Monday, September 21, 2020

Bare Bones & Mummies - OSR Commentary on Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium By Brian N. Young

 Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium By Brian N. Young  has my attention on the pile of must read OSR system books this past weekend. Knowing that I haven't talked about  Codex Egyptium for a New York minute has bothered me. But fear not I'm gonna dive back into this book right now. Now what's to love here is the foundation approach to the mythology, epic scope, & high weirdness of the Egyptian history presented here. 



This is a solid foundation of Egyptian mythology & history that the DM can build from. This is one of the things that Jason Vey & the Troll Lords have done. But let's get back to the fact that the mythology part is presented within the history of ancient Egypt itself. This is the clay from which the Troll Lords build on in the presentation of the fantasy aspects of Castles & Crusades. This is especially true of the Castles & Crusades The Book of the Dead by Jason Vey which is very well done but some parts are deadly. 



The material presented in the Codex Egyptium is gonna be really surprising to the average C&C or old school  gamer. Those usual mummies, desert goblins, etc. that they have encountered are gonna be replaced with monsters from Egyptian mythology. And some of them are really deadly! Use these with care & no I'm kidding. You could have a TPK without an issue. My advice here is simple. Read through these things very carefully and pay special attention not to the hit points but the text of the monster entry here. Some of  monsters would fit right into a horror movie without a problem. 



The monsters of the  Codex Egyptium could easily be ported over to the Victorious rpg with little issue. I'm thinking of porting over an old favorite NPC in the form of mysterious Egyptian queen, Tera. Tera herself is from the Bram Stroker classic 'The Jewel in Seven Stars'.  And at the end of the book she's still missing & all of the party involved in her affair are dead. Save one! 



At the end of the  'The Jewel in Seven Stars' Queen Tera escapes & the popular opinion among the group of players is that she's made her way from London to New York. Her motives are very mysterious, her agenda unknown at present, and there was mention of several possible NPC's especially one  Allan Quatermain whose in New York at present. 




Its from here where the trail begins to get cold. But the players are trying to recruit another player at present. They are concerned that they don't have the backup or fire power to tackle some of the material that's presented in  Codex Egyptium.  Reviews & more coming up! Stay tuned & keep em rollin'! 

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