Castles & Crusades is a fantasy RPG we just discovered from a game company (Troll Lord) located in my city (Little Rock, Arkansas), even! The mechanics are quite similar to original AD&D and it is lots of fun to play. The CNC Players Handbook is available in hardcover from Troll Lord Games for US$29.99 (or $35.99 with a PDF) and PDF alone from either Troll Lord or Drive Thru RPG for $21.
A quick mechanics overview. CNC uses Troll Lord’s own SIEGE Engine mechanic, which is based on the Open Gaming License (OGL). The 6 familiar Attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) are either Prime or Secondary (depends on class, race and player choice). To make a check, roll a d20 and add your Level and attribute modifier. Checks must exceed the Challenge Base (12 for Prime, 18 for Secondary) pus the Challenge Level (task difficulty and/or creature hit dice). Combat rounds have the usual 6 second turns and initiative is rolled each round. I think once per combat is enough, but it didn’t slow down our combats for a party of 4-6 to roll Initiative every new round. I found the mechanics explanations less extensive than I wanted, but I expect there is more information in the GM book.
Classes and races are familiar to anyone who has played AD&D, 3.x D&D or Pathfinder. You’ll also find a lot of familiar spells. But CNC’s developers, to my delight, didn’t just reskin or file off serial numbers. They changed up or added details in both fluff and mechanics. Take the Illusionist, the class I picked for my first PC. I’ve always liked them, but the description made me even more eager to to try the CNC version. There’s a definite “power behind the throne” vibe: “They are greatly valued for their understanding of the mental caprices of most intelligent races. Illusionists are often found in high places of government using their skills to enchant those of both high and low birth, twisting the desires of any that may be of use.” And the mechanics continue the mix of “alter[ing] the perceptions of others and even reality itself.” The two class abilities are Disguise, combining magic and props–which I used to great advantage to become bait for a ritual killer the party was trying to stop–and Sharp Senses, the result of the PC’s skill at telling the real from the illusory.
Troll Lord has put its own stamp on other classes. The Knight receives a horse as well as starting money and many of the class abilities are buffs. The Paladin write-up reminded me of Rich Burlew’s Order of the Stick paladin O’Chul, describing how “These warriors fight and die for the greater good; often unsung, alone and beyond the reach of succor.” The Ranger, to my husband’s dismay, doesn’t get an animal companion as a class benefit. But don’t despair, Ranger fans! Any PC of any class can have an animal companion or familiar! The GM–one of the game devs–told me of an entire sourcebook, The Book of Familiars, which covers all classes. (Yes, it’s on my Wish List.)
Spells and spellcasting are done the same way as I learned in AD&D (the first RPG I played, back in the late 70s), except that CNC has kept the later additions of bonus spells and 0 level spells. Spells may have Verbal, Somatic and Material components and must be memorized/prayed for each day. Many of these spells, whether cleric, druid, wizard or illusionist, will be familiar to veterans of any version of D&D: Cure __ Wounds, Light, Magic Missile, Resurrection, Dancing Lights, etc. But there are many wonderful new spells! I had to have Illusionary Hounds–two realistic vicious wardogs to keep your opponents busy by making no-damage attacks or just scaring the pants off them. Worked as advertised! And, oddly, Illusionists get First Aid and Cure __ Wounds spells–with a twist. The target has to FAIL a saving throw for it to work; if they make the save, they realize the healing was an illusion. (Roll low!)
CNC uses the classic 9 alignments, so nothing new there. The Equipment section is pretty complete. Armor (especially) and weapons come from an even greater variety of cultures and (pre-gunpowder) times than in D&D. Prices (in gold, silver & copper pieces) seem pretty close to D&D, based on a quick skimming. A few items I found odd, to say the least. You can buy a walrus (Yes, a walrus!) for slightly less than a heavy warhorse–but there’s nary a dog or hound to be seen. Okay…
Finally the Castle Keeper (CNC term for Game or Dungeon Master) section is pretty good. The tone is more pro-narrative than I am used to seeing in many d20 games–which is great. I liked the encouragement to run with a player’s ideas, within reason, even if it means altering plans. There are also several warnings against the Keeper making capricious, overemotional or random rulings, good advice for anyone running a game of any type.
My husband and I were both quite happy to discover this new–to us–fantasy game. Give Castles & Crusades a try. It has just the right mix of Golden Oldie and All New! to appeal to a wide variety of fantasy gamers.
Linda Whitson
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Thanks for the review Linda! I’ve been curious about this game for some time. Question: What’s it like playing a level 1 character in the game, compared to AD&D? How useful are they? For example: Can a giant rat kill a level one character in one ore two bites? Thanks!
Double checked with Gamer-Husband, who has played 3.5 D&D (as well as Pathfinder) more recently than I have. Level 1 characters have about the same capabilities as in PF and D&D 3.5 & earlier. The damages are pretty similar between the systems. So yes, your giant rat could kill a C&C PC that easily, depending of course on the character (a magic-user will still have only about 4 HP, while a fighter will almost always have a lot more) and the rolls.