Castles & Crusades Players Handbook – Collector’s Pack

https://trolllord.com/product/castles-crusades-players-handbook-collectors-pack/

Oh, this is beautiful. Troll Lord Games is coming out with a Castles & Crusades Players Handbook – Collector’s Pack, with a new cover and the 11th Edition printing. Nothing has changed, which is wonderful, but we are getting a new cover!

There are some other nice things in here, such as a coffee mug, canvas printing, a mouse pad, stickers, and a few other goodies to be revealed. The preorder is up now!

The best dungeon-crawling game just got better.

Castles & Crusades

Castles & Crusades is a fantastic game. Many are switching to this as a 5E replacement, and it seamlessly integrates into campaigns, playing like the game you are used to. Everything works. The characters feel like Basic D&D. I can run them from 4x6" notecards and have more space than I need.

This is a "sell your 5E books" sort of game, where you can forget the past 10 years ever happened and play the game you love, telling the stories you want to share together.

The remastered edition is even better, with no OGL and no SRD content, and finally standing on its own as an independent game. The game seamlessly integrates with any classic or OSR adventure, making conversion a trivial task.

The SIEGE Engine, which runs the game's internals, is the best single-mechanic d20 resolution system in gaming. This is even better than Swords & Wizardry's "one save" mechanic, which is already genius.

You can not go wrong with this game.

Compared to other games, such as Old School Essentials, C&C offers more content, including classic classes, a higher power level, and additional options. The characters feel more capable and competent. The game has more "stuff," and the save and skill system is more modern and streamlined. There are no unusual save categories, such as "Save versus Wands." While OSE is the best old-school game ever written, C&C feels more modern but retains the old-school charm.

OSE is still one of the best-organized and presented books in gaming, and has influenced a generation of games since its release with its clean, two-page spread design, bulleted format, and clearly presented information. If all you want is an entire world in one or two small books, and that will be your gaming library forever, OSE is the clear winner.

This is a game that can sit in a backpack with a bag of dice and provide a lifetime of fun.

Versus Swords & Wizardry? S&W is a simplified version of AD&D, and it plays like a rules-light first edition. C&C still feels like it has more "meat on the bones" as S&W will lean back into that "basic dungeon" model of play, with no frills. The SIEGE Engine makes the difference here again, with that system providing the tools for a bard's smooth-talking skills, whereas in older games, how that is done either is just made up on the spot, or roleplayed with no dice rolls.

The SIEGE Engine gives C&C a fallback point where, if something needs a mechanic, you can use that, and the game feels like it has a full skill and ability check system. These other games do not have that, and rely more on the "old school method of play where if you roleplay it well, or are smart and figure out the trap, the referee just says, "you do it," and play moves on without a roll.

With C&C, players accustomed to making "search checks" and "persuasion checks" have a system to fall back on. Check "athletics?" In C&C, that is a DEX or STR save. There are no skills, only professions and classes. The SIEGE Engine is elegant and expressive, allowing for both the old-school "talk it out" method and a clean system to roll against in a pinch.

C&C is the better game for 5E players, as it utilizes a framework they are accustomed to, but it is only employed when necessary. This is even easier than Shadowdark, since we have more direction and clarity on how SIEGE checks are made, and there is more to the game than a handful of classes and levels to advance in.

Shadowdark, like OSE, is small and compact. Shadowdark wins on the random tables and world creation in the books, and those tables are also very useful in OSE. The options in OSE, especially the Advanced rules, far outdo Shadowdark. OSE also has the stronghold, followers, and dominion endgame, water travel, and many other game rules that a dungeon-focused game omits.

Shadowdark wins for being more like a board game, and also emphasizing time management and teamwork. This also uses a rules-light version of 5E rules. It somewhat limits its handling of things beyond the dungeons, and using it for a lengthy, epic campaign is not as straightforward as in other games.

C&C and OSE will play that epic game much easier.

When I play C&C, my first reaction is, "Why do I need 5E? This is doing all it does but much easier, with fewer books, and no computer software needed to manage characters." Then, my 5E books are put in storage, and C&C handles everything for much less cost and hassle. I get guilty when Tales of the Valiant books come out, and 5E goes on the shelf again.

But, honestly, if I were to keep one and not the other?

It would be Castles & Crusades all the way.

Castles & Crusades Added

This isn't in the gonzo genre, but it can be. I love this game so much that I put it away for a while to focus on other games; it just tends to "take over" every other fantasy game in my thinking and play.

It is that amazing.

I felt it wasn't "gonzo" enough, that deadly mix of tension and old-school difficulty that defines the genre. C&C has always been more of an AD&D 2nd Edition style "story game" to me that is compatible with the classics but feels more suited for stories like Dragonlance and the other classics of the 1980s and 1990s.

It is one of my "best of all time" games.

I felt that removing it would help me focus on this blog better. Well, I was wrong about that. I tend to do better with a more narrow focus, but in light of people trying to divide the old-school community, we should not reject any old-school game from any space.

C&C can be a "gonzo" game if you play it that way. It takes adopting that gonzo look and feel, but it can be done. I always felt this was one of the more "serious" retro-games, so it did not feel in this genre, at least not to me.

But let's give it as chance.

In light of the dumb comments many are making about Shadowdark and trying to split the old-school community, I am adding C&C coverage here. We can't be divided. It is funny, when big companies release updates to their games (and try to signing players up for live services), lots of trouble is stirred up in the old-school gaming sphere.

Many troublemakers are trying to stir up anger and division, but we should not let them drive us away from this fantastic place with amazing fans. The value of the old-school community is far greater than the drama they are trying to create.

All old-school games belong together.

I am sorry, I am unsubscribing from any YouTube channel that feeds into this division. I am also tired of the "D&D Beyond and Wizards" drama clickbait channels too; they are going on my unsub lists. I never used D&D Beyond, and I don't care. The last time I used an electronic character sheet was in D&D 4 days, and I learned back then that those online character services are only supported for longer than 5-10 years, and you will lose it all someday.

I still have 40-year-old index cards with characters that are still playable for dozens of games. They are yellowed, but "data retention" on a hand-made character sheet beats many media formats and cloud services.

I still need to find shelves to commit to C&C.

And I need to do a better job balancing all these amazing games.

It is a nice problem to have.

Castles & Crusades

Castles & Crusades is a game of such high quality that it stands out even among its peers. I am confident in recommending it as a replacement for D&D 3.0, 3.5, and Pathfinder 1e. While it does evoke a sense of nostalgia, it can perfectly replicate the feeling of an AD&D-style experience and is 100% compatible with old-school modules. It manages to feel both modern and old-school at the same time, providing a comfortable transition for players.

One of the key aspects that sets Castles & Crusades apart is its modern mechanics. Unlike traditional games, ability scores drive all skill rolls, ability checks, saving throws, and other die rolls in the game, with the exception of AC and combat. These modern, clean, and streamlined mechanics not only make for a unique gameplay experience, but also an engaging one that will keep you coming back for more.

I have this game stored since it tends to kill every other game it competes with, especially 5E and Pathfinder 1e. I also like to keep old-school games (DCC, OSE, Shadowdark, and the Without Number) apart from it since it will take attention from those, too, if you put them in the same genre. GURPS is so different it doesn't compete with anything.

So, I like to put this in the "modern dungeon" genre and see it as a 5E and Pathfinder (1e and 2E) replacement rather than an old-school game. Yes, this plays like an old-school game. Still, the characters feel more pulp and heroic than old-school characters due to the universal resolution mechanics (and how to level gets tied into them, making higher-level characters vastly more heroic).

If you want to replace your "modern dungeon" game, C&C has my highest recommendation. Old-school games like this blog covers tend to enjoy their "Appendix N quirkiness" and celebrate the genre's strange, mysterious, infinite, and spooky parts.

Shadowdark is like a horror game, where all the monsters can see in the dark, and the darkness itself is like this evil force that needs to be driven back from civilization.

DCC celebrates the "strange and weird tales" part of the genre with overly epic heroes, dangerous magic, and random instant death.

OSE is a tribute to the original game, perfectly emulating the experience of scrounging the last copper piece in your parent's basement in 1980.

The Without Number games are the best sandbox games ever created, kings of the Hex Crawl.

One thing "old school gonzo games" have in common is fetishizing and celebrating a narrow part of the hobby and experience, which all these games do. If you are a fan of magic corrupting the caster, then DCC will be your thing, and you will have the best experience there. If you love the hex crawl, the Without Number games should be your home. If the race against time and battle against the darkness thrills you, Shadowdark will be where you will have the most fun. If the classic survival style of play and race-as-class game fills you with nostalgia, OSE is your thing.

Castles & Crusades offers the best "game as novel" experience. The pulp elements mixed with the classic rules give it the feel of the old Forgotten Realms novels and make me feel that AD&D 2e and D&D 3.5 period perfectly. However, unlike the games on this blog, it doesn't drill down on the strange, horror, nostalgia, or exploration parts.

So, C&C does not belong here, but it is still one of the best games ever.

((UPDATE: Yes it does. I changed my mind. All old-school games stand together. We are adding this to the blog. Why? We need to stand together against greed, negativity, hate, and division.