Of course i was hindered by the fact that I did not exactly know what i was looking for.
My preferences change constantly, this poor blog is testament to my flakiness, I tried everything from super narrative games like Other Worlds (an interesting Hero Quest variant) to crunchy Gurps extravaganza.
One constant among this aimless meandering was the avoidance of anything even remotely D&D and adventures related to the so called "dungeon".
Not my style! The average D&D adventure bored me to tears. My previous experiences, back when AD&D was still in vogue, were of endless monsters to be fought in narrow corridors, stat block after stat block of odd creatures to be killed and looted, all tied together by a flimsy background plot that could be safely ignored.
Why bother, Rogue Like PC games deliver the same experience and are so much more convenient to play!
But then i discovered the OSR movement. As my previous post mentioned soo long ago, I loved the creativity and the pulpy, weird science fantasy feel of those games.
And yet, i still disliked dungeons. Enter Dungeon Crawl Classics! By pure chance i happened to leaf trough it at my local, not so friendly, gaming store. Wow, anyone believing that art does not contribute meaningfully to a set of Rpg rules would be seriously reconsidering his stance at the first page of this gorgeous tome!
I finally began to glimpse the mind space were the fans of ye old dungeon crawl reside as they explore foreboding ruins. My sense of wonder duly sparked anew, I proceded to buy DCC, a set of bizarre Zocchi dice and eventually got my hands on a few adventures.
I was blown away! I absolutely dig the fact that the authors don't require players to be high level to play epic, far reaching adventures. Definitely no zero to hero here!
Next weekend i will try out a 0 level funnel grind-fest and let my group brave the Perils of the Sunken City. First impressions will follow.
PS: Here is the hex map i promised, sans names, feel fee to flatter me by stealing it and customizing to your own tastes.
