So I wrote a DCC RPG Module...

Hello Co8 friends,

So it's been almost a year to the day that I wrote about how I published a D&D module, but I have finally managed to pump out another adventure called Attack of the Frawgs: this time for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG (DCCRPG).

Short version: it's a smaller adventure, it's old school you can purchase it here if you're interested in such things..

But, like all things on this forum, sometimes it's the back story that's more interesting, so I offer you the following story for those that are interested in the development process:

The Backstory
When I'd written the first module, The Haunting of Larvik Island, I thought, "Wow, that was tough, but now that I've done it, I'll be able to pump them out faster; I've got templates, I've got software, I know what types of snacks motivate my long suffering graphic designer Cat, we can do this!" I started writing the sequel to that book "Larvik 2" with my brother James Daniel "Hack" Newton in the summer 2011. By Fall 2011, we had written a rather elaborate mythology for what would cover the series of adventures I'd planned to write that stated with Larvik Island. It was to be a "quadrology". The story arc was grand enough that it needed to be told that way. And then a couple of significant things happened:

Introducing DCC RPG:

My first adventure was written for Dungeons & Dragons 4th-Edition rules (aka D&D 4E or just 4E in game circles). It was a game system that I was never quite comfortable writing in as I spent my golden years of gaming playing AD&D. It was a very different feel of game. Not necessarily better, just different. (Similar to how Stratego & Risk are both great games... just different.) A longtime publisher of D&D content whom I'm sure this forum will all be familiar with, Mr. Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games, decided to write a new RPG game that had the tone of "Appendix N"; the game was darker, simpler, and more akin to the style of play that I played in my gaming hey day. In my mind, it is much closer to AD&D than 3ED even though there are some mechanical similarities.

I immediately downloaded the Beta rules and was interested in writing for this system.

As much as I liked DCCRPG, I had been burned on how long it too me to retrofit the original Larvik Island from a AD&D type game to a 4E game in 2010. I'd spent about 9 months just really soaking in the new ruleset. My brother and I were about halfway through "Larvik 2" and I thought, "Ugh, this won't publish until 2014 if I have to start converting from 4E to DCCRPG now." And then the idea hit me: Hack and I had created so much material for "Larvik 2" that some of the events happened "off screen". Why don't I just take one of those "off screen" events and turn it into it's own much smaller introduction adventure? And that's precisely what the plan became.


A New Job Means A Longer Commute:

The second event that happened is that I took a new job: I moved from a job in San Jose where I live to a job in San Francisco in Aug 2011. As part of this new job I was taking Caltrain almost daily between those two cities. This gave me 120 minutes of "sitting on the train" time each workday. The first draft of Attack of the Frawgs was written in a record 3 weeks between November and December 2011 mostly on the train. A feat that would've been impossible without all the backstory I'd already written with Hack and my long commute. During this time I continued to collaborate with Hack on "Larvik 2" and the two projects began to influence each other. It was a very interesting process.


Trouble At Home:

If you've read this far, you might also be interested in this: My wife and I started having issues in Jan which have led to our getting separated and soon to be divorced. Sadly, these events profoundly impacted my writing on "Larvik 2", which for my part has effectively gone on hold. The distraction of the separation (read: being dumped) makes it very hard to concentrate and write the way I know I am capable of writing. I've had a couple of spurts where I write on Larvik2, but it's mostly in stasis awaiting my return. That said, the distraction never seems to affect my editing. In Jan through May I have edited 3 other D&D adventures for another third-party publisher, and play-tested and proof-read about 4 DCC RPG adventures including the core rulebook itself. While I was doing all that editing I was also editing Frawgs. So luckily I was able to continue to be productive getting Frawgs ready for print despite my frame of mind. Luckily, the conditions of the DCC RPG license I signed with Goodman Games also stipulated that we could not publish adventures prior to the release of the core rulebook --which finally shipped in late May--so that too gave me some time.


Eventually though, it all came together.

So there it is friends. Sadly I don't get nearly as much time to spend playing ToEE as I used to (as I spent most of my time from Jan-present editing Frawgs or despondent and drinking single-malt while I plowed through divorce-support websites and social networks. But I'm starting to come out the other side of this and hope to both pickup my Larvik2 writing and ToEE playing once I get settled into the new place.

Thanks again for listening and I hope some of you get a chance to pickup the adventure

 

Thanks Gaear! The wife situation definitely sucks, but I'm slowly coming to terms (the ugliness started in Jan, got really ugly in Apr, and I've essentially been in the "next phase" since then.)

Frawgs is actually doing really well, it's been on the RPGNow.com Hottest Seller list for a couple of weeks now. I'd like to think it's the quality of my product, but in actuality I think I just got lucky on this one as DCC RPG seems to be very popular right out of the gate. If you ever want to read one of the adventures just send me your email address and I'll forward one to you. Least I can do for all the work you've provided for my enjoyment in terms of the hours I've spent playing Co8 mods :thumbsup:

 

Everyone might find my question stupid, but is that a reading material? I haven't played nor read anything about the board game D&D so I wouldn't know. I guess I'd have to see that for myself later. And I see hard work like this are released for free? How kind of you guys.

No disrespect or anything, but you got a good looking friend there beside you, bud. Just saying. :wink