DCC method to start PCs

[Captain_K]

At Origins this year I bumped into Dungeon Crawl Classic and got their "how's it work starter book". noodled on their idea of the game, and decided to use it only as a way to create your starting PC with "pregames" sort of then convert into classic CnC classes and rules. It is working well so far.

We used Dungeon Crawl Class (DCC) to start the PCs (zero level funnel they call it). After the 3 PCs per player got down to one PC each, what an odd way to go, we have a great starting point no one would have gotten to that PC that way and the classes it sends one toward. Old school harsh rolling too. Those odd ball DCC dice are fun to add into the game too!

Anyone ever toy with this? Ideas to make it work better or suggestions or pitfalls to avoid?

thanks, Capt_K

[Buttmonkey]

I tired of funnel adventures VERY quickly. It's a great concept, but in practice the funnel adventures are empty calories. You just throw a bunch of character sheets at a meat grinder adventure and see what comes out the other side. You don't have investment in the PCs during the funnel. Death means nothing. The characters are so vastly underpowered compared to the adventure that player skill has very little impact. Personally, I'd prefer to just roll up 4 PCs, roll a d4 to see which one I'll be playing long term, and move on. I simply don't understand players' fascination with playing in funnel adventures. I suspect a lot of the GMs running them at cons like them because they are easy to run. The GM doesn't have to deal with class abilities, spells, encounter balance, etc.

[paladinn]

I tired of funnel adventures VERY quickly. It's a great concept, but in practice the funnel adventures are empty calories. You just throw a bunch of character sheets at a meat grinder adventure and see what comes out the other side. You don't have investment in the PCs during the funnel. Death means nothing. The characters are so vastly underpowered compared to the adventure that player skill has very little impact. Personally, I'd prefer to just roll up 4 PCs, roll a d4 to see which one I'll be playing long term, and move on. I simply don't understand players' fascination with playing in funnel adventures. I suspect a lot of the GMs running them at cons like them because they are easy to run. The GM doesn't have to deal with class abilities, spells, encounter balance, etc.

This. Who's going to get invested in their characters knowing most are going to die right out of the starting gate?

[JediOre]

My group enjoys the DCC-RPG funnels and high death rate, but all of them (except one) find C&C their preferred RPG with DCC-RPG the back up where you never fully invest in your PC. My friend, the odd-man out, prefers DCC-RPG far and away over C&C or 1st edition AD&D because of the danger level. Each to his own and I run the game based on who is at the table.

I would not recommend a 0-level approach like DCC-RPG for C&C, unless your players know both games and understand the brutal approach.

[Persimmon]

Yeah, to me it's just a whole different mindset. I like the DCC funnels mostly for the character occupation and starting equipment that offers a minimalist backstory. One could easily just roll on that table and use it as your character background, maybe adding some kind of background skill unique to the occupation for more flavor, plus the d4 hit points.

On the other hand, I love the dice chain with all the extra funky dice and I port that over to C&C. Super easy to add stuff. Two-hand fighting? Use d16 to hit instead of d20. Aiming your firearm for a full round? Use d24 to hit. Got a multi-classed Fighter/Wizard? Roll d7 for hit points. Got a wizard/thief? Roll d5 for hit points.

I also like DCC for the B/X style classes with the extra fluff. Their rules for clerical healing and thief skills varying by alignment are great. Spellcasting is fun, but can get clunky with all the rolls and table consultation, though there are resources to help streamline that. So it's the alternate to C&C for us; we have a couple players that prefer it to C&C. And it is fun for gonzo Sci-fi/Fantasy mashups and weird settings. But it doesn't emulate AD&D like C&C does, at least not in my opinion/experience.