Dungeon Crawl Classics: Appendix R

 

From the DCC Rulebook, the Appendix R section:

The Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game plays like a 1974 game. The rule set deliberately omits many modern concepts in order to speed game play. During playtest, a variety of players suggested varying rules for further defining areas of play. These suggestions were discarded because they increased complexity and had no precedent in the 1974 rules. In other words, if it could be handled ad hoc in 1974, it can be handled ad hoc now.

That said, some judges do wish to expand the game to suit their own style. There are many well-recognized rules categories which have been deliberately omitted herein: miniatures rules, feats, skill points, prestige classes, races distinct from classes, weapon proficiencies, attacks of opportunity, and so on. These spaces are “blank” within the rules so the judge can easily add in those parts he feels are necessary.

Think of it as a map with many undefined places. The DCC RPG rules leave these blank spots deliberately undefined. Now you as the judge should fill in those regions of the map that most benefit your style of play.

It is strange to think of DCC as a "magic, combat, and class" mod for any OSR game, but according to the description in Appendix R, that is essentially what it is. It can be played alone or as the "engine" for any other old-school game, with that game's books serving as expansion guides. This section directly references the 1974 rules, which would equate nicely to three fantastic games:

Swords & Wizardry Revised.

White Box Fantasy Medieval Adventure Game.

And Iron Falcon.

These would be my "go-to" supplement games for DCC since they are all based on the 1974 rules. There is an apparent "back to basics" movement in the hobby, where the 1974 rules are embraced, and the later AD&D, B/X, and BECMI rules are seen as things that came after that original "spark of inspiration." Also, DCC is not a "1974 purist game" since it uses many 3.5E mechanics, such as the saving throw system. The 3.5E mechanics were very familiar to the DCC designers and play-testers, so they chose to embrace those.

S&W is my favorite of all of these, just because it eliminates a lot of unnecessary detail and cruft. It also feels fantastic for a lot of the classes, and it is unafraid to limit bonuses to classes that deserve them more than others.

However, DCC is open to expansion and is meant to be the base framework for a larger DIY game. You could expand this with Old School Essentials and have everything you need. OSE is also a good pick since the organization is top-notch, and the books are high quality and informative.

I like OSRIC since the game takes on a dire, simulation-style, realistic feeling. This is like mixing the game with AD&D; since AD&D is awesome, this becomes more awesome. You get the whole "battle of good and evil" thing going on, encumbrance rules, equipment lists, tons of magic items and treasures, exploration, hirelings, lots of monsters, and all the classic "feel good" AD&D bits in there that give me good memories. I would not directly use AD&D since the retro-clones are always better and support free and open communities.

All these games are worth playing by themselves! S&W and OSRIC are "best in class" games and two of my all-time favorites.

OSRIC plus DCC is the "ultimate OSR game" for me. It's DCC plus all the missing parts; you can customize many game rules from all the sections in the book. I like it better than S&W since there are many more optional rules and subsystems to plug in. Sages and hirelings get a lot of detail, along with treasures. S&W is a stripped-down 1974 purist game that reduces complexity. OSRIC goes into deeper levels of depth, giving me more to choose from and making my world more textured and realistic.