containing several other booklets and materials that could be used to bring the Purple Planet setting alive. These include:

#84A: Lost Tombs of the Ancients: More Purple Planet Adventures (Writers: Daniel J. Bishop, Tim Callahan, Edgar D. Johnson III, and Terry Olson. Art and cartography by Doug Kovacs.)

#84B: Purple Planet Companion: A Purple Planet Sourcebook (Writers: Daniel J. Bishop, Tim Callahan, Edgar Johnson, Terry Olson, and Harley Stroh. Art by Doug Kovacs [including cover], William McAusland, and Stefan Poag.)

#84C: Escape from the Purple Planet: A Level 0 Adventure (Writer: Harley Stroh. Art by Doug Kovacs [cover and cartography] and Michael Wilson.)

The Kith Critical Hit Chart

Peril on the Purple Planet Player's Guide

Purple Planet Book of Handouts

Purple Planet Judge Screen

In addition, “Author’s edition” boxed set came with a section of the Glossography of Ythoth, by Harley Stroh. You can read a discussion of it here on the Goodman Games forums.

Disclosure: I am the Daniel J. Bishop that wrote for #84A: Lost Tombs of the Ancients and #84B: Purple Planet Companion: A Purple Planet Sourcebook.

This adventure, and its additional contents, was the result of a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Author Harley Stroh discussed the campaign on Spellburn, which you can listen to here.

At the time of this writing, the Purple Planet is Goodman Games' best supported setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics. It has spawned three sequel adventures (The Rock Awakens, Synthetic Swordsmen of the Purple Planet, and Sky Masters of the Purple Planet) and has been linked to other adventures, such as Neon Knights. Given the amount of material in the box, and the level of support Goodman Games (and others) have given the setting, it should be no surprise that this will be a long listing.

In order to make the material more accessible, I am going to discuss each piece separately, below.

DCC #84: Peril on the Purple Planet

"In Peril on the Purple Planet, the characters are cast across the cosmos to a foreign world. Left to die beneath a weirdling sun, the PCs’ survival depends as much upon their quick wit as a quick blade, as even the finest chain hauberk must fail beneath the crush of an alien horde."

This is an epic adventure reminiscent of the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, or any of the many imitators they spawned (including work by Robert E. Howard, Leigh Brackett, and Michael Moorcock!). PCs have to survive the conditions of their arrival, learn how to live upon a harsh world, and then find their way home...or attempt to master the Purple Planet itself!

The base adventure is part hexcrawl, part quest, and all learning how to survive. Harley Stroh came up with some incredible locations. Area C makes me wonder whether or not he is a Doctor Who fan. Like Gamma World before it, and Mutant Crawl Classics after, the adventure also deals with strange new devices, and PCs figuring out how to use them!

#84A: Lost Tombs of the Ancients: More Purple Planet Adventures

There are already suggestions in the basic adventure for creating ancient cairns and tombs on the Purple Planet (see pages 19-21). If you are going to run Peril on the Purple Planet in a campaign, though, or spend longer than a single adventure there, more is better. This booklet provides for this.

The adventures are:

• The Tomb of Sotark the Destroyer: Awaken a sleeping bioweapon, and perhaps regret it. By Daniel J. Bishop. Notes: Sotark is named for Leigh Brackett's Eric John Stark, and the artifacts you may win are based on a well-known figure whose name is an anagram for Vance.

• The Tomb of the Immortal Kahl: Speaking of John Eric Stark, this adventure shares some thematic ties with The Secret of Sinharat. Only the Immortal Kahl isn't Kynon, and this is no charade. By Terry Olson.

• The Tomb of Dust: Solve a series of encounters to uncover a lost archive. This adventure can test the players as well as the characters, depending upon how you run the final test. By Edgar Johnson III.

• The Bunker: Find a way to traverse two hexes while travelling underground. Notes are provided for creating other ancient Kith bunkers. By Daniel J. Bishop.

• The Tomb of the Organon Magisteros: Explore an ancient air skiff platform, now overrun by insect-men. Discover an unexpected being trapped at its core. By Tim Callahan.

#84B: Purple Planet Companion: A Purple Planet Sourcebook

This supplement was written by Daniel J. Bishop, Tim Callahan, Edgar Johnson, Terry Olson, and Harley Stroh. Art is by Doug Kovacs (including cover), William McAusland, and Stefan Poag.

Within you will find:

• Mysteries of the Purple Planet: Seventy-four mysteries to be used "as random encounters, encounter seeds, or the start of a new adventure."

• The Ecology of the Kith: Everything you wanted to know about the kith but were afraid to ask.

• Kith as Player Characters: Full race-class, including a d24 Occupations table.

• Additional Kith Resources: A Random Kith Warband Generator and Fumbles Against Kith Hordes (because when you fumble facing a Kith horde, things are just not the same!).

• Lost Tech of the Ancients: More relics to be found on the Purple Planet. Includes a Mood Ring. Some of these items might be mined for ideas when Crawling Under a Broken Moon or exploring the Terra A.D. of Mutant Crawl Classics.

• Bestiary of the Purple Planet: Twenty-four new entries for your Purple Planet encounters.

• Magic on the Purple Planet: Page 358 of the DCC core rulebook has a section entitled "Magic Here and Magic There". The Purple Planet doubles down on this advice...everything changes! Notes are given for all the patrons in the core rulebook, for casting spells in different geographical areas, Mercurial Magic that affects all casters, Purple Planet-specific corruption, how specific spells are changed, how clerics connection to their gods are affected, and more. The section on Techno-Magic might be particularly useful when running Crawljammer, Umerican, or Mutant Crawl Classics/Dungeon Crawl Classics crossovers.

• The Purple Under-Planet: "The weirdling sun is a persistent obstacle on the Purple Planet’s surface, and PCs, like generations of ancient kith before them, may seek shelter deep below ground. This is the Purple Underplanet. Here lie ancient civilizations, some altered unrecognizably from their origins, others cloned to perfection. Sentient beings continental in scope vie for dominance." This section includes everything you need to create new adventures in depths beneath the Purple Planet. The less said here the better, as this should be Terra incognita to those venturing below.

#84C: Escape from the Purple Planet: A Level 0 Adventure

Written by Harley Stroh. Art by Doug Kovacs (cover and cartography) and Michael Wilson.

A 0-level adventure that allows you to start a campaign on the Purple Planet. The possibility of an all-kith party, a party from a typical DCC campaign world, or a party from our world, are considered. Appendix I: Interplanetary Heroes considers the possibility of modern heroes a bit more, but doesn't supply an occupation chart.

Possible modern, near-modern, or similar type characters might be gleaned from 50 ‘80s Teens for “Old School” Adventuring (in 50 Fantastic Functions for the D50); Beyond the Silver Scream; Black Powder, Black Magic Vol. 1 (Western); Crawling Under A Broken Moon fanzine #3 (post-Apocalyptic); Dark Seas (in The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2017 Vol 4), The Devil's Chapbook (discusses punks and vikings); Dinosaur Crawl Classics (in the Goodman Games Gen Con 2017 Program Book); Drongo: Ruins of the Witch Kingdoms; Not in Kansas Anymore (in the Goodman Games Gen Con 2016 Program Book); Null Singularity (because why not use Voidants?); Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill!; Rock God Death-Fugue (because, again, why not?); Transylvanian Adventures; Trench Crawl Classics (in  The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2017 Vol 7), or The Umerican Survival Guide (post-Apocalyptic).

The Kith Critical Hit Chart

Exactly what it says on the tin. This does not show up on the RPG Now link, but it is listed. I have sent an email to Joseph Goodman to see if it can be corrected.

Peril on the Purple Planet Player's Guide

A small booklet containing character sheets, a relic runes handout, a mostly-blank map handout, and places to keep notes on relics, mushrooms, creatures, and other things the PCs might encounter.

I am personally of two minds about this sort of thing. Blank maps (with high ground marked) and character sheets are fine. The other items - even the rune graphic - might be better to only make available as things are encountered. On the other hand, foreshadowing of some of the monster/relic images might be fun. Also, the Player's Guide might steer the PCs towards interacting with the mushrooms they encounter, which is fairly important.

Purple Planet Book of Handouts

A 12 page book containing 11 illustrations, one of which is of various kith, and another of which contains several kith standards. These, and an illustration of various relics the PCs might encounter, could be printed out (or copied) and then cut up to show the players only what they need to know. There is some duplication with the Player's Guide.

Purple Planet Judge Screen

Reproduces some charts you might want to keep handy. Having these printed out so that you can handle them as needed is actually more beneficial, in my opinion, then having them on a screen. If you have a physical copy, though, the screen can help to hide maps and notes.

Conclusion

In addition to the materials listed here:

• The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2016 Vol 3 contains a big-mouthed alien who wanders the Purple Planet as the last of his kind as part of the Gazette-Fear (based on art by Doug Kovacs).

• The Gong Farmer's Almanac 2016 Vol 4 contains The Orm Lies Down on Punjar. This is a Terry Olson adventure wherein the PCs somehow gain hold of a bottle of Purple Rhost (from Harley Stroh's Purple Planet).

• The Goodman Games Gen Con 2015 Program Book contains Appendix F: The Ythoth Raider, an expansion of the Purple Planet Author’s Edition Glossography: This is the Ythoth Raider class by Harley Stroh, creator of the Purple Planet.

• The Goodman Games Gen Con 2016 Program Book contains Appendix D: Ythothian Liche Kings, another expansion of the Purple Planet Author's Edition Glossography by Harley Stroh.

• Neon Knights (by Brendan LaSalle) is also connected to the Purple Planet.

The Purple Planet: Where tribes of man-beasts wage an endless war beneath a dying sun. Where mighty death orms rule the wastes, befouled winds whistle through ancient crypts, and forests of fungi flourish in the weirdling light. Where ancient technologies offer life ... or a quick death.

Bereft of patron, friend or god, your survival depends on quick wits and a strong blade. Will you and your companions stand as conquerers atop this alien land? Or will you fall beneath the blast of an ink-black death rays, just another corpse left to litter the wastes of the Purple Planet?

Get It Here!