A DCC mini-campaign using only published modules written by Joseph Goodman himself! (Well, except for Level 3, where we get froggy)
This article is the sixth in my series putting together a zero-to-zero campaign using published Goodman Games modules. If you haven’t yet, check out the introduction to the series to get context, tips and to 4 other Adventure Paths! You can also check out the introduction to this second series for even more tips and another two Adventure Paths!
This adventure path takes place out in the wilds — far from big cities and decadent civilization. Out in places that people forgot about. It begins with a once-in-a-lifetime-event, and ends with a once-in-thirteen-lifetimes event!
Advantages to this Adventure Path:
- These modules are fairly even in tone.
- These modules have all been around for a long time, and played by thousands of people, so there are plenty of online resources to help you.
Disadvantages to this Adventure Path:
- I find these modules fairly unevenly paced, and they take a lot of reading and prep to run well.
- These modules were all written fairly early in the life of DCC, so many of them call for checks and have rewards that don’t really fit with current modules and understandings of the rules.
- People of the Pit benefits from being run online, as there are so many disconnected maps that span such a huge area.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for all the modules discussed.
In general, I linked to the paper + PDF version of these modules, but I typically only buy the PDF and VTT assets these days. That way I can print out the module and write all over it without worry.
We start, of course with a Funnel. Handily enough, the one that comes with the rulebook…
Level 0: The Portal Under The Stars
The adventure that started it all, the the one that most folks end up playing first.
This one remains a classic mainly because of it’s “you can’t fight your way out of the final encounter” setup, and pure atmosphere.
The art I used here is from the nice re-useable battlemaps from Black Scrolls Games.
You can also get the official Virtual Tabletop Map and Tokens.
Don’t forget to seed The People of the Pit before you run Portal. Maybe the small village that the PCs are from has seen strange monks wandering around lately. Perhaps there are some odd bits of tentacle near the entrance to the Portal. Strange nocturnal moaning that echos from the hills. People leaving in the night and not coming back.
Since this is the beginning of a campaign, it pays to set up the village that the PCs are from. A small village on the edge of the mountains. Far from major trade routes, but perhaps once had valuable mines that are starting to dry up. You can use the map from Doom of the Savage Kings as the map of the town. Relatively safe, and full of young people with too much time on their hands…
Level 1: The People of the Pit
This module has a lot of amazing concepts that take a well-prepared Judge to execute.
The “tentacle elevator” is a great idea, and can let brave PCs skip the majority of the module. Which is cool, but also means you end up wasting a bunch of time prepping whole levels that never get visited.
After running this a few times, I tend to find my favorite parts, and remove all the stuff that doesn’t play well (like the ‘sleep and teleport pods’ — no one has ever been d̶u̶m̶b̶ bold enough to try them). I suggest editing it pretty heavily before you run it. Find what appeals to you, and seal off access to the rest.
As I mentioned above, there are a large number of disconnected maps in this adventure, which makes prepping paper maps quite annoying. I like the VTT maps, and with some clever linking in Foundry, you can jump around between all the maps quite easily.
This adventure can be fairly long, or fairly short, depending on how much of the module you use, and if you use the extra Daniel Bishop material.
If you lean into the concept of this module — ‘too many cultists’—you can really strike fear into your players. Plus you get to role-play a giant avatar of Bobugbubilz!
Coming from Portal Under the Stars: Back when running Portal, plant seeds as described above. Emboldened with their success in the Portal, they decide to see if they can find the source of the monks, the moaning, and the disappearances.
Level 2: The Emerald Enchanter
I used this module in the 2nd Level slot in the OG Adventure Path, so if you are planning to run both with the same group, you might want to use The Curse of the Kingspire on the OG path instead of this one.
Lots of great imagery and encounters in this one, but the map is fairly sprawling and has lots of little features that take some time to set up ahead of time. Don’t rush drawing out this map, give yourself some time. You’ll also need some fairly small slips of card stock to cover the narrow secret passages.
Coming from People of the Pit: After the PCs defeat the cultists and return to their small village, they are contacted by folks from a village on the other side of the mountains that are also having people disappear. They are desperate for help from the experts that successfully dealt with things like this. Perhaps some of the cultists from the pit escaped, or perhaps the disappearances have something to do with the strange green castle that recently appeared on a nearby hilltop…
More Level 2 Adventure: You can of course play the Emerald Enchanter Strikes Back (which is included in the latest version of this module). It’s not by JG, but if you want more Level 2 play, why not?
Exiting this adventure, the PCs may have quite a bit of treasure and nowhere to spend it. Rumor has it that Duke Magnussen’s realm (detailed in The 13th Skull) has fine craftspeople that can make superior armor and weapons, and may also pay handsomely for fine art and odd trinkets. They also may not ask too many questions about where all these oddly green items came from…and love emeralds. Get them started on the way to Duke Magnussen’s realm, they can encounter the next adventure along the way…
Level 3: The Croaking Fane
Well, we have hit a bit of a snag, in that there is no published Level 3 module written by Joseph Goodman.
Never fear! We are going to pull in The Croaking Fane from author Michael Curtis. This adventure is on Adventure Path #2, as well. If you are planning on running both, then you may want to pull in Death Among the Pines from the Shudder Mountains setting instead. It doesn’t take much to file off the Shudder Mountains trappings and make a more generic backwoods adventure. If you are planning on running a Shudder Mountains campaign with this group as well, you can perhaps use Through the Dragonwall, but I don’t think it fits the tone as well.
I like The Croaking Fane here because it continues the cultist theme from The People of the Pit, as well as linking back to the avatar of Bobugbubilz from that adventure.
Coming from The Emerald Enchanter: I like the idea of having that giant toad avatar of Bobugbubilz from The People of the Pit reappear to the group, asking them to assist his master with a task, with the reward of a dozen vials of healing toad-juice. The task being preventing the cultists in this temple of Schaphigroadaz achieving their apotheosis.
Another option is to link this cult to the cult from The People of the Pit, or have one of the demons from The Emerald Enchanter give them a map to the temple. (Or have it be found in the library).
Geographically, you can insert this anywhere along their mountainous journey to Duke Magnussen’s realm.
Finally, we are on to our ultimate adventure, dealing with an ancient demon pact…
Level 4: The 13th Skull
This will be the capstone of this Adventure Path, hopefully ending with Duke Magnussen granting each of the PCs a demesne in thanks for saving his daughter from being claimed by a demon for his ancestor’s misdeeds.
The imagery of this one is quite fun, but the initial encounter has some serious issues with player agency (inescapable box text). If you let PCs act when the pterodactyl arrives in the intro, they have a significant chance to end the adventure before it really begins. Especially if they are experienced with Spellburn and Luck spending. Personally, I usually have the initial encounter happen just a couple hours before the PCs arrive, and have the events of the intro recounted by many breathless villagers.
Intro issues aside, this one really tends to generate a lot of great memories. It is worth a bit of tweaking to bring it to your table. I find that the map and the text don’t exactly line up, so spend some time drawing out the map and connecting it in your mind with where things are.
Also, be prepared to negotiate — I had one player convince a water elemental from one plane to fight the demon on the other plane. Fun stuff!
Coming from The Croaking Fane: I like the idea that one of the demons or un-dead advisors of The Emerald Enchanter knows of the 13th Skull, and the original Duke Magnussen’s pact. Perhaps they gives the party clues about how to deal with it, or give them an item they can use to save the Duke’s daughter from the barbed devil. Perhaps something that stuns devils (but not demons) for 1d6 rounds…
Conclusion
I hope you get a chance to run this mini-campaign! Even though these adventures are a little rough in terms of how they compare to the current crop of DCC modules, they all have amazing imagery, and with some finesse, can create an incredibly memorable mini-campaign with a satisfying ending.
Cheers!
Tim
Check out Adventure Path #7: The Horror for more ideas!
