I really enjoyed playing in it, at some point I would like for my other 0 level character to maybe come back to the keep to see if he can discover what befell the group.

The Temple of Chaos (cont.) As if all those beastmen and cultists weren't enough, you also had to face the partially resurrected Chaos Lord, Molan. He was in a weakened state but still very dangerous to a zero-level group, and for a bit there, I thought it would be too much. But your ground stood against the odds, and gods damn it, you earned those character classes and that first level. What an epic battle. Seriously. That was a heroic stand as only a group of underdogs can make. If you ever want something to do while you're waiting for a game to update, go back and read it. The Death of Alphonse And then Alphonse went for the fallen Molan's gear. As soon as he did, I knew what the dice results would be. The irony was just too painful. I rolled and hoped for a better result, but it was not to be, and the tragic story of Tabitha's origin was written. Not as Lethal as it Could Have Been Molan and his minions dropped several members of your group during the final battle, but DCC allows that "checking the body" roll, and you guys rolled well. You had more characters than players at the end, which allowed you to select which ones you wanted to carry on with. Not too bad for a funnel! The Collapse of the Temple and the Phlogiston The collapse of the temple made for an exciting escape scene. The way you guys tried to take Alphie's body with you by tossing it over the edge of the Ziggurat's tiers was a little macabre, but luckily, it didn't last too long. It was actually possible to have another TPK if you dallied during the collapse of the temple, but you guys stayed focused and got the heck out of Dodge before the ceiling caved in. The game offered up a lot of treasure in this scene, which was, of course, a trap. You did a good job grabbing the most important loot and not wasting too much time. It is written into the module that the Dragon Ship gets swept away to the far end of the Starless Sea, away from the entrance. It is left for the GM to decide what happens from there, but I knew from the beginning I'd be sending you far away from home if you survived to see the end of the funnel. Your new lives as adventurers were about to begin! And so off you went, falling through light and sound in a trippy, Doctor Strange, 70's-occult-comic inspired scene. And that was it! You completed your funnel, earned your classes and new abilities, and the fun continued in Doom of the Savage Kings. The GM's Review I really enjoyed Sailors on the Starless Sea. The module itself was a fantastic dungeon crawl. The location had a story to tell and multiple mysteries to unravel. The boss battle was beyond epic, and there were terrifying monsters and wonderous locations alike. I can see why this adventure is so well respected. I thought all of you did a great job role-playing your characters, and I thought the characters you selected as your PCs at the end made for a really interesting group. In DCC, the funnel is basically the method of character creation, and I have to say that was the most exciting character creation method I've ever been part of. I hope everyone enjoyed playing in the game as much as I enjoyed running it for you guys.

Sorry guys, just realized I never finished the Behind the Screen section for this game Part Three of this adventure started at the shores of the Starless Sea and continued to the Temple of Chaos. I loved the visual of the Starless Sea. I love great locations in general, and finding an entire underground sea in a dungeon definitely qualifies in my book. The menhir and the Dragon Ship were great additions to it, and your group did a good job solving the puzzles involved based on the clues found earlier in the dungeon. And Molly went beserk and tried to kill everyone. That was fun. But the big find on the shore was the group of prisoners, which included our dear Alphie. This was, of course, an add on my part, based on 's excellent role-playing. While the module does specify that groups of prisoners can be found throughout the dungeon (they were meant as replacement characters) there was no Alphie NPC in the game until Malkavian created him via RP. Since Malkavian had already lost a PC in the game, Alphie joined your ranks. The Leviathan This was a high-stakes puzzle. The Leviathan was a potential TPK and there were a bunch of ways a less cautious group could have fallen into that trap. Attacking the Leviathan was the easiest one. There was a slim (very, very slim) chance that you could have defeated it in combat, but who are we kidding? You all would have died. Attempting to swim the rest of the way to the island was also likely to get you all killed, although its possible a few of you might have escaped. There were a few possible paths to success, but the best way to deal with it was with the censer and the incense you'd found, and luckily you figured that out. Well done. The Temple of Chaos And at last, we came to our adventure's finale. You stealthed your way to the top of the temple using the cultist robes you'd discovered earlier, which was good because attempting to fight your way to the top would have been rough. Once there, however, the shaman saw through your disguise and it was time for the boss fight. And check out that battle map!

Thanks, Dixi! I've been having fun, too.

Part Two of our adventure began when you descended the stairs from the Tower of the Beastmen and began the journey underground. The first thing you encountered was the Trail of Gold. This was quite literally just a trail of coins, which I thought was kind of ominous, especially in a DCC game. I think if I'd been a player in this scenario, I would have felt like I was following a trail of bait. In this case, however, it was really just a trail of coins. The beastmen were sloppy in bringing the treasure from the Empty Vault down to the Dragon Ship. The Empty Vault was where most of the loose gold came from (the rest was from the Beastman Tower.) Molly nearly lost a couple of fingers investigating the false bottom of a chest here, but he spent a bunch of Luck and left with all his digits still attached. Since he ended up taking the Thief class, he'll actually get all that Luck back! Plus, he picked up some sweet loot. You didn't miss anything in this room. The Entrance to the Summoning Pits was interesting. That was the pit you found in the floor that had the bodies hanging from chains. It's also where Eli cashed in. If you recall, when you looked down into the pit, I told you it looked like there was an entire chamber down there. Just the way in looked lethal, however, and since the villagers you came to rescue weren't likely to be down there, you moved on. And that's where the whole risk/reward thing kicks in, guys. The Summoning Pits were a large section of the module that probably would have taken a few weeks to explore in PbP. It was an extraordinarily dangerous area that had some nice treasure inside. Would it have been worth the risk? That's not for me to, well, judge. It's entirely possible that you would have lost some more characters in the Summoning Pits, and, obviously, you didn't need to venture down there to successfully complete the adventure. As a point of trivia, the Summoning Pits weren't originally part of Sailors on the Starless Sea. It was a section they added to later printings of the adventure, which is something Goodman Games often does. At any rate, you opted to skip that section of the module, and so the wheels of destiny turn. Next, you came to the Dread Halls, which is where you found the murals depicting Molan and Felan, and some foreshadowing of the Chaos Leviathan. It's also where you found that pool with the skulls. Helge adopted one of the skulls, which I thought was a fantastically macabre treasure item. It contained the spirit of an evil being that had once been a rival of Molan, and it desired nothing more than revenge. The fact that the skull fell into the hands of a character as pious as Helge made it even better. There was another powerful treasure you missed in the Dread Halls, but I bet only a handful of parties have ever found it. It would take an adventurer both reckless and lucky to do so, and such a character probably wouldn't survive long in DCC. With your torches burning low, you opted to continue your journey rather than stay to explore every nook of this room. You did, however, take the time to investigate the murals. That was smart, as it clued you into the existence of the Chaos Leviathan and the importance of the menhir. But we'll talk about all that in part three!    

I largely enjoyed the game, it was exciting,  but I’m a bit with Malkavian Grin. Bernard is primarily alive, because he grabbed the one visible chain mail. After that he was just reacting killing what came his way. The one tine he went for discovering in a chest he was to,doff and told to help with the prisoners. Something that might have saved him from those poisonous furs.    Seeing so many going down on the first blow, makes one cautious and stick the neck out as little as possible. The danger of DCC certainly adds spice to things, but it cuts down sharply on any desire the explore beyond the absolute minimum. 

Let me preface everything by saying, we all do have fun, love the game, and love your DMing, cailano! It is not a complaint, simply an explanation for the character's actions. If I get it right, the main idea of the game is indeed gambling, as Malkavian Grin is saying. Have no problem with it, just needed to set expectations correctly. As someone coming from DnD (and 5e of all of them), have to admit, it takes some effort to switch from "this is my precious character, my hero, on whose build I was working for the last two weeks" to "roll four randos, play until all dead, roll four others". From chosen one to disposable. Very different type of game. Now I know I can play both. My only gripe is the incentive, motivation (again, coming from DnD side). If we play high risk - high reward it would be easier to justify risk when reward is known. Lick cheese in an obvious mouse trap. In the case of ashes in Charnel Ruins we only saw - yes, an absolutely well-described trap, but no visible (or expected!) reward, hence, no reasons for the risk.

I don't agree about cowardice winning the day at all. I think the day will go to the bold. Thugnar bracing the portcullis. Bernard holding the ramp against a horde of beastmen. Helge investigating that evil skull until she figured out what to do with it. Obraun stepping up and taming that Chaos Leviathan (which would have TPKd you if you'd done nothing.) Tabitha standing shoulder to shoulder with her son unarmored and armed with a kitchen knife. There were tons of courageous moments in that game. You shouldn't sell yourselves short. Rewards: You all leveled up Got the flail Got the armor Got some gear Got more coins than your characters have ever held before. And some stuff you missed, but you're never going to find all the treasure. And you're just getting started! All you've completed so far is a funnel. More awesome adventure to come. A group of 5E adventures isn't proven. They've faced an array of balanced encounters in nanny-dungeons perfectly manicured for their level. Whoop de doo. A band of DCC adventurers has the thousand-yard stare. They've looked death in the face and smiled back. They've left friends behind. They've seen some scary s**t. That's the idea, anyway.  

There's some fun to be had in being such minor, frail peasants. At the same time, it can be tiresome being in a constant state of fear that something will look at you wrong, and you die. To Tecumseh's point: Both times in Sailors on the Starless Sea when I had a character act less-than-terrified and actually do something, BOTH CHARACTERS INSTANTLY DIED. Eli died the moment I had him look at something "intriguing" (that pit with vine horror things). Alphonse died the moment I went to claim my FIRST piece of loot. I would like to know where the reward is? So far, all I've seen is that cowardice wins the day. And if every character is a coward, no one will find any treasure, and the party ends up underpowered, causing further cowardice and inaction. Don't get me wrong: I LIKE DCC! But I feel like it breeds a "gambling" mindset which I personally abhor. (Gambling is absolutely stupid and I don't understand people that enjoy it, but that's another conversation).

I stand by all the previous points I made. If the game paralyzes the players into inaction due to the level of risk, then the risk/reward ratio is off.  Now for my own part I freely admit that I've never played DCC past Level 0 so I have no idea how the threats scale. Our HP tripled, sure, but did the same thing happen for the monsters? Did their AC improve and their to-hit and damage bonuses improve to the point where things are just as lethal before? I don't know. I also admit that I've never read any DCC modules so I don't know how they are written. I don't know if the Level 0 modules are deliberately lethal (moreso than usual) with the understanding that the funnel needs to be fed. But if that's a player's introduction to DCC then you can see how the players would easily carry that shellshocked mentality into Level 1, even if their characters are more competent and robust. For example, every time I see a roll for Saving Throw I assume that the consequence is death. That might be inaccurate, but that's my expectation coming out of the funnel. I'm all about a dangerous world with consequences. "Harsh but fair" is fine with me, as long as things are actually fair. Maybe we're past the point where one bad roll dooms you, but - to cailano's point - it does just seem like a matter of time before the dice catch up to you.

  Skill Name Level Mod Ability Mod Total Mod                                                                                                          

This is the way. Honestly, I really like what I've seen of DCC adventures so far. The danger level is just crazy, the rewards are huge and meaningful (no sword +1s in these modules!), and there is just so much to explore. DCC is a fun, exciting system that rewards play that is somehow both smart and daring. That's what they set out to do, and they delivered it. My big question is about its viability as a long-term campaign system as opposed to something like Castles and Crusades. Eventually, it just seems like the dice are going to get you. It's kind of the ultimate push-your-luck RPG. And the lethality does decrease a little as you go. I mean, just look at your characters at level one as opposed to at the beginning of the funnel. Your hit points have doubled or even tripled in some cases; you have more gear and access to magical healing and the bleeding-out rule. Can you still die? Absolutely. But the bad guys are going to have to work a little harder for it.  

Sounds good. My Mondays have been pretty rough at work lately, and I've got some additional work pressures over the next couple of weeks. My posting rate is probably going to slow a bit, but I'm trying to clear time in the evenings.

I think that is suppose to be the point of DCC its lethal big risk vs big reward. those plyers in the other game your in may be use to some of the newer versions of D&D where each encounter is suppose to be balanced with the power level of  the party, not like back in the day when you could very well run up on a powerful monster beyond the players ability to defeat. back then you needed to know when it was time time avoid, or run from those encounters. 

I had to  take a company car to the dealer ship 40 miles away this morning. I got back around 3:00 PM so Not enough time to work on the sheet. I will catch up on all the posts and hopefully can work on it tomorrow.

Both clerics and wizards (and, by extension, elves) have a Level 1 spell available called "Detect Magic". Wizards/elves have to roll for their spells so getting it is by luck/chance. Clerics, as best I can tell, get to select their spells. That said, most Level 1 options are hot garbage, with multiple points of possible failure. However, among the various flavors of hot garbage, "Detect Magic" and "Detect Evil" are some of the better options so I'll likely take them to start.

Fine. Tabitha would like to "carry" Molan's flail. As a jeweler she would also eyeball one of the rings to "carry" but not if it's just going to cause issues with people. This whole process has already been like pulling teeth...

We can split the coins we have, but as for the rest we will just need to state who is carrying what and then if and when we get somewhere that we can sell it we do so and split it. That way if someones character bites the dust in such a manner that they cannot be retrieved we will know what we lost. 😉

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  Helge Haisley, Lawful 1st level Cleric Occupation: Healer Strength: 7 (-1) Agility: 13 (+1) Stamina: 12 (0) - 1 = 11 Personality: 13 (+1) Intelligence: 8 (-1) Luck: 8 (0) + 2 = 10   AC: 11; HP: 3 + 5 = 8 Weapon: none Speed: 30; Init: 0; Ref: +1; Fort: +1; Will: +2 Equipment: Holy symbol (25 gp) Trade good: none Starting Funds: 37 cp Lucky sign: Struck by lightning (Reflex saving throws) (0) Languages: Common   Cleric: Attack +0 Crit Die/Table: 1d8/III Action Dice: 1d20 Ref: +0 Fort: +1 Will: +1 Four (4) first-level spells

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It's something to think about! You're not the first person I've heard say it. Still, I hope you guys are having fun. I do try to use description to let you guys know when danger is about. To be fair, the fountain WAS a trap. If you go back and read the IC thread, I'm confident that you won't find many instances of traps out of nowhere. The Well was probably the least foreshadowed, but even that one got a little bit. But DCC keeps the danger level high, I'm not denying it.  

I've been thinking about this extensively the last few days as I reflected on DCC and its lethality. With the caveat that I haven't read the module, I feel like the risk-reward ratio is off in Sailors on the Starless Sea. There are so many traps and hidden dangers that it actively discourages exploration.  Take the charnel ruins for example: "...it is obvious that this chapel was dedicated to dark gods." "The bones are somehow still warm, and the scent of charred flesh and burned incense lingers in the air." "A fountain at the head of the chapel depicts a squat, demonic toad. A foul, black ichor seeps from the toad's mouth and pools in a basin seated at the foot of the fountain." Everything in the description screams death and destruction. Bones that are still warm implies that the threat is active/recent. Same goes for the scent of charred flesh. Ichor dripping from the toad's mouth also suggests an active evil for which we, as level-0 fodder, have no counter. It's like a bright neon light flashing "TRAP!" Now in this case maybe it wasn't a trap, but I would have been astounded if anyone had decided to sweep for ashes. This gets to a bigger issue I have with DCC. I honestly don't mind the lethality at level-0; to me it's a feature instead of a flaw. But my opinion is that DCC needs to take its foot off the gas after level 1. It should still be lethal, but it should dial it down from a 10 (which is a necessary component of the funnel) to a 7 or something more sustainable.  Case in point, I'm in a different game of DCC where - having joined late - I have a party of level 0 redshirts and everyone else is level 1 or 2. Literally nobody else wants to do anything because they are so terrified of the consequences, especially when it's a leveled character at stake. When the module (or the system) gets to the point where it has petrified players into inaction then the game has stopped being fun and is thus no longer a game.

Great! Glad to have you back.