Get a FREE Quickstart Rulebook HERE!

Fantasy roleplaying was first published in 1974. So it's no surprise that a game meant to hearken back to that kind of old school feel might also have gonzo elements woven into an adventure from time to time such as bell bottoms, lava lamps, disco balls, magic mushrooms, or a party riding out not on horseback, but in a van with portholes near the back of the side panels and shag carpet inside. And at some point everybody in the party, not just the monk, may actually be kung-fu fighting. If you remember the 70's you'll appreciate all those references.

On the serious side, it's inspired and influenced by the authors Gary Gygax listed as Appendix N. That list is heavy with sci-fi and fantasy greats like Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan), Robert E. Howard (Conan, Kull), Fritz Leiber (Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser), H.P. Lovecraft (C'thulhu), Michael Moorcock (Elric), J.R.R. Tolkein (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings), Jack Vance (The Dying Earth), the last of which has actually been adapted as a setting for DCC. That combination of serious and gonzo is often referred to as the "weird fantasy" genre and can be seen in some older pulp magazines and comics, including one by that name.

Modifiers may be plus or minus actual numbers like -1 or plus entire dice, such as a shift from a d6 to a d7. A d7? Yes, the 14 piece set of funky dice.

The magic system can have... consequences. Spell failure is a real thing, and the effects can be temporary or permanent, hilarious and/or gruesome at the same time. No spell slots, so it's not "fire and forget," but if it fails you lose it for the rest of the day unless you spend some attribute points, one of which is Luck!

Players are reminded that their characters aren't heroes, they're adventurers, out to make a buck and possibly save their village. Each player starts out at level 0 with 2 to 4 characters that have no back story, but a job they did before such as woodcutter, merchant, cheesemonger, blacksmith, cutpurse, gongfarmer (Look it up. Gross.) or any number of other occupations in a random list. Don't get too attached to them. Most of them will be killed. Some of them horribly so. But those who survive will go from being Level 0 peasants to Level 1 Adventurers and choose a class.