I just re-downloaded the DCC RPG Beta rules from the Goodman Games website and see they are dated June, 2011. Kinda makes sense, as the Goodman Free RPG Day 2011 release was for the DCC RPG and for use with the beta rules.
Holy shit but I was not impressed with the beta rules. I'm not 100% sure why that is, but I do remember my disappointment with the funny (funnier?) dice and the idea of the character funnel did not sit well with me.
Oh yeah. The charts. Overwhelming at the time.
Strange how I like the total package these days. Heck, preordered the rules when preorders opened even though I didn't particularly like the DCC Beta, mostly because I trusted Goodman to put out a good game. He did. The DCC RPG is a good game. Damn shame I'll probably never get my regular group to play it.
Why?
The size of the rulebook.
They would probably be fine with it after playing a session or two. The DCC RPG kinda get's it's teeth in you and you find yourself a convert. I need to get them to the table first, and convincing the others to invest the time (50 bucks now) and time in this tome is a hard sell. Especially to OSR players who are used to the try and then buy method.
So, I was thinking of directing them to the DCC BRPG Beta download, but I know the game has strayed from the beta a bit. Experience points is the one thing that sticks out mostly to me but I know there are other parts that changed. Did anyone ever put together a document that explains the changes?
I wonder how useful it would be to update the beta to the final rules, so less a beta and more of an introduction to the rules. It might be too labor intensive, but if not, it may be a great way to expand the DCC RPG player base. If you are going to do it, now is the time, before "Next" becomes the next big thing - or not ;)
(what is it with "summer" and DCC for me? heh)
$50? The Goodman Games online store still sells the rulebook for $39.99. As does Amazon and my local FLGS, where I purchased DCC(on discount, due to a gift certificate) Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the book is too big and pricey for many people to invest in. Non-'gamers' especially. There needs to be low cost entry points for new gamers, imo. Free PDF stuff is ok, but having a box set/book is more expressive to non-hobbyists. Especially a box!
Luckily, there's Swords and Wizardry Core($15.00), Swords and Wizardry White Box($9.95), Labyrinth Lord($21.95), and Basic Fantasy RPG(~$5.00).(BFRPG and S&W Core have went *down* in price! Kudos to Matt Finch and Chris Gonnerman!) All with less intimidating page counts page no less. :-)
To be fair, the massive number of crit/fumble tables for combat/magic necessitates a larger number of pages for the rulebook. And as descriptive, detailed effects for rocking/sucking at maiming/spellslinging are at the core of Goodman's vision for DCC, additional complexity is unavoidable. Luckily, it doesn't seem to turn as many people off as the equally tabletastic(and more lethal) Rolemaster. :-)
My group just doesn't care for DCC one way or the other. It has no real advantage to promote it over any other OSR system and would just be another set of rules to relearn.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a review of the beta on BGG way back when and Joseph commented at great length to many of my complaints with the system. It is still a good thing to check out because of the the design clarification he gave.
Fancy printing and art aside, I still consider the game to be fairly useless, but to each his own.
i got it for art and thought good value - i find tables and fumbles very intimidating but would play it if someone else running it - i seem unwilling to learn new systems in old age
ReplyDeleteWe tried DCC by playing through the funnel. Big mistake... it felt absolutely no different to 1st level OD&D characters with henchmen, only more time passed with character generation. We should've created first level characters...
ReplyDeleteThey have a quick-start PDF that might work.
ReplyDeleteI made a thing for my cheapskate home group. They don't buy books. And honestly, you don't need everyone at the table to have a book.
Outland Player Reference Booklet
I occasionally get bothered by the big rulebook too, but it's never gotten to actual-real-life-problem-that-actually-affects-play status. As long as you're using the reference sheets and spell printouts (or something similar), you don't even need the book at the table to play.