Share

Player Start

(unchanged from the old manuscript)

Your village has been sacked by bandits and those in your group are the only survivors. These lands are no longer safe. Your village elder, Ishtan, led you all to some nearby caves and you have stayed there for a full day. Ishtan says he must go to the village and commune with the spirits that protect your village. He does not know why your spirit didn’t protect the village, but he knows that the spirits can save you.

Subscribe now

Adventure Summary

(written for this post)

The PCs have to go down the mountains, where there are bandits, dino-dogs, and feathered-pterrodactyls. They then spend 5 days crossing the desert plains, where the most dangerous thing is either the heat or the lizard-men raiders. Eventually they come to a great city. Many other refugees are trying to get in, but the PCs have a few ways to figure out a path in. They are essentially only allowed into because its easy for the authorities to use them as a sacrifice to the city’s god: a giant ooze monster. The PCs struggle to fight the ooze monster, possibly killing it, or at least escaping from it. The adventure ends with some of the PCs perhaps jellified but still functionally playable PCs. If they killed the ooze monster god, then they are on the run from the religious fanatics of the only sizable city in the region.

Reflection

So that gives you an outline of the adventure. It had a loose inspiration from the Dying Earth story where Cugel crosses a desert, which also inspired Julian Bernick’s Pilgrims of the Black Obelisk. When I later saw that adventure, I felt as though what I’d attempted to create was redundant in some ways. It’s a great adventure and my writing skills at that time were not going to make something better! Besides, I’d abandoned the adventure. Never ran it. But I do have something fun to share. A MCC artifact that I wrote up in the style of a DCC spell. Admittedly, it’s little more than a variation of the resist-cold-or-heat cleric spell, so it’s not terribly original either. But I had to write a few things to practice the craft before I’d learned how to actually write something a little bit more worth charging folks money for.

P.A.R.D. - Personal Atmospheric Regulation Device

(unchanged from the old manuscript)

This copper-colored metallic bracelet is a relic from the distant future used to grant individuals the ability to survive harsh environments. It grants a passive +1 to saving throws against magical cold- and heat/fire effects and immunity to natural cold/heat effects between 0 - 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The be able to “cast” Absorb Cold or heat then the wearer must make an Artifact check by rolling 1d20 +Intelligence modifier to understand the operation of the device. The result of the Artifact check dictates the highest level that the wearer can use the device at. Each range on the spell check table costs 1 charge to go to so the 12-13 range would take 3 charges to achieve. The device has a partially prototype rechargeable C-Cell which has 7 charges at maximum. It recharges with kinetic energy that recharged at the rate of about 1 per day in which the wearer would normally exert themselves but depending on PC’s actions the Judge may dictate faster or slower charging.

A wizard who studies the usage of this device may eventually learn how to replicate the effects and master the spell listed below with due diligence.

Absorb Cold or Heat

Level 1 Range: Self or more

Duration 1 round or more

Casting time: 1 action

Save: N/A

General: The caster repels the chilling effect of cold or heat, protecting himself and others. He can withstand such conditions without discomfort. When casting the spell, the caster chooses which effect to resist (heat or cold). It is possible to cast the twice spell twice and create a resistance to both effects.

Manifestation: Roll 1d3: (1) bluish aura; (2) shimmering heat waves; (3) crackling electric sphere

1 Lost, failure, and minor corruption!

2-11 Lost. Failure.

12-13 The caster counteracts the harmful effects of cold or heat upon his body. He can ignore up to 5 points of cold or heat/fire damage in the next round. If more than 5 points are sustained, subtract 5 from the total dice result to determine the final damage suffer.

14-17 As above, but for rounds equal to 1d6+CL.

18-19 As above, but 10 points of resistance. In addition, +3 to all saving throws to resist cold or heat-based effects.

20-23 As above, but all damage resisted during the last round of the spells effect may be redirected towards a creature that the caster can see within 60’. Make a ranged attack roll against the targets AC.

24-27 As above, but the caster is able to protect others as well as himself. The caster emanates a 10’ sphere around himself. Everyone within the sphere can resist up to 10 points of damage and receives a +2 to cold- or heat-based damage. The caster must concentrate to maintain the sphere.

28-29 As above. Additionally, the damage absorbed by the sphere may be redirected every 1d3 rounds instead of when the spell ends. The redirected damage also causes the target creature to make a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw or be stunned for 1d3 rounds. The duration of the sphere now lasts 2d6+CL.

30-31 As above, but the sphere expands to 20’ and everyone within the sphere receives a +3 to all saving throws against cold- or heat-based effects. The spell no longer requires concentration. Each time it is about to expire, the caster can extend the effect another 2d6+CL rounds, to a maximum duration of one turn.

32+ As above, but the caster can now redirect all damage absorbed within the sphere at a target creature that the caster can see within 150’. Everyone within the sphere is also able to absorb 20 points of cold- or heat-based damage per round and receives a +5 bonus to save throws and cold- or heat-based effects. The sphere continues to function, without concentration, for a number of turns equal to 2d6+CL. Each time it is about to expire, the cleric can concentrate for one round to extend the effect another 2d5+CL turns, to a maximum duration of one hour.

Do you have an amateurish adventure of your own that you might share?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Dragon Kings for Dungeon Crawl Classics

From Timothy Brown, one of the original creators of Dark Sun, comes Dragon Kings: a savage fantasy setting of dying worlds, ancient powers, and brutal adventure.

The Gem Miner’s Daughter

A 3rd level adventure set in the Shudder Mountains that finds the PCs helping a small mountain town rescue an ill-fated halfling's daughter.

Academia Arcana

We've unlocked a lot of digital tools but join up so we can hit some stretch goals for making those Wizard’s Vault zines bigger!

Share

1. Your “deal”: [REDACTED] ^#

   1. Adventurer’s pack: B

   2. Suggested weapon: cattle prod (1d8; subdual)

   3. Personal item(s): Earpiece, phony passport

2. Your “deal”: Adult entertainer ^#

   1. Adventurer’s pack: B

   2. Suggested weapon: Leather whip (1d4)

   3. Personal item(s): $100 x 1d20 in small bills

3. Your “deal”: Chicken polymorphed into a person ^{^}

   1. Adventurer’s pack: A

   2. Suggested weapon: Axe (1d6)

   3. Personal item(s): A bag of seed

4. Your “deal”: Cat rescuer ^{^}

   1. Adventurer’s pack: A

   2. Suggested weapon: spaying knife (1d4)

   3. Personal item(s): Pocket of cat toys and cat nip

5. Your “deal”: Cook. Roll 1d3: (1) fast-food, (2) michelin ^~, (3) meth ^&

   1. Adventurer’s pack: A, E, or nothing

   2. Suggested weapon: Knife (1d4)

   3. Personal item(s): Spices and seasoning bottles

6. Your “deal”: Cult member

   1. Adventurer’s pack: A

   2. Suggested weapon: Sacrificial dagger (1d4)

   3. Personal item(s): 2d10 occult pamphlet literature

7. Your “deal”: Disco dude/dudette ^#

   1. Adventurer’s pack: A

   2. Suggested weapon: Disco ball flail (1d6)

   3. Personal item(s): Baggie of “moon dust”. On a failed Luck check, it's just baby powder

8. Your “deal”: Small town mayor ^#

   1. Adventurer’s pack: E

   2. Suggested weapon: Golf club (1d4)

   3. Personal item(s): Suit & toupee

9. Your “deal”: Florida Man

   1. Adventurer’s pack: E

   2. Suggested weapon: Baby alligator (1dr; may run away)

   3. Personal item(s): Bath salts

      

      Subscribe now

10. Your “deal”: Indie wrestler*

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Folding chair (1d5)

    3. Personal item(s): Roll 1d3: (1) thumbtacks; (2) beer; (3) sock puppet

11. Your “deal”: Karen

    1. Adventurer’s pack: B

    2. Suggested weapon: Pepper spray (DC 10 Fort or blind for 2d6 rounds; 2 charges)

    3. Personal item(s): Tiny handbag. Roll Luck to determine if a tiny dog is inside.

12. Your “deal”: Mechanic *

    1. Adventurer’s pack: D

    2. Suggested weapon: Socket wrench (1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): Oily rags and electric tape

13. Your “deal”: MLM rep

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Sturdy clipboard (1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): Display case with 1d3: (1) make-up, (2) non-essential oils, (3) collectable statuettes

14. Your “deal”: Protester

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Protest sign (1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): 1d4 water bottles, lighter

15. Your “deal”: Secret lizard person

    1. Adventurer’s pack: C

    2. Suggested weapon: Injector (1 damage; may be easily filled with poison)

    3. Personal item(s): Eye drops

16. Your “deal”: Security guard on the verge of retirement

    1. Adventurer’s pack: D

    2. Suggested weapon: Heavy flashlight (1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): Handcuffs

    

17. Your “deal”: Stoner

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Water pipe (1d4; fragile: breaks on fumble)

    3. Personal item(s): Dimebag

18. Your “deal”: Telephone Psychic

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Crystal ball (1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): Tarot deck

19. Your “deal”: Weeaboo

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Crappy katana (1d6; breaks on fumble becoming 1d4)

    3. Personal item(s): Manga

20. Your “deal”: Worm farmer ^&

    1. Adventurer’s pack: A

    2. Suggested weapon: Heavy shovel (1d6)

    3. Personal item(s): Pocket of worms

* = Roll a Luck check. On a success, the PC is a dwarf.

~ = Roll a Luck check. On a success, the PC is an elf.

^ = Roll a Luck check. On a success, the PC is a halfling.

# = Roll a Luck check. On a success, the PC is a half-elf

& = Roll a Luck check. On a success, the PC is a half-orc.

What type of weirdo would you add to this table?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Long Con X

A amazing convention in Longview, Texas. More DCC per capita than anywhere else I’ve been (okay, maybe not Dungeon Con). I'm running 4 games there!

Merchants of the Multiverse (FREE PDF)

One of my first projects has a very Dolly Parton inspired character in it. Until the end of the month, Merchants of the Multiverse is free.

Share

I think I was relistening to some old Nightvale episodes and wrote something down about wolves stealing books. My notes were something aking to “A wizard has been robbed. Wolves stole his books. One of the wolves has a big Mojo Jojo brain.” That probably set in a google doc for a while until I unexpectedly needed it one night. I was scheduled to play in an online game but the GM didn’t show up. After about 15 minutes of waiting with the other players, I offer to run. And I started improving off those 3 sentences.

A wizard asked the PCs to go get the books back. The PCs followed a pack of wolf tracks and the occasional missing page into the woods. They soon found a cave and a magic barrier. The barrier could be easily passed through by an furry animal, but less furry creatures had some difficulty. The next room has 1 huge wolf (with a Mojo Jojo brain threatening to burst its own skull) that was fitfully sleeping near a pool of glowing-green water. There’s some stairs leading up to where a bunch of wolf-men are doing a ritual with the stolen books. That was enough for a night’s adventure!

Check out this great overview by RPG Overviews

Subscribe now

Most of that really remained the same, just a bit polished. When creating Academia Arcana several years later, this seemed like a short adventure that could be tied to a mystery. I mean, why are wolves stealing magic tomes? Well, one of these wolves was bitten by a wizard and is now a were-wizard: becoming a very intelligent wolf-man during the full moon. But also cursed by the existential terror with the knowledge that they will return to a dumb beast. So they want a way to permanently become were-wizards and not loose that intellect.

But we need an intro change for Academia Arcana and to attach this to a mystery instead of a simple “there’s obvious tracks leading to adventure”. So we have a victim of literature theft become a teacher at the Eternal Academy. The teacher just wants their books back and offers a reward. A different teacher surreptitiously offers a different reward to the PCs, as they want to recover the books and make the first teacher look bad. So we create a 1d10 table of clues that can be found around and a few likely locations that the PCs will investigate. The judge can improvise the rest, but a combination of locations, malleable clues, and a few NPCs creates a fun playground to explore. And after exploring and investigating the PCs are pointed are pointed towards the wolves. By adding some backstory, the PCs also start asking whether or not this should be a violent confrontation. Sometimes it is, and sometimes there is absolutely zero combat when I run this adventure.

This is the form that the adventure stayed in for a long time, but eventually I realized this is an adventure that this is good for student PCs that are already in school, but not ones who are just beginning their first year at wizard school. I had a fun little “welcome to school mixer” written into another adventure, which essentially got ported into this adventure. The other adventure was a little more dangerous so it wasn’t as good an intro adventure anyway.

So now Academia Arcana’s intro adventure introduces at least 2 NPC students, 2 NPC teachers, several locations, and a faction (the were-wizards) who are not even members of the school but still live in the same demi-plane. It has investigation, danger, and a finale that offers combat but does not require it. You can solve problems by taking part in magical rituals, just as you can solve it with violence. That sounds like the kind of adventure that I endeavor to create for Academia Arcana.

What are your favorite “intro adventures” for another setting or system?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

The Neon Jungle, Vol 2

Brad Kerr started a Patreon

I think he's one of the best adventure writers in the biz. Check it out.

Share

So folks can refer back to previous post about The Sorcerer’s Return if they want some backstory. But tell us about the premise for The Sorcerer’s Conundrum.

Thanks, Stefan, for including my project in your newsletter! The Sorcerer’s Conundrum is the third part in what I’ve come to call “The Saga of the Sorcerer Verrükter and the Rükstau Rejects.” It is planned as a 6-zine series, with each zine corresponding to a character level from zero to five. Judges can turn it into a short campaign, or run it as six one-shots.

If you plan to use XP, I am putting together some supplemental adventure pamphlets and mini-adventures to fill in the gaps when the XP available in a single adventure isn’t enough to level up. Aufgebläht or Bust, a DCC Day 2025 freebie and an add-on to The Sorcerer’s Conundrum, is one of these pamphlets. It can be used as a funnel-crawl or to supplement XP between Sorcerer adventures.

The next zine, slated for ZineMo/Quest/Topia 2027, is The Sorcerer’s Slumber. When it’s all said and done, it’ll all get compiled into a hardcover tentatively named “Verrükter: On the tiny village of Rükstau and its remarkable and alarming neighbor, the Grand and Glorious Sorcerer Verrükter, Supreme Practitioner of Magical Sciences.”

Tell me about the cube. The people want to know about the cube.

I’m pretty proud of the cube. It’s been well received in playtesting. The cube is a prop that Judges can assemble from paper or card stock and use at their table. I don’t want to give anything away, but the players need to place it in a square indentation in a table with the correct orientation to solve the puzzle. There are mirrors and cryptic runes to make things interesting. When I was a kid, I loved paper crafts—the “put tab A in slot A” kind of things—then in my late teens I studied design and sculpture for a minute. So, it just seemed like a fun thing to put into a game.

I recommend assembling two of them in case one is crushed by a player in a fit of frustration. Puzzles can be like that. :)

Subscribe now

Any advice, or maybe inspirations, for designing puzzles in adventures? You seem to have quite to affinity for including them in your work.

I love puzzles. I’m terrible at them, but I love them. I especially love them in TTRPGs. You CAN solve a puzzle by coming up with the expected answer, or you can devise some insane, off-the-wall solution which technically solves the puzzle. Or you can use magic and break everything.

Not only was I obsessed with paper crafts as a kid, but I also loved puzzle books. My guess is that my puzzles are lifted from, or inspired by, these puzzles. I lived in the dark ages before portable video games, so when my parents wanted me to sit still for a minute, it usually involved a craft, puzzle, or book of some kind. Maybe I’ll find a way to include Madlibs in a future adventure to make it complete.

And you packing something like 40 illustrations into this zine? That’s gotta be like an image on every page! Since you’re the illustrator (or at least the primary one), do you have any advice for other artists who are trying to improve their own drawing skills?

This question has my imposter syndrome howling like an air raid siren. The main thing for me is practice. I just keep doing it. That’s one of the reasons I put so many pieces in my zines. I get better the more I do it. I also consume a lot of art. Old and contemporary TTPRGs, comic books, modern and classic art. When I’m working on a piece, I’ll look at what I’m making and think, “that bit is R. Crumb,” “that’s Bill Griffith,” “this has an Albrecht Dürer vibe.”

The last point is a tough one, but it is critical: don’t be too precious about your work. Even if you don’t love it, put it out and move on to the next one. Just keep creating. Some pieces I’ve done that I wasn’t super proud of turn out to be my favorites later.

Thanks for sharing! Anything else that you’d like folks to know about?

Please check out the campaign on BackerKit! It is fully funded, and we’re punching through stretch goals as you read this. I’m especially excited about the $7k stretch goal. If we cross that threshold, I’m going to work with Michael Spredemann of Magical Mishap and LiveToRole to make online versions of the puzzles for people playing on VTTs or in-person. Also, I recently decided to offer physical stretch goals even if you back at the PDF-only level, so don’t let that stand in your way!

What other things might the sorcerer Verrükter get up to? The Sorcerer's Sidequest? You tell me!

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Purple Sorcerer Pledge Drive

Donate for PDF prizes and to help keep the tools available to all.

Visitors to Fairhaven

Now out on DTRPG!

To use this generator, roll 1d7 for each of the five tables and use the results as a springboard for creation. For mapping purposes, the judge may wish to repurpose maps from entirely different adventures or use any number of maps freely available online. The judge must also determine the number of giants and any additional monsters (or men) to be found within the adventure.

Share

Objective/ Situation

1. Notable noble held hostage! Either for a foul ritual or as assurance that the noble's family will not act against them.

2. Giants discovered and raided a "dungeon" for rumored items within. The judge should take an adventure module they possess and customize it as though a group of giants ran through the adventure and still reside within.

3. Giants attack the tavern! The PCs find no respite on the road. A contingent of chaos giants raid the village to steal some object from the local shrine.

4. The forces of chaos marches through a portal that briefly opens at dawn. Journey through and do whatever it takes to stop this!

5. A seer has prophesied that a giant will slay a powerful merchant lord on his birthday. He wants the PCs to protect him during the party.

6. A giant siren travels the countryside, hypnotizing all who hear their song. The dazed victims follow the lilting lyrics.

7. An un-dead giant rises from its ancient grave. A sickening miasma follows it as the creature wanders the land.

Magical Item

1. Ring of Invoke Patron. Judge's discretion of patron. Roll 1d10+10 for spell checks. Ring disappears after two uses.

2. Albino monkey's paw. May make 1d3+1 wishes that result in "non-optimal" outcomes.

3. Man-Bat Cloak. Allows wearer to fly as a man-bat (DCC RPG, p. 421) if they have drunk blood within the past hour.

4. Circlet of Weather Control. Roll 1d20 + Per mod + Cleric level. Endure migraines while weather effects are active (-1d to action die rolls).

5. Gauntlets of Embiggening. Once per day, the wearer may cast enlarge on themself. Perform a spellcheck by rolling 4d6.

6. Alien Rifle. DC 15 Intelligence check to understand function. Deals 4d6 damage to any creature within 120'. 2d5 charges remain. Powered by greenstone shards.

7. Lich dust. When consumed, grants knowledge a random level 4 wizard spell.

Complication

1. The giants are worshipped by human cultists.

2. Demonic beasts serve as watchdogs.

3. They have a powerful wizard on their side.

4. A team of rival adventurers inadvertently alerts all the giants to intruders.

5. It's a trap! The "quest giver" or "missing child" is actually a young giant.

6. The giants are afflicted by lycanthropy.

7. They have bargained with a prince of Elfland for fey allies and weapons.

Subscribe now

Location

1. Profaned monastery

2. Ransacked wizard tower

3. Noble's summer villa

4. Strange seaside village

5. Haunted Fortress

6. Mountain trade route

7. Unnatural cave system

Primary Giant Type

1. Hill

2. Fire

3. Frost

4. Stone

5. Cloud

6. Storm

7. Sea

Any favorite adventure generators you want to share?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

The Sorcerer's Conundrum

Academia Arcana

Share

Crits and Fumbles: They’re still here, but you’re told to make them up, just as you would a mighty deed. There’s a bit of guidance for doing this and there’s an optional Crit table in an Appendix. But I’ve seen some of the DCC crit/fumble results so many times that I prefer to add a narrative flair. Besides, there’s no warriors at wizard school so this is how I essentially still get to keep mighty deeds in the game without explicitly doing so.

Alignments: They’re gone! Teenagers don’t really know who they are yet so this simply didn’t fit. Alignments stayed in the game for a pretty long time, but eventually I realized that it didn’t really do anything except take up room on the character sheet.

Birth Augurs: This concept is still present but represented in a way that fits the setting better. Birth Augurs become “First Magical Mishaps”. This helps create a backstory in a similar manner to funnels (by the way, those are gone too). So whether your first experience with magical involved zombies at a graveyard or being hunted for your mystic bloodline, your character has something to talk about with the other kids at school.

Occupations: These are now “Before School I Was…” and “But Now I’m A…” tables. So maybe your street urchin became a band kid or your noble’s secret love child is now a black magic goth. These results provide a magical charm that you start with and a minor bonus.

Gaining XP: You don’t level up by getting into dangerous situations. You gain experience through taking part in something that you would tell a story about. You can read my thoughts about how different character progression methods reinforce certain types of gameplay in my old post Methods of Character Progression. AA RPG is essentially going with a version of the 5^th method listed there.

Subscribe now

Complex Spells: This is more of a layout decision, but I really tried to make spells fit on a single page or a single spread. Make Minor Potion is the exception to this, but other spells are written in a concise manner to accomplish this. You can see an example in this older post: Prank (which has been renamed to Mystic Mischief).

Adventuring For Gold: Gold doesn’t really matter all that much. The equipment list doesn’t even have prices. If you need gold for a spell then quest for it or call in/trade a favor for it.

Equipment: I suggest using the usage die concept for weapons that use ammunition, such are bows or laser guns (hey, inter-planar travel could allow for those.) But it’s written in a way that I’m not prescriptive about how you track it. And equipment is organized by damage dice groups. So clubs and daggers get thrown in the same group since they both do 1d4 damage. This game isn’t focused on melee combat or getting plate mail so the section is written with the focus that it is due.

Youthful Luck: This is essentially a revised version of DCC Lankhmar’s Fleeting Luck, but with a focus on telling the kind of stories that you’d want to see in this game.

Carousing: Again, this is much like DCC Lankhmar’s method of Carousing. I was awful sad to see the license expire for that rules set. Love that setting!

Conclusion

That’s the essence of rules changes! Its been really fun playtesting these and refining the DCC system to suit a particular kind of gameplay loop. Next, I’ll go over how I made the two adventures that will be included in the back of the core book. Hope y’all are interested in this game and follow it over on Backerkit. It’ll link you to the free Quickstart rules once you click the follow button.

Which cover of Wizard’s Vault do you like the most?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Undercrawl

Travel rules for dungeon games in the mythic underworld.

Weird Heroes of Public Access- The Minis!

Share

The Spoiler Free Summary

• Good: It has an amazing d100 table of magical mutations. Every PC will come out of this feeling unique.

• Good: Does a great job at “world building” and giving the PCs a reason to adventure.

• Bad: It’s incredibly linear. That said, it does a good job at making players want to follow the path set before them.

  Subscribe now

The Premise

The PCs are potential future kings or queens! The royal line was lost when the former rulers of this kingdom lost a war, so this is done is secret, as the current rulers would not like to see any contenders to the throne. The opening text has them at the end of a pilgrimage to a hidden and sacred temple which houses a relic that can determine their heritage. The PCs must attempt to pull a spear from a mound. But all those who fail are forever mutated by the attempt. And some mutations are more life-changing than others. The temple is, of course, staffed by mutant acolytes and templars. It’s small, but there’s plenty to explore before the PCs want to get on with things.

All the PCs form a line to try to pull the spear from the mound and every single one must attempt a Luck check.  Whoever fails by the most is at the very end of the line. At this point, we take turns going around all the players. They each roll 1d100 and add their Luck mod x 10 (so a +1 Luck mod = +10%). One PC for player 1, then one for player 2, then one for player 3, then back around to player 1’s next PC, etc. Got to take turns so no one gets bored. At the worse, the PC may die, at the best they may increase their ability scores by quite a bit. But the more interesting ones are somewhere inbetween: PCs may turn into centaurs, grow whispering demon mouths on a hand, age alarmingly, grow a cluster of eyes, etc. Lots of super interesting options that you can steal for adventures beyond this one! Using this table as a resource is part of what makes this adventure worth having around. But then we get to the last PC in line…

They are the rightful ruler of this kingdom! They loosen the spear from the earth and are proclaimed king or queen! All the other PCs should bow to them! But it also turns out that the spear was keeping a gigantic demon, Gorflagratior (see the cover art), beneath the earth. As Gorflagratior rises from his slumber, the instantly kills the newly proclaimed royalty. Roll initiative! However, the players should quickly release that they have no hope against this giant demon. Gorflagratior rips out his own heart, which promptly grows bat wings, and it flies away. The module does a good job at spelling out that they have no chance, but doesn’t quite do a great job at telling them what to do about it. There’s a scroll on a nearby altar that can be read and which will summon a mighty spirit creature to fight the demon giant. However, the PCs can also just run away. Both are valid options. Gorflagratior either fights the spirit creature or rampages through the countryside. But players have a difficult time feeling “okay” about running away from a fight, even one like this. So a little poking and prodding from the GM, perhaps in the form of a mutant acolyte telling them what to do, can go a long way here. The module does have one of the acolytes at the temple send all the PCs a psychic message telling them to go find and destroy the heart, and to use that magic spear to do it!

So the PCs have a goal and a very easy trail to follow. That flying heart bled all over the place! So there’s a linear path to follow, though there’s a few options with how they actually handle the events that they need to interact with. I’ll also add that these events can be cut out if you have a super constricted time to game. I spoil the entirety of the adventure though, so you’ll have to get it yourself to find out more about the middle portion.

But the PCs eventually get to a cave in which the heart is hiding. But first, we have a bit of intrigue! A young lord Alfrad Featherstone, another possible royal descendant, is also after the giant demon heart. He’s willing to bargain and marginally collaborate with the PCs so long as it serves to benefit him. But you can play him as a regal and proud knight or some obviously deceitful fop. I’ve had fun doing it both ways and it certainly changed how willing the PCs were in having Lord Featherstone as an ally or killing him for his gear.

This final battle is a nice one! Just complicated enough. The heart flies around in a cave chamber, making it hard for PC to hit with melee weapons. And it can spray acid blood at them. This pushes the PCs to get creative with helping each other get a little higher up, but also to use that magical spear! Soon enough, the body of Gorflagratior catches up and starts grabbing at the PCs from the cave entrance! But once they slay the heart then the fight ends. There’s an optional ending that I love: with Gorlfagratior’s last breath, he spews out a cloud of evil that travels across the land, infecting many. That’s a great way to start a campaign and give the players a goal.

So, to summarize once more, we have a linear adventure but it does a good job at making the players follow the path set before them. The PCs come out super unique and with a goal that sets the tone for the campaign. Could it offer more paths? Yes, but it module with a short word count that intends to offer a tight experience. This one is easy to run in 3 hours, and could even be cut down to just a couple hours. If you want to expand it, take a look at the Dying Earth adventure: Pilgrims of the Black Obelisk. You could adapt some of the variable pathways in there and plug them into this module. Just make the winged heart fly in circles to make its blood trail more confusing, or make overland travel in a certain direction more difficult, and thus the need for alternate paths.

What’s your favorite funnel and what makes it special?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

The Book of Funnels

I've got 2 funnels in there!

Academia Arcana

Share

Settlements in Mutant Crawl Classics

For settlements to thrive on their own, they need a strong infrastructure. Judges should use the following section to inspire their games. These different means of improving infrastructure can create quests for seekers that allow them to see how their actions change the world for the better.

• Water: After the Great Disaster, the ice melted and the Monster Ocean rose. Pollutants and aquatic beasts fill both inland and outland waters.

  • Purification: The inhabitants of Terra A.D. have evolved to more readily survive on the polluted waters, but clean drinking water would still be a great benefit. With clean water crops are quicker to thrive, children grow stronger, and sicknesses become more rare. Old water treatment facilities are filled with complex equipment, but all manner of smaller water filtration systems are littered through the ruins of Terra A.D.

• Food: A settlement survives on its stomach. Though many tribes survive by hunting, those that rediscover agriculture are able to thrive.

  • Maggot Farm: An easily created, but unappealing source of protein. Trash goes in and maggots come out. The “low maintenance” quality makes it a common enough solution for hermits and outcasts.

  • Livestock: A good herd of any livestock can change a tribe’s future. Roxen are a favored beast of burden that also produce quality milk and meat. Hoppers are a favorite for migratory tribes, as their bounding jumps make for quick traversal. Occasionally, a tribe can capture a massive tardigrade for their use. These powerful beasts may be used as “war machines” or for clearing ancient ruins for new municipal purposes.

  • Storage: A secure grain silo is a hard thing to come by in the post-apocalypse! Too many creatures have razor sharp claws and burning breath. But if a community can source a solution for long-term food storage, they protect themself from the threat of famine. But with the use of a grav-clamp, communities can move ancient restaurant freezers and other vaults to their village.

Subscribe now

• Armory: Terra A.D. is a fearsome place. Without the means to defend itself from beasts and bandits, a community cannot remain its own.

  • Artifacts: There is nothing more treasured than an artifact that benefits the whole tribe. Medi-bots are highly valued, but any smart-metal is highly valued. An agro-bot can drastically improve a communities food supply and a security-bot can stave off most bandits. “Personal use” artifacts are often revered by village elders until they are bestowed upon worthy seekers, who may in fact be the first members of the village to ever actually understand its proper function.

  • Crafts: The majority of armaments are not advanced technology, but a more simple range of bows, clubs, and spears. Many enterprising individuals repurpose old world technology, such as turning traffic signs into shields, sports gear into armor, and ransacking museums for ancient weaponry.

• Energy Sources: The most powerful of tribes are those that harness the power of the past. Those that are able to use advanced energy sources are able to free up their people for other work, for leisure, and for the luxury of being able to take more risks.

  • Manual Energy: Often a simple rotary mill, these may be used for pumping water, grinding grain, or operating elevator lifts. The work is usually performed by livestock or basic robots, if such servants are available. Other forms of manual energy machines might be a human treadmill or bicycle.

  • Dirty Energy: Whether it be coal, wood, oil, or steam, the peoples of Terra A.D. are rarely concerned with pollutants in their ruined world. These resources may power a wide number of machines that range from street-lamps to truly ancient cars.

  • Renewable Energy: A tribe is truly blessed if it can scavenge or move to a location with working solar panels or a hydro-electric generator. Most ancient hydro-electric dams have been destroyed by eons of environmental change, but some still survive. Similarly most solar panels have cracked and their batteries broken, but the remaining few can mean a near effortless way to recharge C-Cells and certain smart-metal servants.

  • Nuclear Energy: Most nuclear reactors melted down during or in the time since the Great Disaster, but a few still remain. In an unpowered state, the machinery is nearly impossible to reactivate by the citizens of Terra A.D. They often need a pre-programmed smart-metal servant or facility A.I. to put these great artifacts into operation. However, portable nuclear energy was a favored tool of the ancients, but only the luckiest of Seekers may hope to find miniature reactors. Both scales of nuclear energy are often found in only the deepest realms of the glow desert or the most ruined cities of the ancients.

  • Quantum Energy: It was said that not even the ancients understood what they harnessed. Quantum reactors can power anything, but no organic citizen of Terra A.D. could ever hope to understand how to control such energy unless it is contained within a Q-Cell.

• Crews: These hirelings can be sent out to gather information and materials. They expect fair payment and fair treatment, but each crew gets a unique agreement. Some may ask that they receive a first pick of artifacts, while others may simply negotiate that everyone gets a fair share of recovered goods. Some crews may serve as both salvage and survey teams, while others may specialize.

  • Salvage: These crews can be sent out to previously explored locations. They are hesitant to ever explore a new location, as the dangers of the wasteland often mean death. While exploring locations, they’ll strip the location of anything and everything useful. The PC who negotiated the trip may also make a Luck check. On a success, the salvage crew finds an artifact that the PCs missed on their adventure (should such an artifact exist).

  • Survey: These crews scout out new nearby regions in order to find sites worthy of a seeker team or new communities with which to trade. They usually ask a “finder’s fee” of 10% of whatever is profited from such findings. Judges may wish to use these crews to point PCs towards specific adventures.

What supplements or methods have you used to make villages feel more alive in your game?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

The Conquest of Chaos

Now available in softcover PoD

Academia Arcana

Enter the Wizard’s Vault! We’re packing zines along with the core book!

Side note: Just read through Julian Bernick's adventure for this. Two words: space vampires!

Share

Perhaps the most important way that a game system expresses itself is through the PCs. So let’s start by looking at the classes and some of the new rules that exist in Academia Arcana.

Academic Wizard: This class is the most similar to a DCC class (the wizard, obviously). However, they have has no limit to the number of spells that they can learn and can cast spells of any spell level. That said, they don’t get to use their full action die to cast spells, at least not when they first learn them. New spells are learned at a d14. The spell die must be increased via getting good grades in class or by rolling the max result on that specific spell’s die. That bumps it up by +1d, up to a max of a d20. Also, as magic corrupts these academic wizards, they Hit Dice gets smaller. So while they get a 1d8 at level-1, they only roll 1d7 for hp at level-2, and 1d6 at level-3, etc. Eventually they’re just rolling 1d3.

Soul Mage: This class is kinda inspired by Sailor Moon. No joke. They get a spell that no other class has access to and its called Transformation Sequence. They can heal other and do a variation of the DCC cleric’s divine aid, all powered by friendship. There’s not quite disapproval, but there’s a similar class feature that essentially requires them to strengthen bonds between friends or make new friends.

Spell Thief: They don’t get their own spells, but can easily steal them by using a variable die (which increases in level like a Thief’s Luck die). Spells are stolen at a specific result level, but can also be boosted with that variable die. They can also redirect spells that are cast at them. They guys don’t really belong at wizard school, but have somehow gotten in anyway.

Subscribe now

Wandering Familiar: This is the oddball class! Also, it’s not in the quickstart guide so you gotta get the full version to check it out. They’re not a student and can physically be any kind of animal that would fit the bill. There’s a roll table in case the player wants to randomly determine what kind of animal that they are. There’s a fairly freeform way to give them powers and they have a Beast Die that is fairly similar to mighty deeds.

Charms: The PCs of Academia Arcana do not start as inherently powerful as DCC classes so a few magic items can help provide a little boost. Besides, a wizard school should have some magical bits and bobs laying around. There’s a generator for making more and a few already detailed out. They provide a minor benefit but generally have a restriction about when they can be used and must be recharged in some unusual manner.

Coven houses: The PCs ostensibly live in a kind of dorm room together, and perhaps with a few NPC too. Each player gets to make a d66 roll to see what notable rooms exist in their living space. This adds history, flavor, and opportunities for everyone to improvise.

Coven Casting Subcultures: DCC’s mercurial magic can be difficult for new players to keep track of. I’ve seen a lot of convention games where even experienced DCC players forgo mercurial magic that is printed on the spell sheets because the added level of complexity is just a bit too much when they’re already trying to figure out spells that they’ve never used before. So the idea of mercurial magic has been turned into “casting subcultures”. Similar to how cliques develop their own “in-jokes”, covens develop their own styles of spellcasting. The PCs can adopt one of these for themselves, or come up with their own way. It’s an optional rule that adds flavor when players are ready for a bit more.

Studying and Exams: It is set in school after all. So we’ve got some mechanics for attending class, studying, cheating, and taking tests. There’s benefits for doing good in school!

In Between Adventures: The purposes of this short section is to “bookend” adventures when it makes sense. The PCs may only have a couple big adventures each year, so what happened in between? It also can helps when one player misses a session and you want to explain why they weren’t around for the last adventure.

Ending Campaigns: This is brief section with prompts that the judge and players can use to create an “epilogue” where they talk about the end of school and where they go in life. I’ve used a really similar method in my home games and it works to help create a sense of closure at the end of a campaign.

Adventure Generation: I’ve filled the book with random tables for events that can happen in and outside of class, magical items, rumors, etc. Plus a few tables to generate NPCs (students and teachers) when you need that. There’s a nice page spread where all these are referenced (with page numbers and hyperlinks) so that you can easily refer to all these things and roll on them in an order that should provide a strong outline for an adventure.

Solo Rules: This Oracle system (or substitute your own preferred one) will help solo players make their way through either fully written adventures or the previously mentioned Adventure Generator. This means the book can get some real use even when you can’t schedule a game with others.

Conclusion

That essentially does it for the new rules! Though Academia Arcana loads of new spells, monsters, students, and teachers too. I’ll go over the changes to existing DCC rules the next time I post about Academia Arcana. Hope y’all are interested in this game and follow it over on Backerkit. It’ll link you to the free Quickstart rules once you click the follow button.

Which part of Academia Arcana sounds most interesting to you?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Happening?

The Sorcerer’s Conundrum

This puzzling level-2 adventure compatible with Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG will twist your noodle as you navigate a three-dimensional labyrinth filled with deadly challenges and confounding obstacles.

Share

Friday

I listened to This Ol’ Dungeon as I drove in. After I arrived, it was time to set up the Goodman Games booth with Matt Robertson. By the way, check out his fun series that he’s doing over Youtube: The Collector's Alphabet. Each episode has a giveaway for a commentor! But back to the con, the morning was a lot of chatting with folks. Like those scoundrels who run Long Con (Eddie and Matt) and John of Rugby-Melee Games. So as you can guess, lots of Eldritch Wastelands, Weird Frontiers, and Dungeon Dwelling Creatures got run by that group. My afternoon was supposed to be free, but I ended up running an extra game that day because one 5e DM simply didn’t show up! One player chose to head over to a Shadowdark game, but I had 5 folks that I ran through The Cyclopean Storm from The Conquest of Chaos. Two had never played DCC before and bought the core book and dice right after the game.

Then that night was Pestilence At The Peak Of Law! This is the upcoming DCC Day adventure that I wrote! It was a more chaotic group that I had in any of the playtests! But I say that in a good way. They did lots of things that I’d never seen before and that makes it fun as a GM. They were far from cautious but still played smart! They followed some tracks to the rear entrance and eventually the cleric cast Holy Sanctuary at a result of 28! That meant that no unholy creature of 6HD or less could attack. It sure solved some big problems for them!

Saturday

The morning was chilling and re-reading the adventure for Sunday morning. But the afternoon was a real treat for me. I got to be a player in a game! Even better, the game was Dark Sun, run by one of the creators, Troy Denning himself! He hadn’t run a game in 25 years, so he had a co-DM to handle the game mechanics while Troy handled all the “flavor”. Shout out to John E for that awesome collab! John E and Troy had created an adventure just for the con and it was a really unique one! We kept dying and “reincarnating” into nearby NPCs as we quested to destroy a defiling artifact that gave eternal life to an evil noble (I know, “evil noble” is quite redundant, especially in Dark Sun). It was a real pleasure and an awesome one shot for a Dark Sun game.

Then the evening was more DCC. This was Savage Scions of the Sea. The PCs had an awesome time. I think most of the players didn’t know DCC too well so they played cautiously, but certainly got the hang of it by the end. This adventure is a bit sandboxey and is really about sneaking around an island fortress of drunken giants who are not expecting anyone and too drunk to be as effective/scary as they might normally be. It ended with the dwarf getting mind controlled by the sea giant queen and betraying the other PCs. The wizard cast Scare on the dwarf, the sea giant queen, and her body guard. That allowed the PCs to escape by jumping on the back of a chimera that the wizard has previously summoned and fly out of there. Of course, not before scooping up as much gold as they could from that throne room. Oh, did I mention that the sea giant queen had a magic sword that would turn its victims into their body weight equivalent of gold coins? So most of that gold was the dead thief!

Sunday

I was supposed to run Julian Bernick’s adventure for Academia Arcana, but my game didn’t have enough players! Only 2 folks had signed up, but only 1 actually showed up. I would have run with 2 players, but 1 won’t quite work. I was able to get that guy over to Matt G’s Eldritch Wastelands game so I’m happy that he still got some game time. And I got to rest my brain a bit. A couple hours later, we did a giveaway at the GG booth and packed up soon after that! I listened to the rest of the This Ol’ Dungeon episode on my way home. Definitely a good con and I’m sure that I’ll be back!

What cons you been to recently?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

Mr. Ringtail's Menagerie

A Level 1 DCC RPG Adventure

Share

1. Brain Food: Bite-sized, brain-shaped people (110% GMO!) who live to be eaten. Having a meal of them causes Intelligence to be increased by 1d3 for 1 hour, but the moral implications leave the eater pondering nihilism of it all and deal with -2 to Will saves for the same hour.

2. Organic Rearticulator Ray: Rearranges organic surface features within 6" of their current placement. Most often used to reorient facial features, but it is sometimes used to move appendages or perform half-hazard surgery.

3. Genetic Memory Activator: Chip actuates maternal, genetic memories, granting previously unknown skills to the character. Roll 1d5: (1) tracker, (2) warrior, (3) scientist, (4) cannibal, or (5) socialite.

4. Sea Monkey: A pocket-sized humanoid that rapidly grows when submerged in water. If given enough water, it grows to an adult primate within 24 hours. No brain activity is present so it is a prime candidate for brain transplants or organ harvesting.

5. Freeze Capsule: When this small pill capsule is burst, it freezes time-space in a 1’ diameter for 1d6 rounds.

   Subscribe now

6. Pacification Collar: This collar acts to inhibit actions that stem from violent impulses. Creatures can make DC 18 Will saves anytime they would normally be prompted into violence. If the wearer can pass three total checks the collar short-circuits. Otherwise, it must be removed by the proper keycard or by a DC 25 security bypass.

7. Auto Brain Surgeon: Can perform a brain transplant between two compatible subjects. Each living patient must pass a DC 15 Fort save or die. However, it shorts out after a single use unless the “always online DRM” is bypassed.

8. Greenstone Phaser: Imitates a level 1 DCC spell at a spellcheck result of 14-17. Roll randomly or Judge’s choice when determining the spell. Has 1d10 charges before shattering.

9. Cold Plate: This small plate can cool down items to near absolute zero, given the right power source.

10. Thunderpants: If a mutant has gas generation then they can wear these pants to contain the gas. The thunderpants send the gas through a rocket on the seat of the pants and, if the Gas Generation check is successful, can propel the wearer 10’ plus an additional 10’ per level of success on the Gas Generation check. However, to land safely, the wearer must make a DC 10 Ref save and another successful Gas Generation check to “gracefully” use another blast to slow your fall.

What's the appetite for an Omnibus or another MCC zine?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

The Lost Mines of Steller

A level-4 DCC adventure set in the Shudder Mountains

Academia Arcana RPG

A wizard school game using the DCC system

From the very first HP movie, I couldn’t suspend my disbelief. Plus, I really dislike the “prophesied chosen one” trope so that was another knock against it. But as someone who grew up while HP was inseparable from pop culture, I learned a lot via osmosis. Eventually, I dated (and eventually married) a girl who was a huge HP fan until JK Rowling went off the deep end. But it wasn’t until my mid-20s that I watched all the movies and learned about the rest of the strange flaws that series contains. So here’s my general thoughts that really led to the creation of Academia Arcana.

Share

Institutions don’t just continue for hundreds of years through sheer benevolence.

A wizard school, like almost all long-term institutions, inherently needs to be self-serving or it will eventually crumble. There’s an element of this in HP, but its portrayed in such a half-hearted way. And there’s a bevy of questions just about the practicality of an institution such as a magical school. Stories don’t need to answer every possible question. I’m certainly a fan of the “fruitful void” concept. But it shouldn’t have story elements that feel like their in conflict with themselves.

For example, why do professors teach?

There’s obviously going to be variety in the answer from teacher to teacher. Here’s a few options that make sense to me:

1. They are paid a stipend and need to save up so that they may rebuild their wizards tower or acquire rare materials for other magical nonsense.

2. The school offers protection. The teacher would be hunted down, should they leave.

3. Access to the school libraries and other resources so that they may further their own research.

4. They simply enjoy teaching and wish to nurture young minds.

5. They find the school to be a place where they can acquire comfort, respect, influence, and perhaps even power.

When do students progress into more advanced classes?

The idea of “you got a C in elemental magic but it’s been a year so now you’re in advanced elemental magic” doesn’t sit right. With the inherent dangers of magic, it seems to me that students would not be allowed to progress in subjects that they do not master. They would be pointed towards other schools of magic where they may be more naturally talented, or simply not allowed to attend any further. After all, life experience outside school is often a far better teacher that scholastic pursuits.

When do students graduate?

They do so when the school has no curriculum left to offer then it would instead encourage them to pursue their own research. That may be in some kind of self-directed “graduate program” or out in the real world.

Subscribe now

Why don’t these powerful wizards just rule the outside world?

Some do. Some don’t. There are many planes and worlds! I imagine that ruling kingdoms and worlds offers more headaches than it does any reward that a wizard might generally desire. The school in Academia Arana exists on a demi-plane so it avoids the headache of dealing with political squabblings of nation-states.

What are the goals of the institution?

Though it may have once had other goals, now its primary concern is that it continues to retain its own power and ensure its own longevity. There are other wizard schools that exist (many described in an appendix within the upcoming core rulebook) and they would happily take the knowledge of the Eternal Academy.

Fun note, yes, the default magical school is called the Eternal Academy. Before this project experienced scope creep (and was still just an idea for a zine), I was calling it Sezrekan University. Mostly because then the school could be a kind of pyramid scheme to get more people to patron bond with him. And also because I had the mental image of the students yelling “Sez U” at rival schools during wizard sports games.

Who decides and enacts these goals?

I envision the headmaster as similar to the Sovereign from the Venture Brothers. Or at least the presentation of the Sovereign as a giant head of flame (or similar stuff), but never physically appearing. No one sees the headmaster and the headmaster has always simply been the headmaster? Is the headmaster a sentient spell, the astral projection of a powerful wizard, or perhaps the ghost of a cosmic being? While you can interpret it differently at your own table, I run it (though this answer isn’t something just obvious to players) like the headmaster is an expression of the Phlogistonic Continuum.

The Phlogistonic Continuum is conceptually something in between the concept of Star Wars’s idea of “returning to the Force”, Star Trek’s “the Q Continuum”, and Star Trek’s “DS9 wormhole aliens/ Bajoran prophets”. To be more specific, it’s the idea that the first instance of new magic joins a sentient conglomeration of magic. The different magics in the Continuum exist in much the same way that a “fire elemental” would exist. Again, some specifics are left open so to create a “fruitful void” that gives room for judges’ and their groups to create their own stories.

Conclusion

You may have noticed that I didn’t talk much about Harry Potter after the first couple paragraphs. I don’t wish to emulate that setting or those stories. If we broaden our horizons when looking for inspiration, then we can create something new. So I’ve looked to media where high schoolers solve mysteries (which often involve their own school) so I was taking bits from things like Batman Beyond and Riverdale. I’m also interested in stories that are resolved through solving problems and mysteries without violence, such as in Star Trek. I drew upon my memories of The Wheel of Time books, which I have not read in many years, but they were my first books that included “wizard schools”.

I hope this gives some fun background to Academia Arcana. If this sounds appealing to you, hop on over to Backerkit and follow the project! Doing so will link you to the free Quickstart Rules. I’ll be occasionally dropping posts about Academia Arcana for the next few months so stay tuned!

Ask me more about it on Discord!

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Cairn Press Adventure Double Feature!

Two brand-new adventures the Cairn RPG: “What Haunts the Harwood” and “The Drops of St. Jerome”

Sanctum of the Whispering God

A sword–and–sorcery adventure for low-level characters in Dungeon Crawl Classics!

See previous My Evil is Law posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

I’ll also add that this is the last of the My Evil Is Law posts! Hope you all enjoyed these. If you used anything from it in your own games, please let me know in the comments!

Share

LOCATION: NIGHT CLUB

Environment:

• Cage Dancers (both terrestrial and alien)

• Loud Music (heavy bass vibrations)

• Lively Crowd (seeking to forget the pain of life)

The Meet: The PCs arrive to meet a Contact. The nervous teenager says he knows of a Time Portal but needs help rescuing his girl from a nearby Psycher Camp, from which he recently escaped. If asked about the Time Portal, he says that he glimpsed its arrival on this world when destroying another timeline. He has no money, having spent it all arranging off-world passage.

Bounty Hunters: Bounty hunters (as MOOKS [# = to PCs]) arrive to arrest the teenager and bring him back to the Psycher Camp. Unless the PCs hand over the kid, violence ensues.

• Accept the Teen’s Deal: The teenager thanks the PCs and leads them to the edge of the Psycher Camp.

• Refuse the Teen’s Deal: The teenager parts ways and says that he’ll figure it out himself. Later on, the PCs overhear a someone (bartender, bouncer, cage dancer, etc) compliment the PCs, saying that they’re smart because off-world passage is always just a scam and that teenager will just wind up back in the camp.

Subscribe now

LOCATION: PSYCHER CAMP

Environment:

• Exterior Landscape (rocky badlands, withered vegetation)

• Walls (chain link; single entrance)

• Buildings (guard posts, kitchen, and barracks filled with drugged psychers)

• Guards (complacent and comfortable; appearance as randomly determined MOOKS)

• Giant Antenna (Psychers are hooked up via headsets. Together they power a dimensional breaker)

The Situation: The teenager brings the PCs to a small overlook that spies down upon the camp. While offering little tactical advantage, the PCs can see enough the the camp, and can be provided an approximate layout by the teenager. A direct attack will prove difficult, but subterfuge can be employed to allow access within the camp. Allow the PCs to execute any plan they wish, likely granting them a round to ambush the enemies. A number of MOOK GANGs, equal in number to the PCs, defends against the PCs.

Scion Arrival: With timing and pacing of the gamemaster’s discretion, a MOOK BOSS arrives/emerges from a guard post to join the fight. If the PCs are near the possibility of dying, a Psycher tears free their head collar, and makes the MOOK BOSS’s head explode. An airship can be seen in the distance, assuredly filled with reinforcements. It bears the insignia of one of the Scions. Now is the time for the PCs and any Psychers to escape.

CONCLUSION

The PCs will be sought by offended Scions and have a large bounty placed on their heads. The PCs are safest if they venture into the wilds while to let the heat cool off. If the teenager survived, he tells the PCs of a time portal that he had a vision of and where he believes it to be (roll on Region tables). However, the vision came while he was connected to the Psycher Machine so the Evil Overlord must also know of the portal.

FUTURE HOOKS

• Offworld Passage: Are any of these legit? Can the scams be stopped?

• Psycher Safety: Where will the freed psychers go?

• Scion Schemes: Do the Scions now have a personal vendetta?

• Time Portal Rumor: Was the teenager right and can the PCs find it?

To those who’ve an interest in My Evil Is Law, what kind of other situations might you envision for an introductory adventure?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Apocalyptic Adventure! #1 - The Eye of God

Texoma Dungeon Con

June 26-28 in Denison Texas. I’ll be running games, but so will one of the creators of Dark Sun: Troy Denning!

See previous My Evil is Law posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Share

Districts Types

1. Slums: Unplanned city growth creates a web of incoherent structures that crumble as fast as they are created.

2. Markets: Dotted throughout the city to serve the local population’s whims and provide tiny pleasures.

3. Rich Estates: Whether they be in the gated hills or the vast spires above the smog, they act out of fear to keep their place.

4. Business District: Where cowards pretend to be brave and sell their souls for comfort.

5. Industrial: Workers are treated like cattle. Factories produce pollution and goods that spark no joy.

6. Port: Whether sea, river, or airfield, here goods are traded, though there is always the skim for those who employ violence.

Weather (1d6)

1. Oppressive heat

2. Temperate

3. Mist/fog

4. Drizzling rain

5. Pouring rain

6. Snow

Subscribe now

Nighttime Lighting (1d3)

1. Well lit

2. Dim

3. Dark

Means of Travel (1d6)

1. Walking

2. Rickshaw

3. Old jalopy

4. Beast of burden

5. Public transit

6. Flying car

Shortcuts (1d6)

1. Non-existent

2. Alleyway

3. Sewers

4. Over the rooftops

5. Through connected buildings

6. Old subway tunnel

Crowds (1d6)

1. Festival

2. Religious event

3. Celebrity appearance

4. Violent crime

5. Funeral procession

6. Riot

Events (1d6)

1. Burning building

2. Structure collapse

3. Miasmic pollution

4. Spreading sickness

5. Arcane aftereffects

6. Dire weather

Folks to Encounter (1d6)

1. Beggar: Roll 1d3: (1) pleading and humble, (2) demanding and loud, or (3) prone to violence.

2. Animal: Roll 1d3: (1) hungry and skittish, (2) aggressive, or (3) wounded

3. Hoodlums: Roll 1d3: (1) muggers, (2) drunkenly catcalling, or (3) racketeering enterprise

4. Guards: Roll 1d3: (1) fine for “obscure law”, (2) “random stop” for interrogation, or (3) seeks to humiliate others

5. Rich folk: Roll 1d3: (1) take offense and demand the PCs be arrested, (2) demand you work for them, (3) lost and scared

6. Citizens: Roll 1d3: (1) intoxicated and about to get into trouble, (2) hiding from the cops, or (3) out looking for a job

What other types of tables help you create and run urban adventures?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

The Lost Mines of Steller

A 4th level adventure for DCCRPG

Strange Roads

An RPG about psychic teens taking a bizarre road trip across a 90's inspired not-America to stop a corrupting, otherworldly signal.

See previous My Evil is Law posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

To give credit where its due, I found the Cairn 2e Warden Guide (the PDF s free!) very inspiration, but also adapted my own material from Mysteries of the Multiverse.

Share

Sample Region

Fungal Jungle (results 7 [jungle], 18 [half-buried spaceship]): Toxic, fungal spores prevent most creatures from surviving in the jungles, leaving only uniquely adapted creatures, robots, and those with protective gear as its only inhabitants. It is rumored that an ancient spaceship crashed into the jungle and is still full of valuable technology.

Regions

Primary features are always obvious to explorers. Secondary features may be obvious or may be initially unknown when exploring a region.

Primary Feature

1. Swamp

2. Glacier

3. Ruin

4. Mountains

5. Sea/ Islands

6. Desert

7. Jungle

8. City

9. Plains

10. Forest

11. Foothills

12. Valleys

13. Bogs

14. Lava Fields

15. Snow Fields

16. Caverns

17. Dunes

18. Coral Reefs

19. Plateaus

20. Steppes

Secondary Feature

1. Geysers

2. Hotsprings

3. Battlefield

4. Caves

5. Craters

6. Remote Village

7. Mines

8. Wizard Tower

9. Gargantuan Monument

10. Volcano

11. River/ Lake

12. Menhirs

13. Graveyard

14. Sinkhole

15. Titanic Skeleton

16. Volcano

17. Strange Mists

18. Half-Buried Spaceship

19. Crumbling Aqueduct

20. Dead Forest

Subscribe now

Sample Community

The People of The Astral Beast (results 6 [prison], 1 [hidden from the overlord]): A great entity is bound within this prison of rune covered stone. Its emits power which is harnessed by the citizens of this strange settlement and converted into electricity. They remain hidden from the overlord, who would take this entity and use it to power a psycher camp, if it were ever discovered.

Settlements

Settlements may be large or small, safe or dangerous.

Primary Feature

1. Academy

2. Nomad Caravan

3. City

4. Fortified Compound

5. Temple

6. Prison

7. Psycher Camp

8. Town

9. Single Homestead

10. Villa Manor

11. Bunker

12. Mausoleum

Secondary Feature

1. Hidden From the Overlord

2. Trade Hub

3. Valued Natural Resources

4. Technologically Advanced

5. Home to Powerful Caster(s)

6. A Site of Pilgrimage

7. Home to a Great Warrior or Artisan

8. Location of a Powerful Artifact

9. Actively ruled by a Scion

10. Highly Traditional

11. Intune with Nature

12. Reclusive and Untrusting

What’d you roll and what you create?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Camp-Capers: A Dare-Luck Club Triple-Dog-Dare

This triple-dog-dare adventure anthology presents 3 all-new adventures focused around “Camp Wallamanitu” - a crusty, lakeside summer camp filled with intrigue, danger, and a mystery-heavy past.

Abattoir Hymnal

This Demonic Adventure for the Old School Essentials system takes a party into a small pocket dimension of the hells. (A little Hellraiser and a bit of Silent Hill thrown into the Slaughterhouse sausage!)

Before I get too into it though, I should also mention that I'm partnered up with my buddy Luau Lou! He's got a simultaneously funding project: Camp-Capers! We are working on a pamphlet that describes various pamphlets that the player characters can find in the game. So follow that link from a couple sentences ago to check out what he's cooking up.

His game, Dare Luck Club, is all about being a real rascal of a kid in the 80s. Every adventure that I've played in that game would make a great candidate for porting straight over to WHPA with super minimal adjustments. Dare Luck Club has its own bespoke system, but WHPA has such a simple and elegant system that it's a cinch to convert system stuff on the fly.

Share

I cleaned-up the two adventures that would go in issue 2 and started brewing up ideas for cover art. Eventually, I started scouring websites for public domain comic book covers. I’d seen Planet X games using a PD Comic book cover for a zine before. And Tales From Fairhaven Future had a very comic book vibe to its cover, so I thought it’d be a solid fit for a WHPA zine of my own. I found about 12 or so that it might fit well then narrowed it down further. I picked covers for issues 2 and 3 and then realized that I wanted the cover of issue 1 match the same style. Once all the covers were picked out, I edited them each. Mostly by cutting out a piece from the cover and replacing it with a section from another cover. Soon, I had some perfect covers to fit Visitors to Fairhaven.

For the inside illustrations, I was able to mostly use illustrations that went un-used from issue 1! A lot of these are taken straight from the pages of Weird Tales magazine, where a number of Appendix N authors first got their start. So those contain lots of strange art that can fit the vibe of WHPA if you find decent enough scans that can be up-rezzed to 300 dpi. Public domain art is getting harder to verify that it was created by humans. Looking specifically at old magazines and comics can be a good way to get the real stuff.

Subscribe now

That’s all well and good story about the art of these zines, but I know I haven’t really shared a darn thing about the adventures inside! Well, for issue 1, I suggest going over to DriveThruRPG and checking out the preview, or checking out this video by RPG Overviews (note: I sent him my last spare copy, which has the pages on the wrong side, but the Print On Demand doesn't have that issue anymore). For issues 2, its an adventure double-feature! Both involve traipsing around town and solving mysteries. The first one involves a rising film maker falls ill and the Heroes having to finish his strange movie before the Saturday night premiere on WHPA. The other involves spooky paintings are appearing all over town. They make people sick and full of hate, and are seemingly impossible to paint over. The heroes have to solve that issue and find the sinister muralist.

For issue 3, it’s a super weird one. It’s functionally a depth crawl, though the players are ascending to the top of the WHPA station. They’re all in the break room when they realize that this isn’t their world. They’ve somehow crossed over into an alternate Fairhaven (Foulhaven?) and need to escape back home. It’s very much left to the GM and the players to decide their own path out of there and how dangerous it all is. Then we end that zine with d66 public access hosts/shows that are on the darker side. Perhaps those folks are weirdos from the Heroes’ own world, or they are leaking over from Foulhaven. If the muses of Fairhaven strike me again, then maybe more issues will appear in the future. But we’ve no guarantee of that so you must decide the truth of this alternate Fairhaven for yourself.

Do you like to explore the darker side of Fairhaven, or are you keeping it solidly goofy?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

A Ritual Most Foul & A Delving Most Dark: 2 Adventure Paths

A series of connected adventures starting in our mortal realm and descending into Hell itself.

Adventure Double Feature

Two brand-new adventures from Cairn Press: "What Haunts the Harwood" and "The Drops of St. Jerome"

The Dungeon Generator and the Bandits are adapting from Mysteries of the Multiverse.

See previous My Evil is Law posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Dungeon Generator

This generator can help quickly create structures for PCs to explore. As always, judges should not feel restricted to creating a truly random “dungeon” and may select the results that seem most interesting.

Share

Ruin Size & Valuable Artifacts

By rolling 1d3 or simply selecting your “dungeon” size, the judge can create a quick map by rolling the specified dice on a piece of paper, drawing lines (representing interior pathways in the structure) from the corners of the dice, and creating intersections where the lines meet. The judge should assign room locations along the interior pathways and intersections. Finally, roll for the number of artifacts and place them as they see fit.

Roll

1d3 Ruin Size and Artifacts

1. 3d3+1 rooms & 1d3 artifacts.

2. 3d6+3 rooms & 1d6+1 artifacts.

3. 4d6+5 rooms & 2d6+1 artifacts.

Structure’s Original Purpose

Combine the results from the two columns to create unique ruins. For example, a result of Transit and Recreation may be a drive-in movie theater.

1d6 Location Types

1. Fortification.

2. Factory.

3. Transit.

4. Archive.

5. Housing.

6. Prison.

1d6 Original Purposes

1. Recreation.

2. Education.

3. Religious.

4. Industrial.

5. Artistic.

6. Scientific.

1d6 Present Conditions

1. Crumbling.

2. Overgrown.

3. Partially Buried/Submerged.

4. Completed Buried/Submerged.

5. Undergoing Renovation.

6. Near Pristine.

1d6 Main Entrances

1. Open entryway littered with bones

2. Unassailium metal door

3. Permeable membrane

4. Covered in plant growth

5. Guarded by the Dwellers

6. Busted down doorway

1d6 Hazards

1. Collapsing floors and ceilings.

2. Flooded chambers.

3. Deranged facility AI.

4. Hostile plant-life.

5. Chemical contamination.

6. Massive insect/vermin hives.

1d6 Dwellers

1. Angry androids.

2. Hivemind horrors.

3. Territorial, crazed hermit.

4. Interplanar colonists.

5. Creepy, crawling critters.

6. Bad, bad bandits.

1d6 Primary Features

1. Thick with moist fungus and rare plants.

2. Speaker systems blaring propaganda in a dead language.

3. Holographic features hiding deterioration and secrets.

4. Veiny, living growths with fleshy features.

5. Floating black obelisks ranging from miniscule to massive.

6. Whispering gas vents and strange stalactites.

1d6 Local Legends

1. Every thirty days, stardust rains down and “star children” appear at the site.

2. The ruins hide an ancient data orb of vile darkness.

3. The Ancients created horrible monsters that still lurk within the structure.

4. The structure was made by an architect who wishes to recreate an abstract painting through its maddening layout.

5. The last person to go there barely made it back. Of course, he melted into a goo puddle the next day so maybe that shouldn’t count.

6. This structure only appears once a year. Is it normally invisible or is it from another time and place?

   Subscribe now

Bandits

1d3 Bandits

When horrible weather, creepy ruins, and spooky anomalies aren’t enough, add some bandits to the mix to terrorize the PCs.

1. A giant with a wizard riding on his shoulder.

2. Remote control robot ninjas (with a scientist in the distance)

3. Ant-sized men who pilot corpses as if they were a flesh mech.

First Knowledge of the Bandits (Roll 1d6)

1. Seen in the distance.

2. Tracking the PCs.

3. Found while attacking another group.

4. Viewed fleeing from another encounter.

5. Rumors from other NPCs.

6. Ambushed!

What other kind of tables would you want to see for a Dungeon Generator?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

NeonCon 3-D

NeonCon 3-D! May 22nd-23rd over on the Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland discord!!!

Bad Mother Cluckers: Pollo Lucha Edicion

Mexican Fighting Chickens compete for dominance!

Share

Friday

This year I was lucky enough to not have a 7 hour flight delay on my way to Fort Wayne, so it was a much better start to the con. Myself and John Watson (Rugby Melee Games) arrived about 1:30 on Friday and were soon picked up by Luau Lou (Dandyline Games). We went to the Goodman Games warehouse sale, where you could get books for 25-50% off (50% for damaged books, most of which just had a slightly bent corner). I was also able to hand deliver The 10th Doomstar and Xcrawl the Mall to the warehouse, so those should pop up in the online store sometime soon! I, being a crazy collector type who already owns near everything DCC, only bought a copy of the Goodman Games Yearbook from the past year. Amongst other things, it has a MCC adventure by Luau Lou and a DCC adventure by Brendan LaSalle in it. Made for great reading on my plane ride back home after the con.

I got to say hi to a few folks at the warehouse, but me and Lou soon hopped over to the convention center to set up our booth for the following day (which meant we unfortunately had to miss the charity auction for Food Not Bombs). After that was done, we went down to road to a creative mixer, which was attended by folks who’ve worked for Goodman Games in a creative role (so primarily writers, editors, layouts, and artists). I got to chat with lots of awesome folks. After a couple hours of dinner and a lot of laughs, most of us went out to a local pinball arcade: Wizard’s World. I am far from a pinball wizard myself, but I had a fun time. About equal time was spent trying to get a high score (not even close) and talking to other writers and artists. Eventually it was time to call it a night and get ready for the next day.

Subscribe now

Saturday

We got up early so we (now myself, Luau Lou, John Watson, and Matt de Micco) could get to the convention at 8AM. And we didn’t leave until 11PM! In the morning, I ran the upcoming DCC Day 2026 adventure, Pestilence At The Peak of Law. I must have turned in the manuscript for that at least 6 months ago, so it was really fun to come back to the adventure again. It was also really cool that they had it on display, plus the adventure pack, Dungeon Denizens 2, the new How To Write Adventures That Don’t Suck, MCC #15, and several other soon to be released products. After my game, I helped run our booth, but also made a bit of time to chat with folks. Some of those folks might just end up writing adventures for Academia Arcana. Aiming to have a really solid amount of adventures and other support for it when it crowdfunds later this year!

Soon I was in charge of running a panel about creating zines. There was maybe a dozen people in attendance who listened to myself, Philip Reed, Nick Baran, and Trevor Stamper talk for an hour about zine creation. No recording of that! You had to be there for the ephemeral experience. Afterwards, it was back to running the booth and chatting with folks. The problem with becoming a creator is then you have to do things like sell products, not to mention the time and energy put into creation. It oddly makes it so you play less games at conventions. But you still have an awesome time talking to folks about aspects of TTRPGs that you otherwise wouldn’t be chatting about. So there’s a bit of give-and-take if you get into that side of the hobby. But because I was only in a single game, that meant I had time to chat with more amazing people than the rest of my booth buddies got to. So I’m not complaining! I got exactly what I wanted to out of Dungeon Con.

But the most exciting announcement at Dungeon Con had nothing to do with me. Goodman Games has acquired the license for Elric of Melniboné! I imagine we’re at least 2 years from them anything actually coming out. This was just the announcement of acquiring the license for anything in books 1-6 of that series. So no Corum, Hawkmoon, or Erekosë, except for what we get from Sailors on the Seas of Fate, I suppose. I’m super excited and have started listening to the Elric audiobooks on my commute to work.

Sunday

I ran the booth while others gamed! More chatting with awesome folks. I sold Harley Stroh (though I tried to give it away) a copy of The Conquest of Chaos and Welcome to Bear Country. By the way, Welcome to Bear Country is something that I will only be selling at conventions. I’ll trade some copies with other creators so you may see it pop up elsewhere. And I’m willing to send a PDF to those who do buy it. But it’s one that I won’t be selling online at all. Only 100 copies made! When those are gone, I might reprint it, or I might make a new con exclusive zine. Haven’t decided! I want to have something for the folks who come to my booth and say “I already have everything that you’ve put out”. About half the zine is a cleaned up version of this blog post, and the other half is a level 1 adventure based on The Spooky Old Tree. But I also talked with a certain someone about possibly publishing one of their adventures. More to say about that if things do end up going that way. ; )

At the end of the con, I did some trading with other creators so they have some of my stuff to sell at conventions/ during crowdfunding as add-ons, and they’ve got some of mine. So look for copies of Bear Country and more at the Chicago Zine Coalition and Dandyline Games booths. If you pick something of mine up from them, I’m always happen to send PDFs your way!

Much love to all the folks that I met at Dungeon Con. Hope to see you and even more folks again next year! But for the rest of 2026, look for me at NTRPGCon (but just on Saturday), Texhoma Dungeon Con, probably T-Fest, and then Long Con.

What was your favorite part of Dungeon Con?

Leave a comment

What Else’s Going On?

Citadel of the Sun Kings

A sword and sorcery desert sandbox menaced by intrigue and an ancient fungal doom beneath the sands. For OSE RPG.

Visitor to Fairhaven

A zine trilogy for WHPA

See previous My Evil is Law posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Share

Settlement Generator

The following generator can quickly create a basic settlement and give it plenty of issues to make it memorable, though gamemasters should not feel restricted by randomness and are free to select any desired result.

Settlement Size (Roll 1d6)

1-2: Small: 1 - 40.

3-4: Medium: 41 - 160.

5: Large: 161 - 400.

6: Huge: 401+.

1d3 Political Structures

1. Socialist commune with — Roll 1d3: (1) a cult-like leader, (2) multiple annual tributes given to several factions, or (3) a withering resource that is necessary to their survival.

2. Village Elders who are — Roll 1d3: (1) seek to isolate their people from the outside world, (2) being influenced by a traveling con-artist, or (3) reasonable but overly cautious.

3. Warlord who — Roll 1d3: (1) rules with an iron fist, (2) stands in the way of something worse, or (3) seeks to consolidate power before his imminent death.

1d6 Structural Foundation

1. Non-functioning vehicle. Roll 1d3: (1) cruiseliner, (2) XXXL-plane, or (3) a mobile oil rig.

2. Water based. Roll 1d3: (1) floating city, (2) underwater bubble city, or (3) vertical city in and around a waterfall.

3. Underground. Roll 1d3: (1) caverns, (2) vault bunker, (3) vertical sinkhole housing.

4. Mobile. Roll 1d3: (1) beast riders, (2) vehicles, or (3) flying city.

5. NeoNatural. Roll 1d3: (1) crystal, (2) massive trees or fungus, or (3) megabeast corpse.

6. Magical Association. Roll 1d3: (1) abandoned wizard’s tower, (2) mausoleum filled with friendly ghosts, (3) manor house hidden in a demi-plane

1d6 Interesting Villagers

1. Interdimensional traveler trapped on this plane.

2. Exile from another settlement.

3. A ghost with a “timeshare possession” arrange with the other citizens.

4. A corporate mascot android who struggles to rebel against its own branding.

5. A self-important claimant to a forgotten historical empire.

6. Super-fan dedicated to an ancient media property.

Subscribe now

Travel Events

1d6 Campsites

1. Sheltered under mega fungus.

2. In a lone structure of the old world.

3. In a comfy cave or crystal cavern.

4. In the bones of a titanous beast.

5. In the shadows of a fallen monument.

6. Up in the branches of a massive tree.

1d6 Obstacles on the Road

1. Chasm of fallen ruins.

2. Landslide or subterranean eruption.

3. Overflowing rivers and displaced aquatic creatures.

4. Massive craters and subterranean holes.

5. Steep crags and ruinous badlands.

6. Pollution bogs or sludgelands.

1d6 Secret Trade Routes

1. Underground highway of a fallen megacorp city-state.

2. Interplanar gate that shortcuts through another world.

3. A twisting rainbow road accessed by seismic geysers.

4. Ancient mines currently inhabited by dangerous creatures.

5. Smuggler’s road monitored by toll-taking highwaymen.

6. Dangerous water rapids that lead through an underground river.

What other Settlement or Travel tables would help you run a game?

Leave a comment

What Else's Going On?

Texoma Dungeon Con

June 26-28 in Denison Texas. I'll be running games, but so will one of the creators of Dark Sun: Troy Denning!

Visitor to Fairhaven

A zine trilogy for WHPA

Share

So there’s mention of lots of giant ants and a tunnel connection into Castle Whiterock. Sounds like this is a traditional dungeon crawl? Can you share a little more about what kind of adventure that you’ve got in store for folks, or maybe a bit more about the titular Metronax?

I actually think of The Madness of Metronax more as a pointcrawl–or a colony crawl, really. We’re not concerning ourselves with the tunnels as much as the chambers we find as we travel between them. Metronax is a former human wizard who’s been twisted and transformed into a half-man-half-ant horror by a casting misfire and his mind is just as twisted now–he’s using his new form to start his own magical giant ant colony as a tool of revenge on those he thinks wronged him. So the PCs are simultaneously exploring a giant ant colony and trying to piece together why things are even weirder than they’d expect, running into giant ants with different magical abilities, weird rooms that seem beyond the scope of an ant’s intellect, that sort of thing.

I see mention of the disembodied head of an immortal dwarf and lost shroomans. Sounds like some fun opportunities for roleplay are here too! Which one of those do you enjoy roleplaying the most as a judge?

I really love roleplaying weirdos–so I also love providing weirdos to other Judges in my writing! The shroomans and dwarf head in Metronax are fun partially because they can played very differently–since I’m establishing what shrooman are like in this setting, I decided to lean on how slow they are and it’s very funny to see players respond to someone...who...speaks...so...carefully... Roleplaying Garbul the disembodied-but-immortal-dwarf-head is maybe more fun because it’s just so far from what players see comin and they’re alway sort of delighted and grossed out by him but usually end up wanting to keep him around as a mascot!

What’s a favorite moment from playtesting?

Players fighting Metronax and his magical ants (he rides an ant that’s able to shoot a beam of lighting from its antennae) in a final showdown has consistently been very fun and tense! He’s got some mean spells (it’s very funny to throw a Forget on one of the PCs) and he’s a creepy weirdo that players are very excited to deal with. The players’ faces when they realize they still need to deal with a magical giant ant queen are also priceless.

But the best moment was probably when a group of PCs realized they could drop Garbul down a descending tunnel as a sort of ‘canary in the coal mine’ and we all got to picture a disembodied dwarf head thumping down an incline and being very grumpy about it.

Subscribe now

You’ve got a new spell: Sabledu’s Frozen Gale. Tell us more!

I was really surprised to realize that the Dungeon Crawl Classics core book has a real dearth of low level ice-based magics! The magical ants in the adventure are all essentially an ant that’s been given the natural ability to cast a simple spell, and I really wanted an “ice breath ant”, but I couldn’t really find what I was looking for in the DCC core book so I decided to make it! And since I wrote it, I decided to include a nod to my own life–I live in Chicago, the Windy City, so I named the spell after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the founder of Chicago.

Thanks for sharing. Anything else that you’d like folks to know?

Since the last time we did this, I started a podcast with my friends! It’s called Episodic Adventures (https://linktr.ee/episodicadventures) and we review TTRPG modules from a really wide variety of systems! It’s been a ton of fun and I hope it becomes a great resource for GMs looking to broaden their horizons. I continue to proselytize the beauty that is Dungeon Crawl Classics on a very regular basis.

Back The Madness of Metronax on Backerkit.

question question

What Else’s Going On?

Neon Bastardz RPG

Getting Radical in the End Times! A cassette-apocalypse tabletop game. Compatible with Mork Borg!

When Dying Unicorns Dream + Whiterock Adventurer’s Journal