Middle-Earth, c. 1974

Can I hack DCC RPG to make my ideal Middle-Earth role-playing game?

Daniel J. Bishop, the Raven Crowking himself, says it’s possible. His guest appearances on the Appendix N podcast floated several ideas for how DCC RPG could be used to adventure in Middle Earth, and I’ve been thinking about it myself since I first got back into role-playing games roughly twelve years ago.

My first gaming experience was not with Dungeons and Dragons but instead MERP, Middle-Earth Role-Playing. And my aesthetic experience of Middle-Earth—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the rest of Tolkien’s legendarium—is colored by the Tolkien-related media of the 1980s and early 1990s, just as much as by Peter Jackson’s films.

I’m a child of Rankin-Bass. Of fleeting glimpses at the television screen while my aunt and uncle watched the Bakshi LOTR. Of Brothers Hildebrandt illustrations. Of Angus McBride. Of those hideous Ballantine paperbacks from the early 1990s. (Scroll down. You’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em.)

Alan Lee, John Howe, Jackson’s films, earlier and later artwork related to Tolkien’s work, Tolkien’s illustrations themselves: These would all add to my Middle-Earth aesthetic over time, but the first impressions matter. And so too do the mid-60s covers and the merging of Middle-Earth with psychedelic culture. It’s all part of the stew.

And this version of Middle-Earth—with its grim Anglo-Saxonness, its tinges of psychedelia, its Saturday-Morning flavor, its high fantasy, full-color spread, its brooding, moody Alan Lee watercolors, its Led Zeppelin soundtrack, its Ren Faire dulcimer tones, its Waldenbooks appeal—is the version I want to go gaming in.

I’m intrigued by The One Ring, and I have nostalgia for MERP, but neither of those games line up with my internal Middle-Earth compass. Admittedly, part of my reluctance to dive into TOR is because I don’t feel like reading and learning a new system.

But it’s also partly because The One Ring feels too close to Tolkien’s actual books (at least, The Hobbit/LOTR books). It gets it too right.

I know this sounds crazy. Shouldn’t I want a game that gets it right?

Yes.

And no.

Because what I want in a Middle-Earth gaming experience isn’t the same as what I want for my Middle-Earth reading experience.

If I want to escape into Middle-Earth as a reader, I’ll read Tolkien. He’s got the goods. Who else but him?

But gaming in Middle-Earth? That’s a different experience for me. See my litany of sources and influences above.

I want a gaming experience that gives me the same “Middle-Earth feeling” as listening to Robert Plant sing “The Battle of Evermore.”

That’s a different experience than Tolkien’s books or Jackson’s movies or what I get when I read The One Ring.

Don’t get me wrong: The One Ring looks like a phenomenal game! If I were in a different headspace, or looking to learn a new rules set, I would dive in.

But something is pulling me in a different direction.

I’m thinking about what Daniel J. Bishop said on that podcast: Dungeon Crawl Classics can do Middle-Earth role-playing.

It can capture the vibe of what it felt like to be a Tolkien fan in the 1980s and 90s (and 60s and 70s). Its got that Old High Zeppelin feeling.

But it needs tweaks. Modifications. A bit of an overhaul to get things done.

When I started thinking more seriously about how to make my own DCC-style Middle-Earth homebrew, I knew that certain classes and basic rules needed to be changed, jettisoned, or reconfigured. The question is, of course, why use DCC rules at all? Why not start from scratch?

Such questions miss a fundamental point: DCC RPG is part of the right vibe. It fits, in some strange way, with my own Middle-Earth aesthetic. Its got that “Frodo Lives” appeal.

I know DCC has a reputation for “gonzo,” and it’s not undeserved, but my experience of the game—from looking at the core rulebook only—is that it is not “gonzo” per se, but Appendix N. And Appendix N is many things. It is sometimes gonzo, sometimes weird fantasy, sometimes high fantasy, oft times sword and sorcery, sometimes horror, but it’s also fantasy of a certain time and place, and Tolkien’s work comes from that time and place too (at least in the United States, when his popularity took off in the 1960s).

DCC RPG is a “counter-cultural” game. And Tolkien’s Middle-Earth was also a counter-cultural project.

Let me unpack that.

DCC uses a d20 mechanic, and is very much a DnD 3rd edition-style game (minus all the character options and rules-bloat), but it is counter-cultural in that it presents itself as, “What DnD might have been…” What would DnD have been like if it continued to embrace the multifarious moods and tones of speculative genre fiction of late 19th and early/mid 20th centuries? What would DnD have been like if it hadn’t codified into “DnD”?

What DCC represents is an alternate history. A DnD that stayed loose and weird. Looking at just the core rules and not the modules, what DCC represents is an ethos more than even a rules set. “Quest for it.” “‘The’ Monster vs. ‘A’ Monster.” Magic is dangerous and unpredictable. The world of a peasant is small. Fate plays a role in all our lives, and Fate can be fickle.

The rules have some real bangers, too. Things that other games and tables adopt for their own house rules. Mighty Deeds. Spending Luck. Spellburn. The funnel.

Just as DCC RPG is a counter-cultural ethos within the world of RPGs, so too was Tolkien’s work in the 20th century. Before he was THE name in fantasy, before he (co)birthed an entire literary genre, he was a weirdo who wrote about magic and elves and dragons during a time when such things just weren’t done in English literary circles. He was a throwback. An anti-Modernist. His books, stories, poems, and even literary theories were totally out of favor with the movements and theories of his time.

Both he and the Modernists of his time were responding to modernity, but Tolkien’s aesthetic response was different from the Modernists, even as he critiqued and responded to much of the same things (evil and war, dehumanization, ecological ruin, technology, bureaucracy, etc.).

He was a counterweight to other writers of the time. His imagination was counter-cultural. His ethos as an artist went against the grain.

In my mind, both DCC and Tolkien go together because they are both pushing against and offering alternatives to the tides of the larger culture. Maybe that’s overstating things, but I can’t help feeling that DCC’s approach to gaming fits with the creativity and vitality of Tolkien’s creations. If none of this is making sense, it’s because I have a hard time putting it into words.

But the feeling is there.

So I begin to craft a Middle-Earth RPG experience using DCC as my chassis.

First: I meld the Wizard and Cleric classes together. Any magic-user gets to use spells from either Wizard or Cleric lists. Toss spells that don’t fit the vibe of Middle-Earth (which is a pretty low-magic place if we’re talking “casting spells”) or restrict PCs from using them (like Curse or Vermin Blight… these go to the servants of Morgoth). Get rid of Spellburn, but use Divine Aid (“Aid of the Valar”?) as a Spellburn-adjacent mechanic.

What does that look like? When wanting to boost the effects of a spell, a PC can call upon the aid of the Valar (all of them or one in particular), roll for Divine Aid with a DC commensurate to the bonus needed (DC 10 means +1, DC 12 +2, DC 15 +3, DC 18 +4, DC 20 +5, etc.).

Give everyone a Disapproval chart, but call it Despair instead. Failed spell rolls, failed Aid of the Valar rolls, failed Luck rolls, etc. all move the numbers up the Despair chart. The risk of Despair means that calling upon the Valar shouldn’t be a willy-nilly thing, and failure to cast a spell comes with grave peril. The Despair mechanic will force magic-using PCs to be careful and frugal with their casting.

Change Luck to Hope. Halflings/Hobbits are still “Luck batteries,” but now we call them “Hope batteries.” And they can still share Hope points with other players.

The number on the Despair chart becomes the modifier for Hope rolls. Still not sure if it makes sense to use a roll-under mechanic for Hope checks, or a DC number… need to playtest that to see which is better. Roll under feels a bit too punitive if I’m using Despair chart numbers to modify the roll.

All of this is still in the beginning design phase.

Add the Ranger class (using Crawl! Ranger class as template) and get rid of the Thief class. Rangers can be sneaky, as can Hobbits. Basically, the Ranger is a Thief/Cleric hybrid with some nature/survivalist skills.

Magic users (wizard, elf, or ranger) should have a Valar or Maiar as patron. Again, no Clerics as a class; spells from BOTH lists are in play (minus the baddie ones).

Infravision is gone, but Elves and Dwarves can see better in dark/dim light than humans and Hobbits can. Elves have far-sightedness and can see across long distances as long as there is a light source. Elves are not harmed by iron.

Pretty much all other rules are in play for the classes. Ranger class somewhat replaces the Thief class, as well as the Cleric class.

Magic items are rare but play a huge role in the game by serving as quest items. The ancient treasures of the Eldar are rare indeed, but worth the risk to find. They can do magical things, but they might also act as a “power-up”/bonus for casting spells too.

And I’ll need new patrons using the Valar and some powerful Maiar. Will probably start with Manwe, Elbereth, Morgoth (for the baddies), Aule, and Yavanna.

When players fail a Hope roll, there is a chance they must roll for Corruption (with a new custom Corruption table that better fits for Middle-Earth). Corruption basically makes one more susceptible to the temptations of Morgoth/Sauron. It is possible that with enough corruption, the PC is turned to evil and is no longer playable (without some kind of divine healing). Think: Ringwraith or Gollum. I think maybe after three(?) failed Hope rolls, the PC must roll for Corruption. Still working that out in my head…

Incorporate the Canticles from the DCC Annual. Use song-singing as a way to inspire or gain insight or remember lore. Tolkien loved his songs, after all!

And maybe port in some pipeweed mechanics from Dolmenwood.

I think when I have a firmer handle on these new rules and changes, I might post them online. For others who want a DCC/Middle-Earth experience.

Why am I doing this? I don’t really know, other than it excites me, and I want to play a campaign (or more) in Middle-Earth, and this feels like the right way to go. It’s Middle-Earth of my own imagining. It’s inspired by Tolkien, but it’s also all the influences and memories of my own childhood discovery of Middle-Earth. When we read a story, we take what the author has given us and use our own imaginations to bring the world of the tale into its fullness. It’s the author’s vision and our vision blended together.

I want a Middle-Earth role-playing experience that captures that blended vision. Tolkien’s and mine, together.

I think Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG can help me do that.

I’m hopeful it will.

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Yeah, so I have a new book out. Dark Was the Morning and Other Stories. You should buy it!

And check out my other books (if you haven’t already):

The Thirteen Treasures of Britain (if you are looking for Arthurian fantasy)

Avalon Summer (if you want a dash of nostalgic coming-of-age, 1990s-style)

Gates to Illvelion (if you want a strange fantasy meant to evoke the style of Appendix N fairy-tales like The Last Unicorn or The King of Elfland’s Daughter)

(And have I mentioned that the main character of Avalon Summer, Sarah, finds and reads Gates to Illvelion and sees strange parallels between that book and her own life? Well, she does, and it’s weird!)

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That’s it for now! Thanks for reading!

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