Check out Dimday Red on Kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dimdayred/dimday-red-ttrpg-nodus-02?ref=bcwpki Get The Music of the Spheres is Chaos in print: amzn.to/3uAxJZd Get it in PDF: bit.ly/MusicChaosPDF
@optionsgoat94326 ай бұрын
There should be a little packet with metal bits to hold the wheels.
@cronopi6 ай бұрын
For me it's not about the content, I do love the quality of the writing. It's about the formatting and overall presentation that makes DCC extra work in order to bring it successfully to the table. I love their adventures but I always have to do extra prep underlining the text, taking extra notes, adding maginalia, adding stickers to the pages as markers, etc. Some sort of in between solution would be great, like adding bullet points at the end of every room summing up what's relevant for gameplay.
@sumdude42816 ай бұрын
Yes. Preach! The DCC PHB is brutal to read. Walls of text. I love their adventures but I am with you.
@cronopi6 ай бұрын
@@sumdude4281 I won't say brutal, just less accessible than other OSR or modern games with a more approachable formatting. Love their stuff, though. Cheers!
@sumdude42816 ай бұрын
@@cronopi I love their stuff too but the formatting...
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
Yes, there are screws that are supposed to be included. Contact GG, they will get them to you.
@iantaran28436 ай бұрын
DCC is my recent obsession. That Purple Planet Adventure Tome on Backerkit is consuming my mind entirely.
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
Just finished running this over the weekend. Total time was about 22 hours for our group of 4 PCs.
@gangamel59796 ай бұрын
How'd they like it?
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
@@gangamel5979 Used it to wrap up a 2 year long DCC campaign played mostly weekly. Everyone loved it.
@jamesharrison1426 ай бұрын
Awesome! Did you give them the map?
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
@@jamesharrison142 it was on the table in front of everyone - worked just fine
@swirvinbirds19716 ай бұрын
@@Lakoda26It's the only way I see that map working. No way could a mapper map that contraption without being totally lost and taking up way too much game time trying to figure it out.
@DaveThaumavore6 ай бұрын
Thank you for reviewing this module thoroughly and properly.
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
I have run this with it out in front of the players. It worked fine. Knowing how it spins does not mean the players know the cost of spinning it or how it will react (at least not at first). My players never fully decoded the behavior from watching me.
@thegameoverclub6 ай бұрын
Finally some DCC!! Very glad you did this review and I hope to see more reviews from Goodman Games on this channel.
@Conan_Burns6 ай бұрын
If I'm provided with beautiful maps, i just show my players now..why f about ? life's too short
@euansmith36996 ай бұрын
Indeed, simply saying that the roiling chaos allows the adventurers to comprehend the general form of the dungeon, but not all of the details.
@thunder.perfectmind6 ай бұрын
Knock! had this great piece on just giving out all possible information to the players (but don't remember which issue). The random encounter table? Yeah, locals ought to tell you to beware of roving orcs and the rare dragon. The monster stats? You know it's an ogre in chainmail, and if it is some unique monster then like traps its special abilities should be telegraphed beforehand so the players can figure out a way to deal with it.
@NemoOhd203 ай бұрын
It is a game of make believe after.
@benjaminalexander70283 ай бұрын
Personally, I like the walls of text. It actually makes reading the adventure fun for me like reading an old pulp mag’ instead of feeling like I’m reading an instruction manual. I also find that making my own reference sheets for adventures helps me understand what’s going on better than running a hyper-formatted, control panel OSR adventure. I definitely understand why people disagree though, and I’m clearly in the minority here. To each their own!
@alicepow2606 ай бұрын
Honestly i would enjoy if they kept the walls of text and added bullets as a summary
@joebeet26966 ай бұрын
I don't think hiding the map is the way to go with this one.
@epone34886 ай бұрын
@Ben; you can just pick up some Paper Brass Fasteners /Brass Brads put the wings through the map so the dome is on top and tada!
@alexrusso4016 ай бұрын
I LOVE the DCC modules for their art and purple prose but they can be a bear to run sometimes.
@irongolem1236 ай бұрын
I completely agree with your assessment of the "wall of text" syndrome. That's a problem I've had with reading DCC adventures before. Prepping for a TTRPG session is hard work. Published adventures should negate most of it. Having to read all that text, and hunt for relevant information at the table, is enough of a hassle that it's hardly saving me any work at all. That was my biggest problem with everything official D&D was putting out for years, and it's what I think the OSR and other indie publications have been doing right.
@euansmith36996 ай бұрын
Bullet Points; first, last and always 👍
@witchesbruise87926 ай бұрын
I've noticed a lot of pre-defined checks or saving throws in DCC adventures too. It doesn't feel like the authors wanted to leave room for the players to be creative. The approach always seems straight forward to figure out but only solved with a die roll. This really reminds me of 3rd edition and later design. I love the creativity and the vibe and art of DCC, but the adventure structure doesn't embrace the creativity and "player skill" features that I love in other OSR content.
@thunder.perfectmind6 ай бұрын
I agree, there's an odd mismatch between a lot of the mechanics of DCC (every spell being custom etc) and their approach to actually playing the game.
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
You are supposed to be creative to avoid rolling saving throws. Usually players learn during the funnel around their second character death. It's part of the fun to.get out of a truly deadly dungeon. The series was criticized for having to.many low level and funnel adventure. Their is actually few dungoen to crawl (and no crawling procedure in main DCC btw). I suggest ppl to try the one who watches from below before DCC 100. You can chain saylor of the starless sea then chanterd in the dark and follow.with the one who watched from below. That's the "main" DCC campaign of you need one. DCC 100 is more like their tournament modules (hence closer to.tomb of horror) likes greatest thieves in Lankhmar. Dont start with on of those box.
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
Btw in a tournament module you have to give the DC of saving throws. It's to.ensure the difficulty is the same for every group attempting the dungeon.
@thunder.perfectmind6 ай бұрын
@@Minodrec I completely agree with that's how the game should be played. However, I'd still argue that DCC modules don't telegraph their traps properly, that it's a lot of "touch x/enter room y and you have to save". Will the PCs learn from this? Sure, but that lesson will be "don't touch anything", whereas I think a dungeon should always have something to tinker with - and encourage tinkering. The rotating dungeon is in fact a great example! Giving both benefits and drawbacks, and clearly telegraphed as ominous.
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
@@thunder.perfectmind DCC #100 is a level 5 (ie 11 in B/X) it's aimed at experienced players with experienced PC. On GENCON 2017 one of the group actually reached the earth of Thakulon. It's was a timed event with strict guidelines for Judges. Truly it's a shame he started with a high level adventure instead of a beginner friendly module like sailor on the starless sea. The first trap at the geate house has proper red earing. I ran the adventure numerous times and it never felt unfair to my players.
@Semiotichazey6 ай бұрын
I agree with the verbosity complaint. I haven't run this particular adventure, but I have run other Harley Stroh adventures. He's big into having dungeons with their own special dynamics, and he can write long descriptions. Worse yet, details can be scattered throughout the adventure, and worst of all, despite the verbosity, they are sometimes vague on important points. I can accept leaving out some details and expecting the DM to fill some of them in. But not when you have so much raw text. The issue is that Stroh is very creative and creates fantastic scenarios, but I think he's a little undisciplined as an author, and DCC isn't providing much editorial oversight. Still, I love that he always swings for the fences. I'm a huge fan of the guy's works. But the problems with running them can emerge when you sit down and try to create some condensed notes before the first session.
@mus0u6 ай бұрын
i agree that DCC's module presentation is often too verbose, although i also understand they're trying to evoke gygaxian language. the focus on explicitly enumerating consequences sometimes feels like a style of design that's meant more for tournament play than for home games... but there is a certain charm in that style of play too. DCC isn't my favorite OSR game, but it's fun when i want something more combat oriented than my usual fare.
@PetesDracolich6 ай бұрын
BEN'S BACK!!!!! YES!!!!
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
DCC maps aren't supposed to be hidden from players. They are cryptic representation of the content and it's not bad to give some clue for ppl who takes times to immerse in the drawing.
@sumdude42816 ай бұрын
I really like DCC but the formatting is BRUTAL.
@davidnacin77776 ай бұрын
I think the extra text is a good thing. It's good that Stroh included different difficulty ratings depending on what the players choose to do, and the extra descriptions bring lots of flavor to DCC modules. This should all be encouraged, not criticized.
@QuestingBeast6 ай бұрын
I can definitely see the extra descriptions adding flavor, and they are often fun to read, but when I'm actually running an adventure and the PCs burst into a room I need to know *right now* what they see. That's often deeply buried and scattered through multiple columns or pages of text. I don't find listing DCs for everything to be helpful because adjudicating DCs is a basic skill of DMing, and there are thousands of things PCs might do in each room for which the DCs aren't listed.
@davidnacin77776 ай бұрын
@@QuestingBeast The standard DCC adventure style is different from the typical 5E style, but also very different than the OSR minimalist style. It sounds like Stroh here still writes similarly to Sailors on the Starless Sea, which is DCC's most famous adventure. It is true that DCC adventures are not meant to be run without reading them carefully first. I do hope you review more DCC modules, but also keep in mind that the style they're aiming for is going to be different than of other adventures.
@benjaminalexander70283 ай бұрын
@@QuestingBeastfully agree with your point about including DC’s-it’s not a good use of space. Additionally, I love reading the verbose descriptions and find it fun to tease out the details and make notes about them, and the included suggestions for DC kind of take me out of the moment when reading through the module.
@nope78326 ай бұрын
while the wall of text is indeed scary, I think it's pretty presumptuous to use osr-style writing as a standard for all rules light ttrpg content. I really dislike the pretention that most ose/osr writers bring to the community. Even though the short descriptions and pulp writing is indeed fun and purposeful for quickplay, it is not the end all be all of the medium and certainly shouldn't be viewed as a progression from lore and writing heavy books
@KarolMarcjan6 ай бұрын
It's OK to have preferences. It's OK for reviewers to complain about what they perceive as problems. A completely objective description is no review, and less useful as a review - with the reviewers POV clearly identifiable you know if you vibe with their reviews, and if you do - the review tells you if you'll vibe with the subject better.
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
that was the point I stopped watching - DCC can totally benefit from some of that but the lack of fluff is why that style is so dry and things like DCC exist in the first place.
@nope78326 ай бұрын
@@KarolMarcjan i have no problems with opinions, i was sharing mine about the review itself
@BrentARJ6 ай бұрын
I agree, in the sense that I would never want the entire hobby to go in the direction of brief bullet points and no flavor text at all. And DCC should never change. I don't think it would quite be DCC without the 2-column walls of text. That said, for me personally, I would love to see more products that fall somewhere in between. I want lore and flavor text there for me to draw from as inspiration, but I also want the parts of the book I'm going to use at the table to be laid out clearly, so that I'm not hunting for information. I haven't run it, but I think Stonehell is a good balance.
@nope78326 ай бұрын
@@BrentARJ on this channel Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier seems like a thing that fits your description. Looks pretty awesome. And personally I have the Oz 5e book and it's sensational as far as promtps, rumors and information goes.
@fufu14056 ай бұрын
Always wanted to get into DCC, but the walls of text remind me of modern DnD books, which are just horrible layed out walls of text. This doesn't look easy to run.
@pandemic-mi8ib6 ай бұрын
I agree with how some of the traps are presented. I'd like to hear how you would do them differently. I am early in a DCC campaign and I can sense that my players aren't going to like that type of thing, but I'm not sure how best to change it.
@corbinh30526 ай бұрын
Personally, I would add more hints about what will happen so that players can anticipate the trap. For example, the big boulder that falls into the pit could be telegraphed by a ramp leading down from the other direction, scuff marks on the ground, and crushed bodies at the bottom. Then add some options for things players can attempt beforehand and once in the pit, maybe there are deep pockets on the ground a player could hide in when the boulder comes...but then they need to find a way to escape from under the boulder. The goal is to open the possibility of informed choices that can meaningfully change the outcome, if the players are clever.
@Jaharadrim3 ай бұрын
This is sooooo coool.... ;) Guess I have to make new Xmas wishes. ;)
@patgauvingeek6 ай бұрын
You can buy some parisian attachments but other comments suggest it should come with the book...
@B00Radl33Ай бұрын
I have tried to think of some gear shaped dungeons, but the designs never felt right. THIS looks great. I've got to try it, maybe I'll get some better ideas to make a good one of my own later.
@connorkennedy17946 ай бұрын
I love DCC and their adventures. They have such wildly interesting ideas and gamable content. I would love to see you review and critique more adventures. Perhaps a ttrpg editing workshop stream.
@igotsmeakabob6 ай бұрын
Do more DCC reviews!
@delvinginthedepths90426 ай бұрын
That looks insanely cool but maybe a little challenging to run.
@misomiso82286 ай бұрын
This dungeon would be a great example of something to play online - having the VTT have the Dungeon all automated for turning round etc would make it a lot easier to run.
@PeterEsquire6 ай бұрын
Totally disagree, the physical aspect is the best part of this
@verlandes1Ай бұрын
The players don't get to see the map? Seems to me this would have been an adventure where the map would be revealed from the get go, too cool a prop to not be shared with the table.
@artnickles50956 ай бұрын
When did lots of text become bad? I do understand concise information but surely the more you have to work with as a game master you can parse out what is best for you. I'm *very* against reducing the body of work of an adventure writer.
@QuestingBeast6 ай бұрын
It's bad if you can't find the info you need when you need it.
@artnickles50956 ай бұрын
I guess I'm just used to writing in my modules. Highlighting or what have you. I'm not being critical just talking. @@QuestingBeast
@benjaminalexander70283 ай бұрын
I guess it’s undesirable if you want to pick up the book and just run it without reading it first, but I don’t find that very enjoyable personally. At that point, I’d just improvise the session. I agree with you-I like reading a bunch of info about a location or character and then making notes about it. I enjoy the prep of running a module, but that’s not in vogue at the moment.
@user-qs8kh5dn5w6 ай бұрын
this looks AMAZING!
@thailine75Ай бұрын
Is there no way to purchase the print version with an included PDF, or must each be purchased in isolation?
@Semiotichazey6 ай бұрын
I couldn't disagree more about putting the name of a location on the map. It's a lot easier to look up a short key than find each location name is (presumably) alphabetical order. The numbers can be ordered based on where they are located on the map, and so more parallel with the order they will be encountered, and long location names can take up a lot of space. There's a reason that pretty much every adventure in the last 50 years has done it this way.
@QuestingBeast6 ай бұрын
The best way is to label with room names, along with the page number. So you immediately know what the room is and what page it's on. Numbering the rooms "sequentially" quickly becomes impossible when you have an interconnected dungeon.
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
@@QuestingBeast Nah definetly just a preference and it wouldn't work with Doug Kovac's map.
@Bluecho46 ай бұрын
Even if you wanted to include information on possible things that might happen and the DCs for it, you could do better than a wall of text. This is where something like a table for player actions and the relevant DCs would work very well. It would at least make the sections more readable.
@thunder.perfectmind6 ай бұрын
I completely agree with your critique of the layout, map readability and the constant "save or die" approach to traps DCC has. All these issues were evident already in the introduction funnel and honestly it turned me and my group off what in many other ways is an interesting take on OSR. We found it simply a hassle to run their pre-gens and just used the books as inspiration. The problem with these issues is that it's not at all evident for new players this might be a problem, back when I first started playing pathfinder in high school we just accepted traps were "save or die" (so we never used them). We presumed running an adventure would entail sitting down and writing out every possible course of action in a scene or room, and had no example of it being otherwise, so DM'ing was associated with tons of preparation and very mixed feelings. I really hope that these problems being laid out so clearly on your channel, rather than sparse forum posts, manages to reach the people working at Goodman Games.
@ernesto9066 ай бұрын
The modern OSR style of writing adventures should be the standard, I'm preparing a Warhammer Fantasy adventure and OMG the amount of unnecessary information is demoralizing.
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
What you call unnecessary information is someone else flavour. The most famous WFRP are famous for their flavour more than their ease of use. But no one thougt you should be able to run an adventure straight from the book. That's a modern concept. The main focus of an adventure should be gameable material. Presentation comes next. DCC modules are packed with orginial gameable materials.
@HereComeMrCee-Jay6 ай бұрын
Keep in mind that, by DCC standards, this is a high level adventure. Characters should be quite strong and players experienced. Stroh is among the best of the best in my opinion. Disappointed at the walls of text and poor formatting in this adventure. Thanks for the review.
@ronturner35986 ай бұрын
Modern style railroads GMs. Walls of text require work which become custom flavour. imho.
@Lakoda266 ай бұрын
I like the ease but hate the dryness of the modern style. I think there is a balance that could be reached.
@ronturner35986 ай бұрын
dense module tomes and lite portfolio versions of each product? @@Lakoda26
@petegiant6 ай бұрын
What do you mean by railroad? Not sure if that's the right word?
@ronturner35986 ай бұрын
i guess adding is as realistic as subtracting for the creative gm.. there might be a better word. @@petegiant
@petegiant6 ай бұрын
@@ronturner3598 Ah I see.
@csudab6 ай бұрын
Buy some split-pins?
@goblinwizard7356 ай бұрын
Paper brads?
@vandenburg1236 ай бұрын
Echoes my main criticism of dcc modles, walls of text 🤮
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
At least those "walls" of text countains enough informations to properly describe a room and setting a tone. It's not a crime to use more than a 100 words to describe a scene. Bullet points are not the definitive best way of writting a desription. OSE house style enable busy DM to run their game directly from the book. But as a player it really starts to feel like a succession of blank room with a puzzle inside after only a few adventure.
@vandenburg1236 ай бұрын
@ec - surely not a crime, more of an anachronism at this point. - Didn't want to down play the quality of writing in DCC moduls, they are good. - However the formatting makes it some what arcane and inprenitrable to me.
@dantherpghero28856 ай бұрын
Arbitrary Damage Grinder is my least favorite type of dungeon.
@euansmith36996 ай бұрын
Yeah, but they were a great band, back in the day. I saw them supporting Tucker's Kobolds at the Keep on the Borderlands.
@darthaelris20596 ай бұрын
So.... a Rush Reference. Cool
@Minodrec6 ай бұрын
Anounced on Feb 3, 2022... "Rushed" I mean you are free to not like the game and/or the house style. But the handouts alone would takes weeks to properly plan and produce. You don't perceive value in what's offered. Mainly because you don't feel like reading a 122 pages high level module for a game you never tried... That's perfectly understandable.
@darthaelris20596 ай бұрын
@@Minodrec you're adorable
@AtillaBuyukurvay6 ай бұрын
@@darthaelris2059I believe he works for the company or otherwise related. Maybe even an alt account for the designer himself.
@darthaelris20596 ай бұрын
@@AtillaBuyukurvay I believe he misunderstood what I was speaking about in the first place. I was referring to the band Rush. The Music of the Spheres portion of it is part of a rush song though The Music of the Spheres has been a long standing phrase. So clearly the intent here was not to disparage but the praise a rush reference as I am a massive fan of that band
@benjaminalexander70283 ай бұрын
Check out The Sorcerer’s Tower of Sanguine Slant. Loaded up with Rush references.