Castles & Crusades Player's ...

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A Guide and Rules System for Fantasy Roleplaying
by
Davis Chenault & Mac Golden
Cover art, interior art, logos and logo designs by
Peter “20 Dollar” Bradley,
and Cover Design and Layout by Peter Bradley
With Steve Chenault, Mark Sandy and Todd Gray
Character Refrence Sheet by Darlene
Edited by: Nicole Chenault, Matt Finch & Derrick Landwehr,
Eratta compilation assistance:
Derrick Landwehr, Steven J. Ege, Joseph Hepler
Contributions by Casey Canfield, Josh Chewning, Mike Stewart,
Colin Chapman, Kenneth J. Ruch, William D. Smith
and the Entire Castles and Crusades Society
For more information on Castles & Crusades, and related products or
to Join the Castles & Crusades Society please contact us at:
Troll Lord Games
PO Box 251171, Little Rock, AR 72225
or on the web at www.trolllord.com
or email at troll@trolllord.com or
www.castlesandcrusades.com
©2007 Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. Castles & Crusades, C&C, Castle Keeper, SIEGE engine,
Troll Lord Games, and the Castles & Crusades, SIEGE engine, and Troll Lord Games logos are
Trademarks of Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved.
CASTLES & CRUSADES
We offer this book as an ode to the years of fun in game and play
and to the creative might and best of friendships
bound within the very person of E. Gary Gygax,
for whom none of what came before,
nor any that must come after, would be possible.
Thank you Gary.
†
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I
n the immortal days of our youth we found high adventure and fought many a campaign against all manner of villainy and evil. We slew dragons, brought
down corrupt tyrants, explored uncharted territories and freed the world of grotesque creatures of mythical proportions.
We were heroes on a crusade. These youthful adventures were brought to us by Gary Gygax through the medium of role play and the fantastic game that made
it all possible. We bring you our own game now, one that we hope captures those early days of grand quests and exploration. The Castles & Crusades role playing
game pulls on those early experiences and makes them real again.
First and foremost, we would like to thank E. Gary Gygax for sharing his wonderful vision with the rest of us, for without it, none would have followed. Our hats
are off to you good sir.
It is impossible to thank every person who has helped see this project through and insure that it was finally completed. The Troll Lords are personally indebted
to a great many members of the Castles and Crusades Society for such unflagging support and help over the past year. There are no words which can suffice to
express our heartfelt appreciation. So let us just say Thank You!
A S
PECIAL
T
HANKS
T
O
Casey (Fiffergrund) Canfield, Josh (Cheeplives) Chewning, Mike (Sir Sieg) Stewart, Robert (Serleran) Doyel, Colin Chapman, Kenneth J. (Banabus) Ruch,
Chris (epochrpg) Rutcowsky, Steve (Bloodymage) Willet, David (DCAS) Smith, David (Grubman) Bezio, Mark (Gutboybarrelhouse) Bittinger, Hiryu, Mike
(Maharvey) Harvey, Gabor (Melan) Lux, J. Mance (Melkor) Haines , Robert (SirUlfric) Fisher, William (WDSmith) Smith
Shotwick Manor
John Behnken, Casey Canfield, Lorinda Sanford, Cindy Seiffert, Keith
Seiffert, Rob Dingman, Kelley Garcia, Dave VanVessem, Scott MacMillan
Minion of Arioch
Kenneth Ruch (CK, Servant of Chaos), Maggie Ruch (Helga Heals), R. Lee
Crabtree (I’m not short I’m playing a gnome), Jesse Crabtree (I’m play testing
for two), Mike Fowler (who Da Monk), Rex Soderquist (I rolled a 1 again!)
Dave Chismer (D man)
Fellowship of Foragers
Marv Breig (Finarvyn, Earl of Stone Creek), Alan Bean (glassjaw Captain
Wee Willie) Anna Breig (Serendipity the Drow Druid), Dardrae Breig (Dante
the Defiler Sorceress), Kaylina Breig (Kaywen the Elven Princess), Ryan Breig
(Rynolas the Elven Archer), Paul Luzbetak (Bastion the Acquirer), Kristina
Kober (Trasen the Elven Valkyrie of the Venom-dagger)
Jackal’s Knights
Joseph (The Jackal) Hepler, Krystyna (Lady Banshee) Hepler, Bryan Clark,
Jason (Shag) Zeh, Justin (Violentzeh) Zeh
Grubbys Gals
David (Grubman) Bezio, Colette Bezio, Dana Cox
Lords of the Cup
Steve Willet, Joe Costa, Mat Erwin, Grant Kopecki,
Mike Peterson and Billy Vitro
The Mad Trepekans
Jason Coplen
De Equites Vulgaris
J. Mance Haines (CK), Zachariah (Beazt) Hardilek, Chris (Two-Fisted Mon-
key) Lee, William (Super Size My Ass) Clark
Emerald Fire
Mike (CK) Stewart, Elizabeth (Valeris) Stewart, Robert (Twiggy) Hall,
Nick (Swiggy) Nelson, Chris (Danger Ranger) Yard, Martha (You Dropped
This!) Yard, Rita (I’m praying not checking for traps!) Kelly, Chris (Mr.
D6) Walker, Koni (I’m a fairy darn it!) Woodruff, Allen (Always a Dwarf)
Woodruff, Eric (Let ME open the door instead of the Thief!) Martin,
Jennifer (Jayde) Hamilton, Heath (Lawful Good stinks!) Vercher
Sapphire Rune
Jesse Hall, Vincent Watkins, Chris Hill, Edward Bromble
Southron
David Lunsford, Tim McKee, Rand Hargrove
Luddville
Greg Geilman, Kara Geilman, Ray Quinn, Daniel Saldana, Ben Steele and
Mary Watts
Arch Fiends
Lucias Meyer, George Albanis, Jeff Knight, Lauire Lesage-Knight,
Joe Selby, Jeff Waltersdorf
The Throng of Ten
Scott Moore, Tim Sullivan, David Wagner, Ed Bass,
Cindy Moore, Mark Golden
2
PLAYERS HANDBOOK
WHERE ROLLPLAYING AND ROLE PLAYING MEET
I
run my games fairly consistently. All of my games combine intense interaction between the players and myself with quick-moving, heart-stopping combats.
These many moments, actions, and interactions must be woven together over a night’s play through exciting storytelling and player involvement. When
the tale is woven tightly, emotions are awakened, creating unforgettable moods. This is where “roll playing” and “roleplaying” meet, and the result is an
electrifying evening of gaming.
Capturing a mood is difficult. It is a challenge to create the intricate interplay between a bartender who is bought and paid for by a thieves guild and a character
seeking to pry information from him. The task involves descriptive text, acting, accents and a great number of things. The sounds of sword clashing upon shield,
of flesh and bone grinding against metal, all this against a background of a field awash in blood and combat are all demanding to capture in narrative. How does
one help players imagine the sound of a bow creaking as the arrow is drawn back? How does one make them fear that sound? The tale in the game must cascade
over the players, engulfing them in a wash of emotions: fear, rage, courage, elation. Once you’ve captured everyone’s emotions, the game is won! At that point,
the game is pure fun, like a good movie – one where you forget you’re in a theater.
The core of any game’s philosophy has to have the goal of creating and capturing a mood charged with excitement. Anything that detracts from that objective
detracts from the game. How does one capture that mood? Foremost, the rules guiding game play must be easily understood. Ideally, the basic rules of the game
should be easily grasped within about fifteen minutes. A player should be able to sit down with another player, create a character, and have the basics of the game
explained to them in just that time. As a foundation, the rules must be kept simple and logical, easy to comprehend and easy to enact. Expanding the game comes
later, much like adding stories to a building. Start with a firm, square foundation and everything else follows.
The game must be adaptable as well. Gamers are diverse people, all with different imaginations, different tastes, and different desires. They all want to play a
game that suits their tastes. Those playing should be able to add, discard, and change rules and ideas to fit their needs without worrying about the effects those
changes have on the workings of the rest of the game. There should only be a few hard and fast rules. Everything else is extra.
The main impediment to these objectives is an overabundance of rules. A glut of rules unnecessarily restricts the flow of the story, and even worse, the flow
of the game. Rules do serve a purpose—they codify actions and reactions during game play. However, rules can also impede the imagination. They can reduce
the element of uncertainty and the emotions that come with it. They can describe too much, and thus hinder the capacity for narrative development for all
participants. At its worst, codifying too much into game rules reduces emotion and mood. This misses the goal of capturing the emotions of the participants, and
then, you’ve lost the heart of the game! An efficient and concise set of rules allows an ease of play and adaptability, and is a necessary ingredient.
A rules-light, adaptable game naturally engenders a gaming environment where one is bound only by imagination. When so unleashed, one can act without
restraint to create a gaming environment that is fun for all. That is the core of this game’s philosophy. That was the core of the original game. At its heart, it was
intended to be a fun game to play and this game adheres to the same philosophy. Castles & Crusades is not a realistic-simulation game! Castles & Crusades is a
fantasy game where imagination rules.
3
CASTLES & CRUSADES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
2
Scale of the Game
106
Working with the Players
106
FOREWORD
3
A Life of Adventure
107
INTRODUCTION
5-6
The Castle and its Keep
107
CREATING THE CHARACTER
7
Resolution of Conflict
108
With an Iron Thumb: Rules
108
ATTRIBUTES
7
The Rules as Servant
109
Generating Attribute Scores
8
Attributes & the Game
109-110
Primary and Secondary Attributes
8
Using Attribute Checks
110-112
CLASSES (grouped by prime attribute)
9
Adding Character Levels
112
Saving Throws
112
Class Reference Table 1: Armor, Shields, Helms
10
Combat
114
Fighter
11
STR
Combat Terms
114
Ranger
12-13
Surprise
115
Rogue
14-15
DEX
Initiative
115
Assassin
16-17
Combat Actions
115-116
Barbarian
18-19
CON
Non-lethal & Multiple Actions
116
Monk
19-20
Movement in a Combat Round
116
Wizard
21
INT
Charging
116
Illusionist
22
Melee Combat
116
Cleric
23-24
WIS
Ranged Combat
117
Druid
24-25
Unarmed Combat
117
Knight
25-27
Grappling
117
CHA
Paladin
28
Pummelling
117
Bard
29-30
Overbearing
117
RACES
31
Touch Attack
117
Racial Ages
31
Situational Modifiers
117-118
Dwarf
32-33
Armor Class
118
Elf
33-34
Combat Maneuvers
118-119
Gnome
34-35
Dodge
119
Half-elf
35
Disengaging
119
Halfling
35-36
Disarm
119
Half-orc
36-37
Evade
119
Human
37
Flank Attack
119
Rear Attack
119
COMPLETING THE CHARACTER
38
Two Weapon Fighting
119
Persona
38
Narrative of Combat
119
Alignment
38
Hit Points
120
Choosing a Deity
39
Damage
120
Names
39
Weapon
120
EQUIPMENT
40
Magic
120
Starting Coin
40
Subdual
120
Equipment Lists
41-43
Falling
121
Encumbrance
44-45
Turning Undead
121
MAGIC
46
Number Turned
121
Preparing Spells
46-47
Turned & Destroying Undead
121
Acquiring New Spells
47-48
Evil Clerics
121
Castings Spells
48
Paladins
122
Using Scrolls
48
Rewards
122
Spell Description Format
49
Experience Points
122
Saving Throw
50
Gaining Levels
122
Spell Resistance
50
Treasure
122
Spell Lists
51
Movement
122
Cleric
51-52
Spell Resistance
123
Druid
52-54
Languages
123
Wizard
54-57
Vision
123
Illusionist
57-58
Time
123
Spell Format
59
The Adventuring Party
123-124
Spell Descriptions
59-104
Example of Play
124-125
THE CASTLE KEEPER & THE GAME
105
Character Sheet
126-127
Style & Mood of Play
105
OGL
128
Maintaining Pace
105
4
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