A Guide and Rules System for Fantasy Roleplaying by Davis Chenault & Mac Golden

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 Clayton Bunce & Peter Bradley With Steve Chenault, Mark Sandy and Todd Gray Character Refrence Sheet by Darlene Edited by: Nicole Chenault & Matt Finch 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 [email protected] or www.castlesandcrusades.com ©2006 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 PLAYERS HANDBOOK WHERE ROLLPLAYING AND ROLE PLAYING MEET run my games fairly consistently. All of my games combine intense interaction between the players and myself with quick-moving, heart-stopping combats. I 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. 2 3 CASTLES & CRUSADES PLAYERS HANDBOOK 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 Class Reference Table 1: Armor, Shields, Helms 10 Saving Throws 112 Fighter 11 Combat 114 STR Ranger 12-13 Combat Terms 114 Rogue 14-15 Surprise 115 DEX Assassin 16-17 Initiative 115 Barbarian 18-19 Combat Actions 115-116 CON Monk 19-20 Non-lethal & Multiple Actions 116 Wizard 21 Movement in a Combat Round 116 INT Illusionist 22 Charging 116 Cleric 23-24 Melee Combat 116 WIS Druid 24-25 Ranged Combat 117 Knight 25-27 Unarmed Combat 117 CHA Paladin 28 Grappling 117 Bard 29-30 Pummelling 117 RACES 31 Overbearing 117 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 COMPLETING THE CHARACTER 38 Rear Attack 119 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 126-127 105 Style & Mood of Play OGL 128 Maintaining Pace 105 4 5 CASTLES & CRUSADES PLAYERS HANDBOOK CREATING THE CHARACTER ith the exception of the Castle Keeper, each person playing Castles The Cleric is avowed to a deity and dispenses divine justice. W& Crusades creates a character to use during the game. To create this character, the player begins by simply imagining the type of character he The Druid owes allegiance to the elemental powers of the world. or she desires to play, be it a wandering barbarian, reclusive wizard, traveling dwarf, noble elf, a dastardly villain or virtuous knight. The player begins The Knight is a natural leader and strong combatant. by generating attribute scores with dice rolls. Attribute scores define the character’s physical and mental traits. Next, the player chooses a class, or The Paladin is a warrior blessed by divinity, a paragon of good. profession, for the character that best fits how the character is imagined. In The Bard influences others through the power of words. the same manner, the player chooses a race which best fits both the persona and class desired. Lastly, the player fills in the details: examples include CHOOSE A RACE: Select a race that best fits your imagined character technical game-related aspects of the character, such as combat bonuses, as concept. In Castles & Crusades, one can choose the versatile human, a well as the character’s persona and history. These steps are outlined below long-lived elf, a willful dwarf, a curious gnome, a quick-footed halfling, a and detailed in their appropriate sections. forlorn half-elf, or a pernicious half-orc. Each race is unique and has its own special abilities, capacities, culture and personality. Closely examine each IMAGINE A CHARACTER: Decide, in a general manner, the type of race prior to making a selection. In particular, ensure that the race selected character desired. Is the character a noble dwarf fighter, a haggard half-orc does not have cultural or personality characteristics that conflict harshly barbarian, or a disdainful elf knight? Literature, film, theater and comic with the persona of the character you wish to create. books are rife with examples of heroes and villains that players can draw upon for inspiration for their characters.

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