New Year's Evil

Dungeon Crawl Classics 2017 Holiday Module: Xcrawl: New Year's Evil is a 2nd level DCC Xcrawl adventure written by Brendan LaSalle with art by Stefan Poag (including cover and cartography), Chris Arneson, and Cliff Kurowski. The publisher is Goodman Games. Additional Material was provided by George “Loki” Williams and Dr. Lori M. King. This adventure is dedicated to Joseph Leonard Auditore (January 17, 1981 - September 26, 2017).

Free pregenerated characters for this adventure are available as a pdf here.

As a resident of Toronto, it was nice to see an Xcrawl adventure set here, although the author declined to come north to run it (the New Year's of its release, at least!). While the city hosting the Extreme Dungeon Crawl event can affect the flavor of a particular outing, there is nothing particular to Toronto (or Canada) in this particular adventure. There are no animated golems shaped like the CN Tower or the SkyDome to bedevil the PCs. Of course, Canada is part of the North American Empire in the Xcrawl universe, and there is a Duke of Toronto.

I am not going to spoil the surprises of this scenario, save to say that the machinations of the Greco-Roman gods worshiped by the North American Empire come into play in a relatively big way.

In his non-Xcrawl DCC work, Brendan LaSalle seems to favor an epic scope where Big Things Happen. This is easy to see in adventures like Hole in the Sky and Neon Knights. It would seem that the Xcrawl universe is Brendan LaSalle working on a smaller scale, but, while the dungeons are limited in scope, the setting is not. The idea that the gods work through their champions, even in the world of live death sports, is an interesting one. The notes on how the party is feted by notables makes them major players in their world, even if the focus of play is on the "athletic competition" itself.

One nice thing in this adventure is a section entitled "Xcrawl in Flux": "Xcrawl Classics is coming! The final version will be a full, stand-alone game using DCC RPG mechanics, with new classes, spells, rules, and excitement! In the meantime, here are some new rules to enhance your game. Note that these are in flux, and as playtesting continues some of these might change when the final version of the game comes out."

Current rules for the Mojo Pool, Grandstanding, and Fame are provided. These are rules I asked for when doing a conversion of Xcrawl: Dungeonbattle Brooklyn to Dungeon Crawl Classics. Mojo has become a little more complicated than the simplified conversion of Dungeonbattle Brooklyn, and seems to owe something to the Fleeting Luck mechanics of DCC Lankhmar! It is perhaps notable that Michael Curtis, among others, receives special thanks in the credits.

Get ready for Xcrawl, the live-on-pay-per-view death sport RPG, now powered by the unstoppably old-school Dungeon Crawl Classics rules! And this holiday season, Xcrawl is breaking open a bottle of over-the-top dungeon crawl insanity, and serving it up for some New Year’s Evil!

Strange things are afoot in Toronto! The spirit of the New Year is driving the Gods to drink, whipping the fans into a frenzy, and inspiring the staff to start the party before the team even makes it to the green room! Can a low-level squad, faced with shady jousters, wet jesters, hell pugs, and cubical zombies – not to mention poetry, puzzles, and traps galore – survive to ring in the New Year? And will the sponsors still pick up the tab now that the dungeon has gone mad?

Start the countdown! Nunc est bacchandum atque Xcrawl ludendum!

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Goodman Games Gen Con 2013 Program Book

The Goodman Games Gen Con 2013 Program Book is described on RPG Now as being written and illustrated by Goodman Games, and is published by Goodman Games as well. Apart from specific adventures, and self-reporting (bios, author notes, etc.), I didn't see any other attribution.

This was the first of the now-annual Goodman Games Program Books, compiled for the 12th anniversary of the publisher. Joseph Goodman wrote: "This Program Book is a new idea for communicating with our fans. It’s full of sneak previews, staff bios, insider info, convention coupons, and other fun tidbits. Let me know if you think we should keep it around next year."

Obviously, there was enough positive feedback to keep the Program Books coming!

As with other discussions of "mixed bag" type products, my focus here is going to be on Dungeon Crawl Classics material. Let's look inside!

Gen Con Luck Chart: Not listed in the Table of Contents. You might have gotten a freebie from the Goodman Games crew if you rolled at the Goodman Games booth. Or you might have been asked to "Provide Doug [Kovacs] with a pint of your own blood to be mixed into his paint for the next DCC RPG cover."

Bios of the Band: Harley Stroh, Doug Kovacs, Brendan LaSalle, Michael Curtis, Brad McDevitt, Stefan Poag, Peter Mullen, Dieter Zimmerman, Keith Labaw, Jon Hershberger, and Joseph Goodman get brief bios. Dungeon Crawl Classics statistics are, sadly, not provided.

Autograph Page: For autographs.

The Band: Pictures of the Band from various modules, from DCC #67 (Sailors on the Starless Sea) to DCC #79 (Frozen in Time), with small descriptions for how and why the line-up has changed.

What’s next for DCC RPG?: Goodman Games announces some upcoming releases: Intrigue at the Court of Chaos, The One Who Watches From Below, The Black Manse, The Chained Coffin, Peril on the Purple Planet, and Glipkerio's Gambit. You will note that titles may change from announcement to release. Author notes are interesting.

What’s next for Age of Cthulhu?: Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng. Don't imagine that you can't convert Age of Cthulhu to Dungeon Crawl Classics.

Of interest, on the first page of this section there is a note: "But what about the Annual? We knew you DCC RPG fans would ask. It’s out there lurking, waiting for the right time to be announced. Think 2014 — along with some other exciting hardbacks and boxed sets..."

What’s next for Systems Neutral?: Some information on the long-awaited Adventurers Almanac by Michael Curtis, GM Gems in hardcover, and The Monster Alphabet by Jobe Bittman with Michael Curtis. A sample table is included: X is for Xenotransplant.

DCC RPG adventure: The Undulating Corruption: This level 5 Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure by Michael Curtis was featured in the Goodman Games Free RPG Day 2012 release.

DCC RPG adventure: The Jeweler that Dealt in Stardust: This level 3 Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure by Harley Stroh was also featured in the Goodman Games Free RPG Day 2012 release.

World Tour Poster: I'm not really sure why this made the Table of Contents.

What’s Next for Xcrawl?: Notification that Maximum Xcrawl is (was) ready for pre-order.

Maximum Xcrawl Preview: Overview of the world of Maximum Xcrawl, and character creation rules. Maximum Xcrawl uses Pathfinder for its engine. When this came out, we were still years away from Dungeon Crawl Classics-powered Xcrawl adventures!

Maximum Xcrawl adventure: 2013 Studio City Crawl: A level 6-8 adventure, by Brendan LaSalle, using Pathfinder-based rules.

Gen Con Event Schedule and Exclusives: The listed exclusives were DCC #78: Fate’s Fell Hand (gold foil cover), DCC #78.5: Tower of the Black Pearl, the DCC RPG Official Bag of Weird Dice, Gen Con 2013 T-shirt "...plus swag! DCC RPG buttons Xcrawl giant foam hands ...and more!"

Scenes From the Tour: Pictures from the Goodman Games World Tour featuring the Goodman Games Band.

Join the DCC RPG Road Crew!: What you got in 2013 for being a Road Crew judge.

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DCC RPG/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2013

The DCC RPG/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2013 offering was written by Daniel J. Bishop and Brendan LaSalle, with art by Doug Kovacs, Jeremy Mohler, and Brad McDevitt. It was published by Goodman Games.

Disclosure: I am the writer of the Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure in this product.

This product contains two adventures, The Imperishable Sorceress for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and Maximum Xcrawl: 2013 Studio City Crawl by Brendan LaSalle for the Pathfinder version of Xcrawl.

The Imperishable Sorceress was the first writing that I had done for Goodman Games, and it came about as a request from Joseph Goodman for a short adventure. I was imagining that he was gearing up for the first DCC Annual, or that he was looking for a second adventure for another module (like The Balance Blade is included in The 13th Skull), but that turned out to not be the case. The Dark Master accepted the first pitch I offered, with the minor exception that I was considering recruitment offers leading the PCs to the Cleft Mountain, ala Fritz Leiber's Stardock.

I had just finished reading Stanley Weinbaum's The Black Flame when I made this pitch, and, along with Stardock, it was a primary inspiration. The original text included mountain climbing tables to more closely reflect Stardock, but playtests indicated that too many encounters on the relatively linear mountainside detracted from the whole. If you like the "secret doors" in the adventure, you have Joseph Goodman to thank. He wanted at least one, and I had to devise a way to make a secret door work in an ancient structure like this.

The Builders are, of course, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. The “Adamantine Mole” was inspired by the "Iron Mole" from Edgar Rice Burrough's At the Earth's Core, and may lead PCs to Harley Stroh's Lost Agharta from Journey to the Center of Aereth and The Lost City of Barako.

Ivrian the Unkind is named for the Gray Mouser's paramour in Ill Met in Lankhmar and, in particular, The Unholy Grail.

The ghosts of fish were inspired, in part, from the 1986 film From Beyond, itself based off a story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft.

Brendan LaSalle's Maximum Xcrawl: 2013 Studio City Crawl was written for Pathfinder, although it could be converted to Dungeon Crawl Classics. Nonetheless, because it is not a DCC product, it will not be getting in-depth discussion here.

There are already three converted Xcrawl adventures available for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and a DCC version of Xcrawl is in the works. Afficianados of the Dungeon Crawl Classics game will know Brendan LaSalle from The Hole in the Sky, as well as (possibly, if you are lucky) his judging at many conventions. At the time of this writing, he featured on the most recent Spellburn podcast, where his newest DCC adventure, Neon Knights, is mentioned.

Get It Here.

DCC RPG/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2014

The DCC/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2014 offering was written by Terry Olson and Brendan J. LaSalle. It contains art by Doug Kovacs, Stefan Poag, and Jesse Mohn. It was published by Goodman Games. As with the previous year's offering, this product contains one Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure and one Maximum Xcrawl adventure using the Pathfinder rules.

The Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure is Elzemon and the Blood-Drinking Box, by Terry Olson. This is a 1st level adventure, which sees a group of PCs infiltrate a rather disgusting wizard's sanctum to steal the titular blood-drinking box.

I ran this adventure twice: once at Dueling Grounds on Free Role-Playing Game Day, and once at home in preparation for the public run. There is a seemingly-endless stairway in the adventure, which spirals downward for a very long time. This is a spiral stairway, with an open shaft in the middle, far too wide to see the opposite side.

In my home prep game, each of the players was controlling more than one PC. So disconcerting was the stairway that one player had a character leap off the stairs in the vain hope that I would tell the players what happened to him. Few players these days carry the necessary supplies - even the torches or lantern oil! - for a two-day hike down an incredibly long stairwell. Fewer still carry the supplies to second-guess themselves, and hike back up more than once. Although this isn't a "trap" in the classical sense, in actual play it functions as one.

(Why any player who is at all familiar with my judging style thought that would work is a whole 'nother issue.)

Most great adventures include some decision-making that cannot be resolved simply by rolling dice. Elzemon and the Blood-Drinking Box is no different in this regard. There are at least two decisions the party must make that will probably require some discussion: Now that we have this box, who is going to feed it? And what are we going to do with it? The answers to both questions have enough potential repercussions that players shouldn't rely on snap judgments.

As a point of interest, "Elzemon the Forgotten" is the quasit in The Infernal Crucible of Sezrekan the Mad, by Harley Stroh, which is featured in both the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook (1st to 3rd printing) and the DCC RPG Free Role-Playing Day Adventure Starter from 2011. Is this the same quasit? Are all quasits named Elzemon? Or is "Elzemon" the infernal equivalent of "John Smith"?

Elzemon and the Blood-Drinking Box is reprinted in Chaos Rising, which also reprints The Infernal Crucible of Sezrekan the Mad.

You can also hear Terry Olson discuss the adventure on Spellburn.

Dungeon Detonation! is the Maximum Xcrawl adventure, written by Brendan J. LaSalle. As with the DCC RPG/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2013 offering, this is a Pathfinder adventure, and will get no in-depth coverage. There are already three converted Xcrawl adventures available for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and a DCC version of Xcrawl is in the works. Afficianados of the Dungeon Crawl Classics game will know Brendan LaSalle from The Hole in the Sky, as well as (possibly, if you are lucky) his judging at many conventions.

At the time of this writing, he featured on the most recent Spellburn podcast, where his newest DCC adventure, Neon Knights, is mentioned.

Get It Here.

Goodman Games Gen Con 2015 Program Book

The Goodman Games Gen Con 2015 Program Book is described on RPG Now as being written and illustrated by Goodman Games, and is published by Goodman Games as well. Apart from specific adventures or articles, and self-reporting (bios, author notes, etc.), I didn't see any other attribution.

Disclosure: I wrote The Black Feather Blade for this product, and was one of the authors of The Hypercube of Myt.

This is a monster of a book. Seriously, this thing is well over 200 pages. As with other discussions of "mixed bag" type products, my focus here is going to be on Dungeon Crawl Classics material.

In this case, that's entirely necessary, or you'd need an hour or more to read this post.

Nice van on the cover. Let's look inside!

Tables For Thieves: Useful tables for any game featuring thieves, cut-throats, and other murderous rogues. Dieter Zimmerman supplies 8 Places to Have a Secret Meeting, 12 Places to Find a Hidden Key, 20 Items for Sale on the Black Market, and 14 Members of the City Watch. It says "Continued on page 152", but it is not. It is on page 154. There you get 8 Ways to Pass the Time in Prison, 10 Odd Jobs Assigned by the Thieves' Guild, and 24 Interesting Things Found in a Stolen Pouch.

Interview With Lou Zocchi: Colonel Lou Zocchi is "the original dice guy", who you might remember from the zocchihedron die. Learn more about him.

Cranking Up the Funk in DCC Dice Rolling: Author Terry Olson tells you everything you wanted to know about odds in rolling dice, but were afraid to ask. He explains the dice chain, gives a couple of alternate methods of rolling ability scores, looks at critical hits, and mercurial magic, suggesting methods that the dice can be used to get more interesting results at the table.

Twenty Funky Dice Tables: Ken St. Andre provides twenty tables, from the relatively useless (D5: Five Games You Can Play With Your Parents) to the potentially useful (D12: When Good Magic Goes Bad). This is mostly an exercise in whimsical fun.

The Black Feather Blade: A level 1 adventure by Daniel J. Bishop, this offering sees your PCs attempt to gain the titular weapon before two NPC parties do. The adventure is themed around Malotoch the Carrion Crow God, so there are plenty of body parts involved. As such, there is a Luck mechanic called "Malotoch's Favor". Use it.

Some author's notes:

• The idea of the NPC parties was a nod to Robert E. Howard's The Black Stranger. In this story, three factions (one being Conan) maneuver to gain the treasure of Tranicos while a sinister figure menaces all.
• The burial tomb at Area F is inspired by that master of the haunted tale, M.R. James, and his story, Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad.
• The "raven-headed horror" in Area C4 was originally vulture-headed...because in an email about a year previous to writing this, Joseph Goodman suggested that he would like to see a vulture-headed creature in an adventure sometime. I thought that I would oblige. That's also why the corpse eaters in Area A have two elbows on each arm and two knees on each leg. Same email.

Xcrawl Apocalyse: The Athelete: "Dungeon Crawl Classics and Xcrawl come together at last! Get ready for the unholy spawn of Dungeon Crawl Classics, the dark RPG of glory and gold won by sword and spell, and Xcrawl, the game that’s nastier than a Type II demon with Type III herpes. Welcome to Xcrawl Apocalypse!" Brendan LaSalle offers the first class for this new unholy union.

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.

Evil Reborn: Jon Hook offers a 4th level adventure which is essentially a sequel to DCC #13: Crypt of the Devil Lich. DCC #13 was written for 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, but this is a Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure which brings elements from the original adventure into the DCC fold.

DCC World Tour 2014: Including scenes from the road with the Goodman Games crew.

Art Folio: Doug Kovacs: In color.

Art Folio: William McAusland: Also in color.

The Seventh Pit of Sezrekan: This is a 0-level funnel by Harley Stroh. The author writes:

Hosted at Gen Con 2014, the Seven Pits of Serzrekan was the first Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Funnel Tournament. Each player was given a single 0-level PC, and success in the tournament was judged by the number of encounters a PC survived. Over the course of four sessions, 136 PCs met their fate in the fell pits. The tournament ended in a 3-way tie, with each PC surviving no less than 8 encounters, and was decided by a dice-off on the last day of Gen Con. (See photos on page 53!) 

Not all of the Seven Pits were explored during the convention. Submitted for your consideration: two areas that saw the least exploration, and the seventh and final pit of Sezrekan.

I don't know about you, but I would like to see the Seven Pits of Serzrekan available for purchase someday.

Funnel Character Sheet: For DCC Funnel Tournaments. You can now get these sheets pre-filled at Purple Sorcerer's website.

How to Run a DCC RPG Tournament Funnel: Worth reading if you want to do this. Also, you can listen to this episode of Spellburn. Or read this.

Dear Archmage Abbey: Fun flummery, as in the previous year.

The Hypercube of Myt: This is a 0-level tournament adventure written by Jim Wampler, Stephen Newton, Daniel J. Bishop, Dak Ultimak, Adam Muszkiewicz, and Jeffrey Tadlock. It was available as a free pdf for Free Role-Playing Game Day in 2015. I ran it at Dueling Grounds in Toronto. I was responsible for the Endless Hallway, which I originally envisioned as a length of cosmic intestine, causing me to create a few things that didn't fit in the final version.

New Devices for the Starship Warden: Robert Payne offers some new devices for James W. Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha.

Even More Mutations: Dieter Zimmerman offers some new mutations for James W. Ward's Metamorphosis Alpha. Some of the things in these two articles may be transferable to Dungeon Crawl Classics, particularly Crawling Under a Broken Moon, Crawljammer, or Mutant Crawl Classics.

2015 Mailing Labels: Because Goodman Games' mailing labels rock.

Maximum Xcrawl: Best Possible Combination: Fiction by Brendan LaSalle.

Art Folio: Doug Kovacs: Now in glorious black and white. Including interviews with the gentleman artist.

The Mythos Alphabet: Written by Brad McDevitt, with the assistance of Jon Hook and Brendan LaSalle. The author writes: "In the tradition of our popular Dungeon Alphabet and
Monster Alphabet titles, here is a brief look at abecedarian inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. If you enjoy this concept, let us know...perhaps we’ll make a book of it!" How is this not a thing already?

Here we get D is For Deep Ones, M is For Madness, T is for Tentacles, and W is for Worshippers. Again, how is this not a thing already?

Art Folio: William McAusland: Now also in glorious black and white. Now also including interviews with the gentleman artist. I have to admit, Joseph Goodman has a good eye for hiring excellent artists, as paging through literally any Goodman Games product will attest!

Mutant Crawl Classics Preview: This is exactly what it says on the tin. Goodman Games has made this preview available here as a free pdf download.

Journey to the Hole in the Sky: Fiction by Brendan J. LaSalle, based on The Hole in the Sky.

Judge's Guild 1977 Fantasy Catalog: A reproduction only. Do not try to order from this catalog without an operational TARDIS!

The Gamer's Yearbook: Mostly flummery, in the style of the wanted ads and agony columns of yore.

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Pax Lexque Campaign Guide

Pax Lexque Campaign Guide was written by Ed Stanek and Xuân Stanek with contributions by Susan Stanek. Art is by GAOZ Artworks (cover), Xuân Stanek, and Ed Stanek (cartography), as well as public domain images (with references on page 185). The publisher is Raorgen Games.

This is a campaign setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics, which posits an alternate Earth in which the Roman Empire has to contend with the strange sentient races common to fantasy role-playing games, as well as dark magic.

Centuries ago, a "magical arms race culminating in the Wars of Darkness tore the empire apart and lay waste to much of the Great Sea region." The Great Sea being, of course, the Mediterranean. In the PC's time, a special military force, the Manus Legis ("Hand of the Law") is charged with dealing with "unexplained problems left over from the magical war cursed or haunted battlefields, horrific monsters summoned during the war, necromancers and diabolists who still try to delve into forbidden knowledge." It is likely, but not necessary, that the PCs will be a unit in the Manus Legis.

The discerning judge who wishes to include an element of time travel in their DCC campaign may decide that the world of Pax Lexque either leads directly into the world of "modern" DCC XCrawl or runs parallel to it. Either way, I could easily see a group of DCC XCrawl promoters "poaching" teams from the past, so that your Pax Lexque PCs could find themselves facing DungeonBattle Brooklyn....conversely, a diabolical cult might kidnap DCC XCrawl athletes to accomplish some task in the past/their parallel world.

After the Introduction and a historical timeline, the volume describes an Atlas of 26 separate regions:Aegypt, Aquitania, Arabia, Belgica, Betica, Britania, Cypria, Dacia, Druzix, Felicia, Germania, Hellena, Hispania, Macedonia, Mauretania, Meria, Nurdarim, Pamfilia, Roman Empire, Rome, Scythia, Semosiss, Stonarx, Syria, Talin, and Thracia. For each of these areas, geography, history, politics, religion, and daily life are described.

Regional maps are provided for each area as well, although these would be more useful with a hex overlay or at least a scale for distances. Cartography is done with Campaign Cartographer and is very clean, but it is not what DCC maps usually look like. Artwork is, similarly, not what one usually expects with a DCC product, being largely vector graphics and/or photographs with filters to make them appear painted. This isn't a serious criticism, but it is something the potential buyer should be aware of. Font and layout choices are such that this 189-page pdf could have easily fit into a more slender 100 pages - perhaps not a problem with the pdf, but something that might affect your decision to purchase in print.

As an example of an area overview:

The land of Macedonia is beautifully scenic, but badly scarred. Though not without its share of virgin wilderness, large areas of Macedonia are still reeling from the Wars of Darkness. Macedonia struggles to heal from the mistakes of its past and that legacy won’t be shaken any time soon.

The Macedonian landscape is a study in contrasts. The rockiness of the terrain may be a constant, but it takes a variety of forms. Progressing from the central mountain range, through the rocky, uneven valleys of the inland hills to the crags of both coasts, the land of Macedonia is striking to behold.

In its earlier days, the central mountains were home to many small mining villages. Today, these places are ghost towns, in some cases literally. As the Macedonian economy fell apart as a consequence of the Wars of Darkness, internal commerce ground to a halt. With very little mechanism to bring ores to market, the mines fell silent.

The coastal cities are beginning to stabilize once again as trading ports, but their prosperous days of the centuries past are behind them. With little moving in the way of local resources coming to the ports, few traders have reason to stop there. Even the once thriving capital city, Thessaloniki, is only a shadow of its former self.

The inland hills are an untapped resource. For centuries a cash cow of olive, fig and date orchards, much of this land is now inaccessible because of magic blight or extraplanar creatures left over from the wars. Most of these once prosperous orchards have been wild and uncultivated for centuries.

The text then goes on to describe the history, politics, etc. of the region.

For obvious reasons, the setting book takes some extra time to describe the Roman Empire, the city of Rome, and Roman law. As the PCs might very well be applying that law to various necromancers, diabolists, and monstrous beings, this is important. As other PCs might run afoul of the law, it is also important - it is not legal to cast just any spell, and murder hobos cannot necessarily act with impunity.

Gods and Patrons

Pax Lexque has a unique (and interesting) take on gods and patrons. There is no difference between the two, and all clerics can cast patron bond. Patron bond is a little more powerful in this setting as well, and when a cleric casts it, the recipient might receive a modest boon in addition to the normal effects. Clerics also gain access to the patron spells of their gods.

One of the results of this is that the Pax Lexque Campaign Guide contains a number of new patrons for players and judges to play with. Spellburn functions differently. I.e., a "full patron write up" in this case includes notes on how Spellburn operates for the patron, but not an actual table indicating how Spellburn manifests.

The patrons are:

Celata -­ Whisperer of Secrets: Celata is the one who knows the unknowable, that which is hidden away from mortal eyes. She whispers in the dark places to her faithful, giving them visions and understanding. Caves, springs, and thermal vents are sacred to her as are the wombs of women, for what is more mysterious than the knitting together of life?

A full patron write-up is provided.

Doraga -­ Master of the Forge: Deep inside an unfathomably large mountain is the monstrous forge of Doraga, Lord of the Dwarves, Master of the Forge. Every volcano that erupts is the stoking of his bellows. Every earthquake echoes the beating of his hammer. Near the dawn of time, Doraga forged the first dwarves from iron and molten stone. As his craftsmanship, they reflect his very persona. When a dwarf works a forge and smiths a piece of metalwork, he is engaging in an act of piety, reflecting the spirit of Doraga.

Doraga does not normally have arcane patrons, so there is no Spellburn information. The patron write-up is otherwise complete.

Eliha -­ Father of the Wind: The father of all djinn, Eliha, has made his presence known in Arabia since before the recorded history of that land. Every dust devil that skirts along on the desert sand is said to be one of his messengers. Generally, Eliha’s influence is seen as helpful as his westwinds bring moisture off the Great Sea. However, his temper is known to flare as sandstorms that rage across the land. Just as the wind is unpredictable, so Eliha is enigmatic. This should not be confused with being chaotic however. By contrast to Labul, whose focus is seen solely in destructive, chaotic storms, Eliha is measured and balanced, sometimes wrathful, sometimes gentle. His unpredictability is seen more as a difficulty in mankind knowing the mind of the djinn than an indication of chaos.

Basic description only.

Elkev ­- Master of Flame: The brother of Eliha is Elkev, the father of all efreet (or ifrit). Elkev’s name inspires both reverence and fear. In Arabia and Syria, Elkev is seen as the source of the sun’s fire, which is recognized as necessary for life. As such, he is celebrated for providing light and warmth. On the other hand, those who invoked Elkev recklessly in Arabia’s war against Rome caused great damage to the land. On the balance, the people of Arabia fittingly approach Elkev the way one handles fire, with care and respect.

Basic description only.

Ellelliara -­ Light of Dawn: To the elves of Hellena, beauty is a way of life and a cornerstone of their culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in the person of their national patron, Ellelliara. According to Hellenic tradition, when the world was fresh and very young, Ellelliara gazed upon it and was pleased with its beauty. She rode a sunbeam down from the sky to walk among the forested shores of that land that would become Hellena. As she walked along the green fields, in each of her footsteps sprang up flowers orchids, hyacinth, crocus. Sweeping her hands through the grass as she walked, the taller grass stalks became seedlings, growing in the breeze behind her jacaranda, fig, pomegranate. Reaching an overlook of the rocky coast, she looked back on the new garden that had sprung up in her wake. Tears of joy dropped from her face as she was overcome by the beauty. As the teardrops hit the ground, they sprang forth into the first elves her children.

A full patron write-up is provided.

Fortruvius ­- Lord of Valor:  Integrity. Respect. Ritual. Discipline. Courage. Perseverance. Honor. Pursuits of these virtues lead to glory. Glory in battle. Glory over one’s enemies both internal and external. Glory everlasting. Those dedicated to Fortruvius commit themselves to a continual regimen of self-improvement and set themselves the task of becoming exemplary.

A full patron write-up is provided.

Gulyabani ­- The Hidden One:  Sometimes called the King of Guildmasters, Gulyabani is patron of goblins and thieves. Most of the humans who secretly follow Gulyabani do so seeking favor in their pursuit of larceny. To the goblin folk, following Gulyabani is far more than that. He is their master who drives them on in their war for survival against the big folk. It is he who inspires their ruthlessness and teaches them that anything they can take, they deserve to have. Every raid on a human caravan is an act of identity for them, and an unspoken act of worship to the one who taught them to strike from the shadows.

Basic description only.

Helet -­ Chief of the Hunt:  Helet the hunter is revered by the Celtic people. His teaching, “You must know your quarry before your quarry will know death” is learned well by rangers of the Great Gaulic Forest. Though his followers take great pride in a hunt well done, a hunt is never to be undertaken for sport. Legend has it that overzealous hunters will become the hunted, stalked by one of Helet’s wolves.

Basic description only.

Iber -­ Father of Peace:  The people of Hispania and Betica tell of a time in the unknown past when Iber pulled the Iberian peninsula out of the churning waters, with the specific purpose of creating a place of peace and harmony. He then sculpted the earliest Iberian people from the land and tasked them with maintaining the peace of this new land. Iber is generally thought to not be particularly involved in the events of the land now, leaving that task to his people. It is said though, that he does watch the realm from a distance, ready to nudge the scales should anything in the land tip too far towards chaos. His followers are ever watchful that the proper order of the world is maintained, including an eye towards a stewardship of the natural world. Things that are deemed unnatural, such as undead, are the greatest anathema to the Iberian outlook.

Basic description only.

Labul -­ Anger of the Storm:  Not simply a patron of the air or of rain, Labul is specifically the Master of Storms, violent raging destructive storms. While some who call on him do so in an attempt to appease the Anger of the Wind, many of those who seek his attention are seeking to cause destruction. Certainly during the Wars of Darkness, the Lord of Lightning was called upon by many to wreak havoc on enemy armies or even to lay waste to civilian populations. Labul is a wild and unpredictable patron, and those who wish to draw his gaze and channel his power do so at their own peril.

Basic description only.

Mordines -­ The Shadow of Death:  The Master of Darkness, the Dark Veil, the Stalker in
secret he is still worshiped in hidden places throughout the great sea. The reasons for his ongoing influence vary. For some, it is simply to seek a divine stamp of approval on the evil they wish to work, but others are true believers in his call. They believe he is the master of all, the highest of the immortal beings, because death eventually comes for every man. Even the long-lived elves eventually fall under his axe. It is said to be Mordines who gives power to the undead, that by his hatred of life the restless dead will not find peace. Those who follow Mordines consider it the ultimate blessing and sign that he has approvedtheir work if, upon their death, they continue to malevolently stalk the land of the living.

Basic description only.

Mothir -­ King of Battle:  The Germanic tribes of the northern wilds have various patrons, but the most commonly revered is Mothir, the Father of Courage and Judge of the Battlefield. There have been those who erroneously have thought that Mothir is simply a Germanic name for Fortruvius, but the two patrons are actually quite different. While Fortruvius also promotes courage in battle, his focus is on valor, honor, and self discipline. Mothir, as reflected by Germanic culture, is focused on the ferocity of battle. He is well represented by the legendary berserker warriors of the Germanic tribes. All of this does not mean he is outright evil. He does not necessarily champion cruelty and bloodlust. However, once the battle is joined, he does expect his people to fight with all their heart and soul.

Basic description only.

Procella -­ Mistress of the Waves:  Almost everyone who sails the seas or lives on the coasts around the Great Sea gives at least token respect towards Procella. She is the embodiment and personification of the Great Sea, and her character reflects the range of what the sea means for those who live on it life-giving through its supply of fish and transportation, but occasionally treacherous with an unpredictable storm. There is debate among scholars and even among her clerics whether Procella is simply the patron of the Great Sea, or actually is the Great Sea. To most of her followers, the distinction is fuzzy. They tend  to see the relationship between Procella and the Great Sea as being one of those things that is too lofty for mortal minds to comprehend.

A full patron write-up is provided.

Ramasar - The Untamed One:  The centaurs who rule over the vast open plains of Scythia and their horse riding neighbors in Dacia, revere the paragon of equines, Ramasar the Swift. Said to be faster than any other being on the earth or in the heavens, Ramasar is the soul behind the way of life on the northeastern plains. Their shared reverence for Ramasar has created an ongoing bond of brotherhood between the humans in Dacia and the centaurs in Scythia. It is very common for the two to meet at each other’s annual festivals to come to each other’s aid in times of need. The Stallion is said to have only one herd on the earth, and all who look to him are considered part of that family. Ramasar promotes dedication to family, tribe and tradition as well as being at peace with the natural world. Speed in running is considered a mark of Ramasar’s approval.

Basic description only.

Reku ­- The Light Giver:  The people of Aegypt have a recorded history longer than any land other than Hellena. Throughout the 7000 years of their civilization, their primary patron has been Reku. Reku is the personification of the sun. His light is his blessing on all people. He withdraws that blessing at night so that mortals will understand the gift they have been given by the contrast of its absence. The people of Aegypt believe that the earth has always existed but that there was no life on it until Reku first shone forth upon the land. Suntanned skin tone is considered to be a sign of closeness to Reku. Legends tell that further south of Aegypt there are people born with skin far darker than any Aegyptian. These are spoken of as Reku’s first children. Reku calls upon his followers to live orderly lives, as his course across the sky is predictable, and to give generously to each other, as he gives generously to them.

Basic description only.

Savra -­ The Scaled One:  The generally recognized correct name of Savra is not pronounceable by humans, nor readily represented in any humanoid writing system outside the lands where she is worshiped. As an adaptation, the name “Savra” is derived from the elven word for lizard. Savra is revered in the lands of Druzix and Semosiss by the lizardfolk and serpentines respectively. Each of them represents Savra as a female of their own type and insists that the other group has misrepresented her. Some human scholars claim that Savra is actually a dragon. Regardless, Savra herself does not seem to have clarified the matter, so the debate will likely not be resolved. Savra is an advocate of order and structure and this is evidenced in the highly regimented, caste-based societies of both Drizix and Semosiss. Savra’s followers believe it is a living service to their patron to seek to fulfill their allotted role in society and not to seek to change the status that Savra has assigned to them. 

Basic description only.

Senet -­ The Eye that Sees:  He is the eye that sees the old things, the forbidden things, the things that man was not meant to see. The second pharaoh to rule over a united Aegypt, Senet II delved into the secret ways of the foundation of the world. He and his cabal of sorcerers researched and studied, testing ways to tap into the energies of the world by trial and error. How this got started is uncertain. Some records seem to indicate that a spirit of some kind, perhaps demonic, perhaps a ghost, whispered to Senet about power that could be his. For a decade, the pharaoh and his inner circle discovered new and more powerful magics and summoned progressively more powerful beings from outer realms. And then it ended somehow, suddenly it all just ended. The historical record of Aegypt gives no details. The record of Senet simply stops as though mid sentence to be followed by his successor with no mention of magic again. There is no record of how Senet died. His tomb, underneath a pyramid in the desert, many miles from any city, was avoided by all for 6000 years. The people of Aegypt never even spoke of it, except to tell foreigners to stay clear.

Basic description only.

Tanalis ­- Lord of the Forest:  While many patrons are believed by their followers to have created them or their homeland, with Tanalis, the opposite is true. The elves of Aquitania believe that the forest formed as the world was birthed, that it is the natural state of being for their land. It wasn’t Tanalis who produced the forest; it was the forest that produced Tanalis. In the earliest of days, when the trees had grown and the animals sprang forth from the land, the forest had a will and a consciousness of its own, a consciousness that is now asleep. Before she slumbered, sensing that her thoughts were fading, the forest knew that she would need protectors. Thus it was that she birthed the first wood elf, Tanalis, making him immortal to watch over her forever. Pleased with what she had produced, she brought forth 120 more, 60 male and 60 female. Her energy already fading, these were lesser than Tanalis. She could not make them immortal, but she gave them lives as long as her greatest trees, so they would understand what they were protecting. Since then, Tanalis has guarded over both her and her children.

A full patron write-up is provided.

Ubaste ­- Feline Mother:  Patron of the felids, the cat people of Felicia, Ubaste is represented by her people as a golden-furred female of their kind. The people of Aegypt also revere her and consider the felids to be Ubaste’s chosen people, a contention naturally echoed by the felids. Ubaste is also often looked to for blessing by merchants. She is seen as a mother figure, though a rather distant and aloof one, who brings wealth and prosperity to those who please her.

Basic description only.

Judges may wish to round out their campaign by using materials from Divinities & Cults Volume I and Volume II.

Classes

Four new 10-level classes are included in this tome. They are:

Dwarven Cleric: The culture of the dwarves is heavily invested in ritual, heritage and tradition, so it is of no surprise that the dwarves hold tightly to the faith of their fathers. The dwarven cleric is a key part of passing down the heritage for each generation. Also, the dwarves often find themselves in conflict with the darker denizens of the underground. In these cases, the dwarven cleric is integral to the ongoing durability of the dwarven armies.

For other takes on dwarven clerics or priests, see Crawl! Fanzine #10 and Gygax Magazine #3.

Elven Ranger: More combat-oriented elves from Aquitania.

Felid: The natives of Felicia are a bipedal feline race called the Felids. They are typically known as a people who live for the moment, with little concern for long term matters. The stereotype of the hedonist felid, focused only on enjoying the finer things in life, is an exaggeration, but does have some roots in reality.

For other takes on animal people, see Bronx Beasts, Mutant Crawl Classics, and Primal Tales #1.

Gnome: The small folk who dwell in Cypria and Pamfilia, the gnomes, are about the same height as halflings, but tend to be a bit slighter of build. Their diminutive size, however, can be misleading. Gnomes have more than a few tricks up their sleeves (sometimes literally) to dissuade would be enemies. Gnomes are quite skilled at a range of innate magic, especially illusions, automatically having access to some spells.

For another take on gnomes, see Crawl! fanzine #6 (reprinted with some expansion in Gnome Jambalaya).

New illusion spells are included to support the gnome, although they are not limited to that class. They are hallucination (level 1), greater illusion (level 3), and ethereal illusion (level 4).

Pax Lexque is a campaign setting based on an alternate reality historical earth in which the Roman Empire was co-mingled with conventional elements of fantasy - elves, dwarves, wizards, clerics, giants, dragons and everything else you’d expect.

After a magical war tore the Roman Empire apart, the empire is now rebuilding, with its eyes on its eternal motto, “Pax Lexque” or “Peace and Law”. The campaign's starter modules (The Hand of the Law) place PCs in a special forces arm of the imperial army. Their squad is sent on missions to deal with unexplained problems left over from the magical war - cursed or haunted battlefields, horrific monsters summoned during the war, necromancers and diabolists who still try to delve into forbidden knowledge.

This guide is meant as a sandbox environment. The world of the Great Sea region is presented with its history and geography broken down to twenty nations, ready for characters to explore. Nineteen new patrons particular to this world are described, six of which are presented in full detail, complete with patron spells. Also included are four new character classes: Dwarven Cleric, Elven Ranger, Felid (or catfolk) and Gnome.

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Content Conversion Guide

The Content Conversion Guide (Pathfinder/5E/P2E/OSR/DCC/d20 3.5) was written by J. Evans Payne. Art is by Jack Kaiser (including cover), Karen Martin, and J. Payne (iconography). The publisher is Infinium Game Studios.

If you own a lot of material for role-playing games, and the game you are using has changed over the years, who would not want to convert material from one system to another? Why would you not want to use The Keep on the Borderlands, Castle Whiterock, or Hungry Are The Dead using Dungeon Crawl Classics? I have discussed this in the past myself. This product offers a streamlined way to do that.

The author has clearly put a lot of work into this, and it does provide a good starting place for people who want a mechanical way to convert various games into Dungeon Crawl Classics. But, I have some reservations here. I tend to think that, if you take these reservations into account, you will be able to make better use of the tools provided herein.

(For those who want qualifications, I did the official conversions of DCC #76.5: Well of the Worm, DCC #79.5: Tower of the Black Pearl, DCC #82.5: Dragora's Dungeon, DCC #85.5: The Curse of the Kingspire, the GM Gems Hardcover Second Printing, Xcrawl: Anaheim Crawl, Xcrawl: BostonCrawl, and Xcrawl: Dungeonbattle Brooklyn for Goodman Games. I also did the conversions of PM 1: Temple of the Locust Lord, PM 2: Desolate Dwarven Delve, Races of Porphyra: Erkunae, and Races of Porphyra: Ith'n Ya'roo for Purple Duck Games.)

Apart from some quibbles, the mechanical conversion is sound. This assumes, however, that what you want is roughly the same experience of an encounter, translated from one system to another. I do not think that this is ideal. For instance, in converting more powerful monsters from 3.X-based OGL versions of the critter, I typically reduce their Hit Dice. Frankly, one of the reasons that I left 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons for Dungeon Crawl Classics is that I don't want a single battle to drag on past the point where it is interesting. For a similar reason, I don't bother listing all of the abilities of a creature, and try to focus on its core abilities that will be useful in a given adventure. For the most part, this conversion system does the same.

Here are my reservations:

(1) I am fundamentally opposed to the idea of altering creatures to meet the abilities of characters. I am not opposed to altering a creature to meet the needs of an adventure, and I would contend that there is a subtle but distinct difference. In a game like Dungeon Crawl Classics, there is a baseline set by the 0-level funnel and by constants in the world. Things like Armor Class, or the DCs for thieve's skills, do not change - the PCs just become better as they level. The "average person" standard set in the funnel can be used to reflect the entire world. A 3rd-level warrior is fantastic judged by that standard.

When creatures meet the needs of the adventure, that standard can be maintained. When creatures alter to allow, say, an orc to be challenging at any level, then orcs are no longer tied to an objective standard.

(2) One of the truly wonderful things about Dungeon Crawl Classics is the advice to Make Monsters Mysterious, and to decouple monsters from the treasure that they carry. This volume will not help you with that. 

For a great example of what I mean, think about the listing for Skeleton in the core rulebook. It doesn't just describe a single creature; it gives you a table of variants for that creature. Similar things occur with many other creatures. 

On top of this, many DCC creatures cleave closer to their Appendix N sources. DCC trolls and Pathfinder trolls are not the same creatures. Related to that, the idea that "That was a tough encounter! There must be a big treasure!" cheapens (for me, at least) the feeling of discovery in the game as well as harming immersion.

In any event, you are not going to Make Monsters Mysterious by picking them from a menu.

(3) Related to this, I have argued in the past that DCC needs both mysterious creatures and persistent creatures.

Consider again the way the goblins, wolves, and eagles are used in The Hobbit.  They are not simply “throw away” creatures that appear in one chapter so that the creatures in the next chapter may be unique.  And all appear again in The Lord of the Rings.  Each of these volumes also has unique creatures which are encountered only in specific locations.

A persistent world needs persistent creatures; and Appendix N worlds also needs unique creatures.  The best of all possible worlds has both.  Horses, dogs, wolves, chickens, and pigs are certainly ubiquitous.  That Conan encounters lions in The Tower of the Elephant should not imply that there are no lions elsewhere in the world – quite the opposite, actually – but encountering Yag within the Tower should remain a unique occurrence.

New creatures allow for surprise, fear, and wonder.  Known creatures give a world depth, and allow choices to be made within a familiar context.  The discerning Judge will have to learn where to draw the line between the two.

This is further explicated in this post.

One of the advantages of long-term play in a persistent milieu is that you get to learn about that milieu through play. You may not know if fighting jackalmen is a good idea when you first encounter them, but you should have a fairly good idea about how powerful the average jackalman is by the time you have reached 3rd level and encountered them regularly.

The Quad System makes this impossible, because the abilities of the jackalmen now change with your abilities. In short, they lose the value of being persistent creatures because, mechanically, they are no longer persistent.

(4)  One of the key draws of Dungeon Crawl Classics is how cleanly and quickly it plays. Another is that you can find yourself in over your head at any moment. Adding Conditions and Challenge Ratings to the game harms these key strengths.

Nonetheless, taken as a starting point, this volume does have merit. And, as I said, it represents a considerable amount of work on the part of the author. This is the first time that I have ever included a second image, or an interior image, in a Treasure Trove entry. I have done this to give the reader a good idea of the kind of conversion this product provides. This is especially useful, in this case, because it can be compared to my own conversion of the Aboleth to DCC.

This product does have a very generous OGL, which, if my reading is correct, would allow one to use it to create publishable conversions. The product rightly notes that there is both an art and a science to conversion. This will undoubtedly help you with the science. I tend to fall on the side of the art.

If you've ever wanted to take adventure content from one system and use it in another, this book has been designed to be of invaluable help. 

For D/GM/judge/referees, for game designers, for indie RPG authors, or for someone looking to investigate the mechanics of other TTRPG rules systems, this book is designed to be a massive accelerant to the conversion process and a window into the "secret sauce" that has made Infinium Game Studios products unique in their ability to be used across a wide variety of PC levels and difficulties.

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Neon Knights

DCC #94: Neon Knights, is a 3rd level adventure written by Brendan LaSalle with art by Doug Kovacs (including cover and cartography), Friedrich Haas, Cliff Kurowski, William McAusland, and Chad Sergesketter. The Publisher is Goodman Games. This book is dedicated to Paul Suda, an actor and writer working on the Xcrawl movie currently in development.

Disclosure: I have a playtest credit on this product. Also, the author sent me a signed copy.

I was lucky enough to meet Brendan LaSalle at Nexus Game Fair in 2016. This was not actually an accident, because I decided to see what conventions I might be able to attend during a trip to Wisconsin to visit family members. I was, quite specifically, looking for somewhere I could get into a DCC game, and I recognized Brendan LaSalle from his work with Goodman Games. In fact, by that time I had appeared in the DCC RPG/Xcrawl Free RPG Day 2013 offering from Goodman Games with him, and converted two of his Xcrawl adventures to DCC mechanics: Dungeonbattle Brooklyn and BostonCrawl!

The upshot of this was that, not only did I get to be a playtester for Neon Knights, but I got to generally pal around with one of the most generous, outgoing, and gonzo judges I have ever met.

Neon Knights is, of course, inspired by Black Sabbath, as is Hole in the Sky. As written, Neon Knights links directly to the Purple Planet from Peril on the Purple Planet, but this connection can easily be altered by the judge to allow the adventure to bring the PCs elsewhere.

Brendan LaSalle's DCC work is a sort of an energetic high fantasy extravaganza. I don't mean high fantasy as being Tolkien-esque, but rather dealing with epic themes that cross the planes of existence. Although Michael Moorcock is not a direct influence to this adventure (in any way that I can tell), those who like Moorcock's work are likely to find resonance here.

Ten thousand flawless killers surround the city. Utterly silent in battle and in death, they seem unconquerable. They mean to choke the life out of the age-old city and leave it an empty ruin. 

The city calls upon its heroes to defeat this unnatural menace. The heroes gather to ponder the question: how do you defeat an impregnable foe? 

And then a wizard from a far-off world whisks the heroes away to fight battle of a very different sort, leaving them with a strange neon pink glow around their eyes…

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Goodman Games Gen Con 2014 Program Book

The Goodman Games Gen Con 2014 Program Book is described on RPG Now as being written and illustrated by Goodman Games, and is published by Goodman Games as well. Apart from specific adventures, and self-reporting (bios, author notes, etc.), I didn't see any other attribution.

Disclosure: There is a preview for my The Dread God Al-Khazadar in this volume, with my Designer Notes and a short bio.

As with other discussions of "mixed bag" type products, my focus here is going to be on Dungeon Crawl Classics material. Let's look inside!

Gen Con Luck Chart: Not listed in the Table of Contents. You might have gotten a freebie from the Goodman Games crew if you rolled at the Goodman Games booth. Or you might have been asked to "Provide Doug [Kovacs] with a pint of your own blood to be mixed into his paint for the next DCC RPG cover." Seems to be the same as last year.

Age of Cthulhu: Transatlantic Terror: An adventure by Jon Hook for 1920s Call of Cthulhu. Could this be turned into a funnel scenario using Dungeon Crawl Classics period-based characters? Yes it could.

Dear Archmage Abbey: A bit of fun flummery.

DCC RPG Worlds Tour: Not sure why this made it to the Table of Contents.

Tales From the Road Crew: Stories and pictures of Dungeon Crawl Classics events featuring the Goodman Games crew, "The Curse of Many Faces" and "The Battle of Gary Con".

DCC Bonus Encounters: Preordering Intrigue at the Court of Chaos, The One Who Watches From Below, and Bride of the Black Manse gave you a chance to receive postcard-sized extras printed with extra encounter areas. These are reprinted here.

The Emerald Enchanter Strikes Back: In true Appendix N style, author Jobe Bittman reveals that the Emerald Enchanter did not die at the end of his titular adventure. Now he wants his vengeance, and he has a giant robot to help him do it. Not only that, but there is a nod to Doom of the Savage Kings!

2014 Mailing Labels: Cool art.

The DCC Cover Design Process: More cool art, and information about how those covers are designed.

The ABECEDARIAN Adventure: Featuring expanded material for The Dungeon Alphabet (O is Also for Omens by Michael Curtis, and no, it isn't in my expanded copy either, so I guess you can only get it in this Program Book!) and previewing the upcoming (at the time) The Monster Alphabet.

Maximum Xcrawl: Too Tough to Die: Fiction by C. L. Werner.

Metamorphosis Alpha: Coming of Age: An adventure by James M. Ward. Once again, I am going to suggest that this could be converted to Dungeon Crawl Classics...perhaps using The Umerican Survival Guide and Mutant Crawl Classics (when these become available) as handy source books for doing so.

Coming Soon for DCC RPG: Previews (with designer notes and bios) for several products. These are Against the Atomic Overlord, The 998th Conclave of Wizards, Journey to the Centre of Aereth, Hole in the Sky, The Dread God Al-Khazadar, The Making of the Ghost Ring, and The Four Phantasmagorias. This last product, by Michael Curtis, is still in the wings somewhere. All good things take time, and I imagine DCC Lankhmar has taken up a wee bit of Mr. Curtis' time between then and now. In addition, Joseph Goodman has a sidebar about Alien Planets in this section.

Other Products Coming Soon: The Adventurer's Almanac, GM Gems, Age of Cthulhu: The Lost Expedition, and two other "exciting hardcovers" that were announced at the "What's New With Goodman Games?" seminar. If memory serves, these should be Grimtooth's Traps and the Judges Guild Deluxe Collector's Edition.

D40 Questions: The Goodman Gang: The Goodman Games crew answer some randomly generated questions from a list of 40. Included are Jobe Bittmen, Mike Curtis, Joseph Goodman, Jon Hershberger, Keith Labaw, Brendan LaSalle, Doug Kovacs (who gets &^#!@ bleeped!), Brad McDevitt, Peter Mullen, Stefan Poag, Harley Stroh, and Dieter Zimmerman.

The Vandroid: Finally, Joseph Goodman delivers a "robot created from the components of a classic 1970's Ford custom van." Full DCC stats included.

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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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Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill!

Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill! is a 0-level funnel adventure written by Julian Bernick. Art is by Spencer Amundsen and Jack Kotz. The publisher is Order of the Quill.

This is the first stand-alone published adventure for Nowhere City Nights. The irony of the first adventure for this setting being a funnel came up on Spellburn, where Julian Bernick is one of the hosts.

Remember the good old days? Nah… Nowhere City never had any good old days, no matter what the politicians say. It’s always been a hellish cult-infested battleground contested by the power-mad forces of Chaos and the few, desperate defenders of Law. And this conflict comes with bloodshed, heroics, vile sorcery and plenty of NPCs who are meant to be killed. We hope you enjoy your stay. After all, we heard the roads and the airport just closed down due to a mysterious state of emergency.

This is a new adventure, so I want to be careful about spoilers beyond those supplied by the publisher. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for a dark, noir version of DCC Xcrawl to play as a 0-level funnel, you have come to the right place.

It is not a spoiler to say that the section entitled Ending the Adventure gives options for both "...and Starting a Campaign" and "...in a Convention or Short-term Game". The ending of Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill! supplies a good starting point if you are moving into a campaign, or a good ending point if not. A funnel adventure has to answer the question "Why did these people stop farming turnips?" (or, in this case, doing paperwork!), and Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill! certainly does that.

Appendix A provides a table of 100 quirks that you can use to help define your Nowhere City Nights 0-level characters. Some of these would be quite fun to use in a game session; others might actually change the nature of play. It would actually be more interesting to have a Strength 5 character roll "60: Weightlifter" than a character with a 16+ Strength. And if you roll 100? Let's save that for as a surprise, but the judge and player will probably need a private consultation.

Outlive, Outsmart, Outkill! is a mad parody of today's cynical reality TV world. You want sadism, isolation and high stakes betrayal? In Nowhere City, you can take it all the way. The elite sorcerers of Scutigera have abducted a random assortment of civilians and forced them to compete in this lethal contest... while they watch. There's no fame and money at stake and there's no second place. In this contest, the winner gets to join the Sorcerer Cult-- and everyone else DIES!

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