Category Archives: Dungeon Crawl Classics

DCC RPG – Ice Golem

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Winter is Coming II

Last fall @twwombat ran the inaugural Winter is Coming blog festival. The Iron Tavern participated in the festival with The Linnorm Ice Throne, a powerful artifact for the Pathfinder system, and A Winter Chase, a winter time chase using the Pathfinder chase rules.

This year @MarkMeridith has continued the festival with Winter is Coming II over at dicemonkey.net. The Iron Tavern is once again participating with today’s post!

In the spirit of winter and the cold weather I post some example Ice Golems for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG system. Golems are highly customizable in DCC RPG, but these two examples should provide some basis for judges wanting to add some winter themed fun to their DCC RPG campaign.

Ice Golems

Golems are a popular guardian for powerful mages. Not needing sleep or food, golems offer several attractive options for a mage seeking to guard his workshop. In the winter wastes of the north, ice golems are a popular choice for the enterprising wizard. The cold environments easily sustain the golem’s ice flesh.

Crafting an ice golem is still a somewhat difficult task, requiring a mold to be made to freeze the water into the desired size and shape the mage desires. Once a mold has been made though, multiple ice golems can be crafted from the same mold and water for freezing is typically plentiful.

A mage can create varying sizes of ice golems. Depending on the mage’s talent an ice golem can be imbued with various special qualities. Rituals are used to create ice golems with special qualities. Mages of the north keep these rituals as guarded secrets.

Sample Golems

Ice Golem, Large: Init -2; Atk fist +8 melee (dmg 2d6+6) or icy breath; AC 13; HD 10d8+10; MV 20′; Act 1d20; SP icy breath, double damage from fire-based attacks; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +4, AL N

Icy Breath: (cone, width 15’, length 15’, 6d6 dmg, DC 15 Fortitude for half damage)   An ice golem can use its icy breath attack every 1d5 rounds. Using the icy breath weapon consumes the ice golem’s action for that round. Targets caught in the breath weapon’s cone-like shape can attempt a Fortitude save for half damage.

An icy breath attack also has a chance to extinguish any open flames (torches, candles, etc). If an open flame is in the area of the attack there is a 60% chance the open flame will be extinguished.

Double Damage, Fire-based Attacks: An ice golem is especially susceptible to fire-based damage. Fire-based attacks do double their normal damage on a successful hit.

Ice Golem, Medium: Init -2; Atk fist +5 melee (dmg 1d10+4) or icy breath; AC 12; HD 5d8+5; MV 20′; Act 1d20; SP icy breath, double damage from fire-based attacks; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +3, AL N

Icy Breath: (cone, width 5’, length 10’, 4d6 dmg, DC 13 Fortitude for half damage)   An ice golem can use its icy breath attack every 1d6 rounds. Using the icy breath weapon consumes the ice golem’s action for that round. Targets caught in the breath weapon’s cone-like shape can attempt a Fortitude save for half damage.

An icy breath attack also has a chance to extinguish any open flames (torches, candles, etc). If an open flame is in the area of the attack there is a 60% chance the open flame will be extinguished.

Double Damage, Fire-based Attacks: An ice golem is especially susceptible to fire-based damage. Fire-based attacks do double their normal damage on a successful hit.

ICv2 Summer 2012 – DCC RPG

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ICv2 released their summer 2012 numbers today for the top 5 RPGs. ICv2 has been releasing these charts quarterly and the information is based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.

The accuracy of these charts is often called into question, especially when particular companies are knocked out of the number 1 spot on the chart. I tend to consider it a reasonable source of RPG game popularity in the market as ICv2 does release this every quarter and has been doing so for many years. If nothing else it is at least a conversation point, there are likely many other factors at play as to true popularity.

With that out of the way – look who showed up in position five on the chart for summer 2012! Goodman Games with Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG!

  • Pathfinder                                                                       Paizo Publishing
  • Dungeons and Dragons                                                Wizards of the Coast
  • Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch                       Fantasy Flight Games
  • Dragon Age                                                                    Green Ronin Publishing
  • Dungeon Crawl Classics                                               Goodman Games

It has seemed that Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG is having its share of popularity with the 1st printing having sold out and a near constant buzz about the game on social networks and message forums. But one has to wonder if that is just due to some of the circles I hang out in. It seems the popularity is more than just amongst my hangouts on the Internet.

Congrats Goodman Games!

Review: Through the Cotillion of Hours

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Author:  Daniel J. Bishop
Publisher:  Purple Duck Games
Art: Scott Ackerman
Price: PDF $3.50 / Print(+ PDF) $7.50
Pages:   15

Through the Cotillion of Hours is Purple Duck Games third release in their Adventure Locale line supporting the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and the second written by Daniel Bishop. The Adventure Locale series of adventures written to be dropped into nearly any DCC RPG campaign with minimal prep. One of the unique characteristics about this particular release is it can be used for any character level and any number of characters.

As noted in the blurb text for the adventure, sleeping characters are invited to a masked ball of the Dreaming God, Somnus. Donning masks the characters are granted entrance to the palace where they are left to find the Dreaming God Somnus to possibly ask him to grant them some request. Best be careful though as not all requests are met with pleasure.

The adventure can be run as a drop-in as it can occur while characters sleep. That keeps a DCC RPG judge from having to work it into the current campaign as it can literally happen at anytime in a campaign path.

I mentioned earlier the Adventure Locale series are designed to be run with minimal prep and dropped into existing campaign worlds. This adventure truly delivers on the drop-in factor. Given that it can be run with any number of players and any level of character, it really is quite flexible. I could easily see prepping this and having it ready to run for nights that we are a couple of players short. This module could certainly save me from needing to cancel a session due to last minute cancellations. All I need is for the characters to sleep and I have an adventure for them to take part in.

The other nice thing about this adventure is that they might not complete it the first time through. That isn’t an issue as it can become a recurring dream. So if I were to run it for a couple of players one night I could always pick it up again on another week where we were short some players.

The prep factor of this one is higher than the first two in my opinion, mainly because the judge needs to learn the dream world and how things work there. The adventure is also timed and the judge needs to be ready to track that time and know how to advance that “clock” forward. The previous two adventures I could literally run after a brief skim of the PDF. This one needs a slightly more thorough reading to be ready to run. The time needed is well worth it in my opinion, but it does need a bit more prep time.

Another thought that kept passing through my head as I read this one was the tie-ins to Coliseum Morpheuon from Rite Publishing. I reviewed Coliseum Morpheuon here at The Iron Tavern several months ago, but it covered a whole dream world as well. It could be an interesting area for a DCC RPG judge to explore if they chose.

All in all another solid adventure from the Purple Duck Games for DCC RPG. This one will be nice to have in the back pocket for times we have a couple of players cancel. I look forward to the next in the Adventure Locale series.

DCC RPG: Fast Zombies

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Art by welovethedark on Flickr, used under Creative Commons

 

Background

Zombies have been on my mind a lot recently. I started listening the We’re Alive audio drama a couple of weeks ago and have been catching up on all of the episodes so far. In this drama there are several types of zombies – ones that can move extremely fast, behemoth sized zombies, jumpers, climbers and smart zombies. I’ve found myself intrigued by fast zombies before and other systems do have fast zombies. With that as my spark I wrote up a fast zombie creature and the framework of a ritual to go along with it. After all these things have to be created somehow!

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The Ritual

Lost to the passage of time in an ancient necromancer’s laboratory is the rite of ritualized magic to create powerful undead. Within these dusty tomes are rituals thought by many of the art to be impossible. Combining the dark arts of wizardly and clerical necromancy the tome details a three-day ritual by both to create this breed of fast zombie. The ritual frees the animated zombie of the chains of rigor mortis while retaining its mindless obedience and its ability to sustain devastating amounts of damage before its destruction.

Wizards and dark clerics who study these long lost tomes over time will decipher the ritual and learn the tools, words and movements to complete the ritual. While the majority of the ritual needs to occur near a cemetery or suitable burial ground, the final portion of the ritual must occur under the phase of a new moon at the burial ground. Several of the required components are not trivial to obtain, further complicating successful completion of this ritual. Components can vary depending on slight variations of the ritual and what is available. Several ounces of quicksilver or mercury are always required for the ritual.

Upon successful completion of the ritual the casters are able to animate fast zombies.

The Zombie

Zombie, Fast: Init +2; Atk bite +3 melee (1d6+1);AC 12; HD 3d6; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP un-dead, on critical hit also gains additional attack; SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2; AL C

Fast Zombies are terrifying opponents and frequently catch unsuspecting adventurers unaware. Bearing remarkable resemblance to the more typical zombie, the fast zombies have remarkable speed that often takes their opponents by surprise. Few can out distance a fast zombie who will pursue untiringly after threats. The fast zombie does this while retaining the toughness of slow moving zombie.

DCC RPG Limited Edition Cover

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When Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG was released it was available in two different covers, the “normal” cover and a gold-foiled limited edition cover. I was a little behind getting into DCC RPG. I knew about the Beta but did not pay much attention to it as I was happy with my Pathfinder game. So I only ended up with the “normal” cover.

Recently there have been rumors and talks of a second limited edition cover for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. To make it even better it was going to include a few small fixes and an index the second printing of the game received. A black-and-white sketch was posted of the cover as well.

Yesterday the pre-order opened for the second limited edition book and a picture of the cover was released. It simply looks great! The art is done by Doug Kovacs who really has the “feel” of DCC RPG art down. He has another winner with this cover as well. The book is now available for pre-order from Goodman Games website.

DCC RPG Limited Edition Cover

Review: Crawl! Issue #4

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Crawl! is a fanzine for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. The fanzine is wrangled by the Reverand Dak and is only available in paper form. In the day and age of electronic distribution that last point might sound a little odd. But it is quite refreshing to stroll out to the mailbox after work and find the most recent issue there.

The typical issue of Crawl! includes additional options and rules for DCC RPG. These can range form tables that expand the current game, new spells, patrons, and similar content. The most recent issue of Crawl! deviates from that content line-up and presents a full adventure.

Issue #4 includes a 5th level adventure written by Yves “sheriffharry” Larochelle, a detailed village with NPCs, a forest, a new dragon, a dungeon, new magic items and more. The layout of this issue was done in a way that allows people that are not necessarily in the market for a new adventure to “steal” bits and pieces and use them separately from the adventure itself.

While I have not been able to play-test the adventure in this issue, it reads well and should be an enjoyable session or two of fun. As mentioned before there are several things in this issue I could easily drop into my existing campaign. From monsters to NPCs to populated dungeons the issue proves very useful to an judge running DCC RPG.

Scott Ackerman does much of the artwork in this issue. If you are a fan of DCC RPG you have probably been seeing more and more of his art pop up in some of the 3PP products. Scott really seems to catch the Appendix N feel of DCC RPG with his art depicting twisted creatures and scenes.

If you play the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, you should check Crawl! out if you have not already.

DCC RPG Character Class Series Summary

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Over the past several weeks The Iron Tavern has been taking a close look at each of the character classes in Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I primarily did the series with intent of highlighting some of the class features and some of my own thoughts for those on the fence about the game or just curious about the classes it offers. A secondary benefit was to give me a more structured way of taking a look at each character class to improve my judging in DCC RPG games. Overall I am pretty happy with how the series turned out.

Before we completely leave the topic I wanted to bring all the classes together in this one final character class post. This should provide an even easier entry point for those late to the series. I will provide links to the post and a very high-level one or two line summary of the class.

The Warrior

The first class I looked at to kick off the series. Mighty Deed of Arms. This is the mechanic that makes the Warrior a wonderfully fun class while not killing the player’s creativity with an overabundance of feats. Wizards of the Coast is trying to figure this out with combat superiority in 5e and overcomplicating it, but DCC RPG already has it figured it out.

The Thief

The DCC RPG thief is a throwback to an old school thief for the most part. The modified luck mechanic is what sets them apart from the others and having the ability to survive on luck and wits!

The Dwarf

With the return of race is class for demi-humans, the dwarf is quite warrior like. They have the ability to use Might Deed of Arms and they get to use a shield bash from level one! Between Mighty Deed of Arms and Shield bashing I can really emulate that rough and tumble dwarf that is ready to charge headstrong into harm’s way.

The Cleric

Alignment matters again. Don’t make your deity angry. The DCC RPG cleric has a “classic” feel to me with some interesting twists.

The Halfling

Referred to as “rolling balls of death” in one game I ran. Between an excellent modified luck mechanic what party wouldn’t want one in their party?! Throw in dual wielding and “rolling balls of death” don’t seem so far-fetched!

The Wizard

Magic is dangerous. Random tables dictate whether your spell is ultra-powerful or just so-so. This line from the rulebook best sums it up – “Use a torch, fool; it is much safer!”.

The Elf

The DCC RPG elf takes us back to the elves I remember from the Moldvay Basic set being able to both cast and engage in melee. But be careful of the iron!

And that officially concludes my weekly look at DCC RPG character classes. Overall I am quite satisfied with the character classes in Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Each has something fun to make it its own!

DCC RPG: The Elf

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This is the final installment in The Iron Tavern’s weekly series looking at Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG character classes. Each week I have taken a look at one of the classes, some of its highlights and features and provided my own opinion of the class. In previous weeks I have looked at the Warrior, the Thief, the Dwarf, the Cleric, the Halfling, and the Wizard.

This brings us to the final character class to take a look at – the Elf.

The Class

DCC RPG elves are long-lived with lifespans that cross a thousand years. The long-lived elf prefers woodlands and natural terrain. They typically settle away from the shorter-lived races. This long lifespan allows an elf a tremendous amount of time to become proficient with both the ways of magic and martial ability.

Elves are trained in a variety of weapons and include the ability to use longswords, longbows, and even the two-handed sword. Elves are able to wear armor of mithril, though this does affect their spellcasting when doing so.

Elves use a d6 for a hit die putting them towards the lower end on amount of hit points, though more than a Wizard character. Elves tend away from a lawful alignment with neutral or chaotic being more prevalent.

Elves have infravision out to 60’ in DCC RPG and have what many would consider to be the typical elven immunities being immune to sleep and paralysis. They also have increased senses and receive a bonus to finding secret doors and are entitled to a check when simply passing by a secret door even if they are not actively looking.

Elves frequently draw their magic from other creatures and beings. Their longer lifespan can even allow them to become more familiar with a particular patron over the years, an opportunity a wizard may not have. Despite this elves still obtain their spells randomly, though they do receive the invoke patron and patron bond spells in addition to their normal spell slots.

Elves do have an unusual vulnerability. They have an extreme sensitivity to iron. Prolonged contact actually causes a burning sensation to the elf and if continued causes the elf hit point damage each day.

My Impression

I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again I like how the mechanics of the DCC RPG elf works out. My first D&D character ever was an elf, an elf named IronWolf. That mere fact alone made be curious as to how race as class for demi-humans would work out. Mixing the martial prowess and the magical art is a strong start.

The blend between martial prowess and the magical art helps reinforce the old school feel I have for an elf from my early days of playing D&D. The tie-in of elves to patrons as a source of power is a distinguishing factor from a human wizard, which I find a nice touch. Whether an elf draws from more natural elements or from more foul beings the mechanic to do so is easily granted to them.

The vulnerability to iron struck me as a little different. I may just not be as well versed in ‘Appendix N’ reading as I should be though. In either case, I think it is important for a judge to make sure to remember this vulnerability in order to help keep the elf from being the ultimate in character class. I think if a judge does not remember to enforce this vulnerability the elf could become somewhat of a dominant class.

I think Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG has once again done well with striking that old school feel for the elf while bringing modern mechanics to the class.

DCC RPG: The Wizard

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This article is another in the weekly series in which I have been looking at each of the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG character classes. I have looked at the Warrior, the Thief, the Dwarf, the Cleric, and the Halfling in previous weeks.

As we came down to the end of the series I posted a poll to see which classes people wanted to see next. The Halfing just managed to win that poll with the Wizard coming in a close second. This week I will be taking a look at the DCC RPG Wizard.

The Class

Being a Wizard in Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG is dangerous. Wizards draw their power from demons or gods, ancient black magics from long forgotten tomes or through deals with the devils or other unearthly beings. While great power and magic can come from these exchanges, it is not without risk.

The wizard in DCC RPG starts with a d4 hit die at first level. They are able to use a handful of weapons, including long or short swords. While they are able to wear armor it does cause a penalty to spellcasting.

Wizards can choose their alignment with black magic tending to be practiced by chaotic wizards and neutral and lawful wizards practicing more with the elements of the world. Enchantments can be used by any of the three alignments.

Magic is an interesting area in DCC RPG as it includes a large amount of randomness. The randomness factor helps reinforce the idea that magic is not always controllable or predictable. The use of magic is not to be taken lightly. A beginning wizard beings with four spells, these spells are chosen randomly at first level.

When a wizard casts a spell, they must make a spellcheck – a d20 roll plus some modifiers that includes the wizard’s caster level. The result of this roll is looked up on a table for the specific spell being cast. The roll will determine whether the casting was successful, whether the spell is retained for use later, and how great (or little) the effect of the spell is.

As noted above, a wizard can draw their sources of magic from many different places, including supernatural patrons. A wizard can bind themselves to a patron and from that point use a spell called invoke patron to seek special aide in times of critical need. A patron may or may not respond to this request and may or may not barter an exchange to grant the aide requested. While this is quite powerful, it is not without its risks. Most of these risks are left to the liberty of the judge to determine.

A wizard can summon a familiar if they so choose by using a spell to do so.  A wizard’s luck modifier applies to rolls of corruption and mercurial magic.

Mercurial magic. This just one way that spells are different and unique depending on the wizard that is casting it. When a new spell is learned by a wizard, they roll on the mercurial effect table to determine how that spell will behave when cast by this specific wizard. There is a table with 100 different effects on the table. These effects can be positive or negative in nature and affect how that spell works each time it is cast.

Image by Steve A Roberts, http://fantasyartdesign.com/

There are some other mechanics in DCC RPG that affect wizards and the way they cast magic. As mentioned earlier, a wizard makes a spell check roll when they cast a spell to determine if the spell is successful or not. If a wizard rolls poorly they might suffer a misfire, corruption, or patron taint. The table with each spell will help determine the result of the roll and whether a misfire, corruption, patron taint, or possibly all three apply.

Misfires are specific to the spell and tend to include unexpected effects of the spell, frequently detrimental to himself or his allies.

Corruption has a rather significant effect on the wizard. There are three tables for corruption that cover minor, major, and greater. Corruption tends to be things that damage the wizard, leads to an altering of their appearance or other such effects. A wonderful graphic in the book illustrates the progression of a wizard over time. The first frame showing a young, handsome man and by the final image a grotesque hunched over monstrosity.

Finally there is the spellburn mechanic. Spellburn allows a wizard to call upon outside sources such as demons, devils, the darkness between the stars and so on to burn ability score points in a one for one exchange in bonus to a spellcheck roll. A wizard can burn points from their Strength, Agility or Stamina ability scores.

My Impression

The wizard class can seem pretty complex at initial look. With pages and pages of spells with tables and charts, mercurial magic, spellburn, corruption, and misfires. As you start to read more about the class and actually play though you learn that you only need to be concerned with the spells your wizard actually knows and a handful of tables which can easily be brought to the table.

Once over the initial hurdle of familiarizing yourself with the basics of a wizard, I think the mechanics do a very good job of reproducing that “Appendix N” feel for the wizard. Magic is random. Magic is not something to be taken lightly. Magic has its price.

One of my favorite lines from the DCC RPG in the Magic section is “Use a torch, fool; it is much safer!” This line helps set the readers expectation as to how magic works in this world. It isn’t used to light your way in dungeons or to light street lamps or for any trivial task. Magic is not to be trifled with.

In d20 games there is always the debate of Vancian magic systems versus some other magic system and how wizards can over power the rest of the party at higher levels. I think the magic system and wizards in DCC RPG have found an interesting way to balance the wizards power, the frequency they can cast spells with the random nature of making magic dangerous as an elegant solution to the wizard’s power. Sure the wizards can obliterate some foe – but at what possible risk to them or to their party?

I am quite satisfied with how a wizard functions in Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. It gives me the old-school feel of the wizard from the strength perspective, the power that we all think of when it comes to a wizard with the randomness of something bad happening when casting to temper that power a bit.

Next Week

Next week I will be bringing the character class series to a close with a look at the Elf. The Elf is the last character class on the list! Be sure to check back next Friday for the final article in this series.

Interview: Jon Marr of Purple Sorcerer Games

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The Iron Tavern recently had the privilege to interview Jon Marr of Purple Sorcerer Games. Purple Sorcerer Games is a third-party publisher for Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.

Jon and Purple Sorcerer Games have been busy publishing new adventures for Dungeon Crawl Classics such as Perils of the Sunken City, The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk and the soon to be released A Gathering of the Marked.

In addition to adventures being published Purple Sorcerer Games, Jon has been putting out some wonderful electronic tools for Dungeon Crawl Classics as well. These tools include a 0-level character creator, an upper level character creator and the Crawler’s Companion that is being released for tablets of Android and iOS flavors due to their successful Kickstarter.

And with that, let the interview begin!
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Tell us a little about Purple Sorcerer Games?

Purple Sorcerer Games grew out of a free utility I created for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG beta. I knew the totally random nature of creating 0-level characters cried out for a character generator, so I built one over the first weekend after I downloaded the beta. As I began creating an adventure to test the characters I was spitting out, I got the idea to create a location that would make it easy to introduce lots of new parties and adventures. When I showed Perils of the Sunken City to Joseph Goodman from Goodman games, he suggested I become a third party publisher, and here we are.

How did you get your start in gaming?

I’m one of the herd of old-timers that got started in middle school in the late 70’s. I can still remember my first exposure: overhearing a friend in the library describing a magic item. Something electric went through me and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Which gaming system did you first start with in the late ’70’s when your gaming interest began?

The first time I played D&D was with a friend who had the white box, though my clearest memory is having my Mom drive me to a neighboring town to purchase the blue box from an awesome used book store that sold games. I remember waiting for the first DMG to arrive.

We quickly branched out to most the early systems: Traveler, Runequest, Chivalry & Sorcerery, The Fantasy Trip, Gamma World, etc. I also spent many Saturdays at the local ‘wargaming society’ playing Squad Leader, Panzerblitz, Ogre, etc. Fun times!

Purple Sorcerer Games develops and designs adventures and software tools for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games. What attracts you to the DCC RPG?

I think the chief thing was just accessibility: the DCC RPG beta gave me a good chance to kick the tires and find out what I liked. I really am of the opinion that the group, and especially the GM, is far more important than the system, but the DCC RPG checks a number of the boxes that are important to me. I liked 3E, but it got a big unwieldy for me at anything past 8th level. 4E was fun, but lacked a certain magic. The DCC RPG is wild, unpredictable and focused on adventure. In other words, built for fun.

Purple Sorcerer largely appears to be a one man effort. Do you have other members on your team? How do you find time to write the online tools, orchestrate a Kickstarter campaign, and release adventure modules for the game? What does a typical day look like?

The last few months have been crazy. I’ll likely be adding some additional contributors in the future, but for now it’s me and my son. (Who helps out with creating the paper miniatures we release with our adventures.) Like most RPG developers, I have a full time job, though I work from home with a very flexible schedule which helps. Most of my adventure/ online tools development happens between midnight and 3 am. It’s been a steady stream of 12-14 hour days during the last stretch, but I’m working out how to spread things out so I don’t get burned out.

Which do you prefer – writing adventures or developing the tools for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG that Purple Sorcerer offers?

I think they’re very complimentary activities, and it’s one of the reasons I love doing this. I’m a graphic designer/web developer by trade, and was a history major and writer in college, so the things I do for Purple Sorcerer covers all the bases. If I keep rotating between the various aspects that use different parts of the brain I never get bored.

You recently released The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, the second in the Sunken City set of adventures. Can you tell us a little more about the Sunken City and this most recent release?

The Sunken City is the remains of a great city that has now been largely overtaken by swamp over the course of hundreds of years. Players travel back and forth into the city using demon-powered sending stones. The grand idea for the Sunken City adventures was to create three 0-level adventures: a dungeon crawl, a wilderness/town adventure, and a haunted house. The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk is the wilderness/town adventure, and I had a tremendous time stuffing it full of strange swamp monsters and stranger villagers.

Perils of the Sunken City used black and white for the content inside the adventure, whereas The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk switched to a color interior. Why the switch?

I love the black and white look of the Goodman Games adventures and Doug Kovacs’ fantastic maps and art. The maps in Perils of the Sunken City were something of an homage to that look. But the first piece of art I created for The Ooze Pits was the Slither’s End town map, and it looked so nice in color I decided to make a switch. Also, I’ll be combining all the Sunken City adventures into a full color hardcover book when they’re complete, so it made sense to make the change now.

From the adventures I have read so far, you seem to hit the “Appendix N” feel of Dungeon Crawl Classics very well. Were you well versed in “Appendix N” literature prior to the launch of Purple Sorcerer games?

I’d read most the classics that others had: LOTR, The Complete Enchanter, Dying Earth, etc, but I’d guess the biggest Appendix N influence for my adventures would be the Lankhmar novels. I love the blend of humor, terror and gonzo imagination.

With your the Lankhmar influence, it begs the question – Fafhrd or Gray Mouser?

The Mouser’s pathos is fun, but I have to say Fafhrd’s, well ‘innocence’ isn’t the right word, but his straightforward world view appeals to me. I’ve been re-reading much of the Lankhmar stuff recently and I’m impressed once again by the sophistication of Fritz Leiber’s writing. I also love that he’s willing to ‘bend genres’ whenever it fits the story. That’s very DCC.

A Gathering of the Marked is the next adventure in the Sunken City series and then your will be moving on to the M series of adventures. Will these be based out of the Sunken City area as well? What level range do you have in mind for the M-series of adventures?

The M-series will chart it’s own course, though there will be links for how to transition from the Sunken City. There will be five adventures, one each for the first five character levels.

You have developed several useful tools on the Purple Sorcerer site, including a 0-level character generator. I know I have used this tool several times. At last count how many 0-level characters have been generated from the tool?

I believe we’re approaching 200,000 eager peasants created. (And the upper level character generator has been used about 10,000 times.)

You recently had a Kickstarter Campaign wrap up for the Crawler’s Companion, an effort to bring Purple Sorcerer tools to tablets of all kinds. What challenges has this project presented you with?

The major challenge is time: working on the program while also turning out the adventures! It’s been interesting dipping a toe in the Mac/iOS side of things, but I’ve learned a lot and things are going well. The backers have been so fabulous, and I try to keep them apprised of what’s going on. We’re still just polishing up the beta, and I have over 40 backers testing the Crawler’s Companion. I’m excited to get working on the extra features, as I really enjoy that aspect of development.

I can imagine finding time has been challenging! With all of the development time for adventures and electronic aids have you had the time to run or play in your own DCC RPG campaign beyond playtesting?

I’ve been following all the Google+ online gaming sessions with great jealousy! Yeah, I haven’t had time for anything outside of playtesting, but I’m looking forward to getting involved once things calm down a bit. I’m likely going to playtest the next Sunken City Adventure online, since I’ve recently moved away from half my regular group! Online GM’ing will be an entirely new experience for me, but I think much of our hobby’s future lies in that direction.

Is there anything else you would like people to know about Purple Sorcerer Games?

Just that I’m so appreciative of everyone’s support, and I’m having a blast creating these things. If you like our free utilities, check out our adventures at RPGNow. They’re fun, they’re a good value, and the sales help support the creation and refinement of all the free stuff we offer online!
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The Iron Tavern wants to thank Jon for taking the time to answer my questions. It was a pleasure interviewing him. Be sure to check out the website for Purple Sorcerer Games and see what adventures and tools they have lined up for us!