Hello, everyone. Long-time gamer, but a newcomer to the DCC universe. Or world. Prime Material Plane? Anyway, I'm currently training the next generation of gamers in the local store, having started a homebrew for some of the kids who frequent the place, including my 11-year old son. Naturally he's starting to get some interest in eventually DMing his own stuff.
So I says to myself, 'Self, remember back in the bygone days of 1st edition AD&D and the Red Box when they had these things called 'modules' that were fully-developed dungeon crawls that taught a lot of people how to write adventures? Wouldn't it be nice if they had that sort of thing today for kids learning to play and DM?'
I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.
So I've started picking up the DCC series, which I'm going to keep hidden away and give him in a big office box for Christmas. The whole thing, if I can manage it, including web enhancements and, perhaps, accumulated files for spells, magic items, feats, and critters that appear in the DCC collection. I'm not interested in 'collector's item' quality, or specific printings; I just want to get him the whole set so he has his very own D&D materials to work with.
So far, I've got 0, 4, 5, 10, 12.5, 13, 15, 21, 25, 28, and the box set. There are still some available at the local store, which I'm gradually accumulating. I've noticed that there are some DCCs which are, shall we say, somewhat difficult to acquire. So I wanted to ask about the various '.5' adventures, as well as the EN World Player's Journal and the KODT mag that include DCC adventures. How impossible is it going to be to get these?
The pros of all this are that my son gets a brand-new spankin' world to play in, one that his old man hasn't known about for twenty or so years and can recite chapter and verse (I'm not a complete gaming geek, but I do have a high-quality memory). He gets ready-made adventures that he can run almost 'out of the box' to get him started, and he gets a really nice Christmas present from Daddy.
The cons? I have the box set sitting in a drawer in my bedroom that I can't open for ten months. Is there anyone here who doesn't sympathize with my plight? It's a whole new world just waiting for me to explore, and I CAN'T TOUCH IT!!!!!! I haven't even opened the shrink-wrap. And it's just sitting there, taunting me. Every time I add another module to the pile it stares at me, whispering sweet nothings at me like Eve's snake.
The things we do for our children...
Collecting for my son
Moderators: DJ LaBoss, finarvyn, Harley Stroh
Collecting for my son
An amateur practices until he gets it right; a professional practices until he can't get it wrong.
The .5's are going to be hard to come by, and they'll cost you (particularly 3.5 and 20.5...anything that was a GenCon special, actually).
Several of the DCCs have Dunjinni maps that were created by fans. I would recommend taking these to Kinkos (or someplace with an E size plotter). Print several of the maps out and put them in map tubes as part of the present. I'm telling you...it's worth the effort.
Some of the miniatures are worth purchasing as well (I would concentrate on the main "bad guys"). The ones that stick out are:
Rez-Zomar, Goblin Warchief and Lawrence Gannu, Wererat Champion from Idylls of the Rat King, The Castellan, Half-Dragon Ettin from Vault of the Dragon Kings, Chalychia the Devil Lich from Crypt of the Devil Lich.
Print off this page:
http://www.goodmangames.com/adventurefinder.php
It will give him a good idea on building a campaign around the modules (through the levels).
Lastly, when you give him the gifts, hand him a user name on the forums. Let us know when he is here, and we'll pitch in to help him along with any adventure questions.
Several of the DCCs have Dunjinni maps that were created by fans. I would recommend taking these to Kinkos (or someplace with an E size plotter). Print several of the maps out and put them in map tubes as part of the present. I'm telling you...it's worth the effort.
Some of the miniatures are worth purchasing as well (I would concentrate on the main "bad guys"). The ones that stick out are:
Rez-Zomar, Goblin Warchief and Lawrence Gannu, Wererat Champion from Idylls of the Rat King, The Castellan, Half-Dragon Ettin from Vault of the Dragon Kings, Chalychia the Devil Lich from Crypt of the Devil Lich.
Print off this page:
http://www.goodmangames.com/adventurefinder.php
It will give him a good idea on building a campaign around the modules (through the levels).
Lastly, when you give him the gifts, hand him a user name on the forums. Let us know when he is here, and we'll pitch in to help him along with any adventure questions.
Dark Oracle of Gaming
Is there a PDF available of the '.5' modules? If they're that expensive to buy in hardcopy, I'd be just as happy to print them out and put them in a binder or something.
I like the idea of printing up the maps; that would be extremely cool for him. As for minis...we've stayed away from them in our games. I tend to run a more 'abstract' style of game, primarily because I don't feel like spending money on minis. What can I say, I'm old school AND I'm poor.
I will definitely remember to include a username for him on these forums. Excellent suggestion. I've mostly kept him offline so far; it's a nasty internet out there. But eventually they all have to grow up, right?
I like the idea of printing up the maps; that would be extremely cool for him. As for minis...we've stayed away from them in our games. I tend to run a more 'abstract' style of game, primarily because I don't feel like spending money on minis. What can I say, I'm old school AND I'm poor.
I will definitely remember to include a username for him on these forums. Excellent suggestion. I've mostly kept him offline so far; it's a nasty internet out there. But eventually they all have to grow up, right?
An amateur practices until he gets it right; a professional practices until he can't get it wrong.
17.5 and 12.5 are both available through RPGNow. I'm not sure if 3.5 is available in pdf, and the sames goes for 20.5.
The forums here are pretty sedate, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. EnWorld is also pretty friendly (and very active). If you sign your boy up on EnWorld, just post saying so and I guarantee you'll have lots of people jump at the chance to help him out (there are plenty of fathers on there as well).
Definitely print up the maps. They're very cool.
The forums here are pretty sedate, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. EnWorld is also pretty friendly (and very active). If you sign your boy up on EnWorld, just post saying so and I guarantee you'll have lots of people jump at the chance to help him out (there are plenty of fathers on there as well).
Definitely print up the maps. They're very cool.
Dark Oracle of Gaming
