''Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game'' (DCC RPG or simply DCC) is a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

published by

Goodman Games Goodman Games is an American game publisher best known for the ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' series of adventure modules and role-playing game, the ''Dragonmech'' role-playing game, and the ''Etherscope'' role-playing games. The company produced l ...

using the

Open Game License The Open Game License (OGL) is a public copyright license by Wizards of the Coast that may be used by tabletop role-playing game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, not ...

(OGL) and

System Reference Document In the open gaming movement, a System Reference Document (SRD) is a reference for a role-playing game's mechanics licensed under the Open Game License (OGL) to allow other publishers to make material compatible with that game. History The firs ...

(SRD) version 3.5 to provide legal compatibility with the revised third edition of ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

''. ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' is also the label of an earlier series of

modules Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a s ...

for the d20 System, that is compatible with the 3rd edition of the

ruleset. This line continued with modules for the 4th edition D&D ruleset before Goodman Games in 2012 switched over to their in-house ruleset, also called ''Dungeon Crawl Classics''. The series includes more than 73 adventures and features game designers such as

Michael Mearls Michael Mearls is a writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. He was the senior manager for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' research and design team. He co-led design for the 5th edition of the game. He also worked ...

, Dave Arneson, and Monte Cook, as well as former TSR artists like

Jeff Dee Jeff Dee is an American artist and game designer. He was the youngest artist in the history of pioneering role-playing game company TSR when he began his work at the age of eighteen. He also designed the ''Villains and Vigilantes'' superhero gam ...

Erol Otus Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy role-playing game (RPG) genre, especially early in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' franchise. He is also known for his artwork on the multiple ...

Jim Roslof James Paul Roslof (November 21, 1946March 19, 2011) was an American artist who produced cover art and interior illustrations of fantasy role-playing games published by TSR, Inc. during the "golden age" of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. As Art Director a ...

, and Jim Holloway. The ''DCC'' series harks back to 1st edition ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...

'' modules in content and style.

''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' ethos

The design ethos is summed up by the following statement included in every ''DCC'' module, regardless of which underlying ruleset it is written for:

"Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics don't waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren't meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere."

History

In 2012 Goodman Games released the ''Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game''. The company describes it as "an OGL system that cross-breeds Appendix N with a streamlined version of 3E", referring to Appendix N of the original ''

Dungeon Masters Guide The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' (''DMG'' or ''DM's Guide''; in some printings, the ''Dungeon Masters Guide'' or ''Dungeon Master Guide'') is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' co ...

'', which listed fiction that was an influence on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''DCC'' module series migrated to the new system in 2012 with the release of module 66.5, ''Doom of the Savage Kings'' by

Harley Stroh Harley Stroh is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Harley Stroh is a long-time author for Goodman Games Goodman Games is an American game publisher best known for the ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' series of ...

. The game requires the Zocchi dice set, meaning the d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24 and d30 dice are required in addition to the standard set of 7 polyhedrals (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20). Third party publishers also publish material for use in the DCC RPG under license from Goodman Games.

The ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' series of D&D modules

The series began in 2003 with the publication of ''

Idylls of the Rat King Idylls of the Rat King is a d20 ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' adventure written for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' by Jeffrey Quinn. For character levels 1-3, DCC #1 pits PCs against a wererat king and his wicked minions. As of 2006, ''Idylls of the Rat Kin ...

'' for ''D&D'' 3rd edition, and continued to publish well over sixty adventures. In 2008, using the Game System License, the series changed to ''D&D'' 4th edition. The series switched to the ''DCC RPG'' upon the new system's release in 2012. Some adventures are also available (under the ''Original Adventures Reincarnated'' label) in an ''

'' 1st edition version as well as 3rd edition. Some have also been converted to ''

Castles & Crusades ''Castles & Crusades'' (''C&C'') is a fantasy role-playing game published in 2004 by Troll Lord Games based upon a stripped-down variant of the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to emulate the play of earlier edit ...

''.

References

{{d20 D20 System publications Dungeons & Dragons modules Goodman Games games

''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' ethos

History

The ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' series of D&D modules

See also

References