C&C Collector's Box versus PHB

[Particle_Man]

As an owner of the box set, you should be aware that spell descriptions and monster descriptions consist of one line. If a monster has poison as an ability you will have to decide what the heck that means, for example. That said, it is perfectly playable up to 10th level. And certainly it is quite portable. And I think errata are out for it.

If you want slightly more details on spells and monsters you could go for the Condensed rules (6 classes, 5 races).

Your call.

 

[jdrakeh]

As an owner of the box set, you should be aware that spell descriptions and monster descriptions consist of one line. If a monster has poison as an ability you will have to decide what the heck that means, for example. That said, it is perfectly playable up to 10th level. And certainly it is quite portable. And I think errata are out for it.

If you want slightly more details on spells and monsters you could go for the Condensed rules (6 classes, 5 races).

Your call.

Good to know! The one-line stuff doesn't bother me too much (as I said in the first post, I'm an OD&D fan). That said, I would go with the Condensed rules if they weren't PDF only -- the Basic Set, however, isn't even an option given the unreliablity of Troll Lord when it comes to future releases. So, yes, the box set is looking very attractive.

 

[Turanil]

Price-wise and content-wise (provided the reviews that I've read are correct), the box seems to be a better value for me. I think I'm still sold on the box set at this point.

What's the box-set price? I paid mine 36$ if I recall well, where both PHB + MT did cost only 40$. For me the boxed set is only good as a collector item, not as a game to play as is. However, if you only want the four base classes and you also have some AD&D 1e PHB and MM at your disposal (for full description of spells and monsters), the box-set might do it. Myself, I would suggest C&C PHB + MT instead...

I've been thinking about giving C&C another go, though there's honestly quite a bit I don't like about the PHB/M&T set. <...> Is there any reason I should opt for the new PHB and M&T printings, rather than the Collector's Box?

I don't think you will be more happy with C&C under box-set format than with PHB and M&T. I am not sure to understand your rationale... It will be the same game after all!

 

[jdrakeh]

What's the box-set price? I paid mine 36$ if I recall well, where both PHB + MT did cost only 40$. For me the boxed set is only good as a collector item, not as a game to play as is. However, if you only want the four base classes and you also have some AD&D 1e PHB and MM at your disposal (for full description of spells and monsters), the box-set might do it. Myself, I would suggest C&C PHB + MT instead...

The box set I'm looking at is $25, new (the MSRP is, I believe, $32.95).

[Edit: That said, Grim Tales and Star Wars Saga may have edged it out this afternoon.]

 

[amethal]

Price-wise and content-wise (provided the reviews that I've read are correct), the box seems to be a better value for me. I think I'm still sold on the box set at this point.

I like the collector's box set. Its very minimalistic, but I think that's a good thing.

Plus it comes with dice, and a crayon to colour in the numbers with. That brings back some memories .....

 

[Breakdaddy]

jdrakeh, I'd like to suggest something for your C&C game that may appease your players without adding any burden to the GM (you). Import feats directly from D&D or, preferably (from my perspective) from True20. Remove the feats that affect AoOs and the like so as to not complicate your game. I would allow 1 or 2 feats for any character at level 1 and an additional feat at every level divisible by 3. You might also allow players to increase an attribute by 2 points every 4 levels (or increase any attribute that is a 9 or 10 directly to 13). I've seen C&C played this way to wonderful effect with no perceivable burden added to the DM.

Good Gaming!
-Jason Alexander, Troll Lord Games I.T. geek

 

[jdrakeh]

jdrakeh, I'd like to suggest something for your C&C game that may appease your players without adding any burden to the GM (you). Import feats directly from D&D or, preferably (from my perspective) from True20. Remove the feats that affect AoOs and the like so as to not complicate your game. I would allow 1 or 2 feats for any character at level 1 and an additional feat at every level divisible by 3. You might also allow players to increase an attribute by 2 points every 4 levels (or increase any attribute that is a 9 or 10 directly to 13). I've seen C&C played this way to wonderful effect with no perceivable burden added to the DM.

Good Gaming!
-Jason Alexander, Troll Lord Games I.T. geek

Thanks for the advice, though I've already tried this and it just didn't work out very well for my play group at the time. I'll be certain to try it again, however, if I can get some folks interested in C&C locally.

 

[Breakdaddy]

Hey, good luck either way!

 

[jfaller]

Hey James...This response might be a bit too late but we've got a group up here in Highlands Ranch that's looking to try our hand at Castles and Crusades sometime after Christmas. We've lost one player to a move home, (Neb.) and another to a new job that requires extensive travel. So we're effectively down to a total of 4. (3 players and 1 DM) Not sure what my intent is with this post but I figured that since we're in generally the same neighborhood we might collaborate a bit. (I'm going to be running the game.)

I'm also a fan of OD&D (Holmes) as well as Classic, but once I stumbled across Castles and Crusades it felt like I had found a long lost relative. ;-) We haven't played yet and it sounds as if our group's likes and dislikes might be fairly similar. I'd love to hear how your game is going and maybe purloin a bit of your advanced knowledge about running a C&C game. Give me a shout when you have the inclination:
jeff 'underscore' faller 'at' hotmail 'dot' com
Thanks in advance and Good Luck in your game!

 

[scadgrad]

Getting players interested? How 'bout this, pick up a copy of one of the old classics, maybe a supermod like Scourge of the Slavelords or ToEE (currently running it myself) and see if that won't get some interest. I've been running C&C since the playtest days and we always tacked on stats and ability boosts as suggested up thread. In my current campaign, we made feats available via swapout and did away w/ ability boost every 4th level. Instead, I just allowed characters to use the method VI in the original 1st ed. UA or if those didn't produce "God Stats" just put whatever numbers sound good in there. Result=Ecstatic players and big fun for everyone involved. Prep time=read module.

I'm a 40-something father of 3 small children (all 6 and under) with a demanding job and no time to stay up on the "power builds" that 3.X requires. 3.X doesn't work for me, but parts of it are handy and I'm very thankful that it made C&C possible so I can easily use my massive 1st ed and 2nd ed materials. I'll take a look at 4th, but C&C is where I'm at for the forseeable future.