This is a top-notch product. Really captures the spirit, the feel of Leiber's work. As someone who was disappointed with AD&D's attempt to bring Lankhmar to the gaming table back in the day (Jannell Jaquays' fantastic work in Deities & Demigds excepted), I can't tell you how wonderful this is to read and play. This is not a cash-in. It's a love letter. Been running this for a year and a half now. Will be running it for some time to come.

A great gonzo and deadly system that does a great job of taking B/X and heavily expanding on it from the get go. The dice chain system is simple, but is not entirely my cup of tea (hence why only 4 stars) but the rest is incredibly well done!

Also, very easy to find a group for, which is an added bonus, as Goodman Games gives a lot of support to clubs and game stores.

A really well written module for level 0 characters filled with riddles, new tables, awesome maps and great drawings. That's pure awesoness!

IMO, not worth the money. There is no amount of player skill that will get a group through this. Unless you want a module that cannot be completed successfully without a lot of luck or GM fiat. The final nail in the coffin is the many missing items that are referenced within the adventure but not found in the item appendex. The 5e vesion does not have this problem, which while I rate this middling adventure as something to avoid.

This is the first DCC module I ever ran, and like so many firsts, it will always be fondly remembered. It's excellent and could easily be run anytime of the year, but running it around the holidays makes it special.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-dungeon-crawl.html

Dungeon Crawl Classics #17.5: War of the Witch Queen

PDF. 28 pages. Color cover, black & white interior art.

This is the precursor to the larger Saga of the Witch Queen. I grabbed it to have a complete collection and to see if there were any differences between this and the newer version. I would still love to get my hands on a printed copy.

This adventure is designed for D&D 3.5/d20 OGC. This means converting it to Pathfinder is really a non-issue. More to the point we can convert Kyleth from an 8th-level Sorcer to an 8th-level witch.

The main differences here between this adventure and the counterpart Saga adventure, War of the Witch Queen is that this is for D&D 3.5e and Saga is for AD&D 1e. They are the same adventures with very minor tweaks.

Both send the PCs on a quest to stop and kill Kyleth the self-styled Witch Queen. It is a straightforward dungeon crawl. This is not a weakness, but rather its strength.

The obvious question is do you need this one if you have Saga of the Witch Queen? I say yes since the systems are different (but can be converted).

UPDATED 10/13/2022

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-dungeon-crawl.html

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Saga of the Witch Queen

PDF from DriveThruRPG. 84 pages. Monochrome cover and black & white interior art.

This is a meaty module. 84 pages, covers, maps, and OGL still leave a lot of pages for content.

First off, if you are not familiar with Dungeon Crawl Classics modules they are meant to emulate a certain feel of early 80s play. They went on to create the game Dungeon Crawl Classics, but the adventures are still largely OSR compatible. Actually, I didn't see a single thing in this adventure that screamed ts should be used for one system or the other, though on the cover they claim "1e." That is good enough.

This adventure is actually 3 adventures in one. Legacy of the Savage Kings, The Lost Passage of the Drow, and War of the Witch Queen (which I will discuss later). Each one is a different part of the Witch Queen's plan.

Reading through this adventure is one part excitement for the new and one part excitement for the nostalgia. For the new, I wanted to learn more about Kyleth (the eponymous Witch Queen and not to be confused with Keyleth) and the tome Ars Maleficus. The nostalgia comes from many little easter eggs throughout the pages that call back to adventures of the TSR days. I am convinced the Mad Hermit here is the same as the one in the Keep on the Borderland for example. There are also hints of influences from Vault of the Drow, Ravenloft, and even the rest of the GDQ series. In fact, the second adventure, "The Lost Passage of the Drow" could be slotted into the D series and no one would be the wiser. Replace Baba Yazoth with the proper Baba Yaga and have one of the many adventures she features in as a side trek.

There are a number of named characters that would work well as witches, Maeve, Baba Yazoth, and of course Kyleth herself. While using the title of "Witch Queen" Kyleth is only an 8th-level Magic-user. Make her a 9th or 10th-level witch and then you have something really scary.

Does it work with The Witch? Yes, absolutely. There is a number of great items and story points in this adventure for any witch character. In fact, I would say that any good witch would want to see Kyleth taken out on general principle. Plus there are a number of encounters and NPCs that would benefit from the rules in the Witch. Night Hags get more spell-casting powers for example and the medusa can also have some levels of the witch class.

Of course, there is the issue of Kyleth being one of The Thirteen. The Thirteen most evil wizards, witches, and necromancers in the world. She was the newest member, who are the other 12, and what are their plans? Is anyone up for an adventure against the Legion of Doom? I might have to come back to this idea. I can see witches, vivamancers, blood mages, evil wizards, and necromancers as part of this evil cabal. Each provides something different.

About the physical book. The book is 80 pages and printed on very heavy paper. It is softcover, but the binding looks good. With the heavy paper and glossy cover, I expect this to hold up to wear and tear. The cover is bound on, so no taking it off to use as a GM screen with maps. I am glad I have this as a PDF too to print out the maps and the handouts. I am really, really happy with this module.

UPDATE: Of course, I took this idea and ran with it making Kyleth one of the many Witch Queens that is gathering at the Tredecim. Kyleth was my first choice as the murderess of the Witch Queen, but I quickly dropped that idea. If Kyleth had kill the High Queen then her ambitions would be greater. No Kyleth is an opportunist. She sees the tide turning and decides now is her time to strike.

This is a great, short adventure that mines myth and imagery from American Thanksgiving, the Salem Witch Trials, and Bram Stoker's Dracula but feels distinctly DCC. It's campy, violent, and fast-paced. It's surprisingly tightly plotted, with every detail paying off for careful and curious players.

My group of four players (16 characters) finished it in about four hours but missed a few encounters. We only had 5 deaths (low for a funnel), but we had some very lucky rolls.

I do wish there were a few more illustrations and portraits of important characters, but a lot of information is packed into 16 pages. The intro also requires a bit of preparation from the DM to avoid a big exposition-dump.

For an adventure that seems built to be a one-shot, the ending is pretty open-ended. My players did some pretty unexpected things that the module didn't foresee, but they were still faced with a real dilemma at the end.

I purchased the physical copy at my local shop, and redeemed the free PDF from DriveThruRPG. The PDF has no issues at all and was a great free addition as I could pull a few images to share with my players online. The centerfold was included as an extra PDF for easier printing too.

Overall, it was a lot of fun - we had a mixed group of RPG vets and even a first-time player, and they all enjoyed this adventure. If you're looking for a funnel to run in a night, preferably over a turkey dinner with friends - it even comes with a placemat! - this is a great addition to your DCC collection.

Brendan Lasalle isa top-notch Judge (GM). And the creator of my favorite funnel (Hole in the Sky). This is another magical journey that inspires the imagination when a classic simple heist job goes entirely in another direction. A good twist, this one doesn't dissapoint. Although set in Lankhmar, it could easily fit into any typical campaign.

This is a very short book and I feel it is not great for a beginer DM, but with some preperation this is a great adventure that can fit easaly into most camapains. You have to understand each wizard and let your players figure out what they want to do. The players were new to roleplaying, and were suprised by how much fun they were having.

There is a Wild Magic table that is a great adition to the game.

Great fun, but for more exspreianced GMs.

The cover is awesome too!

Great intro adventure for the weird hijinks that are DCC adventures. When running this the players were trying out DCC for the first time for Free RPG Day. They were very hesitant at first, but quickly got into the grove to solve the eternal question of "What the heck is that thing floating in the fields?".

We had a great time.

There are a few typos. One with the map and some of the potions tripped me up while playing, but that was just a minor inconveniences. Over all this is a great starting adventure for DCC.

-Spoilers below-

I think it would be interesting to fix up the place and have it for the players. Finding parts and slowly rebuilding. The Shadow of the Beakmen would be a great follow up adventure and the rewards can be used to repair.

The Book of the Fallen Gods makes for a great addition to a campaign setting in need of some ancient secrets. The Fallen Gods in this book are similar to the titans of Greek myth, they are long ago defeated/forgotten and the current gods now rule.

First off this is a list of Fallen Gods, the powers the offer, and cost of the powers. This is not a setting . As such, this could easily fit into almost any OSR type game with minimal adjustments. There are many inspirational ideas when reading about the Fallen Gods. Even with just their names and dominions any one of them would make for a great advisory for an entire campaign.

List of Fallen Gods:

Chaar, Titan of Eternal Night - God of entropy and decay.

Ianthinian - God of secrets and ambition.

Ivyeel the Entwining - God of life and growth.

Olathvee - God of passion.

The Sallow Blight - God of malign blight.

Shayl, the Celestial Radiance - God of perfection.

Tuanna and Djahlbak - God twins of inspiration and destruction.

I, like others, wish they had additional spells, but I am very pleased with this book. I looks forward to adding the seven fallen gods to my games, and seeing if my players are willing to work with the Un-Gods.

The Good The writes up for the patrons are well done. Same quality as the core book. Each has a theme that is well reflected in the crunch.

The Bad The fluff claims that these patrons, when they were stiff gods, wherethe fabric of the cosmos. This doesn't feel thought out at all - the cosmos was still pure chaos at that time and they were ultimately defeated by the lawful pantheon. They would have been chaotic gods then. There are hoops you can jump through to justify it just feels like a tacked on though. The patrons are better used as patrons excluded the provided un-god fluff.

The Ugly Direct quote from page 3: "Due to size constraints, patron spells are not present but may appear in future DCC RPG products." Then make the book bigger and charge more. The invoke patron tables are a nessessity but the rest isn't. Taint and spellburn could have been peared down to make room for something that is used more frequently (spells).

Overall There are so few DCC RPG books that are not modules (what are we up to now, 3?) this is something of an insta-buy. There is usable stuff but the parts my players' actually want are not here. So I, spent money for something I will be forced to homebrew anyways. To me, this comes accross as a slapdash book to justify more dice sets. I'd repeat the purchance if just for the inspiration.

It's OK. I'm not a huge fan how linear and gappy it is.

Could've used more time with an editor. Seems to have been put together by the simple expedient of placing the previous books one after the other. Consequently it jumps around horribly - similar information is often in completely different chapters. The map of the region, for example, is on page 61 - waaay after the setting introduction and 'places of interest' at the very beginning of the book. Throughout the text are also instructions like "see DCC #83 The Chained Coffin" - pointers that obviously made sense when these were separate books but come across as sloppy in this compiled edition. Needed tightening, page reshuffling and a light rewrite.
The Chained Coffin adventure itself is unfortunately not as sinister as the awesome cover art hints at. The much vaunted puzzle wheel is also a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps I've somehow missed it, but aside from a single location where the solution is completely given away (provided an incredibly unlikely circumstance is met), there are no clues or foreshadowing of the puzzle in the rest of the adventure at all. After stating that the characters may recognize just one of the many symbols, it then goes on to say "This puzzle requires player knowledge (or blind luck) and not dice rolls to solve". What player knowledge? Given that the price of a wrong guess is fairly punishing, how in the heck are the players supposed to solve this? Back-of-a-napkin math gives a blind luck success chance of about 1 in 3,400. Should frustration take hold - and it will - the adventure notes that players can just bash the door down. Probably by using the GM's head. As a final note, one of the encounters in the adventure instructs the GM to firstly "show the players handout B" - a picture of a horrific monster. And then read the encounter intro - an encounter with a horrific monster trying to trick the party by pretending to be human... facepalm
All in all, I very much enjoyed the Shudder Mountain background info. However, for a $30 pdf I would expect a great deal more.