Caverns of Tharcia Shipping Update

Goodman Games says 61% of the Caverns of Tharcia have shipped, and I am in that last 39%. I am still waiting for this, and the PDFs are amazing. I love these old modules updated, and Dungeon Crawl Classics is a fantastic game with all sorts of crazy, gonzo, insane things going on in it.

DCC is also amazingly rules-light, and a stripped-down 3.5E that replaces Pathfinder 1e for me. The game plays fast and is fun, even for spellcasters. You never know what will happen! Where Pathfinder 1e had that high drama, deep exploration, hard-hitting magic, and powerful characters, DCC does all that as well, and even better. I can run these characters without computer software. Each class brings something amazing to the table. The game is built around the concept of 'everyone has fun at the table.'

I love the Zocchi dice, too. The dice chain is ingenious, and collecting them is also great fun.

Limitations are fun, too. If a character starts off terrible, nothing says the referee can't reward you with special bonuses if you quest for them. Want an extra point of strength? Find a powerful entity and quest for it. Do something amazing? The referee may just reward you with anything.

Drinking from a magic pool may change an ability score. Nothing says you can't do this, and nothing in the game says ability scores must be static and never change. Tunnels & Trolls is infamous for changing a character's ability scores multiple times per adventure. If a character compliments a statue of Aphrodite, and the goddess is flattered, she may just reward the character then and there with a +2 PER change, permanently. If someone else complains about it being unfair, apply a -2 PER change to the vain one, permanently. This only happens once.

Don't ever put yourself in that "D&D mind trap" of feeling nothing changes, ability scores always stay the same, and everything must be balanced and fair. Stuff happens! Ability scores can be given as quest rewards, gifted, changed because of fantastic rolls, changed by magic, trained higher for gold and time, granted by the referee's whim, or reduced due to misfortune or injury.

Ability scores are starting values, not numbers etched into a gravestone.

These are your books. This is your game. Play it how you want.

That is what I love about Dungeon Crawl Classics.