Dungeon Crawl Classics tells you to "borrow" a magic item and treasure system from any other old-school game. Oh? I can? From the Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook, page 393:
Consequently, this work does not include detailed rules for assigning treasure to monsters or encounters. The existing volume of D&D work includes several such systems which are robust and well defined, and which can be easily adapted here. The author suggests you adapt an existing treasure system of your choice, but carefully and deliberately evaluate the randomized results. Always ask yourself: “Where did the monster acquire such wealth? And what happened to the local economy in the process?”
Oh! I can! Well then, this game is as good as any:
OSRIC is a fantastic game and reference guide combined into one unforgettable book. This is worth playing as a stand-alone game, but this book is designed to do the "reference and compilation" work as an old-school reference book. So let's use it that way!
This is an excellent choice for a supplemental source of treasures, charts, magic items, and other dungeon-focused stuff. You can even use the monsters mostly as-is; just adjust hit-die size based on size (d6 up to a d12) and set the Fort/Ref/Will saves equal to half-hit dice (plus ability modifiers, if needed). AC is a simple calculation. Attack Bonus will start as hit dice, and could go 1-8 points higher depending on combat skill and abilities.
DCC AC = 20 - ORSIC AC
DCC Saves = (OSRIC HD / 2) + Ability Mods
DCC Hit Die Size = OSRIC HD, d6 to d12 (based on size)
DCC Attack Bonus = OSRIC HD (as a base)
There are your DCC conversion formulas. Now you have a complete bestiary, too. Oh, and an equipment list. The only things you won't use are classes and spells. You could use those classes for NPCs and limit the DCC classes to heroes only. You could "mod" the game, do away with the DCC race-as-classes, and use OSRIC races for a "race plus class" mod for DCC classes.
Another good choice, which is OGL-free, is the Revised Edition of Swords & Wizardry. You have 100% compatible ascending AC here, but you must convert the saves as in OSRIC (same formula). The hit die size will also be size-based, as above. S&W is so good it deserves to be played as a stand-alone, but it is excellent as a reference, too.
OSRIC has more in-depth magic items and treasure tables, so if you want those classic "what does this necklace do" moments, this book will give you those results. S&W is more straightforward and faithful to zero-edition, which fits better with the DCC era. OSRIC just has more stuff and gives an AD&D vibe.
 |
| OSRIC, p124 |
What I love about OSRIC is that it includes many tables and other stuff, and the entire book feels like a revised AD&D. It also gives your DCC game the AD&D feeling, which has this "grounded" feeling like the world is sane and realistic. Still, your characters will end up completely being the opposite. You even have a random dungeon generation system in OSRIC and ways to stock this with monsters and treasures in the book, so you have a complete minigame built into the resource.
You get hirelings, wilderness rules, random parties, town encounters, random NPCs, dungeon dressings, trap tables, trick generation, and the infamous "red light professions" table that no AD&D reference guide would be complete without (with representation of both sides of the coin). AD&D was made for college students, so OSRIC also captures the "seedy side" of these fantasy worlds, which is a welcome thing to see in this age of hyper-censorship.
OSRIC feels like the "missing half" of DCC to me. Yes, the monster stats will be different when you convert them in, and you may need to tweak them as you play with them and make them your own. You may want a more challenging or leisurely game, which is up to you.
 |
| OSRIC, p299 |
But the idea of DCC characters trying to survive in an old-school OSRIC world, with that authentic AD&D feeling of an ordinary world with dangers lurking underneath, the medieval world trying to live and survive as usual, plus magic being feared and unknown, is a compelling game world. You could do the whole world with random generation and just hex-crawl.
The Adventures Dark and Deep Book of Lost Tables has everything you need, random wilderness hexes, random settlements, random dungeons, random towns, and everything else you need to build a hex-crawl world one die roll at a time. The new ADND books are directly OSRIC and first-edition compatible, so you won't have table results that won't make sense if you use OSRIC.
This book's random wilderness terrain system relies on a referee to lay out coastlines, cities, mountains, rivers, and other features, but you can randomly generate everything. I suggest doing this semi-random; if a feature makes sense, like encountering a lake and feeling a river should feed and flow from it, put it in! If you have a settlement, set in a few logical roads connecting it to "something" out there. If you feel a coastline should be here, add and extend it. Feel like you want a major river blocking your way? Add one and make it extend out. Lakes that should meander a couple hexes should do that. If this is a significant mountain range, make that happen. If you want a city, add a city. Major elevation change? That happens here! Want some ruins? Add some ruins. Really want a unique feature? Add it! Feel a dungeon or cave should be here? Then, it should!
The world should be 50% of your input, and the tables should just fill in the blanks.
Also, even if you add something, like a city, you still need to learn precisely what it is and its state. This could be an elven fortress, dwarven stronghold, halfling hovels, human trading port, ruins, war-ravaged settlement, or a significant orc encampment.
OSRIC, DCC, and the Book of Lost Tables are a random campaign generation powerhouse, plus an old-school sourcebook and reference guide that will keep you busy seeing what is around the next corner, in the next hex, or in the next town for a very long time. With DCC, you won't be sure what is next for your character since the randomness in that game goes well with a procedurally generated campaign like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment