amethal said:
Yeah, and OD&D (1974) has all the rules you could ever need, if you are willing to make them up yourself
Seriously though, from what I have seen Castles and Crusades is very easy to house rule, without having to worry about unforseen complications a couple of levels down the road.
My first edition C&C players handbook has a number of editing and layout problems. Hopefully they've fixed them in the second edition.
What's stopped me from playing the game is the apparent lack of ability to customise your characters.
Also (and I appreciate this contradicts my previous comment) I don't think they went quite far enough in making it rules light. If I was to houserule it I'd remove half the character classes, and try and make hit rolls use the same system as other checks.
Yes, the layout is much, much better in the second printing. The third printing will be out in a month or two. The second printing of the M&T is due by June, I believe.
As for customizing characters. There is nothing stopping you from giving characters extra abilities based on how they play their character.
As an example I have two players who have done a lot of SIEGE checks to get an extra attack in a round or to do what 3E calls a Cleave attack. They did it successfully so often that I told them they could do such attacks without having to make a SIEGE check anymore.
So their characters are unique in that their "technique" has gotten so good that only these two characters can do these "special" things. Plus they were earned by how they played the character.
Now the wizard type character is attempting more checks to modify their spells so they can gain mastery in a technique.
A CK can allow anything they want with the SIEGE engine. Anything they have seen in many other game systems. Plus it doesn't need to be written as a house rule. The CK just needs to know how they want to set the TN and modifiers, and the players just need to know that they can try to do anything that comes to mind and the CK is willing to let happen or be attempted.
C&C's SIEGE engine allows the CK do things things however the CK wants to.
Plus their is nothing keeping you from eliminating or adding new classes. Or modifying them to you and your players tastes.
Like I am even using "unique" classes from my old Best of Dragon Volumes, pretty much as is.
With a little work you can modify 3E classes and PrC's to work in C&C. Especially since any character can attempt any appropriate feat as a SIEGE roll. You can use spells, magic items, and whatever rules you want from any edition of D&D, or any other similiar game system.
C&C gives you the SIEGE engine which allows you to create the game with the perfect mix of rules for your tastes. The perfect mix.
So unless you have found the perfect set of rules for your tastes, C&C is worth looking at and really learning and understanding exactly what the SIEGE engine can allow you to do.
Due to certain restrictions in the OGL (section 7) TLG is really limited in explaining how the SIEGE engine can work with adaptations from 3E, or how feats are incorporated completely into the SIEGE mechanic so that no one has feats (unless the CK awards them like I have done), but everyone is allowed to attempt such types of actions.
You can use any skill system from pretty much any game that bases it on a d20 and character level. Or your comfortable with modifying it to fit a d20/class level system.
Castles and Crusades is literally the game you make it to be.
