SOLD OUT...!

 ...of the current printing on my online store, sorry.

If you want a print copy of any issues of Crawl! The last few copies can be found at Official Goodman Games booths at your local convention or over at the official Goodman Games Online Store here: 

https://goodman-games.com/store/product-category/crawl-zine/

New reprints/editions coming soon! 

PDF editions will still be available at the usual sites.

If you noticed that the digital edition of no.1 had some minor updates last year, that should give you a taste of the updates for them all. There will be some new content in many issues (especially the early ones) but unfortunately it will be raising prices to cover overall increased costs. BUT each issue will still be only FIVE BUCKS ($5!!!) because it's important for this zine to be accessible/affordable. 

Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe, or something. 

Rev. Dak

$

Introducing DCC AFTER DARK at Gamex 2024

At this year's GAMEX, May 24-27, 2024, DCC judges from across SoCal will be coordinating a couple nights of weird and wacky adventures across the DCC Multiverse. 

DCC After Dark will feature the weirder and wackier side of the DCC RPG rules, and showcase its diversity and flexibility. 

We'll be running multiple tables at the same time slot: 8PM, Friday and Saturday. All games will newbie friendly, in the same room, and there is the possibility of table hopping (purely optional, no pressure).

Anyone (with valid badges) can check it out, and possibly jump in at any time. Judges discretion and seating limits apply, so registering is still recommended to reserve your seat. But we'll try not turn anyone away.

I'll be running the following sessions: 

FRIDAY 8PM

System: DCC RPG, Dungeon Crawl Classics

Scenario: DCC AFTER DARK: Against the Cult of the Hippie Commune (event)

Description: Play humble townsfolk in 1960’s rural America attempting to rescue innocent teenagers from the clutches of a sinister hippie cult. Dirty bikers, dark rituals, and strange weed smoke await those brave enough to confront the mysterious Jackie Starr and his minions. An American! Cult! Classic! Part of DCC After Dark, late night sessions of adventures across the DCC Multiverse. Table hopping may occur. Newbie friendly.

SATURDAY 8PM

System: DCC RPG, Dungeon Crawl Classics

Scenario: DCC AFTER DARK: The Tower Beneath the Cerulean Eclipse!

Description: When the last sliver of moon slip, a tower appears. Those caught within its circular walls are swept away to a dust filled dungeon of rooms and chambers crawling with monsters. But you're here for it and you came prepared, because your heard there is treasure. A Dungeon! Crawl! soon to be Classic! Part of DCC After Dark, wacky adventures across the DCC Multiverse. Table hopping may occur. Newbie Friendly.

Early Registration has begun. Go sign up!

Introducing Deathmatch! Deck no.1

A premium accessory for Crawl! no.13: Deathmatch!

Crawl! Deathmatch! 72-card core deck for use with Crawl! no.13: Deathmatch! is NOW AVAILABLE in PRINT & PLAY.

For a limited time, you can purchase the PRINT & PLAY edition of this deck for HALF OFF! Not only that, you will have an option to get the PRINTED DECK at COST (approximately $13 USD + shipping, varies) through DriveThruCards. 

The regular price of the printed deck will be $33 (or $20 for the digital print-yourself edition). Through this special sale, you'll be able to get the PRINT & PLAY edition now and save $10, that'd be 50%-off! Or a total of 33%-off the printed deck when it becomes available. 

This set also includes a VIRTUAL DECK of all the cards, in PNG format, that can easily plug into your favorite Virtual Table Top. 

FREE DEMO: Full color versions of the MINDLESS STATE cards are now available to download and print now, for free. See the Download Demo section on the main page to check out some sample cards that you can use with your Deathmatch game now!

Crawl! Deathmatch! Deck no. 1: Coming Soon!

A spread from the Deathmatch! deck.

The printed deck and Print & Play version coming soon. Stay tuned!

Crawl! Deathmatch! (Intro) by Loot the Body : (and other updates)

Crawl! no.13: Deathmatch! has an official soundtrack!

Loot the Body has created a track for the latest issue of Crawl! Eyeball emoji!

I asked for, "...a 10-minute ambient loop that starts with heavy doom industrial metal riffs, then bleeds into tense, creepy, and chilling ambient droning?" (Yes, just like the Quake Intro by Nine Inch Nails.) 

A few days later, I got this:

How to use: In the deathmatch realm this track is exactly 10-minutes long, actual local time may vary due to time dilation and space fluctuations. Use this track when on a run, or as a timer --- get hyped the first two minutes, and then focus and zone for the final eight. When used during a DEATHMATCH! put the track on loop, and when the metal riffs begin again, bump everyone's Mindless State UP ONE towards Hate! and let the carnage commence.

In other news:

I've been working on the Deathmatch! cards again. I have a 72-card deck designed. It contains a full load of weapon cards (enough for 6 PCs), various cards to represent minor power-ups and each of the major artifacts (pentagram, biosuit, etc.). In addition, the deck includes random traps and hazards (as described in no.13). This effectively makes a deck of random traps, hazards, and magic items to stock any dungeon map. I go into more details over here. They're very cool (i think). Here's a teaser of the new, updated, design: 

I have a lot of other news and updates, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

Be seeing you,

dak

Backwards Friday Creator Day 2023! Save -100% This FRIDAY

Friday Nov 24th 2023

I'm broke, need to pay bills, and to be straight up honest...

I'm not the biggest fan of Black Friday. I personally can't take advantage of the "fun" sales. In fact I usually boycott Black Friday, and support a little counter event called Buy Nothing Day. Here's a fun video. It has little to do with Buy Nothing Day, but still a good song. 

So this year, over at Itch*, I'm gonna do the opposite and hold a reverse sale. Let's mark up all the prices by 100%! Save negative 100% and pay double instead! 

One day only. FRIDAY NOV 24th, 2023! 

https://straycouches.itch.io/

It's also Creators Day at Itch, so Itch doesn't take a cut of any sales. Which is really cool of them. 

Especially on Black Friday. 

Crazy. 

Support small press, developers, and other creators. 

Hugs and Kicks,

Rev. Dak

ps. I also set up a GOAL of $2023. Do you think you can help do it? I also realize I need to pay for car registration, insurance, an oil change, and smog by the end of the month. Ugh.

*I really like Itch. The RPG community over there is pretty cool, and the site works well, and if you don't have my zines over there, this is your chance to change that and support a weirdo like me. 

The Making of Crawl! no.13: Part 3.

 

Display Purposes Only

My continued deep dive in the making of Crawl! no.13: Deathmatch!

I took a good look at my 2nd and 3rd drafts and the stuff I really like was how I was going to do maps. I say "was", because I've changed my mind a tiny bit. I was going to lay heavily into using just point-crawl style maps, with rooms and corridors. If you're not familiar with the mapping style, it is a simple map style found in Mothership RPG and other new-"old school" games and adventures. It's an easy way to do dungeons. It works really well with "Theater of Mind" style playing because the rooms don't have to be completely detailed or even drawn. The problem with that is some people still want maps, and I recognize that. So I decided to make traditional maps, and that's a complication in itself. I still haven't decide the exact look of these maps so this is one of the main reasons Crawl! no. 13 got stalled. But a point crawl design helped me get to playtesting faster. I created tools (tables really) to quickly make deathmatch rooms and corridors, and the first map was designed using these tools. Each room had basic features that matched the "theme" of each room, and each corridor was also random. I really like these tools, I'm keeping them and they'll be found in the issue. Here's a sample of the "first" map:

CRAWLDM1 - The Gateway 

A supernatural dungeon with dung colored walls speckled with bits of jade and obsidian. An alien or arcane motif is etched into each brick. A black void fills the cracks in the ceiling and through what could be arrow slits and anywhere there should be a sky. Shallow cracks glow with an amber light. Faint voices scream in your head. 

Preparation: These areas can be static, or randomly determined as they are discovered.

Predetermine or randomly place point 2, 3, and 4. 

Predetermine or randomly assign teleport pads P1, P2, and P3 to Connections C1.2, C1.3, and C1.4.

Create or roll 3 random corridors, designate them as connections C2, C3, and C4. 
Predetermine or randomly identify point 5’s hidden entrance. 

Suggested Winning Conditions: This introductory map is perfect for a Zero Royale or Free For All with 3 to 4 players.

POINTS

Area 1 - The Gates: Hexagonal, 60’ across 

Feels deep underground. Are those voices in your head?

Cake, slice 3 each
P1: Teleport Pad 25’ from one wall.
C1.1: Archway
C1.2: Archway
C1.3: Archway

Area 2 - Grand Hall: Rectangular, 60’ wide, 100’ long.
Cracked windows to a stormy pink sky.

Cake, slice 4, 1 each corner
Throne at one end.
Random weapon [   ]

Shield, yellow +2 behind throne

P2: Teleport pad at opposite end.
Fountain in the middle---Water

[Possible Secret Exit (see point 5)]

C [    ] to 3

C [    ] to 4 

I have a small, 6 room arena completely designed like this, and started a 2nd one. It worked great, and it was the testbed for the playtesting. But somewhere along the way I decided to expand on the maps a bit further, which you'll see in the final product. I had a change on how I wanted to do each of the rooms, and that's basically the biggest change across the whole project, and the meat of the 4th draft. 

If you paid attention to the TOC from part 2, You'll notice I had a section for Hazard and Artifacts. These sections were also complete, and done in the same bullet point style that the maps were done. I have already teased the artifacts with my lone post from 2022: MÆTA: A Postmodern Patron. Go check it out. But here's a sample of the hazards:

HAZARDS

Hazard Damage Death

1. Lava 2xCL per round “PC” turned into hot slag
2. Slime 1xCL per round "PC" gulped a load of slime
3. Void Instant death "PC" is lost in the void
4. Water DC 10 Fort or 1 Stamina per round after 6 (modified by Stamina) rounds. "PC" sleeps with the fishes

TRAPS

Trap DC Damage Death

1. Nail Trap DC 10+ 1d6 Nails; 1d8 each "PC" was spiked.

2. Laser Trap DC 12+ 1d4 Lasers; 2d6 each "PC" was spiked.

3. Lavaball DC 10 Ref 4d4 “PC” ate a lavaball

4. Spike Varies 1d100 "PC" was squished

5. Moving Wall Varies 2d100 “PC” was squished

These are from the 2nd draft. You get the idea. Right? There are more bits, done in the same way, but that's when Crawl! 13 was going to be more of a toolkit than an adventure. You get a good idea of where no.13 was at by the "mostly done" 2nd Draft.

This leaves us with the 3rd and "final" draft. Next time!

Crawl! to the Future!

Look, there's light.

Hi again. 

It's me, dak. But you can call me The Reverend Judge Dak J. Ultimak.

Reading those old drafts worked to get me motivated and get some writing done for the next issue. The next post will be Part 3 of the "making of", and will focus on the maps. And it happens to be where I'm at on the current drafts. It's all part of the process. So that's what I've been doing the last couple days. Also playing video games, technically trying to finish Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, I wasn't able to, so forget that. Let's talk about the future of Crawl! Your favorite RPG zine. 

Crawl! no. 13 is the Deathmatch issue which I'm currently working on (again) and I go into more details on the series of "Making of" posts. 

Crawl! no. 14 is the Downtime issue. I actually finished the first draft of this, and I rumored that it might come out before 13. Most of it is done, but it still needs some work. and the playtests were positive, but I'm back to focusing on Deathmatch right now. There is possible of room for submissions, so if you have an idea, let's talk. I'll link or share my email, or you can find it all over this site.

Crawl! no. 15 is possibly called Ordem Obscurum. It's on secretive societies, such as thieves guilds and militant orders. Stupid simple idea, I hope you like it. A lot of it is done, the core concepts are there, it will need some fleshing out and some examples. I might share the rules early, and have an open call for submissions. 

Crawl! no. 16 is possibly called Nemesis! I have an idea for bosses and rivals. This might not work at all. I'm not there yet. These are mostly notes. I have an idea for reaction rolls, but this might make it into the no. 15, we'll see.

Crawl! no. 17 is going to be called Dungeon! this might bleed into Crawl! no. 18. It's big and ambitious, and I might be breaking rules with this one. Most of it has been "compiled", I just need to work on some details. Expect a ton of public playtesting for this. I've threatened this one for a while if anyone has been paying attention. I think it's a great idea.

That's my plate for DCC, let's see how big these spoons are, and how many I have left. 

AMA rev _tod_ dak _ta_ straycouches _tod_ com

MÆTA: A Postmodern Patron for DCC RPG

MÆTA

Mæta is meta, Mæta is a force. 

Some know Mæta as OPERATOR, USER, a sometimes enumerated PLAYER, or as the old technicians and engineers used to say, the ERROR “between the seat and the keyboard”. For most, Mæta is fate, predestination, and the natural order. For some, Mæta is God. Regardless of what they believe, without Mæta they would not exist—for Mæta created them, whether through RANDOM generation, or selected by hand or whim. 

Mæta is a metaphor. Mæta is you.

Well, not really you. But a fabricated, fill-in-the-blanks, representative of a gamified version of you. A character you control can call upon Mæta to provide aid in the form of a spiritual weapon, magical protection, or the power of an artifact. Any specific effects or details will vary, fill in the blanks to suit your personal taste or element of  your favorite game. 

The caster may spellburn 1 ability point to take an effect lower than the spell check result.

Invote Patron

12-13 Boomstick! Mæta bestows them with a short staff or rod made of meticulously carved wood and twisted metal. The metal ends with a round opening, and when pointed at a target, sends forth a blast of [_______]. 

Boomstick: +2 missile weapon, Damage 2d10 (special crit), Range 50/75/–, lasts for 2d5 uses or 1 turn. *Critical hits with this weapon do 2d10 per CL in damage, in addition to any applicable crit tables. 

14-17 Pellets of Pain Relief! A small cup appears, within the cup are 2 [________] pellets. Consuming each pellet heals 1 HD of damage. Take 2 and call Mæta in the morning. 

18-19 Helm of Hardiness. A helmet decorated with [________] appears from thin air. Donning the helmet grants them +2 AC. The helmet will also protect the wearer from 1 critical hit, but the helmet will be destroyed and rendered unusable.

20-23 Fire Thrower: Mæta gifts the caller an intricate staff that’s topped with a smoking alabastra that’s decorated with a flaming [________]. This staff can launch a ball of fire up to 60’, which explodes and affects everything within 10’ of it. 

Fire Thrower: +3 missile weapon, 3d6* fire damage to a single target, all within 10’ target takes 1d6 fire damage, lasts for 2d5 uses or 1 turn. 

24-27 A Drink of [________]: A bottle filled with your favorite liquid appears. Consuming it will heal HD equal to their character level. (A level 1 character will heal 1 HD, while a level 3 character will heal 3 HD). 

28-29 The Shield of [________]: A glowing magical shield appears. It can bond with an existing shield, or take on its own form. It provides a bonus +5 to AC. It can absorb all the damage of a single successful attack or damage source, but each attack that is absorbed reduces the AC bonus by 1. When the final AC bonus is used or after 1 turn, the shield disappears. 

30-31 Lightning [________]: Mæta grants the subject access to raw contained lighting. The PC may release this energy across an area 10’ wide and 60’ long. All within this area must take 6d6 lightning damage or make a DC 20 Reflex save for half. The weapon lasts for 2d5 uses or 1 turn.

32+ Artifact of Power: Mæta rewards their best with an artifact of power. This artifact can take one of 4 forms, roll 1d4: (1) The [________] of Vengeance (x4 damage bonus to all attacks); (2) The [________] of Vitality (current and max hit points temporarily increases to 2x normal); (3) The [________] of Resistance (gain resistance to fire, cold, drowning, lighting, and other elements); (4) The [________] of Shadows (gain +10 bonus to hiding and from being seen). These artifacts last for 2d5 rounds, then disappear. If the current possessor of an artifact dies, the object will remain. Another PC may continue using it until it disappears.  

USING PROTOCOL 666

 

currently playtesting

Crawl! Deathmatch

• Forward

• Intro to Crawl! Deathmatch

• Prepare To Fight

• ...

Sample Legendary Anti-Magic Talismans

[Crawl! #3 was packed! I had to omit a few things, including a few more samples of Anti-Magic Talismans. So I present here more sample Talismans by Jon Wilson. A printable PDF will be available once the art is done!-- Reverend Dak]

Art by Lauren Simpson,  lrsimpson_gmail

Web Supplement for Crawl! No.3

Sample Legendary Anti-Magic Talismans by Jon Wilson


The Periapt of Lurr (d20 maximum)
A mighty enchantress was Lurr. None within her illusory realm could challenge her and win in a test of sorcery, not the least owing to this large, precious stone. Last known wielder: A man of two minds but of a single, superior body, who walks between worlds.

The Bleached Sudarium of Hallak Sketh (d16 maximum)
Sometimes a powerful anti-magic Talisman can be fashioned from the personal item of a supremely powerful mage. Such is the case with this Sudarium. Wearing the Sudarium around the neck and throwing one end over the shoulder is sufficient to charge it for use, making it effective when subtlety is called for. Last known wielder: A notably wealthy man in a city noted for its wealth; his personal fortune trumps all others.

The Lens of Sa-Thim (d14 maximum)
This Talisman is the bane of Chaos. When wielded against a foe of Chaotic alignment the debt it demands is two die-types lower than the die directed at the foe. Last known wielder: A vampyr hunter swinging a mighty, reforged hammer.

The Madstone of Van den Danderclanden (d12 maximum)
This keratinous concretion, the size of a child's fist, works as a standard Anti-Magic Talisman, but the wielder (and linked spellcaster, if they are separate people) must make a Fort Save vs. DC 15 or be launched 1d4 rounds into the future each time the Talisman is activated. Last known wielder: Van den Danderclanden.

Teaser

Guess what? The official release date is one week away! That means in just over a week everyone will have their delicate fingers smashed by the puppy killer that is the DCC RPG Core Book. This also means I'll be able to ship the pre-orders of Crawl! fanzine no.1! I have surprise for all pre-orders, but I don't want to say what it is. It was inspired by a little joke that I took as a challenge, and you saw what happened the last time I felt challenged. I step it up. So here's a hint: 

5868

The next couple days are going to be spent folding, stapling, enveloping, labeling and stamping. Then I go on a quick trip to the desert for the weekend, then Monday will be a trip to the post office. So expect your copy of the zine sometime in the next week or two! 

AN OSR ZINE MEME

This guy started it: http://fightingfantasist.blogspot.com/2012/04/your-blog-is-your-eighties-fanzine.html. I decided to take on the challenge and not just stop at a cover, but make a full on zine using the last several posts from my D&D Blog (which is found here: http://dakdm.straycouches.com. All articles appeared there first.)

Some of the posts were plugs for Crawl!, so I thought I'd get clever and make them ads. I also took a plug for the DCC RPG PDF and made that an ad too. It took me few hours, most of it spent formatting text and re-doing some art so it matches a style that I like. I highly recommend comparing the original posts with the ones found in the zine. No way was I perfect, but the analog version was fun to figure out. As a special bonus, it features new art from Crawl! fanzine and an early version of an article that will be appearing in Crawl! No.2! Best of all, I'm making this available free as a PDF, in both a readable and printable format. I might also release it as an epub ebook, we'll see. 

Any way, I present to you REV. DAK D.M., zine no. 8: 

PDF for reading This will take you to the box.com site where you read it online or download. (I took down the embed, it was slowing down the site.

PDF for printing The "for printing" version is formatted (impossed) for double-sided (duplex) printing on Letter sized paper (A4 should work fine, too.) Just print double-sided, fold & staple!

If someone wants me to send them a printed version, I can do that! Dwolla, Paypal or Google Wallet $2 ($3 if you're in Canada, and $3.50 overseas) to rev.dak@straycouches.com or just email me. Make sure you let me know what you're buying (DAK, D.M. No.8). Keep in mind that this won't be the highest quality paper (Crawl! will be printed on premium paper.) This will be cheap, but cool. Also note that there aren't any back issues. Issues 1 through 7 don't exist!