Dungeon Crawl Classics Buyer's Guide

This video is intended to help players new to DCC know where to start, where to go after that, and what to expect from Dungeon Crawl Classics!

[@Roll_and_Rock]

Good list of DCC items! Here are a few additions for consideration. DCC Quick Start Rules - the QSR is free and has all the base rules. It even has a level 0 Adventure for you to run. So prior to buying anything, you can read the rules and run a funnel. DCC Annual - the Annual has supplemental info for several area, but the most useful are the Patrons and Deities sections. These can help enhance gameplay for players of Wizards, Elves and Clerics.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Agree on the Quick Start rules, they are one of the better starter “set” options for an RPG. I left them off as the list started with the assumption of picking up the full rules. I would say I disagree a bit on the Annual. It has a lot of good information, but a lot of it is pretty esoteric and hard to grok for a newbie. If they are really into mustache rules then maybe drop that in the fifth spot however 😉. Thanks for watching.

[@BlackDragonRPGReviews]

Glad to see DCC getting some love. I just got into it in the last few months and I’m glad I gave it a shot. My players love it! You just earned a subscribe, my friend!

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Glad to hear it! DCC is a comfort food type of RPG for me and my players. No one ever turns it down and they always enjoy the experience!

[@JB-js4xi]

yes! DCC is awesome and really manageable as solo. Got the core book and some Gongfathers Almanacs. So much fun!!! Really good video. And yes....the PDF with it is great too. Got my dice as well.....totally worth it

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Awesome! Love hearing that others are enjoying it. I actually just bought a DCC solo book off drive thru rpg that I haven’t tried yet. The game is just so well thought out. Thanks for watching!

[@sunsin1592]

The reference sheet is awesome! We infuse DCC elements into our OSE games and all you really need is that little book.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Absolutely. Back in the dark days of fourth edition, I actually had my first Goodman Games experiences with their version of the Druid for 4E and their critical hit and fumble tables. They were similar to those seen in DCC today! Love the reference sheet.

[@zombielandiii2711]

Where can I find the reference sheet?

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@zombielandiii2711 Goodman Games website should still have it. It was in stock when I last checked a couple of weeks back. Definitely worth the $$$!

[@sequoyahwright]

Excellent and helpful video! I will send interested players and Judges here as part of the Orientation phase of their training. I was going to mention Lankhmar, but you nailed it! Thanks for that! A few notes for new DCC/MCC'ers: 1) Despite its name, DCC RPG is not actually the best for traditional dungeon crawl campaigns. For that, I cannot recommend Old School Essentials (OSE) enough. Admittedly, OSE is Moldvay Basic/Expert, so that works, too, but OSE is laid out and organized in a way that is FAR easier to use at the table. DCC is amazing, and the best there is at what it does, and what it does is gonzo science fantasy in the style of the literature (largely pulp) that inspired the creators of D&D. It is not like D&D. It's better. 2) Regarding modules: I would say Sailors on the Starless Sea is a must-have. It has become the quintessential Baby's First DCC Module, and fills the role of AD&D's T1: Village of Hommlet (in more ways than one, but without the actual village). DCC started in the 20-oughts by making old-school-style modules for d20/3rd Edition D&D, and I daresay their work often surpasses even the original authors of D&D modules in the 70s and 80s, with very few exceptions. They also adapt many of the venerable classics to 5th Ed, if you're into that sort of thing. At any rate, DCC RPG has in its catalogue over twenty YEARS of fantastic and excellent adventure modules, and that is saying nothing of the incredible DIY and 3rd Party products available online as PDFs or PODs. Truly, we are living in an age of wonder, gamers, and Goodman Games has been at the tip of the spear for a couple decades now. 3) I personally believe it is the solemn duty of every serious TTRPG gamer to at least own a copy of the DCC core rule book, and to play at least one Funnel Adventure using it. Like, this is a requirement for graduation. Yes, DCC is that good, but it is also that important to our hobby and the community at large. Do your duty! Get you some DCC! Thanks for posting this and your other videos, sir. You are doing good work!

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Sequoyah, appreciate your kind words and your thoughts. I will agree on Sailors as a “best” starter funnel as well, it is a great first funnel for judge and player as it does a nice job of introducing the elements of DCC that make it special at a good pace (not to mention the end feels as much rollercoaster as adventure!). Also, yes DCC is probably not for all groups, because if you don’t have a judge willing to roll with their plans being demolished by an empowered player base, or you don’t have players willing to let their creativity and adventurous side take over, you might as well play something a little more straight forward… but if you can have even an ounce of both, DCC is an experience that captured the “feel” I had as a young man in the 80’s playing for the first time better than anything since. D&D started as a magical world where anything could happen, but for me became an exercise in trying to make the most of a set of rules… DCC brought me back the magical world where anything could happen. As a result, it has made me a better DM for Pathfinder, D&D, AS&SH, Black Hack, etc. It changes the way you think about how a game can play out for the better!

[@sequoyahwright]

@@booksbricksandboards783 Well said, and I couldn't agree more. I admit to a similar progression. I started with Moldvay Basic in 1983, but never actually played or ran a "classic" dungeon crawl style game until recently. DCC feels more like my childhood D&D games. That said, as I told my players, the OSE dungeon crawl experience is D&D Hardcore Mode. The rules play more like a board game with the procedural nature of things, and it is absolutely unforgiving. It is a different experience from what RPGs have become, and one needs to enter into it knowing to expect death. The dungeon is "alive" in a sense, and it hates you, and it will cheat to win. It's a survival drama focused on resource management and open-ended problem solving. It is not heroic fantasy , and if you find yourself in combat at any time, you made a mistake somewhere. They were begging for DCC after about six sessions. We switched over and now they enjoy life again! Thanks for your reply, sir!

[@yourseatatthetable]

I agree, excellent video. Your doing a great service...

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Thanks to you as well.

[@robertstefanko3201]

Thanks for this. Just got a subscriber

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@yagsipcc287]

I was just able to buy MCC and DCC in a sale today both hardback snd the MCC being the Astronaut Edition (I liked the art on the cover much more and the sale price was like 3 euro more) 80 euro for the two of them perfect! Going to print off some stuff as well. I have these great pocket books for games for printed off stuff. So useful to get these, keeps printed paper in perfect condition and keep all related stuff together.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

You made a good pick up. The DCC Funnel is one of the most unique experiences in all of RPG’s.

[@yagsipcc287]

@@booksbricksandboards783 thank you so much bud 🙂 you and one or two others were a big help. Also sales are great lol should have them this coming Monday or Tuesday wuw!!

[@booksbricksandboards783]

You are in for a treat when your mail carrier stops at your house!

[@normanlennox4949]

I just picked up the reference sheet book. I was building my own until I found out this existed, and my hobby shop had one.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

It is a good sign that Goodman is staffed by actual gamers, that they made that book.

[@Iulian111]

Showing Wierd Frontiers DCC in the thumbnail and not having a video talking about it? The DCC gods disapprove. Time to roll on the Diety Disapproval table!

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Lol good eye on the Weird Frontiers there. Actually, I do have a video on Weird Frontiers I did a couple months ago. You should check it out.

[@Iulian111]

@@booksbricksandboards783 Must gave missed it. The Outer Gods are pleased.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@Iulian111 R'lyeh is in a state of celebration... as are the Tommyknockers and the Luchadors!

[@fourtrees44]

I wish they would come up with a separate book for the spells. I don’t it cumbersome on how you have to use the core rule book to figure out the effect of your spell. 😊

[@booksbricksandboards783]

You know, for the newest printing of Weird Frontiers, they did exactly that! Maybe they could move that to the core game as well. Good idea!

[@fourtrees44]

@@booksbricksandboards783 thank you :-)

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@fourtrees44 very welcome!

[@MichaelSpredemann]

Excellent recommendations.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Thanks! I know I was pretty intimidated a couple years ago when I took the DCC dive, so hopefully this helps a new player make some good choices.

[@MichaelSpredemann]

@@booksbricksandboards783 you forgot to mention the dire need to collect all the corebook covers and the dangers of dice addiction. ;-)

[@MrSteveK1138]

Mutant Crawl Classics allows you to add "savagery, super-science, and sorcery."

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@MichaelSpredemann The dangers of dice addiction are REAL! Also, if you look at my thumbnail, you will see I have 3 copies of the core rules and 2 copies of the MCC rules as well. That is after I sold 2 of each last fall... What can I say other than, my name is Justin and I have a problem.😃

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@MrSteveK1138 You know, I go back and forth on MCC and DCC in relation to one of my favorite sources of adventure information... Thundarr the Barbarian and Ariel both align much better with the DCC classes, but Ookla the Mok is either Manimal or mutant. So is Thundarr better portrayed in a DCC grounded world (Ala Crawling Under a Broken Moon/Umerica), or in an MCC grounded world? Then I realize, why not both?

[@gabrielhersey5546]

I bought weird frontiers! Love it

[@booksbricksandboards783]

There are some really good adventures for Weird Frontiers, if you have not given them a look you should!

[@anthonyisback]

Hey brother great content and video. Some feedback: your video volume is really low! Want to hear what you are saying more clearly! Keep up the work!

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Thanks. I believe if you check out my newer content the audio issues should be improved. Part of it is the equipment I have to work with, but I have gotten better at getting the most out of the equipment I have access to 😉

[@MrSteveK1138]

I also prefer PDFs of adventures printed single pages so the maps can be readily accessible

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Totally agree.

[@mooseymoose]

Word of warning about MCC; though I love it and it’s my favorite setting, the rulebook is not exactly shall we say “coherent”. Lots of confusing bits and missing references. Many of the modules for it suffer the same lack of continuity. I love Goodman Games but there is definitely room for improvement.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

I’m going to do a full MCC video at some point, possibly this week. Your arguments aren’t unfounded, for example the loose way that they handle attaining extra shaman spells (totally vague), or even the total number of spells the shaman can have… or the omissions, like the 2 weapon fighting assumed from DCC but I don’t believe ever brought up in the MCC core rules (but oddly on the MCC screen if I remember). MCC, I believe from listening to podcasts and reading interviews of Jim Wampler, was a passion project for Jim, but a product line for Goodman Games. Jim had huge ideas, from like a decades long play test, but Goodman Games had a page count they needed to make a viable product. Neither was wrong in their approach, but the compromise was we got something that didn’t completely fill either side of the equation. That said, with very little effort (or better yet a couple 3rd party expansions), MCC is very viable for an experienced group. I dismissed the PSH classes initially as blander takes on the DCC classes, but I do see the vision better now that I have listened more to the intent(especially as it pertains to the commonality of artifacts). That said, who wants to play a rover or sentinel when you can be a dog man or a pine person? It is called MUTANT crawl classics after all 😀

[@mooseymoose]

@@booksbricksandboards783 Yeah the class power distribution is odd. I just get a bit ticked off about the book saying “roll on such and such a table “and then not having the table exist anywhere. I do love the setting and GG, been a Roadcrew Judge for about 6 years now.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@mooseymoose I think that it would have been better released as perhaps 2 or three books and then had everything one would want in the system. I'm nearly certain that Jim had enough content. Oh well, he is releasing some amazing compatible stuff over on Mudpuppy Games. If you have not picked up the Scientific Barbarian Omnibus, you should check it out! Thanks for watching!

[@mooseymoose]

@@booksbricksandboards783 I will check it out, thanks!

[@jonaskuliesius6802]

Is 7:07 a "Breakfast Club" reference? :D

[@booksbricksandboards783]

It is heavily influenced by 80’s nostalgia, not specific to Breakfast Club, but yeah clearly the cover art had some nods there. More about what would happen if a group of 80’s comedy film kids had their world invaded by dark forces.

[@jesnoggle13]

Thank you for saying “Gray Mouse-er” instead of “Gray Mou-zer”. He’s a rat killing dexterous cat for gods sake.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Absolutely! A lot of folks seem to also associate him with being “mouselike”, NO! He is a mouse slaying cat of a vigilante!

[@perkysaurus2307]

just be careful with international shipping they wanted 80 for shipping to canada

[@booksbricksandboards783]

$80 shipping to Canada?!? That is ridiculous. I just ordered from a Canadian shop and only paid $10 shipping. $80 shipping for a book is robbery. Yikes!

[@moxygenpathogen7678]

I can't be a druid a paladin or a psyker, or a summoner.

[@booksbricksandboards783]

Actually, if you get some of the 3rd party products, all of those are covered in more detail. But, in the base game they take an older approach. A Druid is a cleric that adheres to a nature god. A Paladin could be a cleric (they have considerable martial abilities) or it could be a warrior with a focus on chivalry. Psionic characters are covered in Mutant Crawl Classics (mental mutations) and Umerican supplements. My suggestion for a player new to DCC is to first try the core classes and then expand out to the third party stuff.

[@moxygenpathogen7678]

@@booksbricksandboards783 which 3rd party products do you recommend for druid, paladin, summoner necromancer?

[@booksbricksandboards783]

@@moxygenpathogen7678 Hubris has a very interesting take on the druid class, but it is not your typical AD&D druid (more shape change focused like a Diablo 2 druid). Crawl! issue number 6 has a whole bunch of classes including the Paladin, but I have not read those so can't really comment (but Crawl! is pretty well regarded so likely good). As far as the Necromancer, I would suggest just using the excellent DCC Wizard class and focusing on undead related spells, or even playing a Cleric of an evil deity if you want to add the 'control undead' aspect. With the 'core 7' you can cover a very high percentage of tropes with minimal house rules.

[@moxygenpathogen7678]

@@booksbricksandboards783 What do you mean by core 7. I tried googling it everything else seems pretty good.

[@StarAllKungfu]

@@moxygenpathogen7678 He meant the core classes that show up in the Core book.