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Message: <blockquote data-quote="cleaverthepit" data-source="post: 1968229" data-attributes="member: 13602">I occasionally feel a wee bit uncomfortable posting about our products outside the publishers forum. But, I -f-e-e-l-c-o-m-p-e-l-l-e-d!!! (I just watched the whole of the new Battlestar Galactica  series, sorta cool)First, I want to dispel a few things that continue to haunt C&C:1. There are no level limits for any class/race combination2. Races are not restricted to particular classes or from classes3. AC is positive4. Ability modifier progression begins at 13 (13-15 = +1, 16-17 = +2, 18-19 = +3)5. A torch casts a 40ft ball of macabre light that brings forth dancing shadows and colors everything else in eerie hues of red and orange. 6: There are 13 classes including bard and assassinhmmm and no speed factors, weapons vs armor type tables, percentile rolls....I think that covers some issues that continue to arise.Now on to more general subjects. Rules lite vs rules heavy. There are two aspects to this. The first concerns the sheer number of rules and second the complexity of those rules. I think on the number of rules C&C hits about a 4 (on a 1 to 10 with one being tic-tac-toe and 10 being, well something played at the Command General Staff College and 3.5 being about a 6). This is, of course, up for debate but, I am just trying to make a point not create a law of game complexity measurement. As for complexity, I would give C&C a 3.5 and D&D3.5 a 6.5 (ditto previous comment).Which one prefers to play is entirely based upon taste. I like my spinach raw, my wife likes it boiled or something. I will point out though, both my wife and I start out with raw spinach. I can't unboil it. Which plays to the issue of modification. I think, or am of the opinion, that it is easier to add to a simple system than to subtract from a complex system. It is not impossible. And, considering both the level of intelligence and education of many games (not to mention the unnatural predisposition many have to crunching numbers), even complex systems can be altered with a little dedication, experimentation and persistence. That said, the same can be applied to a simple system and one would find it both easier and quicker. In this respect, C&C has a modification/tinkering quotient that is very high.The game was, in fact, designed with this in mind. It was intended to bridge the various editions of The Game and find those elements which underlie all its various manifestations. Further, we know (being gamers) that most people who play RPGs enjoy tinkering and houseruling. No two games are run in the same manner. (Though I do find more consistency in 3.5 games than I ever did in 1e games - but then, our nation seems to moving to the right <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ). we want, encourage and desire the players to tinker, develop, change, augment and manipulate C&C. Make it your game. I think we have supplied the tools so that one who feels so inclined can manage this.This does not mean that C&C is little more than a canvas upon which the players must place the final strokes. It is a viable and complete game system within itself. It never need be augmented or changed. It is a perfectly workable system and stands alone by itself without reference to any other game. For a person just beginning the often time consuming hobby of RPGing, no knowledge of any other game system need be had to understand and enjoy playing it (well, some people take to gaming, others don't).Its nostalgic value is only meaningful to a certain subset of gamers. For them, Castles & Crusades does indeed harken to and recalls a type of gaming that one rarely encounters today or, at least, one I rarely encounter (and yes, I meet about 1000+ gamers a year now). I  suspect its nostalgic value has less to do with the rules themselves than with the nature of the 'rules set.' We have introduced primary and secondary attributes -- which did not exist, the SIEGE engine -- which did not exist and other rules that have reference to all editions of the game but are not parcel with them. They are extrapolations of The Games principles rather than redefinitions of it. (In the old days these last two sentences would have been a great footnote.)To get back on track. The nostalgic nature of the game references a time when the game was designed outside of reference to its own mythos or its own internally generated literature and needs. This is why 'old schoolers' often react negatively to mohawk wearing tabooed halflings casting powerful magics or waylaying into hordes of goblins like Conan. It because the halfling is JRR Tolkein's Hobbits and, I really don't imagine Tolkein envisioned his hobbits like mini-Conans. However, the games logic and mythos resulted in this. Which is fine. We have chosen to move away from this as much as possible. Of course, we could not so this in all cases, but we tried.Further, the nostalgic nature of the project appeals to a system where there are not rules that cover every aspect of the game - or as many as are now covered. It is a fluid and open game. One where doors are opened unto rooms the contents of which are yours to fill. This is how I felt when I first started gaming and I think, from talks with others who gamed back in those days before Iran became known to us, it’s the way many others felt.Are we gearing the game as a nostalgic piece. A reckoning and remembrance perhaps? A Classic Coke? Are we preying upon the current nostalgia for nostalgia? No, not really. We did release the Nostalgia Edition of C&C. But this was not released into distribution. It was only available through us. It was imperfect but workable none-the-less. It was essentially made for and a thank you to those who helped us create the system. Many are old schoolers. Many, including myself, have fond memories of the Brown Box (the lingerie edition can not be beat). That was a nod and a thank you. We also name the game Castles & Crusades after Gary's original gaming society - or that early Lake Geneva gaming group. This is a nod and thank you to that group. For those of you who know us, you know we know Gary. We consider Gary one of our best of friends and have great respect for what he has done for gaming. It is a nod of recognition. A thank you if you will. But this is really only meaningful to those in the gaming loop, not to those outside it. It is from these 'old schoolers,' (both yound and old) that we have drawn our greatest inspiration and whose support has encouraged us to continue forging ahead. But, though the game appeals to this often unruly, cantankerous, opinionated crowd, it is not geared only for them.Its ease of play, ease of learning, ease of use, ease of manipulation can have broad appeal. Its low price point allows for ease of entry. Its appeal, I am certain, will grow with time. And I am willing to wait. That is the end of essay #1next up - monsters and a cup of coffee.davis chenault</blockquote>

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