The DCC series harks back to 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons modules in content and style.

The design ethos is summed up by the following statement included in every DCC module, regardless of which underlying ruleset it is written for: "Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level?

Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere.

[2] The series began in 2003 with the publication of Idylls of the Rat King for D&D 3rd edition, and continued to publish well over sixty adventures.

Horvath concluded, "If players want a game that encourages character envelopment, sprawling stories, or rewarding exploration, look elsewhere.