With all this licensing hoopla going on, I keep seeing Castles and Crusades mentioned.  I know they're on the, "Let's make are own license!" bandwagon.  Or something to that effect. 

I also know the game is up to 8th edition, and the differences between editions are minor. 

What is more amazing is that older versions are available as free PDFs, or at least the Players Handbook is.

https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2022/02/castles-crusades-players-handbook-7th.html?m=1

It is yet another game you guys can check out if you want.  There is plenty of free games to be had it seems. 

7th printing of the PHB and 3rd printing of Monsters & Treasure are available for free. That's all you need (the Castle Keeper's Guide is more like Unearthed Arcana).

It's not completely true that it's completely unchanged through editions, in fact the Barbarian and Illusionist classes got a significant overhaul (for the better, IMO), but I think the difference between printings can be compared to CoC 2e-6e.

Technically it has no editions, just printings.  Everything is backwards compatible.  As importantly, converting AD&D 1-2e or D&D 3, 3.5, and 5e adventures are totally easy.  If you have experience with any of those systems, C&C is about the easiest game out there to just pick up and start playing. Plus, the Troll Lords are great guys; veterans who keep all the political BS out of their games and make everything right here in the USA.  Their customer service is fantastic.  Their forums are also pretty good.  Again, folks generally stick to talking about the game, not other stuff.

My only real criticisms are that their product editing is sub-standard and the quality of their published adventures is inconsistent.  Some are good; a few are awful, and most are just okay.  The editing issues remain there and I don't like their house style, mainly because they don't include full monster stat blocks.  But I have a ton of old D&D material and write my own stuff so it doesn't matter much. 

I will finish by saying that after being my intro to the OSR scene in 2016, C&C has remained my game of choice because for me it requires the fewest house rules with the most depth and options.  It plays and feels like AD&D with modern mechanics and a unified system (the Siege Engine, based on attributes) that I prefer to what modern D&D offers.  My players don't necessarily agree (they like OSE a bit more), but we play enough C&C and I highly recommend it if you're looking for an easy to learn D&D alternative.

I've was away from the hobby or at least on the periphery of it for a long time, outside of gaming with my kids, but I still love and support Castles & Crusades. The game is free to download/try, it is an extremely easy system to learn and run, it is very easy to port all sorts of older D&D materials/d20/retroclone goodness in it, and they are seriously nice guys who focus on making games and supporting their fans. Their Discord and Twitch interactions are fantastic, which I increasingly appreciate in this hobby.

These days, if I'm playing with my kids, it's gonna be Castles & Crusades.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on January 17, 2023, 07:10:35 PM
With all this licensing hoopla going on, I keep seeing Castles and Crusades mentioned.  I know they're on the, "Let's make are own license!" bandwagon.  Or something to that effect. 

I also know the game is up to 8th edition, and the differences between editions are minor. 

What is more amazing is that older versions are available as free PDFs, or at least the Players Handbook is.

https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2022/02/castles-crusades-players-handbook-7th.html?m=1

It is yet another game you guys can check out if you want.  There is plenty of free games to be had it seems.

And I will say, it does seem like they're enjoying some new attention with all this recent OGL drama. Their Discord and Twitch channels have seen a lot of new folks, and I've seen a lot of general questions about the system. I think a lot of people are looking for someone new to support right now.

Had always heard good things about C&C but never checked it out. The other week I grabbed the free PDF of the PHB, absolutely loved it. Both of my groups have now switched from BECMI to C&C, as will all my published modules going forward.

Just got this in the mail yesterday. matter of fact.

Nice! Those new covers are fantastic—best they've done, I think.

Quote from: Zachary The First on January 18, 2023, 07:08:02 AM
Nice! Those new covers are fantastic—best they've done, I think.

Absolutely! I'm kinda bummed by CKG didn't have the alt cover though, haha. But, I couldn't pass up the deal on the starter set so I'll take what I can get.

I run two groups who alternate on Thursdays. Last week was either group's last game of actual D&D. Last night I converted all of the PCs for tomorrow night's group from RC to C&C, and it couldn't have been easier; it was almost just a copy/paste affair. Editing the two modules I'm working on is also just as easy, just changing up the monster stat blocks a bit and adding CLs in places like for secret doors, traps, locked doors, etc.

I bought it too as a possible replacement to 1E.

Mind you let's also not confuse popularity with the PHB being free as well. At this point only time will fellas imo it's still too early to do so. It has to replace D&D at most tables before I would consider it popular.

Quote from: Mithgarthr on January 18, 2023, 07:23:45 AM

Quote from: Zachary The First on January 18, 2023, 07:08:02 AM
Nice! Those new covers are fantastic—best they've done, I think.

Absolutely! I'm kinda bummed by CKG didn't have the alt cover though, haha. But, I couldn't pass up the deal on the starter set so I'll take what I can get.

I run two groups who alternate on Thursdays. Last week was either group's last game of actual D&D. Last night I converted all of the PCs for tomorrow night's group from RC to C&C, and it couldn't have been easier; it was almost just a copy/paste affair. Editing the two modules I'm working on is also just as easy, just changing up the monster stat blocks a bit and adding CLs in places like for secret doors, traps, locked doors, etc.

If HD are d6, shouldn't the max hp for the Goblins be 6?

With a few minor tweaks, C&C is a brilliant game.

Quote from: migo on January 18, 2023, 07:42:26 AM
If HD are d6, shouldn't the max hp for the Goblins be 6?

Shit, good catch. Guess that's something I missed adjusting, haha. 

Quote from: Mithgarthr on January 18, 2023, 07:23:45 AM

Quote from: Zachary The First on January 18, 2023, 07:08:02 AM
Nice! Those new covers are fantastic—best they've done, I think.

Absolutely! I'm kinda bummed by CKG didn't have the alt cover though, haha. But, I couldn't pass up the deal on the starter set so I'll take what I can get.

I run two groups who alternate on Thursdays. Last week was either group's last game of actual D&D. Last night I converted all of the PCs for tomorrow night's group from RC to C&C, and it couldn't have been easier; it was almost just a copy/paste affair. Editing the two modules I'm working on is also just as easy, just changing up the monster stat blocks a bit and adding CLs in places like for secret doors, traps, locked doors, etc.

Was there not an option to select the alt cover while shopping for this?

I forgot to select the alt. Over when I bought mine; it defaults to the regular cover.

Quote from: Dropbear on January 18, 2023, 08:02:09 AM
Was there not an option to select the alt cover while shopping for this?

I forgot to select the alt. Over when I bought mine; it defaults to the regular cover.

Not when you get it as the starter bundle. 

I'll add that while you can get free character sheets off their website, if you're really wanting that 1e vibe, they also sell those pads of goldenrod sheets tailored to the different character classes.  They're useful because your class abilities are already printed on the sheet.