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Trueshaft
August 23rd, 2015, 10:37
So just getting started here with FG. I think I've joined a group to play some Pathfinder but I am still interested in getting into and/or starting some C&C games, maybe a campaign at some point. I have yet to get to plat C&C at a table, but I bought the main books ( 5th editions ) a few years back at Gencon and really liked the simplicity of the system. Am wondering what I should start with besides the basic ruleset. Would you recomend the initial starter modules or something else?
I also have a stash of some very old basic D&D modules like Keep on the Borderlands ( I wish I still had my original box set it came in ) and wondered how difficult it would be for me to convert it for play with C&C. I haven't messed with the FG tools much, but I see there are some good aids in creating maps, so I think it should be "relatively" easy to do things like that as well as create original maps for FG. But I figured I should probably start with a premade module like A0 or A1. Would those be the best way for a new CK and players ( assuming I can find some) to get started?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Andraax
August 23rd, 2015, 14:00
PM me your email address; I have a nice collection of effects / modifiers / tables for use with C&C. Also, I have an opening in my Tuesday night game if you're interested (8-11pm US/Central).

damned
August 23rd, 2015, 14:59
So just getting started here with FG. I think I've joined a group to play some Pathfinder but I am still interested in getting into and/or starting some C&C games, maybe a campaign at some point. I have yet to get to plat C&C at a table, but I bought the main books ( 5th editions ) a few years back at Gencon and really liked the simplicity of the system. Am wondering what I should start with besides the basic ruleset. Would you recomend the initial starter modules or something else?
I also have a stash of some very old basic D&D modules like Keep on the Borderlands ( I wish I still had my original box set it came in ) and wondered how difficult it would be for me to convert it for play with C&C. I haven't messed with the FG tools much, but I see there are some good aids in creating maps, so I think it should be "relatively" easy to do things like that as well as create original maps for FG. But I figured I should probably start with a premade module like A0 or A1. Would those be the best way for a new CK and players ( assuming I can find some) to get started?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Im not a huge fan of A0 and A1 but as they are pre-made they will make it easier on you as GM - having to learn the GM side, learn Castles&Crusades and preparing material.

I really enjoy C&C and the ruleset is good. It contains full Players Handbook and Monsters & Treasures resources.

You absolutely can convert your other D&D stuff over very easily. If you find during the game sessions that the players are finding it too easy - increase the HD of a couple of monsters (this also improves their attack rolls) and if they are finding it too hard, reduce the monsters HP or reduce the number of monsters. Do it on the fly - you will know if its required.

Id consider starting the characters off at least at level 2 - level 1 characters just die so easy and the wizard is sooo boring with such limited spells.

When recruiting - sometimes its more effective to say "old school D&D" or similar rather than Castles&Crusades...

jshauber
August 23rd, 2015, 15:09
PM me your email address; I have a nice collection of effects / modifiers / tables for use with C&C. Also, I have an opening in my Tuesday night game if you're interested (8-11pm US/Central).

I play in Andraax's Tuesday game and would love to see another player join!! At least give it a try for a session or two and get a feel for the ruleset in action. Plus Andraax can give you pointers on being a GM. He is quite good at it.

JohnD
September 2nd, 2015, 18:41
Trueshaft I have a Friday evening game in Central time zone that is starting up again in a couple of weeks, there is one opening if you've still got an interest.

Trueshaft
September 3rd, 2015, 02:21
I appreciate the offer and I would be very interested, but on Fridays I don't normally get home from work till about 10 pm est my time, so not sure how compatible our times would be.But if that jibes with your schedule, great!
I also appreciate the advice. I'm still looking at tutorials and have just played my first FG game. Still haven't decided on what mod to tackle for a first time C&C gm. Any recomendations on that? Eventually I might adapt a couple of those old school D&D mods ( like Keep On the Borderlands) for Castles and Crusades, but what about a good starter mod to get my feet wet?

Also is the basic C&C ruleset enough to get started with? I also have the actual books as well.

JohnD
September 3rd, 2015, 03:41
C&C ruleset in FG gives you everything you need in most cases. The CKG is a nice add, as is Classic Monsters. I would not suggest most modules unfortunately, as the maps do not appear to have ever received necessary work to make them more useful in the VTT environment. Just my opinion.

If you're looking at conversion, I'd start with a combination of B1, B2 and the Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands.

damned
September 3rd, 2015, 03:53
Trueshaft the $10 ruleset contains everything you need to get started. There is other goodness in Castle Keepers Guide and Classic Monsters but these volumes were not even in existence for the first 5 or so years of Castles&Crusades in the physical format.
Watch these videos - they are 2-7mins each - if you get a chance - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsgd1zJLdiKUrEd85Dqr6UcaaLvD7YlJd
Poor production quality but they are all done using C&C and are all useful.
Im not a huge fan of the official adventures but they are cheap and they are quick to get going so I would try one so as to ease your startup learning/prep time/effort.
Ask questions - lots of advice and tips to be found here.

dr_venture
September 3rd, 2015, 04:03
Here's an article you might find helpful: Converting D&D/AD&D/D20 System to Castles & Crusades. (https://dnd-realm.blogspot.com/2010/03/converting-d-system-to-castles-crusades.html)

Have fun!

dulux-oz
September 3rd, 2015, 04:05
Here's an article you might find helpful: Converting D&D/AD&D/D20 System to Castles & Crusades. (https://dnd-realm.blogspot.com/2010/03/converting-d-system-to-castles-crusades.html)

Have fun!

He's Back!!! :p

damned
September 3rd, 2015, 04:11
Here's an article you might find helpful: Converting D&D/AD&D/D20 System to Castles & Crusades. (https://dnd-realm.blogspot.com/2010/03/converting-d-system-to-castles-crusades.html)

Have fun!

Hola good Doc!

dr_venture
September 3rd, 2015, 05:35
Hello gents. If by "back you mean haunting the forums as time allows, then that's me... but sadly still not active. Glad to send a link along to a new C&C GM, tho.

dulux-oz
September 3rd, 2015, 06:49
Hello gents. If by "back you mean haunting the forums as time allows, then that's me... but sadly still not active. Glad to send a link along to a new C&C GM, tho.

Ahh, so tis a Lurker you've become - ye be warned ye young Noobs: watch out for the Lurkers - Evil follows in their wake and they seduce ye into blasphemous rites and rituals - also knows as Castles & Crusades :p

Me, on the other-hand, will seduce ye with bright shiny Extensions that will draw you in and weed their tendrils into your campaigns until they become impossible to do without - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

dr_venture
September 3rd, 2015, 06:59
watch out for the Lurkers - Evil follows in their wake and they seduce ye into blasphemous rites and rituals


A-yup.

Trueshaft
September 15th, 2015, 11:29
Thank you all for the tips. particularly the bit about converting AD&D to C&C.I am thinking of going with a pre made mod to start with, then build off that. I've read good things about Shadows of the Halfling Hall as a good beginners adventure.Using the classic adventures like I mentioned before sounds like a blast, but I do worry that the folks who'd be most into playing C&C would most likely have also played them. Then again, those early adventures left a lot of room for GMs to get creative. I've GM'ed a good number of Pathfinder mods over the years, and I almost never followed the scripted adventure 100%. Any opinions on some of Troll Lord's actual settings for a campaign or series of adventures? I gather Greyhawk is pretty popular here, which is why I'd be more inclined to use a different setting. I've been reading up on The Haunted Highlands and the general setting for Aihrde, but can't decide.

damned
September 15th, 2015, 14:32
I wonder if this might be a good place to start your characters... https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=TLG8507FG2
I have the physical book but have never even peeked inside so I cant vouch for it either way....

JohnD
September 15th, 2015, 18:39
I wonder if this might be a good place to start your characters... https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=TLG8507FG2
I have the physical book but have never even peeked inside so I cant vouch for it either way....

I have this module in PDF format, as well as the FG version. I would say it is a nice resource for laying out a decent sized city which can be adventured in.

ToK gives a summary of major NPCs and some insight on how PCs might interact (run afoul) with them. As with all/most C&C content in FG you're going to have to do some work to make ToK playable in FG (IMO anyways).

This has nothing to do with the FG conversion; it is faithful to the original document (S Ferguson did a great job converting it). What you are going to need is supplemental maps for city streets, taverns, sewers, etc... all the usual areas that you might expect to require an encounter map in FG you will need to source yourself (or, keeping with the b&w style, perhaps draw and scan in yourself). There is a large scale map of the city, but it isn't something you can put tokens on and use for encounters.

TLG seems to take a minimalist approach to stat blocks so you may find yourself having to fill in some blanks if necessary. The one very nice thing in ToK from my perspective is that the major NPCs you might have PCs encountering are of a power level that is reasonable; you will not worry about the 25th level Captain of the Watch and how he relates to a 2nd level group.

I would say that ToK gives a CK a good sandbox base setting, and then you can go and add your own content for adventuring, either within the city walls or outside in the wilds beyond. It's interesting to compare ToK to another C&C city setting in Free City of Eskadia, which is sadly not available in a FG conversion. I would say that FCoE is a better sandbox product which gives the CK more to work with to hit the ground running, including reasonable city quarter maps and sewers that you can actually screenshot from the PDF and get a resolution reasonable for a battle map in FG. The down side with FCoE is that since it hasn't been converted to FG, you still have to do some upfront work before you start playing.

If you want any C&C related information, please feel free to PM me. :)

JohnD
December 1st, 2015, 04:17
Thank you all for the tips. particularly the bit about converting AD&D to C&C.I am thinking of going with a pre made mod to start with, then build off that. I've read good things about Shadows of the Halfling Hall as a good beginners adventure.Using the classic adventures like I mentioned before sounds like a blast, but I do worry that the folks who'd be most into playing C&C would most likely have also played them. Then again, those early adventures left a lot of room for GMs to get creative. I've GM'ed a good number of Pathfinder mods over the years, and I almost never followed the scripted adventure 100%. Any opinions on some of Troll Lord's actual settings for a campaign or series of adventures? I gather Greyhawk is pretty popular here, which is why I'd be more inclined to use a different setting. I've been reading up on The Haunted Highlands and the general setting for Aihrde, but can't decide.
Hey Trueshaft... just wondering how it's going so far.

Trueshaft
December 3rd, 2015, 13:01
To be honest I haven't gotten very far. My attitude about playing soured a little bit. Joined a campaign a few months ago, and things were going good. I was slowly learning the ins and outs of FG. Then the group changed their playtimes because of another players situation. Problem was, the whole group fell apart ( including me) after we changed game time. People started missing sessions, it seemed like we were always short a player, then I started doing the same. It kind of reinforced some things I learned when I used to DM table top games.
Always have more people than you need, because you always have no shows and dropouts, at least at first.If you need at least 4 players, try to recruit 6,etc..
I also think I may try just running a game every other week, maybe not. My old table top group would meet every other Sunday back in the day, and once we finally got a core group of people regularly, things were fantastic
Set your playing time and stick with it. If a player's availability changes, work with them if you can, but if their change is permanent then you have to replace them, not ask the whole group to change their times.

Anyway, the whole thing was kind of discouraging. I still have ideas of what I want to do and plan to move forward eventually with some C&C related gaming. I might hold off till after the holidays to get rolling, though.I do plan on using ToK as a resource.

I do have a question about group size for C&C. I've seen talk of groups of 10 players or people actually running a couple characters. Is C&C geared towards that? I was thinking 6 player would be the optimal size ( 8 if I allow for the inevitable dropouts and last minute plan folks)..

damned
December 3rd, 2015, 13:16
heya Trueshaft. I ran C&C fortnightly for about 4years. I think that covered three campaigns.
We played the same time (give or take - we originally started later to support the US guys but eventually brought it back to AUS times) every other week. If we had a week off it still stayed on teh same fortnight.
The first campaign was my first time GMing in about 25years. First real use of FG. Big learning curve - Im sure it was pretty rough at times.
Anyway - the group morphed a bit over time but it still plays every other week (but right now Im a player in a 5e campaign) - in fact most of them play the opposite week too and another group member is currently running Star Wars.
Ok, lots of side tracking going on.
It takes time to build up a group. Sometimes its a struggle to recruit. If you can keep a couple of good gamers who are reliable and enthusiastic you will eventually build a stable group. There are a lot more players today than there were 4 years ago.

Definitely pick your time and day ad stick to it. Strongly encourage your players to be committed and be there every session. How you deal with absences is up to you. I still ran the session if I had two players or seven. It actually runs faster and more smoothly with less players. Have them pick up essential characters if required or scale the adventure or send them on a side quest. Or even run a one shot of something different - or have one of them run the one shot.

Our group currently has a Kiwi (Ross stays up till 3am), an American (Ted gets up at 430am), a Dutchman (Tim gets to sleep in and have a lazy afternoon playing) and 4 Aussies. When you have a pretty stable core group of players recruiting a single or even two players is less stressful and in fact is easier - the players will often introduce another player to the group.

I think 3 or 4 players is really your ideal minimum and any more than 6 the game gets bogged down. But as I said above - if two players are available I would still run the session. It helps keep the commitment/discipline/continuity going.

phantomwhale
January 22nd, 2016, 09:29
Yeah, I run a group of 6 players, and we play whenever 4+ of them are free. I feel C&C requires at least 4 characters to avoid bad luck on the dice triggering a total party kill, but also because it's a slog getting up so early (I GM in Australia, my players are all friends from the UK) so I'm not doing it just for 2-3 people :D

Also, as a personal toot of my own trumpet, I am playing through the A-series of adventures, and was not satisfied that the modules available for sale were lacking some of the newer features of Fantasy Grounds (drag 'n' drop treasure bundles with magic items all marked as unidentified to the players, random encounter tables programmed in) and also found too many typos / missing bits of info.

So I have taken it upon myself to update these adventures to be super-polished and well linked with all the trimmings. You should see an example of this with A0, that comes with the $10 ruleset I believe. I have also converted A1 and A2, and will be converting A3 these coming months. I think now, for the price you pay, these should represent excellent value and provide plenty of support during play with all the info / stats available when you need them. And no (well, far fewer) typos !

damned
January 22nd, 2016, 11:25
and phantomwhale does good work!

JohnD
January 25th, 2016, 00:07
Trueshaft I have an opening in one game. You are welcome to fill it, should the thought fancy you.


John

Adventurer1
May 3rd, 2016, 03:49
Phantomwhale

.... I am brand new to FG... and a HUGE C&C fan. I have a group of 6 ready and super excited to play. Looks like I will be GM'ing the Party and we decided to play through the entire A series, right from the beginning. I purchased the Ultimate Lic, and the C&C ruleset and of course got the A0 module. I have been going through it for the last 3 weeks, familiarizing myself with it, but was wondering about your post on 1-22, regarding... Were you the one who converted the A0 that you get with the Ruleset purchase? and Are you saying that you have completely converted up to A2 and it is available for purchase from you? and if so, where are they available for purchase?

Sorry if I go myself confused, just trying to figure some things out.
Thank you
Adventurer1

damned
May 3rd, 2016, 06:14
Hey Adventurer1 several of the A-series modules are available in FG format. Im not sure which ones PW may have cleaned up but they are pretty basic conversions. Yes they will save you some time but they are not on a par with newer releases. [Opinion and Hearsay only!]

Adventurer1
May 4th, 2016, 18:32
Hey Adventurer1 several of the A-series modules are available in FG format. Im not sure which ones PW may have cleaned up but they are pretty basic conversions. Yes they will save you some time but they are not on a par with newer releases. [Opinion and Hearsay only!]

Thanks Damned....
When you say 'newer' ones, do you mean some of the more recent A series available in the FG store? Reason I'm asking is because they are also available in the Steam store, which is where I originally came across the FG VTT (before I knew what FG was).

I'm just not sure if they are all the same, or if the ones on the FG store are better, more current, done by someone else? oh, the questions! lol

thanks
Adventurer1

Trenloe
May 4th, 2016, 21:09
I'm just not sure if they are all the same, or if the ones on the FG store are better, more current, done by someone else? oh, the questions! lol
They're exactly the same.

Have a look at the product descriptions for the adventures in the Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=5&pub=-1&typ=3&search=&sort=1 If there is a paragraph that begins "This product was one of the earlier adventures for Fantasy Grounds..." then you know this is an older FG module. It will be perfectly usable, just won't have some of the nice bells and whistles available in more recent versions of FG.

Adventurer1
May 4th, 2016, 21:24
They're exactly the same.

Have a look at the product descriptions for the adventures in the Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=5&pub=-1&typ=3&search=&sort=1 If there is a paragraph that begins "This product was one of the earlier adventures for Fantasy Grounds..." then you know this is an older FG module. It will be perfectly usable, just won't have some of the nice bells and whistles available in more recent versions of FG.

OK...that makes a world more sense now. I noticed that phrase on many of the early modules, just wasn't clear. I have begun taking A0 Rising Knight and trying to make it more CK friendly (not that its bad in any way, its just not set up for fast CK reactions...too many of the elements, whether encounters or NPC's, have to be "hunted for" in order to find...)

I guess I was reading PhantomWhales comment as he had to do the same thing...which made me start thinking, 'Hey, if someone has already done that, I'll glad pay to buy it' ...LOL

While I have you responding (thank you so very much by the way)... I have some questions and wondered if you could help shed light on them:

I have a party of 6 players, and then I was going to CK the adventures
I was planning on buying the Ultimate lic. and installing on a Game Server (large IBM commercial server I own)
I was then going to host the game, from that server and run through TeamViewer the CK side
further, I was going to have the 6 players connect to the server, obviously, to enter the game
One of the reasons I was going to go this way, was so that I could leave the game open 24/7 and would not have to "set-up" each session

some questions I have though are:
1. Does each player need to buy their own FG Full lic. in order to create & save their own characters (I know they can connect with the demo version only...but then are the characters being created on ult.lic.)?
2. If the players use the demo only, and buy the C&C Ruleset, will it load onto their computers and be recognized by the demo? or do they need to by the full lic for the rulesets to work

thanks again for your help...
Adventurer1

Trenloe
May 4th, 2016, 22:11
some questions I have though are:
1. Does each player need to buy their own FG Full lic. in order to create & save their own characters (I know they can connect with the demo version only...but then are the characters being created on ult.lic.)?
2. If the players use the demo only, and buy the C&C Ruleset, will it load onto their computers and be recognized by the demo? or do they need to by the full lic for the rulesets to work
The demo license can use Manage Characters for any installed rulesets. If the player has a demo license and buys the C&C ruleset then they can use manage characters to create and maintain C&C characters outside of the GMs campaign within manage characters.

They can, of course, make use of the ultimate license GM's campaign to create characters/edit existing ones etc. by joining that campaign. But, the campaign has to be running and accessible for this approach to be available.

Adventurer1
May 4th, 2016, 23:52
The demo license can use Manage Characters for any installed rulesets. If the player has a demo license and buys the C&C ruleset then they can use manage characters to create and maintain C&C characters outside of the GMs campaign within manage characters.

They can, of course, make use of the ultimate license GM's campaign to create characters/edit existing ones etc. by joining that campaign. But, the campaign has to be running and accessible for this approach to be available.

WOOHOO!!!!! that is awesome. I was afraid they would not be able to build C&C characters "OUTSIDE" of the GM's campaign.

Using the 'Manage Character' option, while having the C&C ruleset, the players will create their own character sheets. Do I then import those characters into the Campaign, or do they do the import? (I know their characters will be saved as .xml files on their local drives)

Another question:
As a GM, do you think it is best to roll the character stats with the whole party together in the first session of starting a campaign? Or do you think it is better to just have the players build their characters on their own and bring them to the first game session? Asking from the "what do you like" perspective

Thank you so much again for answering all these newbie questions...
Adventurer1

JohnD
May 5th, 2016, 00:10
Another question:
As a GM, do you think it is best to roll the character stats with the whole party together in the first session of starting a campaign? Or do you think it is better to just have the players build their characters on their own and bring them to the first game session? Asking from the "what do you like" perspective

Thank you so much again for answering all these newbie questions...
Adventurer1
My advice is to send out the rules you want to follow to your players via email. I would also suggest a "session 0" for character creation where stats are generated in front of you. More effective might be to have a bunch of session 0 opportunities where you can walk through creating a PC with your players one-on-one... important if you have new people so you can dedicate your attention to them.

I have a special process for character creation which differs depending on what each player wants to make, so a dedicated session often works better... plus you can keep character stats private this way between you, the CK, and the player in question.

TL;DR there's no right way or wrong way to do this - you have to pick what you want to do as the CK.

Adventurer1
May 5th, 2016, 00:14
@ JohnD

That is awesome advice...thank you very much.

do you mind sharing your process, or would you like to keep it on the Down low? no biggie if so...

I really want to be a good/effective/fun GM for the party

JohnD
May 5th, 2016, 03:24
Sure. I'll drop you a PM tomorrow when I'm not using an on screen keyboard and can actually type reasonably efficiently.

JohnD
May 5th, 2016, 16:23
PMs sent (I had to break it into 2 messages).

Adventurer1
May 5th, 2016, 17:18
PMs sent (I had to break it into 2 messages).

Boy oh boy...that was super helpful...Thank you so much...I will need some time to fully digest it and apply it correctly, but it certainly has helped so far.

thanks again
Adventurer1