Zdanman wrote:Now the only issues that I would potentially have with the game is the the total inability to raise stats in-game via level advancement or other natural (non-magical) means. Hackmaster has a method of raising stats that works reasonably well. If this is addressed I will be one happy RPG monkey.
One of the major goals of DCC RPG is to get back to an era of simple, fantastic adventure. Somewhere in the rules I give a little advice to judges that basically consists of, "If you didn't need a rule for it in 1974, then you don't need a rule for it now." Instead of using a rule, turn such requests into an opportunity for fantastic quest or adventure!
Specifically in relation to the question of stat increases, there is a chapter on Quests & Journeys that addresses this and several other topics. I will quote part of it below. My advice for this specific issue: if a warrior wants to increase his Strength, make the character quest the world to find the greatest trainer that ever lived, then have his character train with that person for a year. Or track down Hercules' Belt. Or best Thor in a game of chance. Or find the kIng's quartermaster and pry from the secret of his great strength. And so on.
Obviously it's your game, so if HM has a great rule that you like, feel free to adapt it. There's another portion of the DCC RPG rules that discusses the fact that most of the game's players will be experienced DM's, so it's highly unlikely any two games will resemble each other -- I expect a lot of home brewing and rules importing. Everybody should play the game they like the best.
Anyway, here's that part of the rules:
Questing for the Impossible
Modern role playing games contain a surfeit of rules defining spells, rituals, feats, and other mechanics for all manner of supernatural accomplishments. Raising the dead, improving an ability score, gaining weapon skill, receiving a divine boon are acts of dice-rolling and nothing more. The DCC RPG argues against this approach, and instead makes one simple request of both player and judge: follow the examples set by mythology and fiction and resolve such acts with a quest!
Here is a list of extraordinary acts in which the characters may wish to indulge and a suggested quest to accomplish them. Each of these is, of course, an adventure in itself. The judge should most certainly allow for extraordinary accomplishments in the DCC RPG—provided the players earn them. This game is not about mechanical solutions to requests; it’s about adventure!
Realize that there are powers beyond the ken of player characters. An NPC sorcerer can know a spell or ritual that solves a difficult problem for the characters—but that spell need not be learned by the characters. There is no reason to explain the rules of magic; recall that there aren’t any true “rules” of magic. Magic is magical. Perhaps the PC wizard cannot learn that spell for obscure and abstruse reasons. Lead your characters on quests toward allies with powers beyond their own rather than toward mechanical solutions.
For characters who do wish for extraordinary abilities, here are quests that could discover such possibilities:
Blessing: Do a favor for a god, and the god will do you a favor, too.
Breathe underwater: Locate the merman king and give him a perfect pearl.
Find safe passage through a terrible place: Bargain with Lady Luck: a week of safe passage now for a week of dangers later…but she picks the week of dangers.
Heal a terrible poison or disease, or blindness or deafness: Recover the long-lost vessel of liquid that heals any malady, or act with good faith toward a wounded creature of kindness.
Raise the dead: Journey to the lands of the dead and recover the lost soul, possibly by dancing, gaming, or jousting with Death himself. (Note: a DCC module deals with this exact subject. Look for
DCC #74: Blades against Death as an example of how to perform such a quest.)
Remove a curse: Aside from specific methods as noted in Appendix C, consider a trip to the cave of the Oldest Crone, patron of witches, where the black stone representing that curse must be destroyed.
Speak with the dead: Obtain the tongue of a still-living witch who gives it willingly, then place it in the mouth of the corpse.
Slay an immortal: Find the hall of souls, where a candle is lit for every living being, somewhere on a divine plane of existence, and snuff the candle that represents that immortal’s soul.
Summon creatures from beyond: Find the creature’s representation in the vast collection of statues kept by Gorgon, the medusa god, then carry that statue back to the mortal realms and turn it to flesh.
Tame a dragon mount: Simply steal a dragon’s egg and raise it from birth. Or, to tame an adult dragon, find the eggshell from which it hatched, which most dragons secure in a secret location.
Total party kill: Don’t end the game! Transport all the player characters to Hell—where they can give in to Death’s demands or try to fight their way out!
Unparalleled power: To achieve unparalleled power, make a pact with a deity of enormous power and promise it that which it cannot otherwise obtain.
Weapon proficiency: Find a true master of the indicated weapon and adventure with him, earning a potential bonus of +1 to +3 on attacks with that weapon given sufficient time. Of course the master may have demands of his own, and will expect much of his apprentice.
Wield a legendary magic weapon: Recover the magic weapon from its last known location.