Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #101: The Veiled Vaults of the Onyx Queen
System– DCC RPG
Producer– Goodman Games
Price– $9.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/390356/dungeon-crawl-classics-101-the-veiled-vaults-of-the-onyx-queen?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Old school in the best and wartiest ways! 93%
Basics- WAKE AND STAB! You awake as sacrifices to a demon lord! Will you gather enough power to end those who sought to end you?
Mechanics or Crunch: This adventure is a crawl and a funnel all in one. You have lots of bad guys who can die from your fists. You have a few puzzles to solve and some socializing. Those are the things that make the crunch of an adventure. The adventure’s crunch is solid! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– The pure awesome of DCC is on display with some of its warts. DCC doesn’t really have a default setting. The setting is built book by book, and that’s awesome. This one adds in a whole demon lord and a cult based on it. And that is awesome. If the GM runs this well, you can build characters and really get involved in the world. BUT, the world is missing a bit of a setting, so that lack can kind of spring stuff on players. Are you a devotee of a particular god? Awesome! Do you even know that god exists? Less awesome. It’s a minor problem, but the adventure has a solid enough flow that this might be the adventure where you finally learn about the bits making this world work. 4.5/5
Execution: DCC is its own beast. I love it, but it’s like the beat-up dog you know and love. It’s not the prettiest. It works, but it’s your ugly dog! DCC has some criticism for being a bit too old-school in its design and layout, with extra art, layout, and design work to make DCC adventures a bit more approachable. And those are valid criticisms, but I like the old school feel of DCC. But this commitment to old-school adventure is not the most beginner-friendly. This one is pretty easy to run and understand, even if you are newer, so while some other adventures may have smaller mechanics that are not quite understandable, this one is a fun, straightforward funnel. 4.5/5
Summary: I love me some DCC. This game is crazy fun with strange things happening around every corner. That said, I also see some faults. Those are on display here. The lack of a world hurts the game just a tiny bit. You don’t know who you are when you start. That’s good, as funnels are fun, but it’s bad when you want to really hook a player and character into the world. The book is fun, but it’s got minor issues that might dissuade the new. But the issues are only small compared to the fun and craft of this adventure. This is worth a look if you want a fun funnel to draw people into DCC RPG! 93%
Throat Punch Games 