Moving Ahead Slowly

The creation process for Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl is a slow one. When I started on this road, I knew it wouldn't be easy. What I desire is to make a game with a familliar feel of the old red book game I played way back then. Will it be D20? No. I have no desire to make a game that plays like the ones out now. For one thing, that's not what I'm interested in. For another, why attempt to improve on something that is so popular and has so much support?

What I am attempting is to do things differently, but with the familliar feel of that old game I loved. At the moment, the plans are to make something new. That means all new terminologies and creatures that seem familliar, but with different names. I am researching what will need to be done, and it appears to be pretty big. No problem. I'm gonna give it a shot, and if I can't do it, I will take the OGL path that OSRIC has taken.

One of the things that will need to be done is name changes. The man or woman who runs a HotDC game is a Hero Guide, rather than the Dungeon Master of that other game. You won't gain Levels in HotDC, but you can advance a Degree if you earn enough Adventure Points. The terminology will be different, but the rules will be familliar enough. The process will be a long one.

I have started writing, but I have no ETA on when the rule book will be done. I hope before the end of the year, but that's not official. The rules will enable an HG to take an Adventuring Party from Zero Degree to the Seventh Degree. I am considering raising that to Ten Degrees, but we shall see. My hope is that the rules are easy enough to understancd that a Hero Guide can make adjustments as needed.

I worked in a new logo for the game, which I uploaded to the page yesterday, but I am entertaining the possibility of renaming the game. This is not something I will defintely be doing, but I feel it may be necessary in the future. For now, the name stays, but if a good name comes to mind, it could happen.

Why am I doing this? Do I expect to get rich? The second answer is a resounding no. Honestly, if I put this out there and manage to move 20 or 30 copies, I will be more than happy. As to the first question, I would probably not even consider this if there was a similar product on the market that people could buy in stores. But, there is not.

I want simple, and I want a game people can buy for $20 or less and start playing. What you will need to play HotDC is a Basic Editioon Rulebook, three six sided dice (One if you don't mind rolling several times, some scratch paper (graph paper preffered) and pencils. That's it. Not a bunch of books and miniatures. The book will also talk about a cheap way to do miniatures if you'd like to give it a try without spending the money.

The other reason I'm doing this is I always wanted to give it a try. I think I can add something to the genre that might be fun for those interested. I wish the game companies would realize that this type of game is needed. Not the type of basic game that gives you one or two quests, then tells you to go buy all the books and miniatures, but a stand alone game. A game you can play for weeks, months and even years without being forced to buy a bunch of books.

I understand why it is what it is, so I'll end my rant here. I have nothing but respect for those trying to keep table top RPG's alive.

HotDC will also be different for being a game that doesn't require all the difference dice. Again, there is a reason for this. You may already have six sided dice sitting at home, so all you will need to do is have paper and the rulebook to start playing.

I'm not sure how I will be able to pull this all together, but it will be fun working on it. I will do my best to keep you posted here as I do it.