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Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dungeon Crawl Classics

4–6 players 2012
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About this Game

You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game. Adventure as 1974 intended, with modern rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you.

Categories

Fantasy Gritty Fantasy

Mechanics

OSR

How to play Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dungeon Crawl Classics is a fast-paced, open-feeling rules set allowing for epic game experiences without unnecessary tethers. It uses modern game-play while paying homage to the origins of role-playing and the fun that it inspired.

Classes

Cleric

Cleric

An adventuring cleric is a militant servant of a god, often part of a larger order of brothers. He wields the weapons of his faith: physical, spiritual, and magical. Physically, he is a skilled fighter when using his god’s chosen weapons. Spiritually, he is a vessel for the expression of his god’s ideals, able to channel holy powers that harm his god’s enemies. Magically, he is able to call upon his god to perform amazing feats.

Dwarf

Dwarf

Dwarves live far beneath the ground and rarely set foot above it. Dark caves and deep cities were once your home, but now you live a wandering life: you are an exiled defender selling your martial might, a curious craftsman trading your talents, or a bitter renegade unwilling to settle for your lot in life. You are an object of suspicion to surface-worlders as well as other dwarves.

Elf

Elf

Elven longevity, combined with their skill with magic, has created many legends about their racial roots. Whether elves really have traffic with demons and gods is for them to know and the other races to discover. Elves can cast spells as wizards do. An elf of the same power level as a human wizard also has many decades of combat experience. As such, elves typically cast their spells just as competently as human wizards and also have martial skills.

Halfling

Halfling

Halflings are un-ambitious country-dwellers who live in well-ordered peace and quiet. Their small stature and modest goals let them escape the notice of most major powers. They keep to them selves and make contact with others only when they are inadvertently drawn into the affairs of “the taller races,” as they call elves, dwarves, and humans. Halflings prefer lives of farming, gardening, beer-brewing, and other simple crafts. The few that take up adventuring are usually traders or ne’er-do-wells who have somehow been thrust outside the ordered nature of their normal lives.

Thief

Thief

You are a hulking, skulking thug waiting for your next victim, a dexterous wall-climber cozening treasures from ostensibly impenetrable vaults, a fleet-footed cutpurse outrunning shouting pursuers through a crowded market, or a brooding killer stalking a difficult target.

Warrior

Warrior

You are a mailed knight on a king’s errand, a greedy brigand loyal to no man, a wild bear-skinned wanderer with an empty stomach, or a stout man-at-arms armored by a merchant’s gold. Of all the classes, warriors have the best attack bonus, the highest hit points, and the most potential for extra attack actions.

Wizard

Wizard

Wizards control magic. At least, they attempt to. Mortal magic is unpredictable and wild but powerful. Unlike clerics whose faithful service is rewarded with divine powers, wizards wield magic through mastery and dominance of forces in which they are not always voluntary participants. Wizards are sometimes trained in combat, but are rarely a match for warriors or clerics in a clash of worldly weapons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be good at math to play Dungeon Crawl Classics?
While Lancer may involve some level of basic math, like if you are totaling up dice rolls, you don’t need to be a mathematician to enjoy the game. The system will provide tables and simple tools to make the math as simple as possible, and if you are playing online, the Virtual Table Top you use may even handle all the math for you!
Do I need to know all the rules before I can play Dungeon Crawl Classics?
Knowing every rule of the game may be helpful to some, but many players will learn the game as they play! If you want to read the rules ahead of time you absolutely can, but if you are a hands-on learner you can also just start playing, and if there is something you don’t understand never be afraid to ask questions, because everyone starts somewhere!
What if I'm not comfortable with certain themes or content in Dungeon Crawl Classics?
Games like Dungeon Crawl Classics can cover an impressive range of topics and styles, including violence, horror, romance, and many many more! However, if there are specific themes or content that you’re uncomfortable with, let your group and GM know before the game, and have an open conversation about these topics. Any group worth playing with should be respectful and understanding of your concerns and the game can be adjusted so everyone is having fun. Many tables also use “Safety Tools” which help ensure that these conversations are handled easily, and everyone has a voice at the table.
What supplies do I need to play Dungeon Crawl Classics?
Obviously this will vary from table to table, but here are some good places to start! If your game is played in person, most likely you will want to get a set of dice, something to write with, and paper to take notes. If your game is hosted online instead, you will probably need to make accounts on a few sites for things like character sheets, access to the Virtual Tabletop for maps and tokens, and sites like Discord or Zoom for video/voice calls during the session. You won't always need to have the rulebooks to start, but if you want to read through them to make sure you know all the rules, this might also be a good option.

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