Category: DCC RPG

Daily Punch 9-11-26 Sword Sage class for DCC RPG

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My favorite class is always the swordmage from DnD 4e( ya I know already). I want something like that back. So here it is for DCC RPG!

Sword Sage

Knights of spell and sword, sword sages walk a thin line between the martial and the magical.  They must dedicate their days to learning the crafts of war, and their nights to learning the arcane.

This class is a true sword and sorcery class.  The character will be excellent at directly combating enemies and dealing with warlocks encountered along the way.

Hit points: A sword sage gains 1d10 hit points each level.

Weapon and Armor training: A sword sage is trained in the use of these weapons: battleaxe, club, crossbow, dagger, dart, flail, handaxe, javelin, lance, longbow, long sword, mace, polearm, shortbow, short sword, sling, spear, staff, two-handed sword, and warhammer. Due to movement limitations of larger armor, a sword sage can not wear any armor that has more than a -5 check penalty.

Alignment: Sword sages can be any alignment, but they more often align with the lawful due to the decades of dedicated martial training they receive.  However, some complete their training among other chaotic races, which influences their alignments.

Attack Modifier and Shield Spell die: Unlike other classes, a spell sage do not use a static die for their attacks.  The sword sage rolls a deed die and adds this to their attack roll and damage roll.  This deed die is also applied exclusively to the spell shield.   When this character has multiple action dice, the deed die is applied to all attack and shield spells cast in the same combat round.

Caster Level: For all other spells, a sword sage caster level is equal to their level.

Magic: Magic is powerful and unpredictable.  The one constant is that a sword sage practices the shield spell daily until it is rote memorization.  All sword sages start with the shield spell at level 1.  For all other spells, a sword sage functions as a wizard for spells known, progression, and corruption.

Mighty Deed of Arms: Sword Sages have the mighty deed of arms ability as a warrior.  However, a sword sage can not use an ability higher than a five on any mighty deed or arms table.

Supernatural Patrons:  Sword Sages may choose to serve a master.  A sword sage can choose to take a patron if they find the spell invoke patron as a wizard of their level.  This will be one of the sword sage’s total spells, however.

Familiars: Sword sages can find friends along the way, and some of these can be animal familiars.  A sword sage can cast the spell find familiar to obtain such a partner. This will be one of the sword sage’s total spells, however.

Luck: A sword sage applies to rolls for corruption and mercurial magic. 

Languages: A sword sage knows one additional language for every point of Int modifier

LevelAttack (Deed Die/ Shield Spell die)Crit Die/TableAction DieNumber of Spells KnownMax LevelRefFortWill
1d2+11d6/III1d2031011
2d3+11d8/III1d2041011
3d4+11d10/III1d2051111
4d5+11d12/III1d2062122
5d6+11d16/III1d2072122
6d7+11d16/V1d20+1d1283222
7d8+11d20/V1d20+1d1493233
8d10+21d20/V1d20+1d16104233
9d10+31d24/V1d20+1d20114333
10d10+31d30/V1d20+1d20+1d12125344

THoughts?

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #109: Beneath the Isle of Serpents 

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #109: Beneath the Isle of Serpents

System– DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price–  $7.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com//product/539156/dungeon-crawl-classics-109-beneath-the-isle-of-serpents?affiliate_id=658618  

TL; DR– A solid picture of an adventure but the framing is muddy.  93%

Basics- Time to stop a war!  Beneath the Isle of Serpents features a mysterious island off the coast where people disappear, and fights not only among the humans lead to horrors no one expected.  This is an adventure for 2nd-level characters.

Mechanics or Crunch: This has classic Goodman Game polish for the crunch.  It’s low crunch but fun with fights, social encounters, tables galore, and exploration across both dungeons and a mysterious island.  The math is solid and fun.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– When we are on the island, stuff works, but getting there is a bit harder.  The hooks of a war don’t really matter.  Also, there is a bit of stuff happening between the intelligent monsters.  Those things I feel are not as well developed.  But the other parts and random things in the dungeon are all fun.  The pieces on this island are fun, but the framing doesn’t quite line up.  4.5/5

Execution: This adventure has all the awesome parts of a classic Goodman Games adventure, but it also has the faults of one.  Goodman Games harkens back to the old school adventures of ol’.  But modern audiences might not like that layout and setup.  I do, and I want more.  But I respect the opinion that the layout is not user-friendly.   4.5/5

Summary: This is another solid Goodman Games adventure.  The crunch is solid with fun fights, good social, and tables of such random materials that it’s a crazy fun time.  The story in the crawl is fun, but getting there is a bit off.  Not horrible, but a bit hard to fit into a perfect story.  The execution is good, but it’s Goodman Games OGL style.  If you love that, you will love this.  I think this is a fun side crawl in The Caverns of Thracia campaign.  93%

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #110: The Sacrificial Pyre of Thracia

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #110: The Sacrificial Pyre of Thracia 

System– DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price–  $5.99 here  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/539158/dungeon-crawl-classics-110-the-sacrificial-pyre-of-thracia?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– Either add more or remove to help with this one. 93%

Basics- Where are they!?  Cultists are attacking your lands.  Find where they are, make friends along the way, and route them out from their caves!

Mechanics or Crunch: Standard fun for DCC in this one.  Lots of low-level enemies to fight and kill.  There is a bit of socializing, a bit of exploration, and lots of combat.  All as balanced as random can be!  5/5

Theme or Fluff– I love the pieces, but I either want more or less of them.  This adventure has a hex crawl.  This goes without saying-THERE IS NOT ENOUGH HEX CRAWLS IN THE WORLD!  But the hexes are kind of empty.  There are random encounters, but I’d like more storytelling with finding specific things along the way. Give me more staged stuff to do.  You wonder and find things, but you don’t get much of a story till you find a village.  Events and findings outside the village will help a bit.  This might also save on the other problem of the adventure-time.  Hex crawls with random encounters are either the most amazing thing ever, a snooze, or a slog.  It’s random, so you don’t get the sweet spot of the number of encounters the creators hoped for often.  I’d either add more to the hexes or just cut that and have a combat and a social outside the volcano to save time.  The volcano lair is fine.  Nothing beats a fight with bad guys in a dead volcano.  4.5/5

Execution:  This is DCC.  It’s got the best part of old school, but it’s got a few warts of old school with the layout.  If you know how to read these, then it’s completely fine.  If you are new, this might be a bit harder.  Not bad, but less clean than your WotC-produced adventures.  But I go to tons of less pretty places with amazing menus, so for a bit of atmosphere and disarray, you will be fine here.  4.5/5

Summary: This is a solid, fun adventure that randomness can completely mess up.  I love a good strange hex crawl, but those hex crawls can be a pain if the dice roll weird.  I’d like a bit more story in some hexes to really amp up the overall story, but what’s here is solid enough. Good fun for you and your friends as they enter Thracia! 93%

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #101: The Veiled Vaults of the Onyx Queen

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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%

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of DCC Day #3: Chanters in the Dark

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Product– DCC Day #3: Chanters in the Dark

System– DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price–  $6.00 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/395901/dcc-day-3-chanters-in-the-dark?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– Good DCC up till the end. 90%

Basics- Who calls from below?!  Chanters in the Dark is a one-shot adventure where the characters are drawn into a world of intrigue and subterranean threats.  Will they be able to save everyone, or will the things from below eat them all?

Mechanics or Crunch: This adventure covers a lot of places, but fumbles a bit at the end.  The bulk of the adventure is urban, as the players meet new people, possibly kill them, and then have to escape.  The escape is the least fun.  Basically, the characters have to run away.  It’s not as exciting as a final fight, but it does make thematic sense. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is a good mix of exploration, combat, and skills, but the end is less fun.  The town the players explore and the religion they may attack are both fleshed out.  It’s a very meaty adventure for a book this size.  The one issue is the end, as the players just run.  Nothing else, but climb quickly.  That diminishes the other parts.  Not enough to not make it fun, but I saw some players lose some interest.  4.5/5

Execution: DCC polarizes some with its layout, and here it’s a bit less troubling but still old-school.  There are multiple pages of two columns.  It reads more easily than the real old-school, but if you are annoyed by the basic layout, this will not win you over.  I would like more art, but what’s here is solid.  4.5/5

Summary– This is a good adventure that fumbles in the last minutes.  The bulk is lots of fun , but I’d like the end to be a bit more active than a few rolls.  It works as a story, but a bit more would be fun.  That said, I enjoyed it and suggest everyone check this one out.  90%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of From Gongfarming to Grave Digging: A Manual of Skills for DCC RPG

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Product- From Gongfarming to Grave Digging: A Manual of Skills for DCC RPG

System- DCC RPG

Producer- Miniature Giant Space Hamster Press

Price- $5.99  here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/544420/from-gongfarming-to-grave-digging-a-manual-of-skills-for-dcc-rpg?affiliate_id=658618  

TL; DR- A solid fit for adding more rules to DCC RPG. 98%

Basics-  What can you do?  Let’s bring skills to DCC RPG.  This book gives a simple skill system to DCC RPG.  You start with one and gain at first level and every odd level after.  When you use a skill you are trained in you roll a d20 and add your ability modifier.  If you use a skill you don’t know you roll a d10.  It’s a DC 10 to succeed.

Mechanics or Crunch-  How much do you like 3.5?  That’s how much you will like this system.  I think there are a bit too many skills compared to how many you get.  It’s VERY related to the number of skills for 3.5 DnD.  That’s not bad, but your character won’t have many compared to the total number.  That’s annoying, but VERY on brand for DCC RPG where min-maxing is for nerds.  5/5

Theme or Fluff- The rules to explain how to use skills are less than a page.  The explanation of what each skill  is several pages.  This is on brand for DCC.  Again, this system LOVES crazy/gonzo and dosn’t want people to min/max characters.  It fits.  5/5

Execution-  I like what’s here, but I might need an example or two.  The idea of rolling a d20 vs a d10 is explained decently, but show that.  There is some tell, but not much show in how to use the rules.  The explanation of the skills works.  I’d just like more examples. 4.5/5

Summary-  This is a fun product, but I want more examples.  Share with me how to use skills mechanically.  The absolute mechanics of them fit, but demonstrate the use a bit more to help me apply. Then again, DCC isn’t a game of rules.  It’s “vibes”.  If you like that and want skills, then this is awesome! 98%

Daily Punch 10-9-25 Hunger undead vulnerabilities

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More undead penalties! You hungry?

Hunger
Level: 1Range SelfDuration: permanentCasting time: noneSave: none
GeneralYou’re just hungry!
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) You eat flesh and your body grows. (2) You eat and chunks fall out of your rotting body (3)You must draw the soul out of the target. (4) Suck fluids out of the target
1Roll this mutation check again, plus roll one additional defect.
2-4If you don’t eat every hour, you lose 1d8 hit points
5-7If you don’t eat every 1d8 hours, you lose 1d8 hit points
8-11If you don’t eat every 2d8 hours, you lose 1d6 hit points
12-15If you don’t eat every 3d8 hours, you lose 1d6 hit points
16-17If you don’t eat every 4d8 hours, you lose 1d3 hit points
18-19You have to eat?
20+Every day you don’t eat, you gain 1d3 temporary hit points.

Daily Punch 9-30-25 Rest Requirements undead drawback for DCC RPG

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Where do you sleep?

Rest Requirements
Level: 1Range SelfDuration: permanentCasting time: noneSave: none
GeneralYou need specific requirements to rest
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) You must rest in your coffin. (2) You must rest in a graveyard (3)You must sleep on the soil of your homeland. (4) You must rest in a pool of blood
1Roll this mutation check again, plus roll one additional defect.
2-4If you do not rest as required, you die by morning
5-7If you do not rest as required, you do not regain hit points and you lose 2d8 hit points instead
8-11If you do not rest as required, you do not regain hit points and you lose 1d8 hit points instead
12-15If you do not rest as required, you do not regain hit points and you lose 1d4 hit points instead
16-17If you do not rest as required, you do not regain hit points.
18-19Who cares where you sleep?
20+If you do not rest as required, you actually gain 1d8 temp hit points!

Daily Punch 9-18-25 Physical Degradation undead drawback for DCC RPG!

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Being dead isn’t all its cracked up to be. Undead drawbacks continue!

Physical Degradation
Level: 1Range SelfDuration: perminentCasting time: noneSave: none
GeneralYou have just wasted away in death
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) Your body as wasted away. (2) As you died, your muscles rotted away (3)You’ve sunken into yourself. (4) You’ve shrunk and dehidrated
1Roll this mutation check again, plus roll one additional defect.
2-4Reduce your stamina by 1d4 and your Strength by 1d4
5-7Reduce your stamina by 1d3 and your Strength by 1d3
8-11Reduce your stamina by 1d2 and your Strength by 1d2
12-15Reduce your stamina by 1 and your Strength by 1
16-17Roll a 1d2. On a 1, reduce your stamina by 1. On a 2, reduce your Strength by 1
18-19You’ve survived death well
20+Increase your stamina by 1 and your Strength by 1.