OD&D + 0-Level Characters

A present to myself arrived on the doorstep today: the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I will probably do a review of it at some point (what I've read so far is awesome), but one aspect that inspired me is the handling of 0-level characters. I like the idea of a dozen or so peasant mates banding together to explore a dungeon: 

*Hiccup!* "Barry, ai heard therz sum treshurez in this here dungin!" 

A few hours/days/weeks later most are dead. Shit, that escalated quickly.

Anyway, my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers mini-campaign is winding down. I'm running a published adventure at the moment, and my Xamboola adventure has been successfully playtested. I'm kind of itching for something different. Earlier this year I ran an OD&D one-shot which turned into The Black Ruins. I'm a huge fan of OD&D. Although I was born over a decade after its release, I adore the ruleset. It's simple, malleable, and includes all the bits of D&D that I like. The other day I drew a map of an imagined city called Styro which is basically...I don't know...it's weird. But the idea of a classless game - or at least a looser definition of class - has been sitting with me recently, and DCC's 0-level characters has got the juices going a bit further. I've been considering running an OD&D hexcrawl/megadungeon game, where characters start off as worthless peons, and through adventure begin to hone their skills further. Each character would begin at 0 level, and...

• I'd probably use my Sandboxing tables to generate a prior profession, or use the DCC tables for ideas.
• Begin with1d3 hit points. 
• Gain a level at the conclusion of the first adventure and choose a class. Classes will be assumed to be fighting-man, cleric, or magic-user (probably human only). Additional class options are my OD&D Thief and Berserker (see my downloads section). Also, players can describe what sort of character they want, and I can create a template from that (I'm working on a Mentalist at the moment).
• Instead of gaining another hit die, 1st level characters would then roll 1d6 for hit points. If the total exceeded their 0-level total, they keep the higher. Otherwise they gain 1 extra hit point. Thus, a 1st level character could have anywhere between 2-6 hit points.

Oh, and I'd get players to roll at least 2-4 characters. I've been mapping out the first level of the Styro underworld too. I'm kind of excited for where this eventuates. More to come. 

The Black Ruins - Print On Demand

I was excited to finally receive my Print On Demand copy of The Black Ruins from Lulu. I am very pleased with how it's turned out. It had a bend across the cover courtesy of the NZ mail service, but lodging it between two heavy books has straightened it somewhat.

(Apologies in advance for the photos, they look a little pixelated.)

The cover has a nice gloss, and retains its original colours.The dungeon map (which I had some concerns about printing initially) has turned out how I intended: swampy and grungy.

Here's a look inside:

A hex page:

It's a very unique experience having in your hand a product you have personally created. Most of you fellow indie designers will be able to relate to this. I'm considering making Adventures In High Wold available for Print On Demand too.

If you feel like picking up a copy head over to Lulu.

The Black Ruins

Today signifies the release of my second adventure: The Black Ruins. It is FREE to download from Lulu or can obtained from my downloads page too. 

I have created a colour print copy which is also available on Lulu for purchase via print-on-demand.

Blackened esoteric obelisks, henceforth known among most folk as ‘The Yore Standing Stones’, dot a strangely unnatural hill. The runes are inscribed with runic scripting, but it is what looms below the forlorn hill that should chill any good serf to the bone.

Maintaining compatibility with any old school fantasy role-playing game or retro-clone, this is an adventure for 4-6 players arrayed around levels 1-3. This work can be made compatible with newer editions with minimal effort.