Castles & Crusades Players Handbook Kickstarter

The Trolls are gearing up to release the 5th printing of the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (Note: 5th printing, not edition), and have kicked off the process with a Kickstarter project.

No rules, but errata will be added.  The big deal for this printing is that it will be full color, a first for the Trolls.

Give it a look. The Trolls just added some great bonus rewards:

BONUS REWARD #1: When we reach $3500.00 all the PRINT versions of the Players Handbook will be autographed by Steve and Davis Chenault.

BONUS REWARD #2: When we reach $4000.00 we'll add an EXTRA Players Handbook to everyone who has pledged $40.00 or more. This will be unsigned, allowing your autographed copy to avoid the game table abuse! [Steve Chenault has said this printing will retail at $30, so that means that since this benchmark has already been hit, you get two of the new PHs for $40.00. Not too shabby].

BONUS REWARD #3: When we reach $5000.00 everyone who pledged $40.00 and $75.00 will be able to add one adventure module of your choice to your package! Everyone who pledges $125.00 and 150.00 and more will be able add 2 adventures to their package. Everyone who pledges $175.00 and above can add three adventure modules to their package.

Bonus Reward #4: When we reach $6000.00 the project is fully funded. At that point everyone who pledged over $125.00 will receive an exclusive signed, numbered full color print of the new Cover on matte board. Signatures will include The Brothers Chenault, Peter Bradley and the rarely seen Mr. Mac Golden.

Troll Lord Games gives Kickstarter a Try for a New Monster Book

Troll Lord Games has had a Classic Monsters book in the works for quite some time. Today, they just announced they are releasing it via Kickstarter.  This should be an interesting experiment.  I don't recall seeing another game company do this (hobbyists and such, yes, but not an entity's whose bread and butter is the game product).

Troll Lord Sale Going Viral - Keep this thing going and spread the C&C love

Troll Lord Games, the fine makers of Castles & Crusades, have a great sale going on right now and will keep it going as long as folks keep spreading the word (details here: link)

For $20.00 (plus S&H) you can get a copy of the C&C Players Handbook, Monsters & Treasure, and a module (Shadows of Halfling Hall). Normally, all this would cost $56.00.  link

Note, these are the hardcover versions of the books.   My group (who are recent C&C converts) took advantage and placed a large order.

You only need the PH and the M&T to play, so this is a great starter pack (the Castle Keeper Guide mainly has optional / supplemental rules).

If the combo deal is not up your alley, you can get just the PH for $15 (link) or M&T for $10 (link).

Castles & Crusades Players Handbook for $5.00! (PDF) until 10:30 PM ET

Like I said, the Troll Lords have sales all the time these days. This one was too good not to share:
Castles & Crusades Players Handbook PDF for $5.00

Sale lastes until 10:30 PM ET.

Scored myself a copy.

Troll Lord Games Has Sales Pretty Much Every Damn Day

Okay, so I probably come across as a corporate shill for Troll Lord Games, but I'm not. I'm simply a fan of two things:

1.) A good deal and
2.) Castles & Crusades.

I like to share these deals with everyone in case they share either of those two qualities.  But here is the problem, TLG is having deals left and right these days.  As such, this will be my final "TLG sale!" post unless they have something truly exceptional.

If you are remotely interested in TLG products, I suggest you follow/subscribe/read/whatever their blog and/or their Twitter account. Notably, they post a deal every Friday to Twitter.

Blog: The Troll Dens
Twitter: Troll Lord Games Twitter Profile

One particular great deal they have going now is a Castles & Crusades PDF Starter Bundle for $29.55 that has:

• The Players Handbook
• Monsters & Treasure
• The Castle Keeper Screen
• Shadows of Halfling Hall (adventure)
• Fat Dragon Games' EZ Dungeons

Troll Lord Games PDF sale

Just an FYI, Troll Lord Games, makers of Castles & Crusades, have all their PDFs on sale at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG.  The sale lasts until February 3rd:  LINK

Even if you're not a C&C player, it's worth checking out.  A lot of their stuff is usable with just about any fantasy RPG, especially your various old school retro-clones.

Gaming Deal: Troll Lord Games 12 Days of Christmas Sale

The Trolls are having their annual 12 Days of Christmas Sale: link

Perhaps the most notable thing is that at least two of the deals (the 5th Day and the 10th day) include the yet to be released infamously delayed Castle Keepers Guide. For those who don’t know, the CKG has been in development since 2007 (at least the product page for it at Amazon has been up since then: link).

The 5th Day Deal is tempting in a novelty fashion because it includes digest-sized versions of all the rule books.

Questions and answers about the deals can be found here: link.

Given that I just ordered some stuff on Black Friday, I’m going to pass, but this sale is always a good way to get in on C&C if you’re interested.

Update: Troll Lord Games Black Friday Sale Now Live

Just a quick update, the sale seems live now. Here are the deals: link

Troll Lord Games Black Friday Sale

The details are still fuzzy and the sale isn’t up yet, but here is some info from the Troll’s Tusk Newsletter:

“So this is the first year we've actually participated in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday event. As usual we put our own twist on it.

The sale will kick off sometime Thursday night and run through the weekend...mainly because we are too lazy to log on and change it all back. Also of course because, well, really that's the only reason.

So enjoy the mark downs while you can, they will be gone as quick as they appear.

For all the U.S. Crusaders: Happy Thanksgiving.

For those living in Europe, Canada, and Asia, or whereever you may fare...well Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Trollzah!

Castles & Crusades: The Rosetta Stone.”

Judging from newsletter, looks like the sale will include:

• Half-Priced: Gods & Monsters, the Players Handbook, and the Monsters & Treasure of Aihrde
• $20 Off StarSiege, and Tainted Lands

I’ll provide an update when I know more.  M&T of Aihrde is supposed to be dang cool, so I’ll likely snag that.

Anthropomorphic Action at Half Price: Harvesters

I held off getting Harvesters by Troll Lord Games when it came out last spring, but just ordered it since it’s on sale for half price ($9.00 instead of $18.00: link).  The reviews on DriveThruRPG are very positive (check ‘em out) and it sounds like a great game to run with kids.  Judging from what I’ve read, it’s basically Castles & Crusades with animals, which is a-okay in my book.  No need to reinvent the wheel.

I’m still not sure if my six-year-old is ready for RPGs, but we’ll see.  She absolutely loves animals, so this is right up her alley.  When asked to bring in her favorite book to school, she took in Mouse Guard and she already wrote her own Cat Guard version. I think we might have a winner here.

A Day Trip to Origins 2010: Part 1 – Meetin’ folks

On my way back from Chicago, my family stopped in Ohio for a bit of R & R at Lake Erie. I’d had been kicking around the idea of hitting Origins since it wasn’t all that far away from where we were staying. (Well, it was a 2 1/2 hour drive, but that seemed reasonable for game-starved me. Yes, yes, I had a good gaming fix at Games Plus in Chicago, but I didn’t actually play anything there.)  So I woke up early on Saturday, packed a couple bologna sandwiches and headed out.

I arrived at the convention just prior to the Exhibit Hall opening.  I debated getting a full-fledged day badge, which would have been $30 plus whatever event tickets I bought. The Pathfinder events were tempting, but, in the end, I opted to go on the cheap and spent $5 for a day pass (which provided access to the Exhibit Hall and open gaming).  Besides, I figured I could get my fix in the Exhibit Hall and I wanted to keep my schedule open so I could meet up with some folks. 

First off, I met the Tabletop Adventures crew.  A couple years back, Vicki Potter (TTA editor) posted an open call for a proofreader on ENWorld and I responded. I helped proofread and edit the second printing of Against the Darkness, their Vatican horror RPG (a cool mix of action and The Exorcist-style horror).  Check it out if you get a chance. It was nice to finally meet the TTA team in person, as we had communicated solely via email for the proofreading project.  I myself picked up a copy of The Mother of All Treasure Tables, which they were kind enough to sign. This book is a true gem and I highly recommend it. It fits in well with the TTA motto of providing “help for the harried GM.”

I also meet up with some folks from the Troll Lord Games forums, namely Christina Stiles and Duke Omote (a.k.a. Derrick).  Christina is the author of the excellent SpirosBlaak setting book and was kind enough to provide Omote and I with signed copies. SpirosBlaak is a great setting: 160 pages of lycanthrope and black powder madness. I originally came across it during one of Green Ronin’s sales and picked it up on a whim. It turned out to be my favorite item from that purchase and is definitely on my “to do” list of campaign settings.  She also has written several adventures for The Crusader magazine and other goodies.  Check out her stuff at Misfit Studios.

The three of us swapped gaming stories, chatted about C&C and Savage Worlds (Christina is a big fan and I’m coming around).  It was great to actually meet these folks in person.  Omote and I share a common passion for Rappan Athuk and we swapped war stories. Omote’s group actually finished it and hearing that was a shot in the arm. Time to kick my own campaign into high gear.

We talked a lot about other conventions and I hope to meet up with Christina and Omote, and hopefully more of the TLG forum crew, at Con on the Cob in the fall.

I know I’m a bit late to the game here on Origins, but I have more posts to come, including a general photo dump and a review of the few games I demoed.

The Castles & Crusades Ambassador Program

As I’m a C&C fan without a C&C campaign, I leap at any opportunity I get to run C&C and a gaming convention is such an opportunity.  I’ve run C&C at StruebCon twice and I plan on running it at GASPCon this year.  Troll Lord Games aims to help out any Crusader who wants to spread the word at ‘cons or in-store events and has started up a C&C Ambassador program to do so.

How does one become a C&C Ambassador?   You fill out an application that demonstrates your grasp of C&C, details your gaming street cred, and indicates the events at which you plan to run some C&C action.  I guess I cut the mustard, because Steve Chenault sent me a sweet-ass demo kit called The Harbinger Variant.  Keep in mind, this thing is free if you qualify. Being the nice guy that he is, Steve rushed it to me so I would have it in time for StruebCon IV.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use it because the Variant showed up a day before the event. (I already had Dwarven Glory III and pre-generated PCs ready to rock, so I was prepared anyhow.)  Since we didn't get started playing C&C until 1:00 AM, I wouldn't have been able to run the adventures included anyhow as they were too lengthy.  I plan to make good use of it at GASPCon, though.

The package that I received included the following in the depicted boxed set:

• a softcover Players Handbook 
• two adventures:
• Shadows of Halfling Hall 
• The Lure of Delusion (the pre-generated characters for this are: here) 
• Six or so uber character record sheets. These are abbreviated rule booklets with a character record sheet for the cover and are meant to be handed out at the event. Steve said he’d send replacements once the originals were used up.

Additionally, Steve has said he’ll provide the following when he gets a chance:

• 1 page instruction sheet
• 1 retailer card to be handed to the retailer for contact information
• 1 catalog (for the CK to show around)
• 6 cards to be filled in by gamer and mailed back to TLG
• 6 order forms

If you’re interested in becoming an ambassador, contact Kim Hartsfield at “kim at trolllord dot com.”  The program is a great idea and TLG is doing its best to spread its Crusade.

Troll Lord Games Annual Sale

  The annual $10 Sale (link) is going on now at Troll Lord Games.  The name is sort of a misnomer since not everything really is for $10 (some prices are higher and lower), but, regardless there are some good deals.  If you’re curious about Castles & Crusades, this a good time to pick up some books on the cheap.  I bought the majority of my C&C stuff via this sale in the past.  The 4th printings of the C&C Players Handbook & Monsters & Treasure (part of what TLG is calling “The 4th Crusade”) are included in the sale. 

A few items are really tempting me:

• Issues 5 and 6 of The Crusader magazine (these issues contain adventures by Bill Webb of Necromancer Games)
• The C&C Players Handbook/Monsters & Treasure flip book (one side of the book is the PH the other side is the M&T).  That seems like a handy tome and I don’t have the latest version of the M&T.
• The Harvesters RPG.  It is geared towards kids and players take on the role of anthropomorphic heroes defending their homeland.  It might be a great birthday gift for Chaos (she turns 6 soon).

What I would advise against would be the “leather” versions of the PH and M&T.  For one, they don’t have the latest version of the rules (i.e., they lack the revisions, expansions, and errata in the 4th printing books).  I also really wasn’t wowed by their overall appearance.  They are meant to look like leather and have gold embossed covers, but they look more like rebound library books to me.  Other C&C fans seem to love them, but I was disappointed in them (especially since I bought them as gifts). 

Anyhow, if you’ve been sitting on the fence about C&C, now is the time to pull the trigger.

Why I Like Castles & Crusades (as explained in comic form)

So I've been meaning to explain why I'm such a fan of TLG's Castles & Crusades.  I will do so at some point, but in the mean time, this comic by Shamus Young, about summons it up:

From: DM of the Rings XXXVIII: As Simple as Calculus

 

My Internet Hang Outs

I have been frequenting online message boards for years.

These are the ones I haunt the most in order of frequency:

Troll Lord Games
Since the onset of 4e and the resulting dry up of 3.5 support, I grew more interested in Castles & Crusades and, as such, found a new home at the TLG forums. A real nice group of people posts here regularly. It's a small community, but a loyal one. C&C is obviously the focus, but they talk about gaming in general.

Necromancer Games
Most of my 3rd edition D&D experience has revolved around Necromancer Games products, particularly Rappan Athuk which was been my main source of campaign material for years. The forums aren't very active these days and most of the original crowd has moved on. However, with the recent release of a few back-logged 3.5 products, there has been more activity there as of late. It's nice to see Bill Webb posting again. He is the main author on most of my favorite NG products.

ENWorld.org
ENWorld is a great place to get general RPG news. The forums are extensive and, by and large, civil. I don't post there too much as the majority of the subjects never grab me. Perhaps it's because I'm more interested in discussing particular gaming products rather than gaming in general.

My Gaming Background

To say I have not been very prolific with this blog is the understatement of the year. Well, like the blog title states, I’m a dad and a busy one with two little girls, not to mention work, etc. I have resolved to get this thing up and running, though, so here it goes.

Let me explain a bit about myself. I have been playing Dungeons & Dragons since I was eight. My older brother taught me the rules back in the day and I’ve been in love with the game ever since. I cut my teeth on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons because it’s the rule set my brother was using at the time. I later found his basic set rules (with the Erol Otus covers) and I recall a friend having the red box, but I never made much use of those rules. To me, AD&D was D&D. I stuck with AD&D 1st edition for quite some time, stubbornly refusing to move to AD&D 2nd edition when it came out. I did later switch to AD&D 2e when I realized that the rules weren’t a hell of a lot different than 1e. Hell, THACO seemed like a damn revolution (although, funny enough, it actually first appeared in the 1st edition Dungeon Master Guide). My gaming group regularly used 1e and 2e materials interchangeably and I DMed tons of 1e modules. Ha, it was an interesting surprise to me, and my players I’m sure, when I started DMing “Against the Giants” without realizing giants had received some steroids between 1e and 2e.

I jumped into 3rd edition as soon as it came out. That version of D&D really got me excited about D&D again. I felt that it brought back much of the great flavor that had been ripped out of 2e in TSR’s rush for political correctness. We had our half-orcs and assassins back! One could even use the words “demon” and “devil” again! Gasp! I was a bit miffed when 3.5 came out because I felt deceived. The gaming community was told it was simply a patch to the old system, sort of like a cleaned up printing of the 3e rules. Well, that wasn’t the case. Yes, one could use 3e materials in a 3.5 game without much difficulty, but the same could be said of 1e materials in a 2e game. I just wish Wizards of the Coast had been upfront and called 3.5 what it really is: the 4th edition of the game.

As for the official 4th edition of D&D (which I see as the 5th edition, really), I have no interest in it. I could go on and on about it, but the simple fact is that it’s not the game for me. I actually wouldn’t mind trying it as a player, but I don’t have the time or desire to learn new rules, especially those that were declared incompatible with my older materials.

While I play D&D 3.5, my favorite system is Castles & Crusades by Troll Lord Games. It is a version of D&D best seen as a simple, rules-light version of D&D 3.5. I’ll explain why I love C&C in another post.

For whatever reason, I never have much interest in systems other than D&D (I see C&C as a version of D&D). I did play in a great Shadowrun campaign back in the day and I ran Gamma World from time to time, but D&D is my home system and I can’t really push myself to move beyond it. I’ll gladly play other RPGs (and would do so if I had more time), but I have no interest in GMing them (although I do have an itch to GM Gamma World again).

Well, that is enough for now. As you can see from the margins, I’m currently DMing a Rappan Athuk Reloaded campaign. I think I’ll detail that in my next post.