Product– DC20 Preview
System- DC20
Producer– The Dungeon Couch
TL; DR– DnD5e, Pathfinder 2nd Ed, Final Fantasy, and OSR all in a blender. 90%
Basics– Are you ready to RPG?! DC 20 is The Dungeon Couch’s new RPG. The kickstarter has a preview of the game with enough mechanics to run a level 1 to 2 character. Let’s look at how it plays.
Base mechanics- It’s D20. You know this. Roll d20, add numbers, did it beat a different number? The numbers you add are interesting though. Each character has a prime attribute. This doesn’t have to match what you think it should for the class. The classic idea they give in the book is a barbarian who is a charismatic man who would use his charisma for his attacks because thats his best attribute.
Beating the DC by 5- This system often has you roll dice and compare to a DC. Many of the things you do like attack and spells have you check to see if you beat the DC by 5 or multiples of 5. Every 5 you beat often have you gain more effects, save, or even flat out damage.
Advantage and disadvantage- This takes more of a Call of Cthulhu approach with multiple advantage or disadvantage dice. You roll all the advantage or disadvantage dice you have and you take either the better, advantage, or worse, disadvantage, die.
Actions- At the start of combat and end of each turn, you gain action points. You can spend as many as you want to do actions. Move uses an action point. Attack uses an action point. Making an opponent have disadvantage is an action. Spells might use multiple action points. At the end of a round you get action points back and you can use those for reactions, but you will then have less in the next round.
Leveling up- As you advance you gain powers, talents, and class features. It’s very much like some OSR RPGs where you will not gain tons of hit points. You gain additional mastery of skills and bonuses to attacks with some classes being able to exceed the normal maximum.
Abilities- Spells and techniques all have a bit of additional resources as well. Some techniques can use stamina points to pull them off. Magic uses magic points that spell casters can spend to cast spells. So you can cast any spell you have, but bigger spells use more MP.
Combat- Won’t be fantasy without killing things! Combat is initiative with everyone rolling, but the highest on a side determines which side goes first. Then it’s back and forth between the players and monsters.
Ok, that’s the basics, let’s discuss
Mechanics or Crunch– This game feels like all the things I love. The base dice is DnD. The base action mechanics are Pathfinder 2nd Ed. The base leveling layout looks like OSR. Spell casting feels like Final Fantasy. I love all those things, so that’s fun! I know this system, but because I’ve played all the things that made it multiple times over. And, that’s not a bad thing! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Not really a story as this is more to show off the rules, but what’s here feels right. The classes feel like classes, and the included things feel like they should. The kickstarter art is nice, but the book itself doesn’t have any. I’d like a bit more of the creators’ world to help me understand what the story will be. 4.5 /5
Execution– This is a solid enough preview, but it’s missing a few things. The book has lots of stuff and is decently laid out. It’s easy to read with good directions. It’s even hyperlinked, so I’m happy there. The bad is there are no pictures in the book, nor in the monster book. The kickstarter also doesn’t have an adventure. Give me an adventure and four to six pregens to play with! I think I like the layout, but if you have done all this, give me a simple “kill the goblins save the village lady” quest to kick the tires on the system. In addition, some classes can exceed the maximum skill bonus. Why not just include the maximum skill bonus on that table instead of making me infer them? Those are small issues but will help me better understand your system. 4/5
Summary-I’m interested. This will be a big kickstarter. The things I love are the basics that combine all the fun things from all the other fun things I enjoy. I need more of the world and adventure. Show me how you want this played. Is this pure murder on the players or a cake walk? I don’t know, so show me! That said, I’ve backed it, and for free, I definitely think it’s worth a look for you too. 90%
Throat Punch Games 