Other D&D Variant Castles&Crusades: Codex Exaltum and Codex Infernum

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I have been going through Troll Lords' latest releases for their Castles&Crusades game, the Codex Exaltum and the Codex Infernum, and I think they are great! I remember angelic/celestial beings back in the 2e days when I was a kid, but we never did much with them at the table. Devils and demons were endemic. In Dragon Magazine #75, from 1983, there was an article called "The Nine Hells Part I"that has stayed with me over the decades. Written by Ed Greenwood, it was my first entrance to the horrors of the Hells, and to this day it sparks my imagination. While these new books are definitely written for C&C, there is a great deal of system-neutral information about things like possession, the hierarchies of angels, and how to use these powers and principalities (to quote a book...) at your table. The art work is fabulous: really evocative stuff about how freaking strange angels are, and how horrifying the infernals are. Highly recommended!

(I've uploaded three pictures from my laptop. I am hoping (?) seeing them isn't a problem since I gather it can be hard for people in the UK to view certain kinds of media on these forums?)

...i've been chewing on the prospect of these books for a few weeks (have all the fifth-edition airdhe books in my library) but unlike the codex of airdhe expansions, in the end i couldn't quite convince myself that they were sufficiently system neutral, so last night i ordered green ronin's book of the righteous + book of fiends instead...

 

[nevin]

Yes, but are they good? The introduction to the Codex seems to take a very hard-edged and cynical view of Celestials.

Black and White is a hard place to walk for a mortal. Also think of it like this. Are you going to call the police and admit your accidental crimes to get some help for the mess you got in? Every mortal has sinned at some point. Many of those sins the mortal probably refuses to believe are sins. Then you call an Angel and ask for help. It's a lot like calling the Police and admitting your crimes. Hope the one who shows up is a nice guy and willing to work with you for the greater good. But it could just turn out he decides to judge you and make sure you understand your sins.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Black and White is a hard place to walk for a mortal. Also think of it like this. Are you going to call the police and admit your accidental crimes to get some help for the mess you got in? Every mortal has sinned at some point. Many of those sins the mortal probably refuses to believe are sins. Then you call an Angel and ask for help. It's a lot like calling the Police and admitting your crimes. Hope the one who shows up is a nice guy and willing to work with you for the greater good. But it could just turn out he decides to judge you and make sure you understand your sins.

That is one model for angels, but not the only one. It's not the one I personally prefer, and I'm willing to say it's inaccurate, but that's pushing the limit of board rules.

 

[Voadam]

That is one model for angels, but not the only one. It's not the one I personally prefer, and I'm willing to say it's inaccurate, but that's pushing the limit of board rules.

I find Kult’s model pretty fun too. I have adapted it for use in a D&D game as an in world conspiracy theory about the gods.

I find 4e’s model of angels just being astral servants of gods (including neutral and evil ones) works well in a D&D polytheistic context.

 

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I love that. It's the way I always play Angels and Devils in D&D games. PC's should be scared of bringing in Heaven or Hell for help. Black and White judgment should be scary whichever side of the coin it falls from.

...my players won't realise that their chosen path to Save The WorldTM pushes against against the order of the cosmos (everything dies, even worlds), so i anticipate some proper shock-and-awe when tearful celestials unexpectedly appear, bringing the righteous fury of the heavens to bear upon them...