Too many DCCs?

lukash · Post by **lukash** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:44 pm

I'm trying to collect all the DCC modules as they come out, but the next few months have a ton of new products being released, and I just can't rationalize buying it all. Can you slow it down a little, please.

Rick Maffei · Post by **Rick Maffei** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:00 pm

What?!? No #26?

ynnen · Post by **ynnen** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 4:48 am

What, no DCC #13 or #20.5???

Jeff LaSala · Post by **Jeff LaSala** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 5:06 am

And it didn't help that we made DCC #35 so freakin' huge.

bobrunnicles · Post by **bobrunnicles** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:57 am

Personally I started picking these up by pdf, then only recently decided to get the hardcopies first, and maybe the pdf if I plan on running it (easier to take a printout of the pdf to lunch and write all over it etc) - so far I'm almost totally up to date except that I can't find a copy of DCC10 (The Sunless Garden) anywhere, and of course DCC3.5 (Haunted Lighthouse) not only hasn't shown up on ebay for months, but when it does it fetches ludicrous amounts of money). Also looking for DCC20.5 (The Mask Of Death), I'm a little disappointed that that is already out of print.....

As far as DCC35 goes it can't get here fast enough!! I love the throwback to the art of the old D&D Gazetteers, too bad you didn't get Caldwell to paint the cover art (although I like what you do have).

slimykuotoan · Post by **slimykuotoan** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:58 pm

I disagree.

Keep 'em comin'.

WereSteve · Post by **WereSteve** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:35 am

slimykuotoan wrote:Keep 'em comin'.

They can if they want ... but ... with the cheese factor of some of the more recent releases, I will most likely be dropping off after #35 and switching over to the new Judges Guild releases when they come out.

Jeff LaSala · Post by **Jeff LaSala** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:45 am

Huh. Weresteve, how would you define "cheese" and "non-cheese," in this case?

WereSteve · Post by **WereSteve** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:00 pm

Jeff LaSala wrote:Weresteve, how would you define "cheese" and "non-cheese," in this case?

Umm ... lemme see ... cheese factor would cover most if not all of DCC #33, 34, #36, #37, and #38. I might get #39, but haven't decided about anything beyond that as of yet.

Besides ... I have been collecting/playing Judges Guild modules for a very long time ... since circa 1979/1980.

JediOre · Post by **JediOre** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:44 pm

I wasn't planning on buying #34 myself. I've dropped D&D 3.5 so the levels are not viable for me. Besides, a giant space turtle seemed over the top for me as well.

My comic shop got it for me by mistake, so I went ahead and bought it. After reading it, my opinion changed. I like it. Several things will have to change (like the levels of the antaganists) but besides that, I'd run it as it stands.

I think everyone at my game table would enjoy it. What a trip, traveling to a giant turtle and duking it out with nilistic cult members. "Shoting bad guys" is what it's all about!

[Excuss any rambling. Home with asthma today so I can't ge held accountable for what I type.]

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:50 pm

I like it as well. It totally ignores the potency of divinations combined with teleportations, but I think I have come up with a viable way to deal with that.

Which is to simply consider the turtle to be a deific creature (maybe Hindu?) and have every divination or telelportation while within its body/influence require the creatures permisssion. More or less.

So the bad guys are hampered, and any group that is working towards a resolution beneficial to the turtle creature would be allowed to perform such things.

The module is definitely tough for C&C characters, but it will be easy to adjust down to 19th/20th level.

JediOre · Post by **JediOre** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:37 pm

No I plan on allowing a party free reign on the use of spells. So many high level adventures dis-allow spells that magic-users and clerics have earned through years of advancement. That is frustrating to me as a player. I'll just need to be tougher with the encounters.

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:16 pm

JediOre wrote:No I plan on allowing a party free reign on the use of spells. So many high level adventures dis-allow spells that magic-users and clerics have earned through years of advancement. That is frustrating to me as a player. I'll just need to be tougher with the encounters.

I totally agree. When its "just that way". My campaigns have always been based on the premise that ALL spells are ultimately "allowed" by deities, or out right granted in the case of clerics/druids.

So this will just bring that aspect of my setting right up to the front row. Besides, as long as the party is working to rid the turtle of this "infestation" they will have a distinct advantage.

Gailbraithe · Post by **Gailbraithe** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:41 pm

I can understand why someone might be a bit turned off by the giant turtle (or epic levels) in #33, or think the CD inclusion in #34 is hokey, or find the sci-fi element in #36 out-of-place for their fantasy campaign, and #38 is clearly just silly, but for the life of me I can't figure out what could be cheesy about #37.

A 4-6 level adventure featuring a Naga? Sounds pretty awesome to me.

I actually picked up #34, listened to the CD and was quite impressed. Much better than what I expected (anyone who has played the CD adventure from TSR's Republic of Darokin boxed set knows just how awful it can get). The adventure itself is a bit dark and psychological for my tastes, but I can see running it as part of a Heroes of Horror campaign, adding in taint elements and the like. It would go well with other adventures like Shadows in Freeport and Legend of the Ripper.

#36 is on my list to pick up, in case I decide to run another Wilderlands game, as it fits the setting perfectly. It's also clearly an homage to Expedition to Barrier Peaks, which was always a personal favorite ("Hah hah, now I have a death beam!" says my fighter).

#38 looks like it could be really fun, but I can see how Very Serious gamers would be turned off. But I remember old TSR gems like Castle Greyhawk with it's level of comic-book inspired mayhem (I will never forget the look on my players faces as they realized they were fighting an orc dressed as spider-man with all of spider-man's powers), and my players are good natured enough to enjoy something like this. I haven't read the adventure yet, but I imagine that it could also be used as a revenge plot by a trickster-archtype antagonist. The blurb indicates it revolves around a magical book -- maybe the book was a gift from a less than well-intentioned gnome that the PCs had irritated (maybe Narzy Hilspeck has a brother who is signifigantly less morbid?).

Mike_Ferguson · Post by **Mike_Ferguson** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:51 am

WereSteve wrote:Umm ... lemme see ... cheese factor would cover most if not all of DCC #33, 34, #36, #37, and #38. I might get #39, but haven't decided about anything beyond that as of yet.

Besides ... I have been collecting/playing Judges Guild modules for a very long time ... since circa 1979/1980.

As the author of DCC#36, I guess I'll just have to respectfully disagree with you on that one. Yes, I can see how you might think the module has a certain amount of "cheese factor" based on the sci-fi element contained in the adventure, but I think if you played it, you'd find it to have a lot of gritty, tough elements to it as well. Sci-fi is just one aspect of the adventure.

Then again, my opinion's obviously biased, so take it for what it's worth.

If your local gaming store carries DCCs on the shelves, all I ask is that you take "Talons of the Horned King" off the shelf for a minute or two and read through some of the adventure. If you still think it's cheesy, just put it back - no harm, no foul. But I think you might be pleasantly surprised by what you read.

Warduke · Post by **Warduke** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:54 am

Talons is a play on the themes established in Expedition, right? It might not fit every game, but it is still firmly rooted in the Gygax vein. Lanterns is the same story with Gygax's Dungeonland right?

I might be showing my age.

Mike_Ferguson · Post by **Mike_Ferguson** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:25 am

Warduke wrote:Talons is a play on the themes established in Expedition, right? It might not fit every game, but it is still firmly rooted in the Gygax vein. Lanterns is the same story with Gygax's Dungeonland right?

I might be showing my age.

I haven't read "Lanterns" yet, so I can't speak for that one. However, I think it's been mentioned on another thread that Dungeonland was one of that adventures' influences, as well as a nightmare that the author had.

As for "Talons" ... yes, "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" was definitely a huge influence on the adventure. Expedition was one of my all-time favorite 1st edition AD&D adventures that I played ... geez, 20 years ago? I always loved the idea of sci-fi splashed in a classic fantasy adventure, so when I was given the opportunity to write Talons, I jumped at it.

So yes, Talons is certainly a play on the themes established in Expedition. However, I tried to establish a number of new ideas and concepts in the adventure as well - and I deliberately didn't try to emulate some of the aspects originally presented in Expedition. I don't see the point in just filing the serial numbers off of a Gygax classic and trying to re-present it as "new" - with any luck, the adventure can hold its own and create some original "classic" moments in its own right.

Hopefully, you'll find that Talons isn't just a warmed-over rehash of Expedition, but a pretty decent adventure in its own right - but that's up to you guys to decide, not me.

WereSteve · Post by **WereSteve** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:39 am

Mike_Ferguson wrote:As the author of DCC#36, I guess I'll just have to respectfully disagree with you on that one. Yes, I can see how you might think the module has a certain amount of "cheese factor" based on the sci-fi element contained in the adventure, but I think if you played it, you'd find it to have a lot of gritty, tough elements to it as well. Sci-fi is just one aspect of the adventure.

Well ... put another way ... How many different variations of S-3 are needed? As players and GM's we all tend to draw inspiration from different sources ... its just that I have never really been that big on SciFi elements in a fantasy setting. It's probably just as silly as my long term running threat of introducing a Tinker Gnome/Kender cross with a Sonic Screwdriver if the player's don't behave.

JediOre · Post by **JediOre** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:55 am

I for one, have no problem having some sci-fi in my fantasy.

Now mind you, I have not read #35, but having two modules dealing with "space invaders" for my Castles & Crusades game is okay by me.

To me it just adds another layer of wonder to the game. If you've ever read the trilogy of Celtic myths by Kenneth Flint you'd get an idea I have of fantasy mixed with a touch of sci-fi.

Warduke · Post by **Warduke** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:26 am

Gene Wolf does a good job too. I think it all comes down to taste.

After all, don't we all just want to play Drizzt?

<----Joke!

Whizbang Dustyboots · Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:02 am

I love DCCs operating in the same aesthetic area as the old OD&D and 1E TSR modules. Dungeonland is one of my all-time favorite modules, and I'm buying Forest of Lanterns for that very reason.

Barrier Peaks-flavored material doesn't fit into my Ptolus campaign, so I'm not getting the two sci-fi-flavored modules, but EVERYONE else I know from the 1E era loved Barrier Peaks. I expect both will be popular. Plus, kudos to Goodman for giving us an actual epic module!

I don't think that any campaign will really be able to fit in every DCC and I certainly would never pick them all up. The more DCCs available, though, the more that fit into every available niche. Personally, I'm hoping for more urban adventures, along with DCCs inspired by the Ghost Tower of Inverness, the Cult of the Reptile God (I haven't looked at the new naga module -- that may be similar), Beyond the Crystal Cave and other classics.

James Mishler · Post by **James Mishler** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:35 pm

Whizbang Dustyboots wrote:Barrier Peaks-flavored material doesn't fit into my Ptolus campaign, so I'm not getting the two sci-fi-flavored modules, but EVERYONE else I know from the 1E era loved Barrier Peaks.

Hmmm... excise sci-fi, insert Chaositech, complete with Galchutt-type creatures? Same effect while cranking the horror factor up to 11, a la John Carpenter's The Thing.

Warduke · Post by **Warduke** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:45 am

James Mishler wrote:Hmmm... excise sci-fi, insert Chaositech, complete with Galchutt-type creatures? Same effect while cranking the horror factor up to 11, a la John Carpenter's The Thing.

That's a brilliant idea....

Mike_Ferguson · Post by **Mike_Ferguson** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:03 am

James Mishler wrote:... a la John Carpenter's The Thing.

Oh, good.

Somehow, then, I think you just might enjoy "Talons".

WereSteve · Post by **WereSteve** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:59 am

Mike_Ferguson wrote:Somehow, then, I think you just might enjoy "Talons".

As long as it is _Talons of Weng Chiang_