OSR Commentary - Castles & Crusades Codex Infernum Stephen Chenault, & Jason Vey For Old Campaign Setting

 Codex Infernum for Castles & Crusades is a comprehensive infernal bestiary and sourcebook released by Troll Lord Games. It serves as a dark companion to Codex Exaltum (which focuses on celestial beings) and provides Castle Keepers (GMs) with the tools to integrate demons, devils, and the metaphysics of evil into their campaigns.

Key Features & Content

• The Bestiary: The book contains hundreds of entries for infernal entities, including arch-devils, demon lords, and various ranks of greater and lesser devils and demons. Each entry is presented in full color.

• Infernal Metaphysics: It goes beyond simple monster stats to explore the nature of evil. It details the "Wretched Plains" and provides a hierarchy for both the chaotic madness of demons and the rigid, fettered order of devils.

• New Mechanical Systems: * Possession & Exorcism: Detailed rules for how infernal entities can seize control of mortals and the methods used to cast them out.

  • True Names: Rules for discovering and using the secret names of entities to gain leverage or control over them.

  • The Soul as Commodity: Lore and mechanics regarding how souls are traded, devoured, and used as currency in the lower planes.

• World Integration: While modular for any fantasy setting, it includes specific lore for the World of Aihrde (Troll Lord Games' flagship setting), detailing the role of the "tvungen" (the fettered) and their service to the Horned God, Unklar.

Book Specifications

• Authors: Stephen Chenault and Jason Vey.

• Format: 145-page hardcover (or PDF).

• Art: Features a bold aesthetic with interior art by Zoe DeVos, David North, and others, and cover art by Anato Finnstark.

• System: Designed for the Castles & Crusades SIEGE Engine, making it easily compatible with other OSR (Old School Renaissance) systems.

Usage in Campaigns

The book is designed to treat infernal beings as "unadulterated evil," incapable of mercy or empathy. This makes them distinct antagonists for high-stakes moral or "cosmic" level campaigns. It is particularly useful for GMs who want to run high-level adventures involving planar travel or gritty, horror-themed games focused on demonic corruption.

Given your preference for highly atmospheric, specialized settings and your background in managing complex campaign frameworks, Codex Infernum offers several mechanical and narrative "hooks" that align with your style of game mastering.

Here is why this supplement might be a valuable addition to your toolkit:

1. Advanced Mechanical "Sub-Systems"

You often look for specialized career paths and unique character mechanics. This book provides a robust framework for Possession and Exorcism, which adds a layer of mechanical depth beyond standard combat. Instead of a monster just being a stat block, it becomes a narrative puzzle for your players to solve using specific rituals and the True Name mechanics.

2. Compatibility with "Weird" Science-Fantasy

Since I have an interest in the desolate, high-stakes atmosphere of The Night Land, the descriptions of the Wretched Plains and the soul-trading economy fit perfectly into a setting where humanity is under siege by incomprehensible, ancient evils. It provides that same sense of "cosmic dread" rather than just standard "dungeon crawling."

3. Thematic "High-Stakes" Antagonists

I've previously explored the idea of "looming threats" (like your interest in an Azatlan-inspired menace). Codex Infernum treats demons and devils as primordial, unyielding forces. It provides a structured hierarchy that helps you build a long-term campaign where the "Big Bad" feels integrated into the very fabric of the world's metaphysics rather than being a random encounter.

4. OSR Flexibility (The SIEGE Engine)

Because Castles & Crusades uses the SIEGE Engine, the stats are incredibly easy to "kitbash." If you are running a campaign in a different system (like Hostile or Ascendant), you can lift the lore and the conceptual powers of these entities and port them over with very little math, allowing you to maintain your focus on the "Nineties" or "pulp" flavor of your specific world.

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A Quick Comparison for Context

Feature	Benefit for Your Style
Hierarchy of Evil	Ideal for mapping out complex, multi-layered campaign arcs.
Soul Trading	Adds a gritty, transactional element to high-stakes roleplay.
New Spells/Items	Provides "flavor-first" rewards for players who delve into dark lore.

D100 Random Sword & Sorcery on The Trail Encounters Table For A Castles & Crusades rpg Campaign

 The road in a Sword & Sorcery setting is rarely just a means of travel; it is a gauntlet of ancient grudges, desperate survivors, and cosmic indifference.

Here is a D100 Random Encounters Table designed for grit, atmosphere, and high stakes. This table picks right up from 

D100 Sword & Sorcery Random Urban Encounters Table for Castles & Crusades rpg

The Trail Encounters Table

D100	Encounter Type	Description
01-05	The Toll-Takers	2d6 deserters from a forgotten war have rigged a fallen tree across the path. They don’t want a fight—just your boots and steel.
06-10	The Ossuary Tree	A massive oak hung with silver-painted skeletons. If disturbed, a Wraith of the Wild whispers a secret for a price of blood.
11-15	Merchant of Woe	A lone peddler pulling a cart of "relics." One is a genuine $+1$ dagger; the rest are cursed or mundane junk.
16-20	The Sky-Hunter	A shadow passes over. A Pterafolk or Wyvern circles, deciding if the party is worth the dive.
21-25	Fugitive Noble	A mud-caked noblewoman fleeing an arranged marriage or an assassin. She offers a ring worth 500gp for escort to the next city.
26-30	Monolith of the Moon	A jagged obsidian pillar that hums. Sleeping near it restores all spells but causes vivid, harrowing nightmares of a dying sun.
31-35	The Pit Trap	A classic. A 20ft deep hole spiked with rusted iron. At the bottom lies a previous victim with a map.
36-40	Beastmen Scouts	1d4+1 Hyena-headed humanoids tracking a scent. They carry a sacrificial victim in a wicker cage.
41-45	The Red Fever	A group of pilgrims staggering toward a "healing spring." They are highly contagious and desperate for water.
46-50	The Duel	Two master swordsmen are mid-fight in the center of the road. They ignore the party unless interrupted; then they team up against the "insects."
51-55	Lotus Eaters	A small camp of people blissfully high on Black Lotus smoke. They invite the party to join. The smoke grants visions but saps Strength.
56-60	Collapsing Bridge	A stone bridge over a ravine. It’s structurally unsound. Heavily armored characters or horses may trigger a collapse.
61-65	The Sorcerer’s Tax	A levitating wizard demands a "knowledge tax"—a scroll, a magic item, or a memory—to pass through "his" valley.
66-70	Ruined Waystation	An old stone inn, now a nest for a Giant Spider or a Manticore. Loot is hidden in the cellar.
71-75	Chain Gang	A slaver caravan with 20 captives. One captive is a disgraced general who knows a secret entrance to the capital.
76-80	Sudden Monolith	A thick, unnatural fog rolls in. When it clears, the party is off-trail, facing a temple that wasn't there before.
81-85	The Dying God	A massive, wounded creature (like a Behemoth) lies across the trail. Cultists are carving "holy" meat from its side while it still breathes.
86-90	Vulture Culture	A flock of oversized vultures follows the party for miles, waiting for the first person to stumble or fall asleep.
91-95	Ghostly Legion	At twilight, a phantom army marches silently across the road. Crossing through them causes $1d10$ necrotic damage and a level of exhaustion.
96-00	The Dragon’s Remnants	The charred, smoking remains of a rival adventuring party. One survivor gasps out a warning about a "Winged Terror" nearby.

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How to Use This Table

• Frequency: Roll once per day of travel, or once per 4 hours if the territory is particularly lawless.

• Reaction Rolls: Unless specified, don't assume immediate combat. Use a 2d6 Reaction Roll:

  • 2-3: Immediate Hostility

  • 4-6: Unfriendly/Wary

  • 7-9: Neutral/Indifferent

  • 10-11: Curious/Talkative

  • 12: Enthusiastically Helpful

GM Note: In Sword & Sorcery, the environment is often as lethal as the monsters. Always describe the heat, the grit in their teeth, and the smell of ozone or decay to set the mood before the dice hit the table.

Diving into the Arduin Underworld - OSR Commentary On House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire volume 6)

 The House of the Rising Sun is the sixth volume of the Arduin Grimoire series, released in 1980. Authored by David A. Hargrave, it is a seminal piece of the "Old School Renaissance" (OSR) DNA, known for its kitchen-sink fantasy style, high lethality, and unapologetic weirdness. This picks up from 

Diving into the Arduin Underworld - OSR Commentary On Winds of Chance (Arduin Grimoire volume 8) By David A. Hargrave

Like its predecessors, Volume VI is less of a cohesive rulebook and more of a chaotic, creative "data dump" intended to expand the Arduin Multiverse.

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### Key Contents & Features

1. New Character Classes

Hargrave continued his trend of introducing highly specific, often overpowered or mechanically unique classes. Notable additions include:

• The Amazon: A specialized warrior class with unique combat maneuvers and social restrictions.

• The Medicine Man: A flavor of healer/shaman that operates differently from the standard Cleric or Druid.

• The Wind-Walker: A high-mobility class focused on speed and aerial utility.

2. Expanded Combat & Critical Tables

Arduin is famous for its brutal critical hit and fumble charts. Volume VI introduced even more specific tables, including:

• The "Social" Critical Table: Rules for critical successes or failures in social interactions.

• New Melee and Missile Charts: Increasing the complexity and "gore factor" of combat results, which often included limb loss or instant decapitation.

3. Monsters and Bestiary

This volume introduced dozens of new creatures, ranging from high-fantasy tropes to sci-fi horrors. These included:

• The Magno-Pede: A metallic, magnetic centipede-like creature.

• Interdimensional Horrors: Various entities that leaned into the "Lesser Lovecraftian" vibe common in Arduin.

• The "Rising Sun" Themed Foes: Creatures inspired by Eastern folklore (Oni, etc.), reflecting the title of the book.

4. Magic and Artifacts

The book added hundreds of new spells, many of which were designed to bypass traditional "Vancian" magic limitations. It also detailed several unique artifacts, often with extremely high power levels and devastating drawbacks for the user.

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### Design Philosophy: "The Arduin Way"

The House of the Rising Sun exemplifies the Arduin philosophy that defined early tabletop gaming:

Feature	Description
Multiversal Scope	It assumes your campaign isn't just one world, but a nexus where sci-fi, horror, and fantasy collide.
Lethality	Death is frequent, and the rules are designed to make every combat encounter feel genuinely dangerous.
High Density	The layout is famously cramped; Hargrave squeezed as much text, tables, and lists onto every page as possible.
Independence	While designed to work with Dungeons & Dragons (specifically OD&D), it was part of Hargrave's push to make Arduin a standalone entity.

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### Historical Context

By the time Volume VI was released, Arduin was at the center of a legal and cultural tug-of-war with TSR (the makers of D&D). The House of the Rising Sun represents a bridge between the early "zines" and the more professionalized Arduin Adventure boxed sets that would follow.

Travis Morgan aka The Warlord As a Sword & Sorcery NPC for Sword of Cepheus 2nd edition

 Adapting Travis Morgan, the iconic Vietnam-era pilot turned barbarian king, requires balancing his modern military background with the high-adventure tropes of a "Dying Earth" or "Lost World" setting.

In Sword of Cepheus (2nd Edition), Morgan is a high-ranking character, likely having completed 5–6 terms before being "stranded" in Skartaris.

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Travis Morgan: The Warlord

Social Class: 9 (Officer/Minor Nobility)

Characteristics:

• STR: 10 (+1)

• DEX: 9 (+1)

• END: 11 (+1)

• INT: 8 (0)

• EDU: 9 (+1)

• SOC: 9 (+1)

Skills:

• Athletics-1

• Combat Sense-2

• Command-2

• Gun Combat (Pistol)-3

• Leadership-2

• Melee (Blade)-3

• Navigation-1

• Pilot (Fixed Wing)-2

• Recon-2

• Survival-2

• Tactics (Military)-2

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Signature Gear

Morgan’s effectiveness comes from his blend of 20th-century technology and Skartarian steel.

Item	Damage	Notes
Hellfire (Auto-Pistol)	3d6	High-tech artifact; limited ammo (9mm).
Scimitar	3d6	Forged of Skartarian steel.
Laminar Armor	Protection 6	Often worn as a breastplate and bracers.

Note on Hellfire: In a standard Sword of Cepheus game, the Warlord's .44 Magnum or 9mm pistol should be treated as a Relic. Ammo cannot be easily replaced, making every shot a significant narrative choice.

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Special Abilities & Traits

The Pilot’s Eye (Custom Trait)

Travis retains his training as a United States Air Force Colonel. He gains a +1 DM to all Recon and Navigation checks when outdoors or using high-vantage points.

Master of Two Worlds

Morgan bridges the gap between primitive savagery and modern tactical thought. When leading a unit of primitive warriors (TL 0-2) against a technologically superior or magically enhanced foe, he grants all allies under his command a +1 DM to Morale checks.

D100 Sword & Sorcery Random Urban Encounters Table for Castles & Crusades rpg

 The sprawling, soot-stained alleys and marble-clad plazas of a Sword & Sorcery city are often more dangerous than any dungeon. This table is designed for Castles & Crusades, leaning into the gritty, "Long 90s" gritty-industrial aesthetic and the pulp tradition of Howard and Leiber. This picks right up from 

d100 Random Wilderness Swords & Sorcery Encounters table for Castles & Crusades Campaigns

D100 Urban Encounters Table

D100	Encounter	Challenge / Opportunity
01-05	Press-Gang Mob	2d6 Thugs (Level 1) attempt to knock the party unconscious to "recruit" them for a galley or a dangerous mining expedition.
06-10	The Alchemist’s Spill	A ruptured vat releases a cloud of iridescent vapor. Save vs. Breath Weapon or suffer hallucinations for 1d4 hours.
11-15	Street Preacher	A zealot of a forgotten "Dying Earth" deity screams of the coming darkness. He points at a PC: "The mark of the void is upon you!"
16-20	Corrupt Watch Patrol	1d4+1 City Watchmen demand a "pavement tax." They are more interested in gold than law.
21-25	The Night-Stalker	A lone Ghoul or Wight is dragging a body into the sewers. It hisses, offering a piece of jewelry if the party lets it pass.
26-30	Runaway Carriage	A heavy, iron-shod tactical hauler has lost its driver. It’s barreling toward a crowded market stall.
31-35	Fencing the Goods	A local rogue offers to sell the party a "relic" (actually a cursed Golden Age trinket) for half its perceived value.
36-40	Sewer Miasma	A localized pocket of swamp gas erupts from a grate. Treat as Stinking Cloud spell for 2 rounds.
41-45	Rival Adventurers	A party of 1d4 NPCs (Levels 2-4) is celebrating a recent haul. They are loud, drunk, and looking for a fight to "test their mettle."
41-50	The Silent Beggar	An old man with stitched-shut eyes holds out a copper bowl. He knows the secret entrance to the local sorcerer's tower.
51-55	Public Execution	A crowd has gathered to watch a "sorcerer" be hanged. The prisoner looks suspiciously like an innocent merchant.
56-60	Escaped Beast	A Manticore or Large Spider escaped its fighting pit. The street is suddenly, eerily quiet.
61-65	Rooftop Chase	A thief leaps from a balcony above the PCs, followed closely by arrows. One arrow misses and strikes near a PC.
66-70	The Black Market	A hidden door opens, revealing a brief glimpse of a bazaar selling forbidden herbs, lotus juice, and "pre-cataclysm" tech.
71-75	Noble’s Procession	A palanquin carried by hulking slaves forces the PCs into the mud. A slight here is a social death sentence.
76-80	Eldritch Graffiti	Glowing runes are being painted onto a wall by an invisible hand. Save vs. Spell or be compelled to add a stroke.
81-85	The Gambling Den	A basement door beckons with the sound of dice. The game is "Viking’s Greed," and the stakes are years of one's life.
86-90	Sudden Monsoon	A freak, oily rain begins to fall, reducing visibility to 10 feet and making the cobblestones slick.
91-95	Guild War	Two rival factions (Thieves vs. Assassins) begin a crossbow skirmish in the very street the PCs are walking.
96-00	The Ancient Automaton	A rusted, 7-foot tall bronze man is standing perfectly still in the square. It suddenly activates and asks for "The Master."

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Mechanics & Flavor Tips

• CL (Challenge Level): For most of these encounters, use a base CL 1-3. If the party is higher level, assume the "Thugs" are actually Level 5 Veterans or the "Escaped Beast" is a Hydra.

• The "Long 90s" Twist: If you want to lean into that specific aesthetic, replace the "Preacher" with a man handing out xeroxed pamphlets, or have the "Watch Patrol" wearing reinforced leather dusters and carrying heavy cudgels that hum with low-grade static.

• Reaction Rolls: Always roll 2d6 for NPC reactions (2: Hostile, 12: Friendly). In a Sword & Sorcery city, most start at a 5-6 (Unfriendly/Suspicious).