I've
been wanting to play and a friend of mine is a big fan.
Recently he invited
me to play and set up an event on Meetup to find a few more players.
Dungeon Crawl Classics by Goodman Games. is a RPG based on Basic Dungeons and Dragons that uses the OGL. It was first published in 2012. Goodman Games advertises the game as "an OGL system that cross-breeds Appendix N with a streamlined version of 3E." Although Goodman Games advertises it as a "streamlined version of 3E" DDC has much more in common with Basic D&D than 3E. The 488-page book features artwork from former TSR artists such as Jeff Easley and Earl Otus. This contributes to its appeal to players of Basic and AD&D. Newer artists such as Stefan Poag also contributed to the game. DCC uses the standard dice set (d4, d6, d8, d10, tens ten, d12 and d20) as well as a d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24 and d30. These extra dice are often referred to as the Zocchi dice set after the creator Lou Zocchi. My friend and another player had the Zocchi dice set but if you're very interested in the game you'll want to pick up the additional dice set.
The book has nine chapters- 1. Characters 2. Skills 3. Equipment 4. Combat 5. Magic 6. Quests and Journeys. 7. Judges Rules, 8. Magic Items. 9. Monsters DCC uses a different set of abilities - Strength, Agility, Stamina, Personality, Intelligence, and Luck. All characters can burn Luck during the game to enhance their die rolls. Abilities are generated "old school" using 3d6 rolling once in order for each ability. There is no point buy for abilities in the system. There are simplified classes - the Warrior, the Thief, the Cleric, the Wizard, the Dwarf, the Elf and the Halfling. As in Basic D&D demi-humans are classes in themselves rather than races. It's also similar to Basic D&D in that no monk, paladin, druid, or ranger classes exist. Equipment is familiar to any edition of D&D.
Skills and Combat are similar to any version of D&D. You roll a d20 and add an applicable modifier. Skills are simplified and are based off abilities, such as Balancing is based off of Agility. Armor Class is an ascending number rather than a decreasing number like in AD&D. There are 3 saves Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower similar to 3E. Spellcasting a bit different where as a wizard rolls a d20 to cast a spell. Wizards can regain a spell depending on their die roll.
We started off by generating four zero level characters. Zero level characters was a concept first mentioned briefly by Gygaz and in Basic D&D. After Gygax left TSR full rules for zero level PCs were introduced in the Greyhawk Adventures hardcover. My friend had us generate four PC's in the expectation that most if not all of our characters would survive. I rolled up abilities for each of my four zero level PCs. There was a table for occupations and that table also chose if the character was a demi-human. Each occupation gave accompanying special equipment. Two of my characters were demi-humans - a halfling and a dwarf. One of the other players rolled up a human farmer with a goose! The adventure was based off a published DCC module. Most of each of the players had a number their characters die. That was the reason why four PCs were rolled up. I ended up having a great time. Each of the players laughed at the various antics of their characters and the DM used descriptions to flavor the combat. A lot of characters died but the goose ended up surviving! Goodman Games does a great job with DCC in capturing the old school feel of Basic D&D and AD&D. There's varying OSR or Old School Renaissance games out there but none have the in-depth artwork and product support that DCC does. It aims to appeal to both older players as well as newer players with its simplicity. If you're mainly looking for detailed character class choices with varying rules for race and class in games such as Pathfinder or Rolemaster than DCC isn't for you. But if you're looking for a relatively simple yet fun fantasy RPG for both player and GM than Goodman Games DCC is for you.
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