Castles and Crusades
I’ve played and GMed the D20 rules from Wizards of the Coast with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I like the fact that the “standard” rules have been opened up to the point where third-parties may produce and release content for the game. On the other hand, I’m a bit tired of some elements of the rules, such as multi-classing on demand, prestige classes, and feats. Players now spend more time architecting their character advancement and mastering the feat progression tables than they do in creating a compelling backstory. Perhaps that has always been the case. Perhaps it has more to do with the players and the dungeon master than the rules. Perhaps I whine too much.
For the past year, I’ve been playing in the world of Nordalia, GMed by my friend Don. When I started playing with him, he had recently made the transition to Castles and Crusades by Troll Lord Games. (Prior to my joining the group, he was using the HackMaster rules by Kenzer & Company.) I’ve really been impressed by how the rules capture the first edition feel of the game.
Sure, we could have done the same thing by digging up our old first edition books or by buying the pdfs online. What Castles and Crusades offers above and beyond that choice, however, is a set of rules that have adopted some of the game mechanics of the new d20 systems without immersing you in a swamp of feats, prestige classes, and other complexities. For example, armor class follows the new system of moving up from 10 rather than down, making computations during combat more fluid. Most importantly, perhaps, Castles and Crusades also offers a community of players that are active and creative, not just trying to recreate first edition rules but improving them with an eye toward playability.
Anyone nostalglic for those halcyon days of first edition and earlier D&D would do well to give Castles and Crusades a look.