Back in the Game Master Saddle with DC20
Taking a big step, with a new system
A little history…
Back in the 80s, I spent countless hours playing or GMing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) with a group of high school friends. After graduation, life took over, and I stopped playing TTRPGs altogether. Occasionally, we’d get together for a board game night, but full-blown RPG sessions felt like too much of a commitment.
About two years ago, a friend posted on Facebook suggesting we reunite and give TTRPGs another shot. That suggestion reignited everything. Since then, I’ve been participating as a player in an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons 5e campaign, Dragons of Icespire Peak. Around the same time, I introduced my kids to DnD Adventure Club, which we’ve played sporadically. Running adventures for them gave me the itch to try DMing a session myself. It also seemed like a great way to give our group’s regular DM a chance to play for a change.
When I asked if the DM would be cool with me running a session, he jumped at the opportunity. Since the group had been focused on D&D, I wanted to try something different. The only question was what. I explored a few ideas.
First, I considered Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP), one of our all-time favorites from back in the day, but it’s been out of print for years. Next, I thought about Call of Cthulhu (CoC) to shift away from the fantasy genre entirely. It’s another favorite of mine, but I felt I needed more experience running RPGs before tackling the Keeper role. After a lot of research and deliberation, I stumbled upon a new system called DC20 on Kickstarter. It’s high fantasy like D&D but features a completely different gaming system. Intrigued, I decided to back it and dive into the beta version.
Why DC20?
What initially drew me to DC20 was its Action Point (AP) system. One of the drawbacks of D&D is the long lulls during combat while you wait for your turn. With DC20’s AP system, you can use certain actions or reactions throughout combat, even when it’s not your turn. This dynamic approach seemed like it would be fun to try, so I started digging deeper into the system.
The character creation process and custom weapon options also offered a lot of flexibility, which I thought my group would enjoy. On top of that, the system’s creator, The Dungeon Coach, was incredibly enthusiastic in his YouTube videos. His energy was contagious—I couldn’t help but get excited while watching him talk about the game. It didn’t hurt that several other TTRPG YouTubers were also singing the game’s praises.
After some consideration, I read through the free one-shot module, The Hunted, and decided this was the perfect game for me to GM. The Hunted is an excellent first-level adventure that introduces new players and GMs to the system with a variety of scenarios to help them learn the mechanics. That sealed the deal. I reached out to our regular DM, and he was incredibly supportive of my decision to step into the GM role and use DC20 for the session.
What’s next
I’m in the final stages of prepping my one-shot for the group. I’ll share what I did to learn the DC20 system and get The Hunted ready for play.