Death Guaranteed Games bring you a zero-level funnel adventure for Dungeon Crawl Classics! A great introductory module for new players to DCC, but easily adapted to campaign play after the death of a beloved character. After all, it starts at a funeral.
So, our introductory funnel starts at a funeral. The players soon realize that something is amiss and are thrown into a series of encounters that slowly reveal the clues until the mystery is resolved and all that remain can go back to their lives. Or launch into a career as adventurers, looking for the next mystery or thrill or treasure.
We don't want to give any spoilers in case your players also see this, but suffice it to say that they will have an otherworldly experience and confront their own mortality.
(This has been run in varying spans of time, but it could easily fit into the typical four-hour timeslot for a convention or it could be extended to run over a few sessions of campaign play.)
When Charles Royston (Judge Cro) was 12 in 1983, he got the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's guide for the world's most played RPG. Since he and his brothers had no television in the house (that's a funny story for another time), they rolled up 3 six-sided dice in a row and took what came. Charles would sketch a horribly simple dungeon on graph paper and lead his brothers through. Obviously, this story is not unique. Many young players got their start in tabletop roleplaying games in a similar fashion.
Then Charles grew up and had a family. First child had no interest but tolerated one large chaotic session at a family reunion. The second child started off interested, but then found music and dating and it was all over. The youngest took to it fervently. Many nights, it was just a game of two people co-authoring a story and seldom even consulting the polyhedral oracles. Then it was hand-drawn map-making. Many times, one or the other would say, "you know what would be cool?" until one day, one particular idea really stuck out. And it happened to be at the time that Dungeon Crawl Classics was the favorite game in the house. The simple idea was that a fake cult ended up really upsetting the deity that they were pretending to worship. Dad starting writing and the daughter helped develop it every step of the way. After having a blast playtesting it a dozen times, it became clear that this adventure should be shared.
So, when it came to the illustrations, Charles (running RoadCrew games for DCC as Judge Cro) found another dad-daughter duo. The cover art, the map, as well as most other main story pieces were drawn by Amara Garner who was also 14 at time she was approached for this project. Then, her dad, Josh did the inking.
At first, it was slow going. Let's be honest; it was slow going the whole time but, there was a catalyzing moment when Judge Cro drove over to the Garner house and ran this adventure for the whole family. It was clear that Amara got invested. She had already drawn the cover, simply from the description in the text. But now, she felt a sense of ownership. She even included the family nightmare canine in the corner of the map. The last few art pieces are still not submitted at the time of this writing, but they are imminent.
Starting at a funeral, ending at a funeral. Seems morbid. Death is Guaranteed to us all. The focus of Death Guaranteed Games is actually on the freedom one gains from embracing the inevitability of death. Often, game play is more fun that way. This is one of our favorite parts of Dungeon Crawl Classics and the funnel session. Playing multiple characters, not knowing which, if any, will survive gives the game a bit of the old flavor when tabletop roleplaying games were new. We didn't survive every campaign then and we just rolled up new characters and carried on. We embraced the chaos!
We are a trio of lifelong RPG enthusiasts who all love DCC and the tabletop experience. We play in person at our FLGS (friendly local gaming store) and at local conventions. We do use online games to fill in the gaps, but our preference is for the shouts of excitement when the whole table sees the result of a risky roll. For triumph or epic death, we cheer just as loudly.
As publishers, we each bring unique skills to the table. Although one works in brain surgery, one as a professor, and one as a data analyst, we converge in the creative process. Not one of our projects is a solo effort. We all invent, write, playtest, edit, commission art, and edit some more. In fact, our next project, The Great Pyramid of Atum-Isfet is being playtested and edited as this campaign goes live. We have big plans to bring exciting new experiences to the DCC community.
(Picture features four men sitting around a table)
We will work quickly once the campaign ends, while we await the funds to be sent (minus Backerkit's fees). Writing is 100% done, Editing is 85% done, and Layout has begun. We are printing, packing, shipping all ourselves. We are committed that order fulfillment meet or exceed expectations. We will send updates as we progress so you will know what to expect.
Once the campaign closes, we enter the pledge manager phase. The PDFs will go out as soon as the funds are transferred. Then we collect and confirm addresses for orders of physical copies so shipping can be calculated*. We offer a last chance for add-ons. And then we close, sent our print order, and prepare to ship.
Please reach out at [email protected] or through the Backerkit messaging with any questions or concerns! ~Judge CRO
*Shipping fees will be collected post-campaign in the Pledge Manager
Death Guaranteed Games is collaborating with Menagerie Press!
Black Mountain from Menagerie Press features a 2nd level adventure compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. Black Mountain is set in the high-peaked fortress of Margath, home to the black sorcerer and his mysterious cloaked servants. The adventurers must rescue the Oracle from the clutches of The Master.
If you back both Black Mountain and The Cult That Never Was, you'll get something extra from each of us: From Death Guaranteed Games, you'll get a free Papa Legba sticker.
From Menagerie Press, you'll get extra full-page digital color art.
