RPG Crowdfunding News – Planet of the Apes, Castles & Crusades, Smörk Borg, and more

Whizbang Dustyboots said:

It's interesting, after a few years without any, oceanic 5E content -- including a lot of piratical stuff -- is hot again. I wonder what's triggering that.

EDIT: I bet it's tied to people's general outlooks.

Feel gloomy about the world: Let's go on an imaginary sailing voyage and buckle some swashes.

Feel good about the world: We aren't thinking about a vacation away from real life as much.

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Don't forget the success of the Pirate Borg KS earlier this year as well.

overgeeked said:

I'm looking forward to some actual details on the Planet of the Apes RPG. That "primer" is mostly a nothing burger. Though I must say I really like the bit about No Path But Your Own. "If the adventure seems to be leading your character to Ape City, you can turn around and head into the Forbidden Zone...who is the (GM) to stop you?...(t)he free-will aspect of RPGs often means that no two gaming sessions of the same adventure will ever be alike. It is this freedom of choice that makes RPGs all the more fun." Hell yeah.

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There is also Quickstart rules available (also PWYW) - DriveThruRPG

Gehenna Gaming said:

There is also Quickstart rules available (also PWYW) - DriveThruRPG

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Well, hell. Why is it two separate files? Thanks.

stormwriter said:

I kinda like everything about C&C, except the Siege Engine... I always find it cumbersome and unintuitive with the different DCs based on primary/secondary attributes, sometimes you add your level, sometimes you don't, etc.

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Same here. Very easy to fix though.

In my games, I use a single DC, import Adv/Dis from 5E, and drop adding level. If you're interested, I could go more in depth.

There is so much good about the system (low-magic version of classes, best Treasure Tables in the OSR, genius multi-class rules) it really is worth houseruling around IMO.

Whizbang Dustyboots said:

This campaign just removes OGL language and probably isn't a high priority for people who are happy with their books; this is just funding an OGL-free supply of books going forward.

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Also worth pointing out, this is the first version I've seen that has really made a DEI effort as far as the art is concerned. Representation was certainly a new priority for the Trolls.

That said, I'm one of those who didn't back it since I have little interest in a "non-D&D" C&C. That's kind of the entire point why I got into it. Also, a lot of the changes being made are not to my liking at all. For instance, moving the Assassin out of the main classes and adding it awkwardly to the multi-classing section (not a multi-class Class).

Having looked at the QS module for Planet of the Apes, I'm in at the PDF level...
It's firmly grounded in the 60's & 70's versions, not the 00's to present reimagining. The QS also notes the differences from the classic WEG d6. For fans of classic D6 system, it's going to be immediately familiar... but it does a few things differently. And it's still 18d atts and 7d skills.

Jahydin said:

In my games, I use a single DC, import Adv/Dis from 5E, and drop adding level. If you're interested, I could go more in depth.

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How does a single DC work? Do classes still have primary (+6) and secondary (+2) attributes?

dead said:

How does a single DC work? Do classes still have primary (+6) and secondary (+2) attributes?

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My goal for C&C is when I call for a check a player need only to roll a d20 and see if it's higher the the number written down next to that stat.

Also, I'm huge supporter of the Tertiary Attribute optional rule in the CKG. Basically, Humans choose 3 Primes, 2 Secondaries, 1 Tertiary. Demi-humans get 2 Primes, 2 Secondaries, 2 Tertiary. I think it adds some much needed variety.

Anyway to get the specific, pre-written DC for each stat:
Start with 19.
If Prime, subtract 6. If Secondary subtract 3.
Subtract Attribute bonus/penalty.
Subtract 1 for every two Levels of experience (rounded down).

So let's say we had the following Level 6 character ("p, s, t" for Prime, Secondary, Tertiary):
Str: 16p
Dex: 13s
Con: 10p
Int: 8t
Wis: 11s
Chr: 15p

We would calculate DC as follows:
Str: 19 - 6(Prime) - 2(Bonus) - 3(Level) = 8
Dex: 19 - 3(Secondary) - 1(Bonus) - 3(Level) = 12
Con: 19 - 6(Prime) - 0(Bonus) - 3(Level) = 10
Int: 19 - 0(Tertiary) + 1(Penalty) - 3(Level) = 17
Wis: 19 - 3(Secondary) - 0(Bonus) - 3(Level) = 13
Chr: 19 - 6(Prime) - 1(Bonus) - 3(Level) = 9

An interesting spread of Save DCs (also Skill DCs in C&C) that averages to around 12, close to AD&D's Fighter that averages 13.

This is perfectly playable IMO, but if you want even more granularity, you can also add Difficulty Levels to the Character Sheet as well by modifying each DC by:
Basic: -3
Expert: +0
Master: +3

This comes in handy when you want to give characters an edge in succeeding or wanting to penalize them for trying to do something "unskilled".

So our character above's final writeup would look like:
Str: 16p (5/8/11)
Dex: 13s (9/12/15)
Con: 10p (7/10/13)
Int: 8t (14/17/20)
Wis: 11s (10/13/16)
Chr: 15p (6/9/12)

As GM, you now would just say, "Give me an Expert Str check to see if you pick up the boulder."
The player rolls a 9 and says, "I succeed".

I find this much easier than all the fiddly business the Trolls make you do RAW.

Note: Terminology used loosely here. DC is just, "number you need roll higher than to succeed". C&C has its own terminology (CC, CL, and CB) that I avoid since it's so specific to that system.

Jahydin said:

My goal for C&C is when I call for a check a player need only to roll a d20 and see if it's higher the the number written down next to that stat.

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Coming from 3E, I'm stuck in the mindset that a DC is static in the world. So, if there's a lock to pick that is DC 19, then that is DC 19 no matter who comes along. It doesn't matter if they have more DEX or Levels or Prime or Secondary stats.

I guess that would be your formula in reverse:
Dex 13s: + 3(Secondary) + 1(Bonus) + 3(Level) = 1d20 + 7 (to hit DC 19)

My way might take longer as you have to do some addition. And yours ultimately achieves the same result.

But that means every challenge in the world would be DC 19. Unless you apply Basic: -3 (DC 16) and Master: +3 (DC 22) to give some slight variation of easier or harder locks to pick. I think 3E had a much wider range, maybe DCs ranging from 10 (very easy) up to 30 (very very difficult).

Jahydin said:

Same here. Very easy to fix though.

In my games, I use a single DC, import Adv/Dis from 5E, and drop adding level. If you're interested, I could go more in depth.

There is so much good about the system (low-magic version of classes, best Treasure Tables in the OSR, genius multi-class rules) it really is worth houseruling around IMO.

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"genius multi-class rules"

Yep.