Castles and Crusades

[RamrodTheWizard]

I'm considering picking up castles and crusades and i would like some feedback from players or people who know the system well. I must note that i never played the other editions of DnD prior to 3.5. I've been looking for a less munchkinized system that isn't quite as convoluted as DnD. So what do you all think?

[Matthew]

Hmmn. Never played it myself, but what I hear about it is that it's D&D with all the frills cut off. Mainly I hear good reports.

[Rakin]

I've tried C&C a few times, here's my take.

Picture this:

A group of old gamers that have gamed together for 20 years, they know all the tables and rules for lets say D&D frontward and backward. They all have those little quircks they all do, mechanics memorized. The mechanics of the game has long ago become figured out, and boring. So why game? Well for these gamers the fun in the game isn't about beating every monster in the MM or aquiring every artifact, it's been done.

No, the point of the game now is to experience the interaction of their characters with the different plot lines and creating new conflicts, new monsters.

These are the types of guys who would benifit most from C&C. The game is very rules light and although this might give the impression that it would make the game easy to run, it actually makes a more advanced game.

The system is very simple compared to D20 and very open ended, but just complex enough to not make it very perdictable and minpulative.

The game focuses more on roleplay than anything, after D&D 2E and WoTC decided to try and make D&D as much as a video game on paper as they could, C&C went the other way, where they veiw all those tedious rules as fluff.

So what do you need to play successfully, imo? First you need a quick whitted and experienced GM (or CK), someone who can take: " I want to do a double somersault and use that to impress the crowd enough to gain their affection to.." and make rules for it almost on the spot and what atributes would be involved with that. Next you need trust in your GM, almost every result in the game could, if the GM wanted just, made up since 99% of the non combat modifiers are made up by the GM.

In any case, I haven't played C&C passed level one, but it's a godsend for someone like me, who understands how all the rules in D&D works but has a horrid memory.

[RamrodTheWizard]

Thanks for the rundown. Even though I'm not an oldschool gamer, that style of play appeals to me much more then the current system of DnD. My friends and I get to play very sparodically and when we do we spend half of the time with the rules, not actually playing.

[Rakin]

It does me to, and I really want to keep playing it, but in order to make my players happier (players that are more in the MMO mindset then the roleplay mindset) I GM 3.5.

Perhaps after some work on my part I can get them to realize there's more to gaming then where your fighter is standing before a fight and transfer them over to C&C.

[rollfrenzy]

Who publishes C&C. This sounds like just the game I would like to start up. (maybe with a new group).

[Premier]

Troll Lord games. (http://www.trolllord.com/newsite/cnc/index.html) First hit on Google.

Dragonsfoot, The Grognard's Tavern and, AFAIK Enworld are some prominent forums where C&C is regularly discussed.