This is a game I never have time for; it keeps getting put in a storage box or on a secondary shelf, and I keep returning to it. This is its fourth time coming back, and it still is an excellent game with a rock-solid old-school design philosophy.
Let people have fun.
This means everyone, from the referee to the players. Even third-party publishers. The referee is not some "remote control" you press a button on, and the adventure streams from an Internet service. Rule Zero is the game; everything can be overridden. If something "breaks the game" - great! The game is already broken in so many ways that everything works out. Your characters can still die in horrific and hilarious ways, and they probably will, no matter how invincible you think your character has become.
There are no "builds" or "winning strategies" for characters.
You have one job: survive.
And get rich or die trying.
If you don't like something, change it! If a player rolls a mutation or disadvantage and can think of a better one, that would be more fun? Use it! If you get a table result that doesn't make sense? Don't reroll it; make something up on the spot that works (or creates a bigger disaster) that works just as well!
Like the original Paranoia game used to say, it is all paid for; don't worry about destroying the scenery, killing the NPCs, changing the game, giving characters hilarious conditions, destroying a village, making up gear and powers, giving players special boons and items, inventing monsters, or making things up to have more fun.
If a super-science laser rifle that does 5d8 at level one drops into the fighter's hands, go with it! A fumble may make that thing explode hilariously, or they may have it to the end of their career, and it becomes their Excalibur.
If it ruins the game? Fine. Don't use it next game.
It is not in an "official" book, so you are not required to use it.
You should do it if you want to apply a permanent +d3 or +d5 roll bonus to a character for some condition, skill, or whatever! Or a negative modifier. Permanent or short term. Or the die flips between negative and positive, depending on the situation.
Want to reward a character with an ability score point for doing something extraordinary? Do so. There are two critical rules in this game:
- Break the rules.
- Have fun.
- Make a third rule since we can break the rules.
Does a character charm or befriend a powerful monster? Fine. It won't ruin the game. A suitably motivated referee will find a way to make this new "pet" into a hilarious burden, rock-and-roll flying mount, or whatever would be epic, cool, and fun.
You are the referee, and you are allowed to have fun, too. However, unlike in other games, you are not the "play the movie" button on the remote control.
Many people have trouble with this much freedom and "need a book to tell them" what to do. Once you learn this, it is harder to return to anything else, especially 5E. I still like 5E; the crazy and random nature of this game keeps me coming back.
Oh, and bad rolls are just as excellent as good rolls. Don't cheat the system! You will have more fun surviving against all odds.
You don't need giant bestiaries or books full of magic items. One book does it all. Every adventure is unique, with new monsters, dangers, and situations to explore. You buy an adventure and are guaranteed to see something you have never seen.
The game is more old-school than many OSR games since it has a philosophy and design that directly emphasizes the old-school experience. Everything revolves around the feeling of how it used to be, not the "actual" way it was. Many games start putting all sorts of strange things on pedestals when those things are unimportant to the old-school experience. They mirror the old games to look, feel, and flaws.
But they do nothing to help you get into old-school playing. They don't give you what they promise since there is no reinforcement or help with "how your mind should approach this game?" The only other two games that do this are Shadowdark and Dragonslayer, and these "old school simulators" are in a class of their own.
An old-school game without proper "training" in how to play the game and get in the mindset will be played as an inferior version of 5E. Stay calm, but this is true. Most players who got into 5E recently will have no clue what is happening, how they should explore, or even how to survive a dungeon in an old-school game. I know how to play, but what about other potential members of the community and people who pick up the game? Training and how-to-play guides help grow the community and create a stable and loyal player base.
But DCC is back, off my storage shelf, and into my most-played space.
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