I like collecting TTRPGs, and I came across Castles & Crusades a while back. It must of been one of the older editions because it was still in black & white.
From what I understand is it takes 2nd edition D&D and makes it a bit smoother? And if I am not mistaken this is a game Gygax helped design after TSR or WotC or whomever gained the rights to D&D when he lost them?
I have also heard that Castles & Crusades is all the same game between the different prints, it is just certain errata fixes and slight rule tweaks.
Overall, for those of you who have played it, how is Castles & Crusades as a game? They're on their 7th print now, right?
Yup 5th Edition onwards (2012) was coloured
It was the first, as far as I know, OSR game - in that it took modern rules and applied old school style to it. OSRIC was the first retro-clone (trying to make 1E alve again) but C&C was the first to use 3E ideas and the OGL to tidy up 1/2E DnD.
I think you are mistaken, Gygax didn't write C&C (you can check out Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary (sic) Adventures if you want) though he did work with Castle Zagyg & other stuff with Troll Lord Games. He was working with the company when C&C came out, so he may have had some input, not credited input tho
AFAIK the prints aren't that different after 4th print, but they are there. More info:
https://www.trolllord.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15036
7th is newest, I like CnC as a 'smoother' OS style DnD, the Primes System is contentious and a lot of people mod it in someway. Otherwise they make some reall good stuff, especially their sourcebooks like Codex Celtarum etc.
From Wikipedia "The Siege Engine works on an attribute check system. A character's attributes are divided into primary and secondary attributes. Checks made against primary attributes have a base Challenge Base (or target number; abbreviated "CB") of 12, while secondary attributes have a CB of 18. The game's referee, the Castle Keeper, adds a challenge level (usually from 1-10, depending on task difficulty) to the CB and the resulting number, the challenge class or CC, is the final target number required to succeed at a check. The player adds the character's level, any attribute bonuses and class bonuses to the roll of a twenty-sided die. If the result after bonuses equals or exceeds the challenge class, the player succeeds.[8] Except for combat, the Siege Engine is used for anything that requires a check in the game.[1]
While the first two printings of the Players Handbook were virtually identical with the exception of a change in font for the headers, the third printing introduced a replacement barbarian class. The 4th printing introduced an expansion to the illusionist written by James M. Ward that allowed the illusionist to heal others. The current printing introduces a streamlined replacement to the game's encumbrance rules for faster play." Not sure what it means there by 'current printing'?
there are also a lot of threads about it, have a google!
