Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

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Marzio Muscedere
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Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by Marzio Muscedere »

I am happy to announce the 0-level adventure funnel, Death Slaves of Eternity, is now available in print!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/192976/De ... ernity-DCC

Features:
• 37 new occupations
• Random treasure table (100 items)
• New creatures, curses and diseases
• 17 new wondrous items
• Complete patron write-up including spells
• Cleric class with a new deity specific disapproval table
• Appendix of optional rules for re-skinning DCC races for Sword & Sorcery play
• Over 40,000 words and 80 pages long, filled with original art throughout

Don't forget kids, the incredible Purple Sorcerer's 0-Level Party generator has Death Slaves of Eternity in the Occupation Source list!

http://purplesorcerer.com/create_party.php
CapnZapp
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by CapnZapp »

Marzio Muscedere wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2016 3:36 pm Death Slaves of Eternity
Just registered to thank you for this wonderful product!

Also, I tried searching for discussion on this module and found only this thread ;-)

Zapp
CapnZapp
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by CapnZapp »

For those that don't know it, when Marzio says "Appendix of optional rules for re-skinning DCC races for Sword & Sorcery play", he really doesn't give his ideas enough justice.

This is seriously awesome!

But for those familiar with the rules, I have a question:

The original classes (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling) are only open to characters with demihuman professions. This means that even if you have the perfect scores to play an Elf, say, you still can't select the Elf class unless you were born an Elf (i.e. randomly rolled an Elf profession).

However, this rationale is, in my view, weakened with the replacement classes (Soldier, Cultist, Pirate).

How do you handle this transition from 0-level character to 1-level Soldier, Cultist, Pirate?

Obviously one option is to simply "use the rules just like normal". You simply can't become a Pirate unless you rando-rolled one of the careers that allow it.

But why, then, can just about anyone become a Warrior or even a Wizard? After all, pirates and cultists are human just like warriors (or indeed gong farmers).

Not saying there's anything wrong with the simple answer.

But here are a couple of ideas on how to handle it:

Pirate: I really don't see the point of having Luck 5 Halflings. The whole point of the race is that they're lucky. So perhaps the easiest solution is to... just allow anyone that wants to become a Pirate to be one (presumably chiefly Lucky people)? I have renamed the class Raider to not be water-dependant. Use this class to be a jungle hunter, a steppe nomad, a desert raider or indeed a river pirate.

Soldier: since everybody can already be a Warrior, I don't see a huge issue in also allowing them to be a Soldier. After all, the supernatural stuff (like infravision) is removed. For my own world, I'm saying only rich or aristocratic young men are eligible for formal Soldier training. The point here is to have Professions influence the availability without saying a hard no. If you're a poor farmer, you need a backstory justifying your Soldier training. If you're a girl, you have hidden your sex Mulan-style (but can still access the class). And so on. Just atmospheric back-story really.

Cultist: this is the tricky one. You'd think cultists are recruited from every profession, rich and poor, and I would agree. However. People are claiming that just about the only thing preventing the Elf class from being overpowered is that you rarely get to play one with optimal stats. Simply allowing players to select the Elf class whenever they roll perfectly would make it too easy to abuse.

Perhaps an easy way to simulate this now that we're talking regular humans is to ask any character interested in the class to roll a d6. On a roll of "6" some awful entity has whispered in your ear, granting you access to dark powers. (Welcome to the class!) On rolling anything else, you can at best become a hanger-on, an acolyte or a cult fanatic without real power. (And since that's an occupation best reserved for NPCs, you're recommended to instead choose another career like the Warrior or Wizard... anyway you slice it, you simply don't have what it takes to become a Cultist).

If your list of Professions only have one in ten Elves, you might want to roll a 1d10 instead. And so on.
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Marzio Muscedere
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by Marzio Muscedere »

CapnZapp wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:05 am
Marzio Muscedere wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2016 3:36 pm Death Slaves of Eternity
Just registered to thank you for this wonderful product!

Also, I tried searching for discussion on this module and found only this thread ;-)

Zapp
CapnZapp thank you so much for the kind words! I am happy you enjoyed the adventure!!!!
CapnZapp
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by CapnZapp »

Marzio Muscedere wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 1:50 pm CapnZapp thank you so much for the kind words! I am happy you enjoyed the adventure!!!!
I am happy you found my praise, Sir, because you are worthy of it.

There are very few adventures written for classic middle-eastern-ish city-states-in-desolation sword and sorcery and yours was the one that provided the spark for my entire campaign.

Not to mention your brilliant solution for handling demi-humans in a humano-centric world. (All the other choices tend to replace dwarfs and halflings with other equally fantastical options, such lizard men or flying bird men or whathaveyou, and I just want man-men in my world. And woman-men ;) )

Would you believe it if I told you the single line in the "Occupation Source" drop-down box over at Purple Sorcerer was what led me to your scenario? (That is, one of the choices you can make for your Occupation Source over at https://purplesorcerer.com/create_party.php is called "Death Slaves of Eternity (Muscedere)" and I just had to look up what that meant :) )

Best Regards,
Zapp


PS. If there's anything I've created you (or somebody reading this that likes your work) might find interesting, it would be an add-on table for carousing in DCC. I called it the Paramour table, and it provides inspiration for fleshing out WHO all that carousing happens with.

Here's an excerpt to give you an idea of whether you would find this useful:
paramourish.png
paramourish.png (72.5 KiB) Viewed 13604 times
Here's the thread with the link and a full introduction:
https://goodman-games.com/forums/viewto ... 72&t=49503
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Marzio Muscedere
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Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:35 pm
Location: A land of sorcery and nameless horror deep in Southern Canada

Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by Marzio Muscedere »

You are too kind!

Jon Marr and Purple Sorcerer might just be the single greatest thing to happen to DCC. His tools are life savers.

I well definitely check out the paramour table...looks like fun.

Since you enjoyed Death Slaves, be sure to check out my first ever Kickstarter adventure, The Shadows About Hope. It's live on Kickstarter now, you'd dig it the most!

Cheers!
Bud
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by Bud »

The Shadows About Hope looks excellent BTW, can't wait!
CapnZapp
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Re: Death Slaves of Eternity available in print!

Post by CapnZapp »

In summary, here is my take on the Cultist/Pirate/Soldier rule suggestion from Death Slaves of Eternity:

Cultist: as Elf, except:
Chosen: Nobody chooses to become a cultist. The choice is made for you. For each character that reaches level 1 the player may roll a d6. If you roll anything but a 6, the Cultist class remains permanently unavailable for that character.
Hit points: same (d6)
Weapons training: worse (blowgun, crossbow, club, dagger, dart, handaxe, shortbow, short sword, and staff). Cultists aren't trained warriors the way Elves are. Mithril equipment does not exist in the campaign, and Cultists gain no special equipment. Cultists do get a sacrificial dagger used in rites (not worth more or better than a regular dagger)
Alignment: neutral or chaotic alignment only, since there exists no Lawful entities interested in patronage. Neutral Cultists serve uncaring and distant but immensely powerful entities. Chaotic Cultists serve depraved entities actively seeking the undoing of Man. If you are interested in serving a benign or non-corrupting entity, choose the Shaman (Cleric) or Wizard classes.
Magic: Each Cultist must take a Patron, and all Patrons use you as a tool for corruption. (Without a Patron, you are not a Cultist, you're a regular, possibly deluded or desperate, human) Chaotic Cultists use Personality for spellcasting. Neutral Cultists keep using Intelligence for spellcasting.
Infravision: chaotic Cultists can see in the dark up to 60’. Neutral Cultists gain no special vision. There is a price of having an active Patron - having your Patron be distant and unfathomable is a good thing...
Immunities: as humans, Cultists have no special immunities
Vulnerabilities: Cultists all have taboos, dislikes or deficiencies that can make them vulnerable in certain social situations. Examples include a repulsive diet, an overpowering substance addiction, a twisted or unnatural body part, or social taboos such as "refuses to discuss the future", "unexpected clothing taboo" or "must always lie to anyone covering their face". Another one is "aversion to sunlight". This needn't be a physical allergy, it can simply be a psychological phobia. I have an entire list, and force my Cultist players to roll for their taboos randomly.
Heightened Senses: as Elf. Personally, I simply tell the Cultist player he or she has found a secret door. (I guess I don't see the point in un-found secret doors)

Raider: as Halfling, except:
Call yourself Raider, Marauder or Pirate depending on the availability of major rivers or bodies of water.
Hit points: same (d6)
Weapons Training: better (club, crossbow, dagger, dart, flail, handaxe, javelin, longsword, mace, shortbow, short sword, and spear). Raiders are full-length humans with some martial training. Raiders can wear armor, but usually favors speed over protection.
Alignment: Raiders are naturally chaotic, but there exists neutral and even lawful raiders.
Two-weapon Fighting: as Halfling
Skilled:: Raiders may choose any two Thief skills (not just sneak silently and/or hide in shadows) except Backstab. As humans, Raiders are flexible, and one Raider might excel at spycraft while another excels at acrobatic swashbucklery.
Speed: Raiders are full-length humans. In addition, their acrobatic nature and quick reactions grant them a Speed of 40'.
Stealth: as Halfling
Good luck charm: as Halfling, except the Raider gains a bonus equal to his level to his roll (minimum +2) for every 1 point of Luck expended.
Greed: A raider can smell the direction of a strong concentration of gold or gems within 100’.

As you can see, the Raider is upgraded in fairly significant ways: better effect of good luck charm, high speed, and a reasonable version of the Dwarf's gold-seeking ability (I consider the rulebook version, which requires the Judge to know the precise location of every single gold piece in the entire dungeon, to be unplayable). These changes stem from the fact that the class no longer represent possibly the most special people in all of fantasy. As a Halfling, nobody expects you to be a hero or maybe even be able to take care of yourself. As a Raider, the class needs to support at least some expectations of being an "action hero".

Soldier: as Dwarf, except:
Command training: Soldiers are practiced at working in groups as well as giving (and following) orders. All Soldiers have the Command skill. Unlike Intimidate Command does not breed resentment. Unlike Persuasion, Command achieves quick results even when the target is unwilling. As you would expect, this is a Personality-based skill for most people. However, Soldiers may use Strength instead.
Male profession: This world only considers males to be culturally appropriate for soldier training. (Females can still be Soldiers, in the mold of "Mulan - Warrior Princess")
Weapon training: Soldiers are regular humans with no special weapons preferences. Soldiers wear and use whatever armor and weapons they can afford or scavenge.
Alignment: While Soldiers can have any alignment, most have an affinity for structure and hierarchy, and thus are Lawful.
Infravision: Soldiers are regular humans and can't see in the dark.
Speed: Soldiers are full-length humans, with Speed 30'. At least, before taking heavy armor into account.
Underground Skills: Soldiers have no particular skills underground.
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