So, I purchased DCC RPG about a year ago intending to introduce some friends to a hobby I hadn't engaged with in about a decade... I finally got to play it last night with a different set of friends and not only did it rekindle my interest in the hobby, but I also tried on my GM hat for the first time. It was a roaring success. Here follows the account of that session:
4 players, three of them never having played a pen & paper RPG (the other a seasoned player), each controlling 4x 0-level peasants. 16 characters felt like a lot to handle for a brand new DM and I was nervous at first to be teaching so many people, but it's been smooth sailing the whole way. I chose to run Portal Under the Stars to get the PCs acclimated to role-playing and the game system (also because I'm new and figured it would be helpful to have some base content). I had pre-generated characters for everyone using Purple Sorcerer's excellent tool and printed them out to shuffle them so each player got a random selection of peasants to start. I had them name each one and pick an alignment and we ended up with quite a variety of names (including an Alchemist named Carl Sagan who can't seem to stay sober for more than a single round of combat). Basically I told them that the game mechanics are there to support us as we collaborate to tell a story - not the other way around. "Tell me what your character does and I'll tell you if you need to worry about any game rules."
I altered the beginning a bit and learned my first lesson: never introduce an NPC you can't afford to have killed.
After a variety of attempts to break down the door (one by a PC named 'Hodor'), the meek halfling with a negative STR mod flings it open - and is vaporized by the trap. Only one fully impaled by the spears, which I had delayed by rolling a d% for every person to enter the room and triggered the throwers all at once if the roll was higher than the last. At this point, I messed up and accidentally described to them the room with the gazing pool instead of the fire-spitting statue... No harm, just rejiggerd by swapping the rooms, putting a door at the far end of the pool, and making the far door of the scorched room lead to the stairs down. We traded two peasants for two crystal statues before they discovered they were basically harmless. A few gems pried out of the floor and on to the next room (pool has just buckled).Here's one bit I think I kind of messed up on and would appreciate input from more seasoned GMs:
During the fight, we had a player who tried to invoke some sort of magic using the hex doll carried by his halfling gypsy (for the second time this session). On a natural 1 I decided that the doll got too hot to hold and he started hearing a demonic voice gibbering in his head. After the gypsy drops it, another PC picks up the doll, exciting the voices in his head and so the gypsy pleads with the character to drop it. Being a lawful character (who had played very nicely with his fellow peasants so far) we would hope they would simply comply... The PC chose instead to stab the doll. So, being that we're dealing with some lesser demon and a character going directly against their alignment, I thought some sort of potential cruelty appropriate. I figured I would make the weapon catch fire and give him a Ref save (10) to let go in time to avoid anything unpleasant. Failed the Ref throw. Okay, so seems logical to do a Will save when wrestling with an other-worldly being. PC rolls a nat 1 with a -2 Will mod...... Only had 1HP left so I made his death quite spectacular and all seemed entertained, but I wonder if I even should have gone down this path.
We ended the session after they activated the fire-spewing statue with two flaming halflings running for the pool, a large group of characters standing in a doorway with the statue pointed at them, and a drunk alchemist named Carl Sagan face down (but unharmed) in the middle of the scorched room. Everyone enjoyed the game and their introduction to RPGs so we continue next week!
5 fatalities in 16 total peasants.
Concrete questions for my elders:
- How do you deal with characters going against alignment (and do you bother with any consequences at 0-level)?
- To what extent would you allow this kind of roleplay for a character trying to invoke some non-terrestrial being based on a vague background?
- The group spent a lot of time digging gems out of the doors and floor and telling each other to get hands off their treasure. This seems like it could get annoying in short order... Thoughts on whether/how I should deal with this?
- Seems to me like knowledge/inspection rolls should be made by the DM and hidden from the players in order to affect meaningful crits (success OR failure). Is this common practice?
- I've been seeking out GM resources all over the place but if anyone has any favorites I'd love to hear about them. (Gnome Stew seems the only consolidated resource I've found.)
If multiple players want an item with a more immediate function (weapon or armor), settle it with a d20, highest roll wins.