Kickstarter: DCC RPG #83 The Chained Coffin

The adventure is designed for level 5 characters. A whispered voice calls from a coffin bound in chains, urging the heroes into the depths of the Shudder Mountains, a place rife with superstition and forlorn secrets. In the shadowy, pine-grown valleys of the Deep Hollows lurk mysteries of a bygone age and a new evil emerging from the ruins of the past. The adventurers must plumb the mountains’ secluded reaches to root out this rising terror before its power comes to fruition. Standing in their path are cackling witches, subtle devils, lingering spirits, and a foul thing that moves in the night. Can the heroes appease that which lies within the Chained Coffin and thwart the dawn of a new and terrible age?

If it goes to $36,000, this module will grow into a box set. Full details here. Become a backer here.

More DCC Modules

I meant to fit this into Monday's post, but live in the unimagined world has been faster these past few weeks. Anyway, along with the unveiling of another limited edition cover, Goodman Games announced a few new modules slated to hit the shelves this summer. This is exciting because levels 1-2 are lacking in options, and these will certainly fill those gaps.

Awash in a sea of phlogiston, three wizards battle for mastery of reality! But with each new day all gains are lost and the game begins anew. It is up to the adventurers to upset this ancient balance, winning free of the shrinking demi-plane before all is reduced to the roiling stuff of raw Chaos!

Will you strike a bargain, swearing fealty to one of the fell masters? Or will you attempt to master your own fate, pitting your luck and skill against arcane foes? Whatever you decide, you must act quickly, for gray worms press in from all sides and time grows short!

An exploration-based adventure for 2nd level PCs, Fate's Fell Hand challenges new and old players alike. Only the most cunning of PCs can hope to thwart the machinations of three dire wizards and escape Fate's Fell Hand!

The second module looks interesting because it shows the clear influence of Appendix N, the weird fiction that predates the recognition of the fantasy and sci-fi (or speculative fiction, if you will) genres. Read the blurb:

Eons-old secrets slumber beneath the forbidden Ghost Ice. Since the time of the Elders, the local tribes have shunned the crawling glacier, knowing it as taboo land that slays all who tread its frigid expanse. Now, the Ghost Ice has shattered, revealing hints at deeper mysteries entombed within its icy grasp. Strange machines and wonderful horrors stir beneath the ice…

Frozen in Time is a level 1 adventure for any DCC RPG campaign. It also includes new material for judges who want to send their adventurers in a Stone Age setting!

The Emerald Enchanter is Dead

. . .and so is one of our characters. I finally was able to rotate this module into one of my ongoing campaigns and all I can say is that Goodman Games continues to offer some of the best modules on the market. The Emerald Enchanter has all of the classics trappings we've come to expect. Missing Villagers? Check. Weird monsters that will have your players cursing and running? Check. A mysterious dungeon inhabited by an evil wizard? It's all here.

I ditched the whole premise of the adventure because this group  is more likely to enslave, torture, or murder the innocent than save them. Instead, I pitched it as a good opportunity to acquire some serious loot. Depending upon how much of the dungeons your players see, they could emerge from the Emerald Enchanter's citadel with a pretty heft pile of magical items. DMs may want to tone this aspect of the adventure down if they use these sparingly.


I want to highlight the second encounter in this adventure. DCC RPG stresses the unknown and the unique when it comes to monsters. DMs scratching their heads on how to accomplish this should run to their FLGS immediately and pick up The Emerald Enchanter. This encounter shows how a little twist on something familiar is all it really takes to make "just another monster" memorable for years to come.

The Emerald Enchanter nails the spirit of Appendix N adventuring and continues to prove that Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics line of modules is the best on the market. DMs looking for a challenging, easy-to-insert adventure need to look no further.

The Hound of Hirot is Dead

I finally had a chance to run the module that came with the pre-order for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Unfortunately, if you didn't snag a copy when the game dropped a few months back, you've probably missed your chance. Actually, if you haven't grabbed the game yet, you may be out of luck for a little while. Joseph Goodman reported that the first print run of DCC has sold out, which is great news. Here is the pitch:

High above the windswept moors and darksome woods, the village of Hirot is under siege. Each night, as the sun sinks beneath the western mountains and the candles burn low, a devil-beast stalks the village streets, unleashing its savage fury on the living. From warlord to pauper, crone to child, no one is safe.

Defeating the immortal hound will require more than mere blades or even spells. To slay the beast, the characters must delve into the mysteries of the land and its Savage Kings. Only then, armed with relics forged from a bloody past, can the most cunning and courageous of adventurers challenge the hound of Hirot!

There was a rather comical moment right at the outset of the session, when my player's party, led by a gambler who had run out of money and was traveling to Hirot to take part in the lottery learned its true purpose. The adventure opens with the players stumbling upon the Jarl, his thegns, and some 30-odd townsfolk ferrying a woman to a sacrificial altar.The group learned that a villager was scarified every three days to satiate the Hound. Naturally, the group wanted to interfere.

One of the most surprising things about this adventure is how much roleplaying there is. Players will spend the majority of their time in town interacting with NPCs and figuring out how to defeat the Hound. Not that I'm complaining, there are a lot of fun personalities that enrich the scope of this adventure beyond "kill the monsters, get the treasure."

It also doesn't fall into the trap that some adventures do when there are specific kill conditions for the monster. Doom of the Savage Kings offers multiple opportunities for the PCs to acquire the tools necessary to bring peace to Hirot. Not only is this just a great module, but it's a great template for fledgling DMs looking to understand how to run a "sandbox" style game. If you happen upon this in your FLGS or see a copy on eBay, I would definitely throw down the loot for it.