Last year I entered a
Castles & Crusades Society contest and managed to win a copy of Brave Halfling’s
Ruins of Ramat module (see here:
link). The contest took place on the now-defunct C&CS message boards. It was called the
Gestalt World Contest and I think Robert Doyel, author of the excellent (and highly underrated)
Engineering Dungeons
, started it. (A quick side note, if you are interested in
Engineering Dungeons, don’t let the fact it’s a C&C product put you off. It is damn near system neutral and well worth $10).
The contest was a lot of fun and generated some great content. I say we bloggers do something similar. It won’t be a contest, but rather simply a cool way to churn out some ideas.
Here is how it works:
1.) Take the name of a person, item, or location offered up by a fellow blogger.
2.) Write up your description for the name and post it on your blog. Include a link to the name’s source.
3.) Include a new name in your blog post for another person to use.
4.) Rinse, wash, repeat.
Obviously the blog-o-world isn’t centralized, so we’ll have some redundancy, but who cares? The worst that will happen is we’ll get alternate descriptions. That sounds fine to me.
I’ll kick this off with the description I used for the original contest.
Manistus the Scrivener
Manistus the Scrivener was renowned for his ability to transcribe magic writings, such as spells
and scrolls. His transcriptions were works of art, containing beautiful calligraphy. However, the transcribed texts he provided were not quite the same as the originals: they were superior. A wizard casting spells from such transcriptions was able to empower his magics beyond his normal capabilities. Not surprisingly, Manistus' services were in high demand and he charged a pretty price.
Thirteen years ago, Manistus disappeared. Three wizards, clients of the scrivener, eager to protect their works (and possibly pilfer those of others) invaded his home, a nondescript outpost outside the city of Wavery. They discovered that not only was Manistus gone, but so were all of his instruments: papers, inks, quills, and so on. Much to their dismay, not one page of magic writing was to be found.
Although no proof has ever been shown, dark rumors still circulate as to the nature of Manistus' abilities. Some say that he made a dark pact with a devil. Others say that his transcriptions, often noted for their odd color, were penned in the blood of the innocent.
Next: The Green Gauntlet of Magla Lock
Go for it.
[*Fantasy World by EvilDemonAkira and Blood Ink picture by Minutestocountdown]
Last year I entered a Castles & Crusades Society contest and managed to win a copy of Brave Halfling’s Ruins of Ramat module (see here: link). The contest took place on the now-defunct C&CS message boards. It was called the Gestalt World Contest and I think Robert Doyel, author of the excellent (and highly underrated) Engineering Dungeons
and scrolls. His transcriptions were works of art, containing beautiful calligraphy. However, the transcribed texts he provided were not quite the same as the originals: they were superior. A wizard casting spells from such transcriptions was able to empower his magics beyond his normal capabilities. Not surprisingly, Manistus' services were in high demand and he charged a pretty price.
Castles & Crusades Society member and FPQ Member (president? founder perhaps?), Duke Omote has created some kick ass house rules for Castles & Crusades, which he calls Advanced Castles & Crusades. One of the great features of C&C is that it is very easy to house rule the hell out of it. Omote demonstrates this with style with these rules, giving his take on elements of other editions of D&D. Want to add Feats ala D&D 3rd edition? Try his Talents rules. Like those Secondary Skills from 1st edition? Check out his rules for ‘em.
pear in the winter sky every few years and was seen as an incredibly bad omen.