Monstrous Monday: Doombot for D&D 5th Edition

 

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Session 1

Due to our DM's wife getting COVID-19 (thoughts and prayers to both them) I'm running a short DCC series for our group. The Characters are level 2 are going through one of Goodman Games' Halloween Adventures.

I enjoyed the session and I think the players did too. We got off to a bit of a late start as I was running a bit behind and we had to set-up remote play for one of our players, which we do every session, but our regular DM handles it and I had to figure it out with some help.

Part of the reason I haven't run more OSR campaigns is that I like Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition and we are pretty invested in it, in fact we own everything on DnD Beyond. I'm not saying that different editions don't have different strengths and weaknesses but there is, in my opinion, a certain common experience in DnD.

One of the reasons I've been wanting to try DCC with my group is that I appreciate that it deviates a bit from DnD with its Magic system and Mighty Deeds of Arms and it is a game that is in print and I can carry in my stores.

I had two to three players I thought would enjoy the Magic system and I think they did. I didn't explain Might Deeds of Arms very well so I hope to explore them more in our second session.

We were all a bit uncertain about getting so many "Failed and Lost for the Day" spellcasting results and I'm contemplating if I'm going to make a change to that in the next session. At the same time I didn't really emphasize the Luck mechanic and perhaps that would fix some of the disappointment. Yes, you can easily point out that maybe my Players and I are just "spoiled" by the heroic nature of 5E and I'm sure you are right, but we've played together long enough to know what we enjoy and to be honest about it.

I'm looking forward to finishing the module and will report further upon completion.

At this point I dearly enjoy Goodman Games products and the awesome community that sprung up around Dungeon Crawl Classics, but I don't know that the changes are still extreme enough to switch from 5E unless you have grown bored or frustrated of it. To some degree that is the motive behind my exploration of DCC, but I don't know that the rest of my group shares that motive.

Hail to the King: Robot X for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Jack "The King" Kirby's artwork and ideas are something that I appreciate the older I get. I'm loathed to admit it, but when Jack was doing the art for the Super Powers tie-in series for the Kenner DC toy line I was upset that a "better" artist didn't get the assignment. Thankfully, my tastes in art have improved over the decades. 

I'm working on longer posts but I enjoy making Monsters and I enjoy Dungeon Crawl Classics and my current theme is Jack Kirby's Monsters statted up for DCC. 

Hail to the King, baby.

"Are you sure it's just over that ridge, Aana?"

"I feel fairly certain, yes, Diego, but when something large falls from the night sky I feel certain that following the smoke and the glow is the best practice."

"Why do you taunt me so?"

"Because it's easy and its how I show my love."

"Aana...what was that flash of light? Aana?! Where did you go...what IS that pile of dust!?"

"BIOLOGIC IDENTIFIED AS AANA HAS BEEN PROCESSED TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT DATA FOR SCOUTING MISSION. HER DNA IS ABNORMAL. I SHALL NEED YOUR DATA AS WELL, BIOLOGIC IDENTIFED AS DIEGO."

"No...NO...N--"

Robot X for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +5; Atk gauntlet +11 melee (2d12) or optic blast 

missle fire (3d10); AC 17; HD 10d12; MV 45’; 

Act 1d30+1d3-+1d20; SP flying, invisibility 3/day; 

SV Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +6; AL L.

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Mapiguari

 

"What is that SMELL?! Do you smell that? Is that YOU!?"

"Virgil, I've known you for ten years and you know that I don't fart around people. Even you."

"Don't you smell that Kia? I mean I can taste it now."

"You know I can't smell anything and quit being so jumpy, I hate being out here at night. I can't even see the moons or the sta...wait! Did...did you HEAR that? Was that a branch breaking?" 

"Be quiet, I can smell and hear and there is something above us, have your spear ready Kia."

"Do Nargo trees have red leaves, Virgil? Or eyes?!?"

Mapiguari for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init -3; Atk claws +2 melee (1d8); AC 13 HD 3d10; MV 15’; 

Act 1d20; SP backstab +5, climb 80%, infravision 60', 

sneak silently 60%; SV Fort +2, Ref -1, Will +0; AL N.

In South America, the Mapiguari is a giant nocturnal animal with long arms and claws, the skin of a reptile, and bright red hair. Legend has it, the creature avoids water, which might account for its smell. 

Monstrous Monday: The Mindless for Dungeon Crawl Classics

The Third Wizard War was fought by Arkus Dweom against the clone of Flenss the Creeping Black and both mages unleashed dooms that still haunt places like the Pitch Swamp and No Man's Land. One of the most effective necromantic curses devised by Flenss' clone is contained within the Fifth Volume of Bound Death and it creates a type of un-dead known as the Mindless. The curse is delivered by a powerful storm and any who are caught within its raindrops violently die within three minutes and reborn in a frenzied state where they can smell the living and immediately seek them out to kill them. Any living person bit by the Mindless dies and is reborn within fifteen minutes and thousands of these terrors besieged cities like Arva Tuk and Oleander from the inside.

The Mindless Steel for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +0; Atk teeth +3 melee (1d5); AC 12 HD 2d8; MV 30’; 

Act 1d20; SP immune to non-silvered weapons; 

SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will -2; AL C.

Dungeon Crawl Classics: The Incredible Dr. Steel

   

Yeah, Jack "The King" Kirby did the art for the toyline!

I'm blaming Needles and Brutorz Bill for this post.

Is the incredible Dr. Steel friend or foe?

The Incredible Dr. Steel for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +4; Atk shining steel hand +d8+2 melee (2d6+d8+2); 

AC 16 HD 6d14; MV 45’; Act 3d20; SP deflect missles 

(Once per round when Dr. Steel is hit with a missile attack rolla a d8 and on a 1-2 he takes no damage); SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +4; 

AL N.

Masters of the Universe: Scareglow for Dungeon Crawl Classics

  

I love He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and its aesthetic has shaped much of my gaming preferences. Mattel has launched a new line of action figures, Masters of the Universe Origins and a WWE tie-in line called Masters of the WWE Universe (they are from WWEternia) plus there are two animated series in development at Netflix.

In life, Karak Nul was a shifty bounty hunter who spent years attempting to break into Castle Grayskull, obsessed with the countless legends that it contained the power to be Master of the Universe. In death, he was cursed and banished into the dimension of Infinita, forever chained to his past crimes. He was brought back to Eternia by a magical spell cast by Skeletor to locate the most evil warriors in the five dimensions. Provided with a Scythe of Doom, Nul agreed to join forces with Skeletor and quickly became known as Scareglow, thanks to his ability to burst forth and freeze his enemies with fright.

Scareglow for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +2; Atk scythe of doom tentacle +6 melee (1d12+1); 

AC 16 HD 6d8; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP terrify 

(DC 13 Will Save); SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4; AL C.