A Kickstarter at Howling Crater

Cover art by Adrian Landeros

I haven’t been posting for the last little bit because of health-related eye strain. I was unable to focus on a computer screen for more than 15 minutes at a time. As you can imagine, this has played havoc with my creativity and caused me to shoot past several deadlines. The problem seems to be abating, and I have hope that the miracle of modern science will help me get past it this month.

Okay, let’s talk about An Occurrence at Howling Crater, now on kickstarter from Planet X Games. This is designed for use with either DCC or MCC, and is from the same folks who brought you Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride last year.

The Kickstarter is already funded, although this is an insane time of year to be starting your kick, and ends on January 3^rd, 2023.

You know that I believe in full disclosure, so I don't mind letting you know that I am posting this as a favor to Levi Combs. He is definitely a stand-up guy, who I had the chance to meet in person at Gary Con earlier this year. While I did some writing for Mummy Bride, at this point I don’t have any financial stake in Howling Crater at all. I am a backer, and I am really happy with how Mummy Bride turned out. And yes, obviously, I hope to do some more work for Planet X in the future.

So, the real question is, what does this thing get for us DCC and MCC aficionados? I'm going to quote the press kit text below, but what it really gets us is high production values, great art printed on good stock, and lots of pulp-era action and inspiration, if the Mummy Bride is anything to judge by.

Here's what the press kit says:

• For those backers choosing the DCC/MCC compatible ruleset, all THREE levels of the crashed spaceship are included, complete with detailed locations and full write-ups. Maps are rendered in incredible detail by Karl Stjernberg, AKA @skullfungus!

• A TON of all-new material! New magical items, deadly monsters, patrons, exciting locations and all-new spells for your ongoing DCC/MCC game.

• A digital map pack that is fully compatible with Virtual Table Top (VTT), with the secret door markers and encounter numbers removed.

• Full conversion to the DCC/MCC compatible ruleset. We didn't just file off the serial numbers and throw this thing to the wolves - as DCC/MCC players ourselves, we made a dedicated conversion and spent a lot of nights playtesting this new version so that it retains the feel, vibe and compatibility of Dungeon Crawl Classics and Mutant Crawl Classics. This module is 100% compatible with both rulesets!

• The hinterland settlement of Hem's Holler, an all-new starting location for your PCs written by Levi Combs. New NPCs! Deadly leads and rumors! All new dangers lurking at the edge of civilization to make your PCs' lives absolutely miserable! Even if your players have played through the scenario previously, what secrets swirl in Hem's Holler waiting to be discovered?

• Tons of new art! Not only did we commission a brand-new cover from original cover artist Adrian Landeros, but we've added plenty of new illustrations to the module as well. In addition to all the original art, top-tier illustrators Ed Bickford, Tim Burns and Je Shields are all lending their considerable talents to this project.

• New Patrons! Jeff Scifert has detailed all-new patrons for An Occurrence at Howling Crater, complete with special traits, divine favors, cleric titles, disapproval charts and all new canticles. There is a considerable amount of flavor and lore added to the original scenario and it really helps bring the mystery, super-science and savagery of the forbidden crater to life.

• All New Flavor Text. Traditionally, Planet X modules don't use flavor text but the excellence and playability of the DCC/MCC system has really brought us back around to it. This module contains read-aloud flavor text for every single encounter area.

• Finally, we've just flat out changed a few things. Converting a previous module to the look and feel of DCC compatibility isn't just about giving it a quick makeover and sending it on its way. We've altered a few key bits here and there, added in some new things and done the best job we could in making the scenario look and feel like the kind of good time you'd expect from a product compatible with the DCC/MCC ruleset.