Quote from: SHARK on August 03, 2022, 02:13:30 PM
Greetings!

Effete, I haven't personally played Castles & Crusades, though I have consistently heard from many gamers that it is a solid system and worth embracing.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Thank you.

And Welcome Back!

C&C is my go to game.

In my experience it works quite well;  and really captures the old school vibe with adding some new school trappings (like ascending AC).

As I recall, you don't have to declare all your actions before your turn in the initiative (that's not the way my group plays).

Casters can't move and cast, but to me that helps level the playing field and eliminates some of the martial / caster imbalance that exists in many games.

Don't feel bad about making minor tweaks to the rules to make it better suit your style. I don't think any two tables of this game play exactly the same way. The flexibility is part of it's charm.

Quote from: Hackmaster on August 03, 2022, 03:44:16 PM
C&C is my go to game.

In my experience it works quite well;  and really captures the old school vibe with adding some new school trappings (like ascending AC).

As I recall, you don't have to declare all your actions before your turn in the initiative (that's not the way my group plays).

Per the 7th printing rules (only ones I currently have), Standard Actions don't need to be declared, but any spells or Combat Maneuvers that alter AC do need to declared before Initiative.

QuoteDon't feel bad about making minor tweaks to the rules to make it better suit your style. I don't think any two tables of this game play exactly the same way. The flexibility is part of it's charm.

Thanks! Yeah, I have the feeling I'll need to make a few tweaks if I run it.

A few months ago Stephen Chenault mentioned that they are planning to release a "Castles & Crusades Basic Set", which will be a boxed set with softcover rulebooks, ala the old D&D Basic and Expert boxes.  He stated this in response to a question on Reddit asking if there was ever going to be a "Castles & Crusades Lite" type of game, as the current hardback rulebooks are rather dense.

I would imagine that a Castles & Crusades Basic Set would involve truncated rules which might be easier to grok than what's in the current C&C rulebooks.  It may even have new and different rules, in the same way that Basic D&D is very similar but still somewhat different than AD&D.  As a fan of rules-lite games, I hope this is the case.  I would definitely buy a C&C Basic boxed set with stripped-down rules.

Technically they've had 2 box sets already; a white-box basic game and a black-box addition.  These were in the ODD small box format and each included 3 boos and dice.

I'd be interested in seeing what they could do with a larger size B/X style set up.

Quote from: Crusader X on August 03, 2022, 09:23:44 PM
A few months ago Stephen Chenault mentioned that they are planning to release a "Castles & Crusades Basic Set", which will be a boxed set with softcover rulebooks, ala the old D&D Basic and Expert boxes.  He stated this in response to a question on Reddit asking if there was ever going to be a "Castles & Crusades Lite" type of game, as the current hardback rulebooks are rather dense.

I would imagine that a Castles & Crusades Basic Set would involve truncated rules which might be easier to grok than what's in the current C&C rulebooks.  It may even have new and different rules, in the same way that Basic D&D is very similar but still somewhat different than AD&D.  As a fan of rules-lite games, I hope this is the case.  I would definitely buy a C&C Basic boxed set with stripped-down rules.

Dense is pretty relative. C&C is basically OSR with a d20 chassis, but way less crunch than Pathfinder. I'd say it's no more dense than early 2e or 5e (both pre-supplements).

And the only books you really need are the Players Handbook and Monsters & Treasure unless you plan to do a lot of customization.

C&C is my go to game.  Feels like AD&D but I like the mechanics better.

Quote from: Crusader X on August 03, 2022, 09:23:44 PM
A few months ago Stephen Chenault mentioned that they are planning to release a "Castles & Crusades Basic Set", which will be a boxed set with softcover rulebooks, ala the old D&D Basic and Expert boxes.  He stated this in response to a question on Reddit asking if there was ever going to be a "Castles & Crusades Lite" type of game, as the current hardback rulebooks are rather dense.

I would imagine that a Castles & Crusades Basic Set would involve truncated rules which might be easier to grok than what's in the current C&C rulebooks.  It may even have new and different rules, in the same way that Basic D&D is very similar but still somewhat different than AD&D.  As a fan of rules-lite games, I hope this is the case.  I would definitely buy a C&C Basic boxed set with stripped-down rules.

As mentioned upthread, there were two (that I'm aware of) boxed sets. If you like C&C but want a lite version, you could do worse than looking at my own Tombs & Terrors, which has a basis in C&C with several tweaks and stuff culled from other editions of DnD. It's also the system from Go Fer Yer Gun! and Medieval Mysteries. The pdf (on Drivethru) is not expensive either.

I tried it and dumped it. I don't like the SIEGE mechanic, and I got tired of the nonchalant inconsistency about weapon damages. Also the illuisionist's healing spells break its own rules about illusion magic. I can't recommend it.

Quote from: pawsplay on August 05, 2022, 06:03:32 PM
I tried it and dumped it. I don't like the SIEGE mechanic, and I got tired of the nonchalant inconsistency about weapon damages. Also the illuisionist's healing spells break its own rules about illusion magic. I can't recommend it.

Thank you.

It seems the biggest criticism is the SEIGE Engine, but that looks like an easy fix. I'd probably also streamline the weapon list and a few encumbrance values.

It's a great game. Got a lot of flavor and is a decent system.

Quote from: pawsplay on August 05, 2022, 06:03:32 PM
I tried it and dumped it. I don't like the SIEGE mechanic, and I got tired of the nonchalant inconsistency about weapon damages. Also the illuisionist's healing spells break its own rules about illusion magic. I can't recommend it.

It definitely needs a few house rules other than that I like it.

Thanks Rob!

Quote from: Effete on August 05, 2022, 09:48:28 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on August 05, 2022, 06:03:32 PM
I tried it and dumped it. I don't like the SIEGE mechanic, and I got tired of the nonchalant inconsistency about weapon damages. Also the illuisionist's healing spells break its own rules about illusion magic. I can't recommend it.

Thank you.

It seems the biggest criticism is the SEIGE Engine, but that looks like an easy fix. I'd probably also streamline the weapon list and a few encumbrance values.

I've never had an issue with it.  Not sure what anyone's problem with the weapon's list is.  Honestly it's the smoothest system I've ever played.  Sure we use house rules, but I have with every other system too.  It just adds some flavor and preferences.

Quote from: Effete on August 05, 2022, 10:24:59 PM
Thanks Rob!

No worries... Well worth it IMO.