R1 - Player Character reference Sheet, Puddle Jumper

Another what might be called a lazy post but I need to work  through all the stuff.

One of the reoccurring items for almost all games is the  Character Sheet. For some these are simple sheets of notebook  paper or printed forms from online. For others they are items  that have to be just so. Character sheets are a personal  preference to many and I am ashamed to admit that is me. I prefer  a utilitarian sheet more than something fancy.

The Castle & Crusades Player Character Reference Sheets (R1) fall very close to the utilitarian. There is some what I would call fluff but not much. The sheets seem to be designed after the orangish first edition AD&D sheets in some way. They are groups in classes which were arranged by primary attribute. I am going to say that if you want a character sheet and are playing C&C this is something you will want. The first printing of these were nice because the included Equipment List corrected many series errors in the Encumbrance Values for items from the first edition rulebook.

From the back of the book:

"The Castles & Crusades Character Reference Sheets were created  with the player in mind. With these reference sheets in hand, a  player should be able to easily track and reference all a  character's necessary statistics equipment and notes making play  easier, more enjoyable and exciting."

The Character Reference Sheets Contain six different types  double-sided character sheets. Each type derived from an  attributes and their associated classes; The Fighter/Ranger  (Strength), Wizard/Illusionist (Intelligence), Cleric/Druid  (Wisdom), Rogue/Assassin (Dexterity), Barbarian/Monk  (Constitution) and Knight/Paladin/Bard (Charisma).

"Also included is the latest Equipment List for Castles &  Crusades."

Designed to facilitate attribute check rules system, these sheets  include room to record all the character's vital stats from Hit  Points, Armor Class, to weapons used and spells known. On the  front of each sheet is hand list of your classes' abilities and  room to record your racial abilities. Plenty of room is given for  what's important to your character and to the game. Record your  equipment, keep up with how much ammunition you've used, how much  food and water you have left. There is room enough left over to  describe your character and give a brief background.


Spell:

Puddle Jumper

Level: Third
Range: Special
Duration: Instantaneous
Ares of Effect: 1" Radius
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None


Note: This spell is a variation of Fire Walk but is centered around water.

This spell will allow the magic user and others to travel between  two locations in an instant. Both locations will need to have  some body of water present. The size of the body and if it is  naturally occurring or man made (even s largish puddle will work)  present in either location will not be important and they need not  match.

The travel between the two points will be handled differently  depending on how the caster is using the spell. If the caster  knows the location of the destination body of water the distance  between the two can be up to one mile distant.

If the caster does not know the location of the secondary water  then distance will be limited to 300 yards (90"). The caster will  have no information about the area surrounding the destination.  The DM should map out all the open water locations in the area of  effect with no other information except dots. The caster can then  pick any one of those in range and that is where the group will  appear.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the  write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the  80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other  than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be  slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of  spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :)  Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on  me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please  let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

The Haunted Highlands - TLG, Mage Scream

I normally try to mix things up a little better unless I run a series of products together like I did with the Drow series a couple of moths ago. It seems that I am stuck on campaign settings right now. I will try and break the chain tomorrow. For today though I will talk briefly on "The Haunted Highlands"

"The Haunted Highlands" is the first in a series of modules released by Troll Lord Games for Castles & Crusades. They all center around the same specific area and this one lays out the area in some detail. There are a total of six modules that were released in the series so far.

As stated earlier the module was released by Troll Lord Games for the Castle & Crusades system. The module is twenty four pages long and was released in 2006. The parchment cover is the first printing. It was later printed with a green colored cover to match the later printings of C&C.

The module packs a lot of information into its twenty four pages and it perhaps tries to do too much. In addition to being able to download a pay copy PDF of the module online you can actually see a six page sample and then another section were the deities are presented as well. This gives you a look at half the module. I wish they had either broken it up into two expanded products or made the current product either half again or double the size.

Even being as small as it is the information it presents is well done. This product gives the DM more wiggle room that Westbrook did if they want to put their own stamp on it. In my mind neither is better they are just geared towards different audiences. Either can serve as the start of a campaign area or be dropped into an existing product or creation as well.

From the Troll Lord Games site....

Upon the bloody northern marches lies a curious Roadhouse. Here are gathered the flotsam of the world: miscreants, mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, adventurers. Dirty Bowbe's they call it and its as rough and safe a sanctuary as any will find in those dark and bloody grounds! For once, long ago, a Kingdom thrived here and the wealth of its coffers flowed across the lands as honey from a jar. But those days are long past and nothing but memories remain . . . memories and the shadows of yesterday.

To the northeast of Dirty Bowbe's lie the ruins of Bortenski and the hazardous wastes known as the Witch Moor. To the north lies the village of the Ugashtan and further still lie the broken crags of the Mythnoc Cairns where the proud barbarian people once buried their cherished dead. To the Northwest stand the tall trees of the Grove of the Green Man, where the druids who worship the old ways still rule.

Four short adventures, plus a stand alone fantasy RPG setting! Welcome to the Haunted Highlands, an adventure setting for the Castles & Crusades fantasy role playing game. In the haunted highlands, players face dangerous foes as they attempt to collect bounties and challenge foes as they carve a name for themselves in a land fraught with peril.

Included here are three developed areas of adventure, two fully detailed and distinct Karboskian cultures and of course the infamous and always rowdy Roadhouse. The Roadhouse serves as a unique gathering place for adventurers and scoundrels where stories may be swapped, bounties collected and adventurers recruited, should they be brave enough to face the challenges which the highlands have in store.

The Haunted Highlands includes four short adventures for varying character levels and offers a stand alone fantasy role playing setting ready to be dropped into any campaign.. Extensive random encounter tables allow for continuing wilderness adventure. Details on a brand new pantheon featuring over a dozen new deities and one new monster help bring life to your new Castles and Crusades campaign.


Spell:

Mage Scream

Level: Second
Range: None
Duration: 2 Rounds + 1 Round/Level
Ares of Effect: 9" Sphere
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user emits a scream that will  exist on the entire range of the audible spectrum of sound. The  scream is such that any hearing it will be affected. The only  people exempt from the initial affect will be those that are  actually deaf or have no sense of hearing. Even the deaf could be  affected by the secondary effect.

The scream will have the effect that it was initially researched  for. It will cause all who hear it to be stunned for the  remainder of the round it is first heard and the entirety of the  following round, unable to take any actions. This will include  all who are in the range of the effect which centers off the  caster. This will include the caster and their party.

The secondary effect was found to exist once the spell is cast.  In addition to the audible effect the scream affects the bounds  in the mind of any spell caster that allow them to store and cast  spells. For a number of rounds equal to the caster's level, after  the first two, all casters will be required to make a saving  throw to cast spells. The save will be made at a -4 for anyone  other than the caster. The caster will only be at a -2 as they  were the epicenter of the scream and slightly less affected. The  spell affects the bonds of magic and will also affect creatures  using innate magical abilities.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the  write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the  80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other  than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be  slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of  spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :)  Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on  me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please  let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

The World of Erde Map - TLG, Cassandra's Spell of Extraction

After Winter Dark Fantasy Campaign Setting Map. I am not sure that I can say much more about this product than what appears on the tag from troll Lord Games. It is a 21" x 32" map of the world of Erde. This was the original setting for Castles & Crusades as I understand it. If that is wrong please let me know. The map was released in 2001 and I am not sure if it has ever been removed from the bag. I bought it in the off chance that I might someday run a Castles & Crusades campaign using their modules. One can never have to many maps can they?


Spell:

Cassandra's Spell of Extraction

Level: Fourth
Range: 9"
Duration: Special
Ares of Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Segment
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user extracts the target from space and time. The target can be the caster or any other being in range of the spell. They are placed into a pocket dimension of the casters creation. The dimension they are sent to has no connection to any other planes and is unique to them and the caster.

In the dimension there is nothing. It will be a field of almost blinding white with no sense of reference spatially. There creature there does not need food or water nor do they have to breathe and there is no atmosphere. The place they are taken to is a void though not the void other items take beings to.

While there the recipient of the spell can perform any function they could normally perform. They can also at will return to the plane of origin they were on when the spell was cast. They will know instinctively that all they need to do is actively wish to return. They will have a sense of time while in the dimension and know how long they have been there.

The spell allows the recipient to stay indefinite period of time though after a period of time equal to equal to six turns plus two turns per level of the caster time will begin to flow at a variable rate for the recipient. For each turn past the normal duration the DM should roll a D6 and a D10. One a 1-2 time flows slower, on a 3-4 it flows normal and on a 5-6 it flows faster. The D10 determines the multiplier for slow or faster.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.