Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (3rd Printing)
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1929474946
Manufacturer: Troll Lord Games
Average Customer Review: 
(From 8 total reviews)
List Price: $19.95
Amazon Price: $19.90 (4 new available)
You save: $0.05 (0.25%)
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. (Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping)
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon web site at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
Editorial Reviews
Product Description:
Special Note: The Castles & Crusades Players Handbook is temporally out of stock. The 2nd printing is sold out. The third printing is off to press even now and should be back in a few scant weeks. Any orders that come in will be held until the 3rd printing arrives. Noticeable differences: As with the 1st and 2nd printing a few typos and inconsistencies were addressed, but the only rules addition or change appearing in the 3rd printing are the new poison charts for the assassin. Alea Iacta Est - The die is cast! Are you ready to enter a world of daring adventures battling ancient dragons, descending into dungeons in search of treasure and glory or rescuing mystic artifacts from the clutches of evil wizards? If so, the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook is the place to begin with its easy to learn, fast and fun play, it is the game for those who enjoy tales of high adventure and epic fantasy. So gather some friends, grab some dice, unleash your imagination and be ready to enter the grand adventure that is Castles & Crusades! The Castles & Crusades Players Handbook contains everything needed to play a character in a game of Castles & Crusades and with the addition of the Castles & Crusades Monsters and Treasure guide, everything necessary for a Castle Keeper to run a game of Castles & Crusades. The Castles & Crusades Players Handbook allows players to choose amongst 13 archtypical character classes to play: Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Assassin, Barbarian, Monk, Wizard, Illusionist, Druid, Cleric, Knight, Paladin and Bard. There are also seven races from which to choose for your character: human, dwarf, elf, gnome, half-orc, halfling and half-elf. Hundreds of items of equipment are included with which to outfit your character. Dozens of spells are available for the many spell casting classes. With Castles & Crusades’ easy to learn attribute based game mechanic, quick character creation, fast paced combat rules and simplified spell effect application, running a ga
Customer Reviews
A game without an index? by cox
I hadn’t played an RPG in 10 years, and now I’m running one. With C&C, I can prepare for a night’s play in about an hour. Teaching a new player the basics and letting them create a character is also about an hour. If you’ve played D&D you know this game. None of my players had ever played, and they picked it up immediately.
The book has all the rules for the game in one place. At 128 pages, this hardback is *thin*, and easy to carry around. Why doesn’t it have an index? It doesn’t need one. Half the book is spells, and there are spell lists by class and level. Almost everything else can be easily remembered or found on the GM’s screen. In fact, you can get by with having only one copy for the whole group (depending on how many spellcasters you have).
The forums at troll lord games have helpful links and resources, where you can find several free adventures to run (provided you trust your players not to peek). I’ve had a blast–fun to play, easy to put down and pick back up at a moment’s notice.
The Way Roleplaying Books Ought To Be by Charles D. Turnitsa
In my opinion this is a wonderful example of what a rpg Player’s Handbook should be - all of the pertinent rules on building characters and performing the basic tasks of the game - without a lot of filler, fluff, or excuses for not having an imagination.
The game itself is terrific, as a return to a simpler time in rpg’s when the game wasn’t overly burdened with many, many different mechanics that slow down game play, but don’t significantly contribute to story telling or experiencing the imaginary adventure.
In substance, the Siege engine (the authors’ name for the near-d&d like structure that the game is based on) is a wonderful mix of First Edition AD&D (the first hardcover books - the first edition of the game to feature the word Advanced in the title), with some modernized D20 mechanics. In a nice mix of new and old, your abilities are all derived from your race and class, but the chance to perform those abilities is derived from your statistics - here is where the Siege engine adds, in my opinion. Each character can choose (based on race and class choice) up to 3 statistics (of the classic six - Strength, Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma) to serve as Primary statistics. All abilities that are based on Primary statistics have an additional 30% (+6 on a d20) chance of success over other practitioners of the ability. A player creating a Ranger character might pick Strength and Intelligence as his primary abilities. Another might choose Strength and Dexterity - the two characters will have very different areas of expertise and concentrated focus, even though both are Rangers.
Combat is quick, and straight forward. A quick roll of initiative (on a D10), players and non-players then act in order. Ties are broken by Dexterity bonus. Roll to hit, roll for damage. Spells may involve a resistance roll, or a saving roll. Abilities require a single dice roll. All in all, the combat runs great, and quick. Players are more interested in where their companions are, what the tactical situation of the fight is, and how to gain the upper hand through maneuver and magic, rather than picking just the right feat for the situation.
Having run some sessions (and having a very long history with rpg’s in general, and all the versions of D&D in particular), I have to admit that I miss having some sort of skill system. The Non Weapon Proficiency system from First or Second edition AD&D would do nicely, as would the Skills system from Third edition. Feats are (thankfully) absent, as they are the one thing about Third edition that keeps me from liking it (and it’s worst aspect, from the point of view of a DM preparing adventures).
Combat in Castles and Crusades runs very smoothly and cleanly, and is over quick, while still having all the round-to-round decision making and tactical choices of a good rpg. Magic is done very well, with a very nice spell list for the different classes, good rules on acquiring spells.
This with the companion volume - Monsters and Treasures Castles And Crusades Monsters & Treasures- makes a great rpg. I have to say, that I am anxiously awaiting the Castle Keepers Guide (now, if I am correct, due out in Autumn 2007). It is supposed to add a lot, and will be twice the size of the Players Handbook. If it adds a skill system, and (apostasy) somewhat more detailed initiative rules, then I will be in seventh heaven. If not, one of the greatest things about Castles and Crusades is that it can very very easily be added to, and I could easily plug in my favorite skill system and initiative rules.
Fast start to run & gun D&D roleplaying. by Rhuvein
I started with OD&D and have been away from roleplaying games for many years. And 25 years later, I wanted to teach my daughter and nephew about the world of Dungeons & Dragons and roleplaying games and so then discovered Castles & Crusades! It has all the great elements of OD&D and the benefit and experience of these last 25 years in gaming improvements. It’s fast, easy to learn and a great way to get kids or newcomers introduced to roleplaying. Highly recommended!!!
D&D done right! by M. E. OMEALEY
I too started out during the original D&D red/blue box days and this is the best “version” of D&D since the Rules Cyclopedia. I’ve DM’ed OD&D and 1st ed AD&D and played in AD&D 1e & 2e. While I own D&D 3e, I’ve never played or DM’ed it. It just seems to be too complex and too much trouble. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to appreciate rules lite games that don’t force me to memorize an encyclopedia’s worth of information or constantly reference a large collection of books during play. Also, if I want detailed tactical combat, I’ll just play a miniatures game. C&C has rekindled my interest in running a D&D-style fantasy game for the first time in over 10 years.
The game takes the classes/races of 1st ed AD&D and marries it to a unified task resolution mechanic based on a d20 role. Most situations are resolved by adding modifiers to a d20 role and comparing to a target number. DMs or Castle Keepers (CKs) as C&C calls them, will greatly appreciate the streamlined rules since prep time is greatly reduced. Combats are fast and fun rather than bogging down the game. Although Troll Lord Games will be supporting the game with new material (a Monsters & Treasures book is due out soon and will be followed by a Castle Keepers Guide and a fantasy setting book along with several adventures), you can easily convert any OD&D or AD&D module you already own (or can find used on Amazon or eBay), so you don’t have to feel compelled to buy every new book that comes out and can buy only those additional books you want to. For those than don’t have a shelf of old D&D modules, a selection of monsters, a character sheet, and an introductory adventure module are available for download at the Troll Lords website.
Although C&C appeals to me as an old-timer, it is equally suitable for new players/CK’s as well. In fact, I would say that players new to roleplaying would be better off picking up C&C rather than D&D since it’s much easier to learn and play.
Similar Products
Tags: book, castles and crusades, chenault, d20, dungeons and dragons, fantasy, fantasy rpg, games, gygax, rpg
Leave a Reply