# Dungeon Crawler Carl May Be Best Left in Space tags: #thoughts   I've been putting this off since yesterday when I saw the post pop up in my feeds, but I think I have to say something about it. Firstly, I want everybody involved with the production of this show taken out behind the chemical sheds, and then I want the entire set that they use to shoot on to be set on fire. Their presentation is the most condescending, least effective way to communicate anything about a game that I've heard in at least six months. Considering how much content I consume about games, that's saying something. The lecturing, perky kindergarten teacher does not sell, kids. Just stop it. Don't do it. The snide jokes aren't coming across. But that's just production. That's just people making really stupid decisions about how to present something. Let's talk about what they actually said. Well, what they actually said was just a massive data dump without much in the way of tying it together, which is also the worst possible way of presenting information about a game. Let me just read you the dry recitation of what the stats do and what the roles are and provide no context whatsoever for them at all. Thanks, guys. You've provided me a completely useless pile of crap. Okay, fine. Let's focus on the specifics of what they've provided. It is a stat plus skill plus mod system based on the d20, which borrows "the DM never rolls the dice" from much better games, i.e., *[[Blades in the Dark|Forged in the Dark]]*. However, they don't actually borrow the other part of that mechanic, which is that you can have reasonable partial successes, which introduce complications. It appears to be a skill-based game with no set list of skills, which is fine with me, but they don't communicate about how many skills a character should be likely to have. Is it five? Is it 25? No idea. As we go on, we find that the mechanics become more and more exception-based. That is, such and such happens until/unless this thing happens, and then you pursue a different mechanic. Great. Super. A recipe for making a mess of spaghetti. Thanks, guys. Plus that damage system. Sure, I do love a nice damage track system, but one which then has each block multiplied by the constitution bonus and—you know what? It's a silly place. Let's not go there. Finally, I want to say something about the setting. Sure, the *Dungeon Crawler Carl* books are well-loved, but guys, I already have a copy of *[[Xcrawl]]*, which is far superior in terms of setting design and premise for actual play. A magical version of the 80s where dungeon crawling is broadcast across crystal balls in everyone's living room and DJs are dungeon jockeys, each with their own style? This is top-end stuff. I don't even mind that it uses the DCC D&D adjacent mechanics. It's perfectly appropriate to the setting. It's thematically in line. This just seems like a hot mess waiting to happen. Not only am I turned off by the presentation, but I'm turned off by the fact that **it just doesn't seem to be a very good game**. What would have been better would have been to show it off to start with by showing a brief scene with some characters in a dungeon dealing with a situation, thus showing us how all those mechanics actually work rather than just exposition dumping them on us. Not only do I have a bad feeling about this, but I have the feeling I get to keep my money and give it to better games. If you're looking to play this kind of game with this sort of premise, might I suggest a couple of options? --- **[[XCrawl]]**: https://goodman-games.com/xcrawl/ Frankly, you've got enough setting here to fill up six or seven campaigns, even if you only occasionally touch a dungeon. I love this setting, and it's ridiculously over the top. Given that I don't actually care for D&D that much, the fact that Xcrawl speaks to me at such a deep level is pretty impressive. Plus, if you really want it, there's a great excuse to buy scenarios and throw money at other people. The dungeons don't have to be connected to the wants, needs, and desires of your characters. You're good to go. Knock yourself out. They are intentional, conceptual islands. --- **[[Blades in the Dark]]**: https://bladesinthedark.com/greetings-scoundrel Is *Blades in the Dark* really about fantasy archetype or science fiction archetype characters going into dungeons for broadcast purposes? Absolutely not. However, what it does have is the perfect architecture for doing that kind of game. Gameplay is centered around a mission-based structure in which you have goals going in and you're never quite sure what's going to happen. You have downtime between missions, which gives you time to build up your resources or your character. The GM never touches the dice, which is fantastic. Gameplay is a conversation between the players and the GM, where the GM effectively sets the level of risk and the potential payoff for actions based on what the player says the character does. If you don't mind investing a little elbow grease, then you could find the core of the game right here. --- **[[Ironsworn - Starforged|Starforged]]**: https://tomkinpress.com/pages/ironsworn-starforged Yeah, I know. Every time, right? You expect this one to come up. But here's the thing. If you want to do Dungeon Crawler Carl, who is the star of a future TV show where people are sent into constructed systems, make that constructed dungeons for the entertainment of the fans—this is a pretty good place to start. Particularly the way that delves are handled within the *Starforged* framework. You can generate those things randomly based on a few die rolls and an understanding of what the characters want to get out of it. The crawls themselves could be derelict ships, ancient megastructures, lost cities, you name it. There are systems for building them right there in the book. If I were going to do it, this is what I'd do it in, but that's probably predictable. --- However, frankly, I think you're going to be better off not throwing money at *Dungeon Crawler Carl* because it looks like a hot mess. I could be wrong. Perhaps it is one of the greatest feats of game design known to man, and it will solve all of your hungers and needs. But if I was a betting man, that's not where I'd put my money. You've got better options. Use them.