OSR Review & Commentary On The Crusader Journal #5 For The Castles & Crusades Rpg

" Issue five offers better cover quality and improved interior page quality. We've brough in a new design team and this issue shows it."

"Crusader Journal is one of the few magazines that offers today's role playing gamers articles about the games they play and how to play them. Specifically geared toward Castles & Crusades, it also contains nuggets and tips on the hows, whens, what and wheres of role playing."

Ages ago I began crawling through the roots of Castles & Crusades rpg and sure I could talk to the Troll Lords themselves. Instead I grabbed a copy of The Crusader Journal #5 too get back to basics with Castles & Crusades. This issue is a bit of a look back in time to 2007 and it's interesting back we get a whole cloth look into the DNA of the game in a way. 

 The article of Gary Gygax's  column 'How it All Happened: Older Boys' gives an unique perspective on the roots of the hobby from one of the gentlemen that started role playing games.  We get a great look at the roots of the hobby and it works on a couple of levels. It's amazing how much I miss Gary Gygax's voice and insights into role playing. 'Alea IACTA EST: Going Tarzan' has some great insights, opinions, and more on a different perspective of gaming. Another good article and well written. 

'Hammer & Anvil:Mysterious Places' by Casey Canfield is an exploration of using real world places to inspire adventures for your own game and it's a good article. Solid and well written. 'The Forge King's Malice' is a great fiction piece by Stephen Chenault and could be used as the basis for an old school style adventure. 'New Feature! One Night Stand: The Barrow Mounds, The Crystal Cave, and The Crypt' By Bill Webb presents a great one shot encounter/adventure that works on a couple of levels.  'The Aihrdian Chronicles: Plumes Upon The Blue' is a great piece of fiction from the world of Aihrde by Stephen Chenault. 'Fellowship of Forgers by Finarvyen' is a great little article on adventurers and their place within a campaign. 
Auld Wyrmish: Multiclasses as Classes Part 2 By Mike Stewart' is the meat and potatoes for using multiclasses as fodder for creating classes in Castles & Crusades rpg.  And finally 'The Angry Gamer: The Popcorn Reigns' by Todd Gray is an article with a cinematic bend in your gaming & is a solid article. 

All in all The Crusader Journal #5 is a great addition to the annals of the Castles & Crusades rpg and gives some really usable articles along with some interesting details to the history of this great OSR game!