Castles & Crusades What's Next

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Troll Lord
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Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Hey folks,

Okay, at long last we are wrapping up alot of projects. The Codex of Aihrde, Players Guide to Aihrde, the color revisions of the Three Sisters, AA hardbacking, Inzae primer. Lots of stuff. We still have a few on the hopper, the Mythos books in particular, but those are all written and in editing/layout. Basically I have been the hold up around here, everything got log-jammed around the Codex of Aihrde and that world map. The last thing on my plate right now, and I should have them wrapped up in the next few weeks, is The Red Fort and Hall of Chains for Aufstrag. Once those are clear, my slate is clear. And we can get back to the game I play every Thursday night (yeah 5th Edition is not my cup of tea).

With that in mind, I'd like to share with everyone what I'm thinking for C&C and the company and get your feed back if you are so inclined.

NOTE: This discussion does not cover Amazing Adventures content, Brimstone, Victorious or other Siege Engine Games.

What C&C needs, really, really needs, is something NEW. Something that adds to the game. Now the Players Guide to Aihrde does that with racial classes, but I want even more than that. So there are three projects that we are looking at for Castles & Crusades.

1) Tome of the Unclean. I want this wrapped up in short order. When done it will be a 128 page hardcover book filled with demons and devils. Everyone is going to need it for Aufstrag anyway!

But that is really nothing new. The game still does well in the market, but it really hasn't had a pop in a while. Something new. So with my slate clear as of March, I can at last tackle the project I've most been wanting to tackle (next to Aihrde).

2) Adventurers Backpack. I've gotten a large working outline on this and some of the classes made their appearance in Black Box. But the outline needs updated and the classes need thoroughly revised. But when done this book will serve as the Unearthed Arcana of Castles & Crusades. At least I hope it does. With luck and no explosions I will be deep into this by Spring and it will be ready by Fall.

3) Planescape (untitled). This book covers all the planes, from Valhalla to the Ethereal. At first we wrote it for Aihrde, then backed off that, but with the return of Aihrde we are going to include a great deal of Aihrde mythology in it. You'll be able to use it without Aihrde of course.

Beyond those Three Big Projects, there are adventures. There are two approaches I'm musing over.

1) Short encounters. 1-2 page encounters that can be dropped into any game. These will go well with the TLG Portal we are working now (news forthcoming soon).

2) Short 12 page adventures, something like The Outpost. Quick, dirtly ugly adventures that aren't very complex. Save the complext things for monsters like...

3) Aufstrag. I'm terrified of writing this. Its gigantic. Luckily Peter and I are working well on these first five levels. He maps things I envision, without me telling him, so I can write off his maps as easy as send him sketches. But not sure when I'll tackle the rest of this.

Now beyond those three projects, we have other things rolling around. But not to be looked for this year.

1) Gods & Monsters of Aihrde is on my radar, but not until Adventurers Backpack is done. I will work on it a little as I start to write Aihde fiction, but not really. It needs a full treatment. I would like to couple this with a complete overhaul of the Gods and Monsters book.

2) Inzae. Davis has finished the primer (Aihrde backers should have it) and has begun expanding it. His time is pressed though so not sure where/what/when/how on this one.

There are other things like a Castles & Crusades card game and Cleaver the Pit pops up from time to time, but the above is what I am looking at for Castles & Crusades in the next 12 months or so.

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Rigon »

Troll Lord wrote:What C&C needs, really, really needs, is something NEW. Something that adds to the game. Now the Players Guide to Aihrde does that with racial classes, but I want even more than that. So there are three projects that we are looking at for Castles & Crusades.

1) Tome of the Unclean. I want this wrapped up in short order. When done it will be a 128 page hardcover book filled with demons and devils. Everyone is going to need it for Aufstrag anyway!

But that is really nothing new. The game still does well in the market, but it really hasn't had a pop in a while. Something new. So with my slate clear as of March, I can at last tackle the project I've most been wanting to tackle (next to Aihrde).
About dang time. Get this thing finished already.
2) Adventurers Backpack. I've gotten a large working outline on this and some of the classes made their appearance in Black Box. But the outline needs updated and the classes need thoroughly revised. But when done this book will serve as the Unearthed Arcana of Castles & Crusades. At least I hope it does. With luck and no explosions I will be deep into this by Spring and it will be ready by Fall.
You've been talking about this one for years. Just do it and get it off the burner. You might want to include some additional spells and magic items in this. I'd also like to see the class deconstruction stuff, so you can make custom classes. Similar to what was in the 2e DMG.
3) Planescape (untitled). This book covers all the planes, from Valhalla to the Ethereal. At first we wrote it for Aihrde, then backed off that, but with the return of Aihrde we are going to include a great deal of Aihrde mythology in it. You'll be able to use it without Aihrde of course.
Sounds interesting, but not something that is of a pressing need (put it on the docket for later on).
Beyond those Three Big Projects, there are adventures. There are two approaches I'm musing over.

1) Short encounters. 1-2 page encounters that can be dropped into any game. These will go well with the TLG Portal we are working now (news forthcoming soon).
Always useful and can be collected into books for later printing.
2) Short 12 page adventures, something like The Outpost. Quick, dirtly ugly adventures that aren't very complex. Save the complext things for monsters like...
More of what I would like to see.
3) Aufstrag. I'm terrified of writing this. Its gigantic. Luckily Peter and I are working well on these first five levels. He maps things I envision, without me telling him, so I can write off his maps as easy as send him sketches. But not sure when I'll tackle the rest of this.
You need your megadungeon. Just dive in and get'er done.
Now beyond those three projects, we have other things rolling around. But not to be looked for this year.

1) Gods & Monsters of Aihrde is on my radar, but not until Adventurers Backpack is done. I will work on it a little as I start to write Aihde fiction, but not really. It needs a full treatment. I would like to couple this with a complete overhaul of the Gods and Monsters book.
Again, not a pressing immediate need for this, but would go nicely with my Aihrde stuff eventually.
2) Inzae. Davis has finished the primer (Aihrde backers should have it) and has begun expanding it. His time is pressed though so not sure where/what/when/how on this one.
I'm up in the air on this one, though campaign settings are always awesome to have.
There are other things like a Castles & Crusades card game and Cleaver the Pit pops up from time to time, but the above is what I am looking at for Castles & Crusades in the next 12 months or so.

Steve
That's how I see it. Of all the things you have listed, I most would be interested in the Adventurerer's Backpack, Aufstrag, both short and medium length adventures. After that, everything else.

R-
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by maximus »

What C&C needs, really, really needs, is something NEW. Something that adds to the game. Now the Players Guide to Aihrde does that with racial classes, but I want even more than that. So there are three projects that we are looking at for Castles & Crusades.

1) Tome of the Unclean. I want this wrapped up in short order. When done it will be a 128 page hardcover book filled with demons and devils. Everyone is going to need it for Aufstrag anyway!
This is by far my #1. I love the idea of a revised and complete Tome. I think the demons and devils as presented now are vastly underpowered.
2) Adventurers Backpack. I've gotten a large working outline on this and some of the classes made their appearance in Black Box. But the outline needs updated and the classes need thoroughly revised. But when done this book will serve as the Unearthed Arcana of Castles & Crusades. At least I hope it does. With luck and no explosions I will be deep into this by Spring and it will be ready by Fall.
This would be high on my list of things to see.
3) Planescape (untitled). This book covers all the planes, from Valhalla to the Ethereal. At first we wrote it for Aihrde, then backed off that, but with the return of Aihrde we are going to include a great deal of Aihrde mythology in it. You'll be able to use it without Aihrde of course.
Great idea; do it!
Beyond those Three Big Projects, there are adventures. There are two approaches I'm musing over.

1) Short encounters. 1-2 page encounters that can be dropped into any game. These will go well with the TLG Portal we are working now (news forthcoming soon).

2) Short 12 page adventures, something like The Outpost. Quick, dirtly ugly adventures that aren't very complex. Save the complext things for monsters like...

3) Aufstrag. I'm terrified of writing this. Its gigantic. Luckily Peter and I are working well on these first five levels. He maps things I envision, without me telling him, so I can write off his maps as easy as send him sketches. But not sure when I'll tackle the rest of this.
All three of these sound great. I'm looking forward to seeing them.
1) Gods & Monsters of Aihrde is on my radar, but not until Adventurers Backpack is done. I will work on it a little as I start to write Aihde fiction, but not really. It needs a full treatment. I would like to couple this with a complete overhaul of the Gods and Monsters book.
I want to see this as well, but not as much as the Tome of the Unclean.

Thanks for reaching out for input. I have enjoyed playing C&C the past 2 years, and look forward to many more. The community here is great!

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Buttmonkey »

Troll Lord wrote:1) Short encounters. 1-2 page encounters that can be dropped into any game. These will go well with the TLG Portal we are working now (news forthcoming soon).

2) Short 12 page adventures, something like The Outpost. Quick, dirtly ugly adventures that aren't very complex. Save the complext things for monsters like...

3) Aufstrag. I'm terrified of writing this. Its gigantic. Luckily Peter and I are working well on these first five levels. He maps things I envision, without me telling him, so I can write off his maps as easy as send him sketches. But not sure when I'll tackle the rest of this.
I like the idea of short encounters and shorter modules, but I want shorter material that is spectacular. Stuff I couldn't write or think of on my own. Something that blows me away with its creativity. A 2 page encounter with a generic hag in the woods isn't going to cut it. Been there, done that. You need to make the hag encounter special.

I personally don't have the attention span to run other people's material for very long, so anything over 12 pages is never going to get used by me as a practical matter. Megadungeons are completely out of the question. I want something short and awesome that I can insert into my campaign on a night when I just can't come up with anything good on my own. Give me 3-4 hours of content and I will get my act together with original material the following play session. I love the idea of a published megadungeon, but I'll never get around to running one. As I've come to terms with that, I've also realized it's a waste of my money to buy them.

All of that is just my preferences. I think you obviously need to release Aufstrag to complete the A series, but I probably won't end up buying it. I bet a lot of other people will, though. I just want short bursts of amazing creativity from the Trolls to help me out when I run my campaign.
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Omote »

Tome of the Unclean has been floating around for a while. I still see on message boards across the Internets various complaints that C&C doesn't really have any demons, devils, and really tough bad guys. While I never really cared that much, I started to care much more when the Tome of the Unclean bits were released. In general, those bad guys are so well done, I think that such a book only helps the C&C game at this point. I would love to see that book expanded to include some planar information regarding the demons/devils realms, even if that was only a prelude to a later C&C Book of the Planes. I think the Tome of the Unclean would be a great place to include other terrible magic items, and spells that really make use of the name Tome of the Unclean (clearly that name derives from the Book of Vile Darkness).

The Adventurer's Backpack is probably the next logical step beyond Tome of the Unclean. It's been talked about for a while, and seems like it would be a somewhat transformative product potentially bringing in new players, and expanding the C&C game in ways that were talked about in the previous few years. As for all the items mentioned, Adventurers Backpack might be the only one with "new" ideas in it, and that alone could be worth the investment. Breaking the mold of C&C just a bit could be what drives many to reinvest, or try out the C&C game in the first place. And what further could be good about that is the fact that these new ideas for the C&C game are contained within it's own book. It's not muddled around in a core book, but a separate book of rules and expansions to the C&C game to take or leave. I think players and CKs might appreciate that. In addition, if the rules contained in the Adventurer's Backpack were built in such a way to be modular with the C&C game (for example, old-school CKs can take a bit from here, and a chunck from there), you can cross-promote the book to both styles of C&C players without splitting the base completely.

Personally, the planes of existence are often mentioned in the various core C&C products, and that makes planar travel and the effects of planar spells very important to the C&C game. But up until this point, you needed to be a D&D players to understand any of that. Which is fine, but for even old gruffs like myself, I hate bringing D&D books to the table for C&C. I would love to see a properly treated C&C book that goes through the various rules, effects, and magic related to the Planes of Existence.

To recap:

#1) Tome of Unclean ~ bigger and badder, and make it a staple of the C&C game. Tome of the Unclean is too powerful a name to be a pansy afterthought sort of project. Make it valuable to players and CKs alike.

#2) Adventurer's Backpack ~ New mechanics, new details, and new insights to the C&C game. Sounds like WIN all over it.

#3) C&C Book of the Planes ~ An integral part of the game we play, but never fully realized. It would nice to see the TLG spin on this part of the game.

The Rest ~ I've never been a big believer in having tons and tons of adventure modules. I personally do not like them that much, and don't get a lot of traction from the ones I do have. Also, adventure modules in my experience don't seem to make money. A lot of time and effort can go into them, for little return. And quick-n'-dirty adventure modules that haven't had a lot of time spent on them, really, really look like it and probably hurt the game more than they help it. Side games like the way cool Kings Table, are neat, but once I loose interest they go away. Gods & Monsters of Aihdre would be of personal interest, but unless that is a book that covers stuff for other people's games, it is not needed right away (the Aihrdian Gods write-ups in Codex Aihrde are pretty awesome for the time being).

~O
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Tadhg »

Aufstrag ASAP.

Mebbe, Davis can help!

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by slimykuotoan »

Black and white text options, or personalised editions of products. I can't read the redish text, so I have to pass on all new core releases, and that's frustrating for me. :(
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by gabriellyon »

Ok well here is my votes in order of preference

1. Adventurers Backpack
I will get the most use out of this in the beginning

2.Codex Asia
I know that nothing like this is on your list but it would be very valuable to me for future games. Either China or Japan as a source would work though both would be great

3.Planescape for Aihrde
This would be really cool.

4. Tom of the Unclean
I don't know who Tom is or why he doesn't bath but hey, everyone to their own thing you know?

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Treebore »

I would think Aufstrag writes itself. Between the great tree, which was saved in my campaign, with a donation from another Elder tree, and the great massive city underground, to all the hundreds, if not thousands of side complexes and lesser "levels". So I am guessing that your just intimidated by how HUGE this thing is. Well, the reality is, there is no way you can do this justice in just a boxed set. Unless the box is like 2 feet deep and packed full of stuff. So just focus on the Great Tree and how to get down into the city, and a good layout of the core of the city with lots of side tunnels going off to CLEARLY Illustrate there is a lot more to be discovered. Then, down the road, you can make a lot of these other adventures you talk about be able to be tied into these other areas of Aufstrag, or used independently.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Rigon wrote: That's how I see it. Of all the things you have listed, I most would be interested in the Adventurerer's Backpack, Aufstrag, both short and medium length adventures. After that, everything else.

R-
Rigon,

So the ADB is top for you. Aufstrag part of it and the adventures right in there. I've mused over combining the adventures into one book. But for me adventures are hard. I'm not fond of the industry standard...layout and what not...and we've been working to change that for a long time. Placing maps for instance. Its always a pain..they are never where I need them when running a game.

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

maximus wrote:
I want to see this as well, but not as much as the Tome of the Unclean.

Thanks for reaching out for input. I have enjoyed playing C&C the past 2 years, and look forward to many more. The community here is great!
Maximus,

That's interesting on the Tome...and seeing other posts, you are not alone. Clearly our evil needs more direction. And I agree on the underpowered comment. This has come up before I think, but its been driven home with a few adventures in Aufstrag on my Thursday night table. They are cutting through some of these guys like butter. High level fighters cut the living crap through everything in C&C! haha

Well the good news is, its up now. I told Hartsfield to pick up the speed on it, and I'm going to join him. We'll both begin powering up the existing ones as well.

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Buttmonkey wrote:
Troll Lord wrote:1) Short encounters. 1-2 page encounters that can be dropped into any game. These will go well with the TLG Portal we are working now (news forthcoming soon).

2) Short 12 page adventures, something like The Outpost. Quick, dirtly ugly adventures that aren't very complex. Save the complext things for monsters like...

3) Aufstrag. I'm terrified of writing this. Its gigantic. Luckily Peter and I are working well on these first five levels. He maps things I envision, without me telling him, so I can write off his maps as easy as send him sketches. But not sure when I'll tackle the rest of this.
I like the idea of short encounters and shorter modules, but I want shorter material that is spectacular. Stuff I couldn't write or think of on my own. Something that blows me away with its creativity. A 2 page encounter with a generic hag in the woods isn't going to cut it. Been there, done that. You need to make the hag encounter special.

I personally don't have the attention span to run other people's material for very long, so anything over 12 pages is never going to get used by me as a practical matter. Megadungeons are completely out of the question. I want something short and awesome that I can insert into my campaign on a night when I just can't come up with anything good on my own. Give me 3-4 hours of content and I will get my act together with original material the following play session. I love the idea of a published megadungeon, but I'll never get around to running one. As I've come to terms with that, I've also realized it's a waste of my money to buy them.

All of that is just my preferences. I think you obviously need to release Aufstrag to complete the A series, but I probably won't end up buying it. I bet a lot of other people will, though. I just want short bursts of amazing creativity from the Trolls to help me out when I run my campaign.
Buttmonkey,

Aufstrag is inevitable. I just have to get my head around it. But the ABP will go first...well after Tome...but I hear you on the adventure shorts. Something new under the sun...a hard and not so hard order. Easier to do when tied to Aihrde.

What about that, short adventures loosely tied to Aihrde?

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Omote wrote:Tome of the Unclean has been floating around for a while. I still see on message boards across the Internets various complaints that C&C doesn't really have any demons, devils, and really tough bad guys. While I never really cared that much, I started to care much more when the Tome of the Unclean bits were released. In general, those bad guys are so well done, I think that such a book only helps the C&C game at this point. I would love to see that book expanded to include some planar information regarding the demons/devils realms, even if that was only a prelude to a later C&C Book of the Planes. I think the Tome of the Unclean would be a great place to include other terrible magic items, and spells that really make use of the name Tome of the Unclean (clearly that name derives from the Book of Vile Darkness).

The Adventurer's Backpack is probably the next logical step beyond Tome of the Unclean. It's been talked about for a while, and seems like it would be a somewhat transformative product potentially bringing in new players, and expanding the C&C game in ways that were talked about in the previous few years. As for all the items mentioned, Adventurers Backpack might be the only one with "new" ideas in it, and that alone could be worth the investment. Breaking the mold of C&C just a bit could be what drives many to reinvest, or try out the C&C game in the first place. And what further could be good about that is the fact that these new ideas for the C&C game are contained within it's own book. It's not muddled around in a core book, but a separate book of rules and expansions to the C&C game to take or leave. I think players and CKs might appreciate that. In addition, if the rules contained in the Adventurer's Backpack were built in such a way to be modular with the C&C game (for example, old-school CKs can take a bit from here, and a chunck from there), you can cross-promote the book to both styles of C&C players without splitting the base completely.

Personally, the planes of existence are often mentioned in the various core C&C products, and that makes planar travel and the effects of planar spells very important to the C&C game. But up until this point, you needed to be a D&D players to understand any of that. Which is fine, but for even old gruffs like myself, I hate bringing D&D books to the table for C&C. I would love to see a properly treated C&C book that goes through the various rules, effects, and magic related to the Planes of Existence.

To recap:

#1) Tome of Unclean ~ bigger and badder, and make it a staple of the C&C game. Tome of the Unclean is too powerful a name to be a pansy afterthought sort of project. Make it valuable to players and CKs alike.

#2) Adventurer's Backpack ~ New mechanics, new details, and new insights to the C&C game. Sounds like WIN all over it.

#3) C&C Book of the Planes ~ An integral part of the game we play, but never fully realized. It would nice to see the TLG spin on this part of the game.

The Rest ~ I've never been a big believer in having tons and tons of adventure modules. I personally do not like them that much, and don't get a lot of traction from the ones I do have. Also, adventure modules in my experience don't seem to make money. A lot of time and effort can go into them, for little return. And quick-n'-dirty adventure modules that haven't had a lot of time spent on them, really, really look like it and probably hurt the game more than they help it. Side games like the way cool Kings Table, are neat, but once I loose interest they go away. Gods & Monsters of Aihdre would be of personal interest, but unless that is a book that covers stuff for other people's games, it is not needed right away (the Aihrdian Gods write-ups in Codex Aihrde are pretty awesome for the time being).

~O
Omote,

That interesting. You and others mentioning the lack of demons and devils in the game. I don't know why that surprises me. There are precious few and they are always a huge part of my games! So that means Tome becomes an even greater target.

Your analysis of the ADB is fairly spot on. Its a nice expansion of the game, or is intended to be. That helps everyone, whether rules light or rules heavy, as it just gives more fodder. And it will definitely be pick and play. I think in the intro the Players Guide to Aihdre I say something to that affect...use these rules as you desire. Or don't. Its your game. The same approach will be made with ADB. There will be no monty haul stuff in there however. More down to earth content.

And that's the first hurah (in a while) I've heard for the planescape book....because of course you are right, there are no hard and fast rules for traveling in the planes, how spells work etc etc.

I'm with you on adventures. I rarely use them for game night. I don't have time to read them. That's one reason I am looking at shorter, easier to use adventures. We are also looking at different ways to present them.

Gods and Monsters of Aihrde is as much a book of extraordinary monsters than an actual god book. It will have more gods and their placement in Aihrde, but it will have individual giants, goblins, and other similar creatures. Dwarven and human heroes and so forth. The purpose being to not replicate the Codex of Aihrde.

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Rhuvein wrote:Aufstrag ASAP.

Mebbe, Davis can help!

8-)
Davis could, he loves dungeons, but I think we just lost him to Inzae! :shock:

This one is on me and Mr. Peter Bradley!

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

slimykuotoan wrote:Black and white text options, or personalised editions of products. I can't read the redish text, so I have to pass on all new core releases, and that's frustrating for me. :(
Slimykuotaon....I just got your name. ahhaah that's just sad, years and years you've been posting and I just realized...good lord someone dropped me on my head too often.....

But we can accommodate you on the black and white text options. It won't be hard back, but if you want something along those lines, just drop us a note! We can fire up the presses!

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

gabriellyon wrote:Ok well here is my votes in order of preference

1. Adventurers Backpack
I will get the most use out of this in the beginning

2.Codex Asia
I know that nothing like this is on your list but it would be very valuable to me for future games. Either China or Japan as a source would work though both would be great

3.Planescape for Aihrde
This would be really cool.

4. Tom of the Unclean
I don't know who Tom is or why he doesn't bath but hey, everyone to their own thing you know?
I think the ADB is a must now! :)

Actually Brian Young has notes for the Asia mythos books...two I think, Chinese and Japanese. And Jason Vey has voiced the desire to write the Oriental Adventurers book. SO that is on the docket!

Tom is probably Tom Tullis from Fat Dragon Games! My friend and nemisis! He has horrible taste in music, so I have to school him once in awhile.

Steve

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Troll Lord »

Treebore wrote:I would think Aufstrag writes itself. Between the great tree, which was saved in my campaign, with a donation from another Elder tree, and the great massive city underground, to all the hundreds, if not thousands of side complexes and lesser "levels". So I am guessing that your just intimidated by how HUGE this thing is. Well, the reality is, there is no way you can do this justice in just a boxed set. Unless the box is like 2 feet deep and packed full of stuff. So just focus on the Great Tree and how to get down into the city, and a good layout of the core of the city with lots of side tunnels going off to CLEARLY Illustrate there is a lot more to be discovered. Then, down the road, you can make a lot of these other adventures you talk about be able to be tied into these other areas of Aufstrag, or used independently.
Tree,

You've hit the nail on the head! I can't conceive of how this would actually be produced. The 21 maps alone, how to use them at the table, one on top of the other. I do think I'm going to have a 3D rendering of the thing done. Small of course. That might help.

But this has been my problem with Afustrag all along. I keep talking about it being a living dungeon, it changes all the time, but it is hard to put that on paper. So I end up describing more than I intended, to fill in all the gaps,...get frustrated, back off and just sketch stuff out....and then realize I'm not giving the CK who needs stuff on the go enough to work with. Then it happens all over again.

And really it should all be one mish mash of stairs, rooms, galleries etc. The "level" thing being a convenient term. But conveying that on a pen and paper is just as challenging. The writing is daunting but the presentation is just as much so.

It will be done however......one way or the other....I did try to get my son to start a Mindcraft Server of Aufstrag. He got bored pretty quick hahhah

Steve
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Treebore »

Then just give yourself a narrow focus outline, and only write for that. Like I said above, start with the great Tree, then work a way down to the great city, making it clear there are MANY other ways they could get down there as well, then just do the city, giving us the write ups of the major players, factions, etc... and maybe an adventure or two to illustrate how to run in the city. While making it clear there are hundreds, if not thousands, of side location, around and below the main city.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Tadhg »

Aufstrag will be Steve's:

pièce de résistance

or

magnum opus

or

tour de force

or

masterpiece

or

chef-d'œuvre

etc.

Do it! :D
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Tadhg »

I should mention that I look forward to the full ABP.

In my online game, I dropped in a NPC - halfling archer using the basic overland backpack.

He's 2nd level, so he always goes first in combat due to improved initiative!!

8-)

I'll probably allow some cleric spells and perhaps a thief ability soon.

:P
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by serleran »

Would it be possible to obtain a license / permission to develop some kind of mobile app for C&C?

The untapped market might be the one that paywalls the most.

Also, I would greatly interested in a mobile game based on Aufstrag.

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by slimykuotoan »

Troll Lord wrote:
slimykuotoan wrote:But we can accommodate you on the black and white text options. It won't be hard back, but if you want something along those lines, just drop us a note! We can fire up the presses!

Steve
That's great news. Even though hard back would be my preference, It'd still be awesome to get new C&C products in black & white softcover.

I'll PM shortly. :)
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Go0gleplex »

The backpack is the only thing up that interests me at the moment. Though mention of the OA and Chinese & Japanese books would be of major interest to me. :)
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Captain_K »

Oriental adventures or the world as we know it and their archetypes might be nice PH2 if you will.

I'm the least likely to be of help, I homebrew many things and love your core. I would suggest, shit I don't know, I better think about this when I'm not trying to finish stuff for Tree.

I got to figure out who (what race) in CnC discovers Aluminium and alloys it with quick silver to make a energy harvesting Chaos Shield....

Cheers and may I suggest, that you take a vacation, relax, unwind, have some fun and the needs of the many will become the inspirations of the few by the simplest of magics?
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Tadhg »

Troll Lord wrote:And Jason Vey has voiced the desire to write the Oriental Adventurers book. SO that is on the docket!

Steve

Steve
Fab. I'll buy this in a second!

And since it has 2 "Steves", then I know it's gonna happen!

Woot yeah, well done!

Trollzah!

:mrgreen:
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Captain_K »

Please do not change the core rules, only add to or build on.... I do not want new rules, please expand and add, but build upon your foundation.
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by gabriellyon »

What would the difference be between Oriental Adventures and say the Codex Nippon?

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by Treebore »

gabriellyon wrote:What would the difference be between Oriental Adventures and say the Codex Nippon?
OA would probably have a lot more "standard" classes, where as Nippon would probably have a lot more of the esoteric elements of Nippon.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by dachda »

I like it all. The order you presented the upcoming material is okay by me too. Though the Adventurer's Backpack, and the Gods and Monsters of Aihrde are at the top of my list.

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Re: Castles & Crusades What's Next

Post by pawndream »

Tome of the Unclean: Yes. Demons and devils are a significant part of many fantasy rpg campaigns and sorely missing from the C&C portfolio.

Adventurers Backpack: A mish-mash book of optional rules is not that appealing to me (I like simple rules contained within a single book), but I know a big draw of C&C is the toolkit approach to the game. For this reason, such a book would probably some strong appeal to existing players, but won't necessarily draw in new players. Basically, this book will primarily appeal to long-time C&C players looking for new rule options.

Adventures of all flavors: Megadungeons are cool in theory, but I think most of these type of products sit on shelves, unplayed. Aufstrag sounds like the sort of thing that would takes years of game time to go through, and in my experience, most campaigns do not last long enough to see something like this carried through to completion. Short adventures are okay, but as others mentioned, they need to be modular, easy to run without a ton of investment and pretty fantastic to garner attention. C&C is not really hurting on published adventures either. There are already a lot of these already out there.

Plane Book: Could be cool, but maybe not something that will see that much use at the table. Nice to have, not a must-have.

Gods and Monsters of Aihrde: Niche product supporting the flagship campaign setting. Nice to have, not must-have.

Inzae: Even more niche than everything else. Is there a strong demand for more Inzae stuff? Are people clamoring for this setting? What new ideas does it offer than are not currently available in Aihrde or Haunted Highlands?

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