Black Streams + Dungeon Crawl Classics: Brainstorming

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This post is a set of conversion(?) notes for using Black Streams and Dungeon Crawl Classics. Black Streams is a supplement for Labyrinth Lord but it was apparently expanded and polished into Scarlet Heroes (which I'm probably going to buy soon). I'm pretty sure you could use Black Streams with almost any class- and level- system including D&D 5e and Pathfinder, but why would you play Pathfinder? :^) 

Let's dive in.

Starting Character(s): I'd recommend letting the player roll up 5 level-0 characters for funnels. 

Fray Die: The first departure we going to have to make from Black Streams is the Fray Die. This one is kinda dicey. Usually, the PC gets to roll a Fray Die and deal damage to an enemy with equal or less HD than himself. For level-0 characters this would mean other PCs and NPC villagers. But if one player is controlling all the level-0 PCs he really isn't going to use his Fray Die against his own PCs barring possession/insanity/whatever and slaughtering droves of peasants is a weird situation that probably won't come up either. In any case, if the GM decides to allow the Fray Die it's 1d4 for level-0 characters.

Defy Death: Level-0 characters can Defy Death as outlined in Black Streams but they roll a 1d6 damage die for their first attempt, 1d8 for their second, and 1d10 for all subsequent attempts. Keep in mind that DCC funnels tend to have a shitload of instadeath encounters. Spellcasters can use Defy Death to avoid Corruption and/or Patron Taint but they have can only avoid one or the other with a single Defy Death use; in another words, if a caster gets both Corruption and Patron Taint at the same time he needs to Defy Death twice to reject them (once for Corruption and one for Taint).

Fire-cults of the Trolls

Imagine a small chunk of wood. At the end of it flickers a yellow-red shape, casting a cruel light on you. Imagine the primal fear that tugs at your soul knowing that baleful glow can harm you, can kill you if it touches your skin. This is what a troll thinks when he sees fire. Fire is death. It is not warmth or comfort, it is pain and destruction and agony. Little wonder then that most trolls will hesitate to attack even when confronted with a simple torch. Now consider that there are some trolls who worship this deadly fire.

They can be compared to the death-cults humans are so drawn to; ritual murders and necromantic studies undertaken to cheat, or at least postpone, death.  Their counterparts among trolls are fire-cults. It’s easier to recognize troll fire-cultists than human death-cultists: Fire-cultists are completed devoid of hair and covered with ritual scars. Yes, scars. Some natural philosophers will swear by their mentors’ souls that trolls cannot have scars because of their regenerative powers; this is usually true, but the fire-cultists have figured out how to get past that hurdle. Metal tools are heated until they are at least red hot, then the scar-patterns are traced upon the skin of converts by senior members. The first scarification ritual lasts about 36 straight hours. Those who try to recant their conversion become impromptu sacrifices destined to be slowly burnt to death.

Fire-cultists sacrifice a variety of offerings to their strange patron via immolation: Books, oil, cloth, animals, people. However, they especially seek to capture normal trolls alive and slowly roast them to death. Fire-cultists consider this to be the form of offering most pleasing to their master. They also don’t mind a bit of arson every now and then, especially when they’re leaving an area to find a new lair. Aside from the dangers of arson, their predation of common trolls also causes problems because it strengthens the power of local orcs, goblinoids, or ogres. 

Despite all this, the strangest fact of the fire-cultists is this: Something has answered them. Fire halves the potency of their regeneration instead of negating it. Many a foolhardy adventurer or troll has charged against fire-cultists expecting a quick flaming victory only to find himself on the sacrificial pyre.

As for the identity of their mysterious benefactor none can say; the fire-cultists don’t even seem clear on that themselves. They general refer to their deity as “The Devouring Flame” or “The Fire That Ends The World” but sages have been unable to connect these titles to any known extraplanar powers.