Best DCC Support Books

The DCC books tell you to borrow like crazy from your other OSR and fantasy books. Specifically, the game does not have a treasure or magic item system and tells you to "use another game's tables." This is how we did it in the old days, too.

Since DCC is a game more like 3.5E, the 3.5E books are the best places to start. The D&D 3.5E DMG does not get enough love and attention, and this is one of the better DMG releases by Wizards since the book has treasure generation, encounter tables, magic item creation, lists of traps, and many other valuable bits for stocking an adventure site. There isn't a detailed dungeon random generation system, but it comes close. This is on my DCC shelf as part of my treasure and magic item system.

Another great and overlooked book is the 3.5E Magic Item Compendium, which provides Diablo-like unique properties and weapon qualities. If every magic item in DCC is supposed to be exceptional, then this book gives you the tables to generate those randomly.

Also, shout out to another tremendous 3.5E magic item generator, One Million Magic Items, which gives you even more randomness. This one is over on Drive-Thru.

One of the nice things about a 3.5E collection is that they act as excellent DCC support books and the best version of Wizards' D&D, so it's like having two games in one. I have Hero Lab and the 3.5E module, so my character creator support is there. Everything 4E and after ended up a mismanaged disappointment. I had some fun with 5E, but not as much fun as with DCC and 3.5E.

One could play DCC with the D&D 3.5E Monster Manual, and I made a page here covering conversion notes. This would likely be a deadlier campaign, depending on the encounter. What shocked me was how well this worked and how DCC could drop in and replace the D&D 3.5E rules engine.

Do I like 3.5E monsters in my 3.5E game? I feel more on the DCC side here; monsters should be unique and interesting, not "mass-produced" and feeling cookie-cutter.

DCC could run an entire Eberron campaign without a problem and run the setting better than 3.5E ever did. DCC fits right in with demons fighting robots, dinosaurs fighting elves, etc. Steampunk tech? Works with DCC, and there are zines with gun rules (The Crawl series). Since this setting is so unhinged and strange, DCC would match the tone better than a serious and heavyweight system. In DCC, you could also play as the dinosaurs if you wanted. Just come up with 3.5E ability score modifiers for them, call them a race of humanoid-sized dinosaurs, and go to town.

I would use Adventures Dark & Deep for the Realms and Greyhawk since the classic feel will do justice to those settings.

You could play DCC with 3.5E races since they are just a few ability score modifiers and special abilities. Simply eliminate race-as-class options and do the race-plus-class generation system. This is how you get Eberron races in the game, too. Most of the Player's Handbook is not used, except if you want a nice gear list, which is also helpful. Spells and classes are not used.

Another excellent book for DCC character options is the D&D 3.0 Savage Species book. If you want to ignore "race as class" and just throw a template onto a standard class, modify the ability scores, and this is your book. Note, humans will need a slight buff if you do this, such as letting them generate 4d6 and drop the lowest, since most will go for the special racial abilities and ignore the "plain old human" choice. This is an excellent book with 3.5E, and it lets you play all sorts of monster classes and different templates, even intelligent animals or hybrids.

A special shout-out goes to Pathfinder 1e's Advanced Race Guide, which has a race designer system. This book is more tightly tied to Pathfinder 1e's classes and feat systems, so it is not as highly recommended, but the designer is perfect for hackers and homebrewers.

While Pathfinder is an excellent resource for 3.5E content, I tend to let Pathfinder 1e stay in its own universe since the game is a complete monolith and fantastic as a standalone system. I have the system in my closet, and these days, I focus more on D&D 3.5E since that system never had the entire life it deserved. Pathfinder 1e is still an S-Tier game for me, but it is its own thing.

DCC plus D&D 3.5E is one of the best gaming combinations. D&D 3.5E is suitable for a serious, character-building game that fully uses Hero Lab and many of your books (and classic settings). However, D&D 3.5E is heavy; it is a simulation boardgame style of game.

DCC is for the times I don't want a lot of complexity and want to run fast and loose in a strange but gonzo fantasy Appendix N sword-and-sorcery romp. DCC is a faster game that does not care about "protecting player egos," which is a freedom for me. Do I care that the fighter grew a third eye by touching a strange statue or that the mage grew a pair of bat wings?

No. No, I don't.

Those are surprises and fun changes to the characters in my game, and I embrace them. Shadowdark rarely touches casters with permanent disfigurement and changes, and like 5E, it protects players from the game and avoids stepping on egos and "self-image" all that much. I don't want games that protect characters and player egos. If the designers are so afraid of their players' feelings being hurt, the game will end up in the garage storage crates. I am sick of them.

Even 3.5E has some of this "overly careful" design going on.

DCC is a game that embraces change and randomness. That is where my head is right now. Games that take the same character from one to maximum level, with zero change except powers and numbers, are boring.

Video: A conversation with Dr. Nicholas Caldwell of Iron Crown Enterprises (Rolemaster)

I found this video. It is a few months old, but it is a good discussion with the creators of Rolemaster about their current state as a company and game. They have an interesting relationship with the legacy material in that the rights to many of it were lost track of, and they can't get in touch with the original creators. So, they work with "the best way forward" and are trying to appeal to Classic and Standard System fans with the new version.

I get it. They have to make the game profitable, and they can't continue to support both old editions other than support preservation efforts. They need to move forward and unify the fanbase. People will still have their favorite editions, but as a business, they need to build for a profitable future to continue supporting the system and keeping the old books available.

A good video on a great company and their efforts to keep HARP and Rolemaster on game tables.

The Case for ADAD

Adventures Dark & Deep and OSRIC are mostly the same game.

But why play ADAD? OSRIC has a lot of support, but one of the best things about the OSR, first-edition, and B/X is that the games and numbers are mostly compatible. OSRIC adventures work perfectly with ADAD, so at this point, it is just a system preference.

Do you like the original, basic first-edition game? Play OSRIC.

Do you like a tuned, 1.5 Edition game with more stuff? Play ADAD.

ADAD has the better combat system, streamlined with weapon speed tied into initiative. This is nice, and the game plays more like the original creator wanted. Slower weapons will hit later in the combat round. ADAD also has an expansion skill system for roleplaying and between-session activities, and the skills do not control your turn-by-turn decisions. Anyone can try influencing people, and a referee may rule that a low CHR score is a bonus when trying to scare off others.

Rulings matter.

Not rules.

ADAD has the most stuff: new classes, more monsters, more magic items, and lots of expansion content pulled from magazine articles and forum posts. This keeps with the original Gygaxian intent and expansion wish list but sticks with the first-edition style. We get modernized classes, such as the bard and barbarian. It is hard to argue with more stuff since there is not much hardcover expansion content for first-edition games (outside of monsters).

The only argument against ADAD is wanting a simple game. Starting with OSRIC may be easier if you are new to the first edition. You will have a lot of 5E to unlearn, such as feeling the need to roll for everything. If there is no time pressure or real difficulty, just let the thief climb the wall or pick the lock without a roll! You don't need to make charisma checks for every interaction! Sometimes, hiding in shadows will work 100%, especially if your plan and hiding spot are excellent.

5E gives referees this horribly toxic habit of "using the dice to punish the players" and it sucks. Climbing a wall with a rope and grappling hook in exploration? Sorry, failed the roll! You fall and die! Ha-ha!

What are you doing?

5E also has the toxic concept of "passive skills," which protect players on their phones who ignore what is happening in the game. In the first edition, there is no passive skill for anything. You pay attention, tell the referee where you search, and you can find the scroll hidden under the cabinet without a roll.

90% of the die rolls in a first-edition game should be combat. The rest of the game is mostly "talk it out" and "make plans." You are not rolling dice every minute in a first-edition game session unless you are in combat.

In fact, your character can die without a single die roll in a first-edition game! You see a pit. My character jumps in! Your character dies.

In 5E, that will require 10 minutes of rules reference and probably six to twelve die rolls. Someone will levitate down with a healer's kit and revive you. Other players around the table will say, "Well, what about this rule or that action?" Someone will devise an ingenious plan way after the fact and try to force you into allowing them to attempt it, 30 minutes after everyone heard the thud.

What are you doing?

But you are not being fair by disallowing us to use the rules to retcon what the referee said happened! This game is about you and your choices, not the rules. Power does not come to you in this game by knowing the rules and how to abuse them. Your success or failure will not be decided by that book.

The dice are not toys that are constantly rolled for every action and interaction. You will never see a "game show roulette wheel" pop up with a musical d20 every time your character interacts with people or the environment. This is not a pen-and-paper mobile phone game.

I like what ADAD brings to the table. This game is also nearly identical to OSRIC if you just play with the OSRIC-familiar things. The extra stuff is ultimately optional, but it helps fill out the game to appeal to some of the later additions, such as the bard class. This game also has some of the Creative Commons' familiar 5E material converted to 1E.

The game is also written by a Greyhawk expert, so it feels right at home in classic settings. And since this is first-edition, nobody will become an unkillable GMNPC or immortal player character. People needing to fear the world, monsters, traps, and dungeons is perfect. Even the highest level wizard is not invincible, so high-level player characters must still play smart.

Don't cheat the rules; you will have a world where everyone is at risk and needs to be careful. Even the highest-level Elminster could be killed anytime, blow his resurrection roll, and the world would change. Action does not come without risk. Change will happen. This means a spot for the next hero will open, and that position as the "high magister" will be open for you.

Do not cheat or fudge rolls! This is how we get unkillable, no-fun, super characters! And I loathe the term "fantasy superheroes" as an excuse for poorly designed rules where no risk or danger exists. You don't need a game or rules at that point; just toss dice on a table and say what you want to happen.

Every version of D&D from the 2nd Edition has GMNPCs, and everyone was encouraged to "cheat the system for player fun!" What ended up happening was that players were the ones who were cheated out of the original game's fun. In 5th Edition, you get to play an invincible GMNPC.

You don't want to be an invincible supercharacter. Trust me, it is boring.

I leave those games and return to what I know and love.

ADAD would make a fantastic system to run a Forgotten Realms campaign with a sense of realism and deadly consequences. If you look at the cover of the original boxed set, you will see that the first edition was the setting that it was designed for. This is how we played our original Forgotten Realms setting. Greyhawk was the super-character playground, with a level 100 setting, while the Realms were supposed to be low-magic, realistic, and gritty dark fantasy.

What is the case for ADAD?

You have it all in two books, everything you need for a classic Greyhawk or Realms campaign, before they were spoiled by power gaming, fantasy superheroes, or modern "character build" gaming. You get a good selection of classes, some new, and others people expect. You get the CC-licensed content converted back into first-edition. You get a streamlined combat system that emphasizes weapon speed and initiative. Unlike every modern version of D&D, the game doesn't self-destruct after ten levels.

You can play a first-edition game in a first-edition world.

You can really go back to those days.

The chance to go back in time is a more memorable gift than most books you can buy in gaming.

Roll20 Solo: Going Digital

As an experiment, I took down my gaming table, removed all the giant maps, cleared everything off, plopped down a large monitor, and hooked up a computer. I also managed the cables to make it all look nice.

I left room for books and a dice tray, but no physical maps or figures were on the table - just the monitor and computer. I then fired up Roll20 and used that as my "game table" on the computer.

I mostly play solo, so giving up my game table for another "computer workstation" was a radical change. But I promised myself no "PC gaming" here; this is just a virtual game table setup, as if I were streaming and DM-ing from this table. This is why I left a lot of empty room on the table, no knick-knacks, no piles of notebooks, no figures, and no clutter.

I have a part of the table reserved for books I use during play. On the other side of the table, I have one dice tray with a premium set of dice, in case I want to roll something off VTT from a table in a book or check my yes/no oracle dice. Nothing else goes on this table.

One monitor. One laptop. A mouse and mousepad.

The rest of the 60x30 table is empty for gaming books and dice, as I need them. I clear it off when I'm not playing a game and put it on a shelf.

During the session, I limited my computer apps to my music player, Roll20, the windows it can spawn, and my PDF reader. This computer just needs to run a webpage, so it did not need to be anything fancy—just a machine that works well enough and can get my session running. I uninstalled programs that distract me, compete for time, or give me "other fun things to do." Social media use is not allowed on this machine during my play time.

I embraced "distraction-free gaming" and kept it simple. Like Shadowdark's rules design, I tossed out anything I did not need or that distracted from the experience.

It feels strange to use Roll20 as a solo gamer, and I know, find a group! But in the odd times I play, having something that 'saves my game" and provides a log of everything that happened last session is invaluable.

I also like Roll20 since it is more than "just D&D." This gives me a VTT and character sheets for many games, and I can also "wing it" if I want and just play without official character sheets. You can't buy GURPS or have "official support" on Roll20, but there is a good community-created character sheet, and it is not hard to make it work well on this system.

It also feels strange to use the dropdown to set "my current player" or even "set myself as referee." However, I still do this since going back and reading my chat log, rolls, attacks, damage, skill rolls, and other information I type in is invaluable. This means "talking to myself as DM" in the chat, just to keep track of what is happening, the start of encounters, and the results of actions, but I keep my notes and "flowery language" to the point, so it is not too much work.

A DM and players "must announce what is happening or their current action."

As a DM, describe the results of attacks or skill rolls.

As a player, clearly state actions.

Also, as a DM, let player skill rolls "simmer a while." If a player makes a successful check to sneak or hide, if that check succeeds, don't keep rolling a skill check every turn. Let the result stay around for a while until the situation changes. I made a sneak roll for agility for a player, rolled a 19 vs. a DC 15, and let that player remain hidden for the scene, even when they followed the monsters into another scene.

Thematically and story-wise, that skill roll should have a reasonable narrative duration.

You don't roll for every foot of progress when climbing a rope.

This method also reduced the pain of playing on a VTT since making endless rolls for every little thing, every step of the way, and every minute of the day is a terrible, grindy, slow, and sickening way to play. This is also the problem of "passive skills" since they assume an "always on" mindset; they imply that dice rolls for everything should always happen every turn. In my story, that character "creeping and following" made an excellent die roll, giving the character "sneaky status" until things change, making sense and speeding play.

You are a terrible referee if you force players to roll for the same thing twice (and nothing has changed). All you are trying to do is screw the players with the dice. Roll once and let it stand.

On the flip side, if the players fail, let that stand, and don't let them roll for the same thing twice. Find another way, another skill, or just figure out how to move forward.

Your dice rolls should mean something.

You get one die roll and stand by it.

Stop playing with the dice and rolling them repeatedly until you get the desired result. Your dice will lose their power. Imagine playing Monopoly that way.

That isn't gaming.

If you ever need to re-roll for a better result, stop and say, "GM Fiat!" Then, just say what happens without rolling another die. You will save a lot of heartache this way, and your dice will retain their mystical powers.

I treat the chat logs as my game log; typing them all in seems painful. Later, however, coming back and reading "what I said as DM" and "how a character reacted" makes the little extra effort worth it. Typing "I sneak to the treasure chest" as a character, creating a roll, and having the DM say, "You sneak over and find..." seems like more work at the time, but later on when I fire up the session again, the game is right there, and what I typed in becomes my journal.

When you play solo, it is not all "free-form mind play," that is one of the quickest ways to fail at solo gaming. Without a journal, I find my solo games all fall apart. With my Roll20 games and chat logs and having the character sheets stored online, I see everything is waiting for me to return to it and pick up right where I left off. I can have a few games running at a time.

When I started this, it seemed utterly counterintuitive.

• Why would I give up my gaming table?
• I love figures, dice, maps, and pawns!
• Nothing beats tactile, real-world play!
• The online tools and character sheets never work right!
• This is going to be more work and hassle for no benefit!

And then, I made the commitment. I am "going digital" while keeping my books and ability to roll dice outside the machine. I knew this was the right choice when I discovered how much dust was gathering on my table. My games take zero space in my room, I can switch between a few of them, and I am learning to work with the tools and systems so I will be ready to play online with others, should that come up.

I am playing more now.

I use my physical books, PDFs, and real-world dice much more. Even when gaming on a monitor, I still like to have my real-world books and dice to use, and they help me feel like I am playing the game.

Going digital was one of the best decisions I have made regarding gaming.

Shadowdark: Western Reaches, Breaks a Million

Congratulations to the Shadowdark team for breaking a million dollars on their Kickstarter on their first day for the Western Reaches expansion! They hit the mark in 12 hours, which is fantastic, and this is what happens when you put quality, respect, a love of the game, and community first.

There is a lot of bad news, especially around D&D, but this is a ray of hope coming through the dark clouds for the hobby.

This helps the OSR and lifts all boats, just like D&D does. Shadowdark draws far more D&D players from that game than it does OSR people from theirs, and the size of this market can be deceiving. This is a massive influx of OSR players from 5E, and they will branch out and try other games. Every OSR game will see a bump from this, and Shadowdark will keep many disaffected D&D players in the hobby.

Congratulations!

DCC, 3.5E, and B/X Numbers

When I first got DCC, I assumed the game was "tuned" around OSR and B/X numbers regarding attack bonuses and hit points. The game is more tuned around 3.5E-style numbers, hit points, and attack bonuses. I use the fire giants of three games to compare values with:

• DCC Attack Bonus: +22
• OSE Attack Bonus: +10
• 3.5E Attack Bonus: +20

The attack bonuses, minus multi-attacks, are comparable. They are baseline double B/X.

• DCC average hp: 80
• OSE average hp: 51
• 3.5E average hp: 142

D&D 3.5E hit points are around double what DCC gives. Compared to B/X, OSE has about 1.5 times the hit points.

• DCC attack damage: 4d10+10, 32 average
• OSE attack damage: 5d6, 18 average
• 3.5E attack damage: 3d6+15 (3 attacks), 26 average, 78 maximum total (52 realistic)

The 3.5E damage maximum is deceptive since it assumes that last +10 attack hits, so it is closer to 52 for two attacks. So DCC is in the middle, with 1.5 times less and more for OSE and 3.5E.

• DCC AC: 17
• OSE AC: 15
• 3.5E AC: 23

AC values are closer to B/X on the low levels, but ancient dragons in 3.5E and DCC are around AC 40. AC is too high in 3.5E by about five points for DCC.

Don't enter this realm if you are afraid of math!

So if you convert from OSE, double the attack bonus, multiply attack damage, and hit points by 1.5 times. AC is about the same. If converting down from 3.5E, use the same attack bonus, halve the hit points, reduce damage by 1.5 times, and AC is about 70% at the lower levels, and for boss monsters, they are about equal to 3.5E.

Low-end 3.5E monsters are okay with DCC. A 3.5E orc is AC 13, +4 attack, and 2d4+4 damage. An OSE orc is AC 13, +0 attack, and 1d6 damage. A DCC orc is AC 11 (you could armor them up, too), +1 attack, and 1d8+1 damage.

This is why I like the first edition and B/X games like OSE. Even AD&D 2nd Edition started increasing monster hit points, but nothing beats the original game's flat numbers and lower modifiers. Every version of Wizards D&D has been on a hit-point inflation track for the last 25 years.

DCC is a 3.5E game since the dragon AC numbers can scale up to 40, and the hit point and damage numbers are higher than OSE. If you are converting from 3.5E to DCC, use a 50% hp, -5 AC, half-damage attacks, and if monsters have multiple attacks, dice chain them down from the d20. DCC being aligned with 3.5E makes sense since Goodman Games published so many 3.5E modules.

DCC can replace all of my third-edition games since it is essentially a replacement game that is more old-school focused and isn't as structurally broken as D&D 3.5E. I enjoy DCC more than I do 3.5E, but I still have my 3.5E books out, while 4E and 5E sit in the garage. Having my 3.5E books out means I can play them apart or together as an option, and the DCC and 3.5E combo gives me the best of Gonzo and Wizards D&D on my shelf, and the games work together well.

Shadowdark: Western Reaches Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowdarkrpg/western-reaches

The Shadowdark: Western Reaches Kickstarter went live today, and wow, there are a lot of premium-quality, lovely things in this campaign. They are collecting the expanded rules in the Cursed Scroll Zines to add as official parts of the game and creating their own campaign setting for everything.

This feels like "Advanced Shadowdark" without the complex rules and just "more stuff."

If you go "all in," it is a bit pricy, but considering the quality of the components and everything you get, it is an ideal gift for the true Shadowdark fan.

I hope this setting takes on a life of its own and becomes a springboard for novels, adventures, and other stories, much like the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. Shadowdark will be my "5E game" and the inheritor of my dreams and ideas in the 5E space.

Too dark and deadly? Mod it to be more heroic. The game embraces change, ownership of your game, and unique play style. Want more character power for super-heroic games? Mod it. Are there any pulp play options? In the book. The game can still be deadly while embracing a more pulp-adventure style.

I hope for a big campaign for this one since games that respect the old-school, while inviting in the world's 5E players, are suitable for everyone playing together and provide a sorely needed bright spot in place of D&D 2024's falling flat with many.

I hope this prints and delivers quickly! I also hope there are no issues with tariffs, which have been a sore spot in fulfillment for many projects these days, and no extra added costs.

Shadowdark is worthy. This game pulls in far more 5E players than old-school gamers, just due to the size of the 5E market, and introduces many to our old-school world. It is a gateway game, and making this your primary system is very comfortable. I can teach and play with anyone in 5 minutes and work almost anywhere, from VTTs to chat rooms.

Shadowdark is 5E to me.

We also have the DCC Dungeon Denizens II Kickstarter next week, so this will be a good week for old-school 5E and 3.5E crowdfunding here in 2025.