Goodman Games

I didn't like the weird mutation stuff from the beta rules on corruption. A new sword & sorcery D&D variant was just released that handles the negative effects of magic in a different way.

You start with a sanity score equal to wisdom (I.e. DCC could use personality) then when you cast a spell it reduces your sanity if you fail a save (the loss is twice the spell level). You then recover sanity 1 point per day of rest. Rolling a one on the save reduces your wisdom by 1.

I was thinking about using something like this to control spell casting instead of corruption.

If you're only going by the Beta rules, you really need to know that corruption has been greatly toned down in the published book.

It's been mentioned several times around here in various threads...

GnomeBoy wrote:If you're only going by the Beta rules, you really need to know that corruption has been greatly toned down in the published book.

It's been mentioned several times around here in various threads...

I have heard that but the playtesrs are saying that the final rules are virtually identical to the beta rules.

The sample spell posted recently did have blackened hands as a corruption. I prefer insanity for the wizard over mutation.

I LOVE the way corruption works in DCC. Having magic dangerous and unpredictable is one of my favorite things about spells in DCC. We had a wizard who misfired a few times and had a few corruptions including losing all his hair and his skin changing into an ashy white, he's dead now though, RIP... Our new wizard has swirling smoke for eyes and a rainbow sheen, his nick-name is Twilight. Funny stuff. I'll admit our game is a bit more gonzo, but it very much feels like a Jack Vance Dying Earth saga.

There are 3 tables for corruption, Minor, Major & Greater. And one generic Misfire, but most spells include their own spell appropriate misfire table, which is awesome. The Beta rules contained about 35 or so spells. The Final rules contain about 130 (rough estimate.)

You could easily create your own Minor, Major & Greater corruption tables to fit your campaign or vision. And I hope you do. And if you do, please share it (it'd publish it in my zine if it was good!) It'd be interesting and it sounds like it'd fit the Transylvanian Adventures setting, or a more HP Lovecraft or Conan setting.

Spell misfires mutate in Dying Earth? I haven't read those books? But yes I was going more for a Conan theme.

fjw70 wrote:Spell misfires mutate in Dying Earth? I haven't read those books? But yes I was going more for a Conan theme.

Wizards are crazy, corrupted, greedy and selfish. But yeah, pretty much.

Come up with your own corruptions, minor, major and greater, that deal with sanity and other mental degradation, and replace the official ones with them and you're all set.

fjw70 wrote:I have heard that but the playtesrs are saying that the final rules are virtually identical to the beta rules.

Well ... they are essentially the same from a global "big picture" perspective. The main philosophy and major mechanics really haven't changed much. That's not to say that individual rules systems haven't been tweaked and adjusted for faster and better play.

I think that many of us have been uncertain as to which details can be released to the public and which ones cannot. None of us wants to be the guy who blabbed something secret.

Hey, if the game was exactly the same as the Beta, why would you buy the final product?

finarvyn wrote:

fjw70 wrote:I have heard that but the playtesrs are saying that the final rules are virtually identical to the beta rules.

Well ... they are essentially the same from a global "big picture" perspective. The main philosophy and major mechanics really haven't changed much. That's not to say that individual rules systems haven't been tweaked and adjusted for faster and better play.

I think that many of us have been uncertain as to which details can be released to the public and which ones cannot. None of us wants to be the guy who blabbed something secret.

Hey, if the game was exactly the same as the Beta, why would you buy the final product?

I was just messing with you guys.

Hello Folks!
Personally, I hope they are more clarified just not gimped down. I like big risk with big rewards/epic failure. That is the main reason why the Wizard Class is my favorite class to play. Power comes with its own price, and sometimes, magic should backfire due to its fickle nature. This is Magic here we are talking about not Science.