" Here Be Dragons" - OSR Commentary Using Castles & Crusades Mythos Series For Furthering A Sword & Sorcery Campaign

"Yonder in the unknown vastness"—his long finger stabbed at the black silent jungle which brooded beyond the firelight—"yonder lies mystery and adventure and nameless terror. Once I dared the jungle—once she nearly claimed my bones. Something entered into my blood, something stole into my soul like a whisper of unnamed sin. The jungle! Dark and brooding—over leagues of the blue salt sea she has drawn me and with the dawn I go to seek the heart of her. Mayhap I shall find curious adventure—mayhap my doom awaits me. But better death than the ceaseless and everlasting urge, the fire that has burned my veins with bitter longing."

"The Hills of the Dead" (1930) Robert E.Howard 

So let's pick this right up from here on the blog. And let's talk about the Ancient World or at least that's the tenative name for this Sword & Sorcery campaign. If we take it out of context and look at the Bundle: Castles & Crusades Mythos Series -- Print. Why it's important is that this bundle offers an alternative to the Troll Lords campaign world itself. And no there's nothing wrong with Aihrde as a campaign world. 

So over the last couple of days we've been meeting and talking about Castles & Crusades Mythos series of books. Ages ago I aquired every Mythos supplement that came out & a couple of the Aihrde books as well. The secret is that I really love homebrewing my own worlds. And Mythos bundle is for me. There are five factors about this. One is the fact that historic & mythological Europe is as a whole compelling as a campaign setting. There's a ton of material here and much of it fits a Sword & Sorcery genre campaign easily. And we've primarily have a solid grasp on history and mythology in the group of Rpger's that we've got. And also given the amount of work that we've got in the Castles & Crusades Mythos Series. It's easy to see that we can as a group of DM's focus on the 'hidden' C&C campaign world as we refer to it. Hidden not because Troll Lords has deliberately hidden the world but because of the fact that outside of the fans of Brian Young's Mythos series there are few who realize that you can take actual mythology and simply run with it as a campaign. We started looking into Castles & Crusades Codex Germania & Castles & Crusades Codex Nordica as the basis for a barbarian post late Roman mythological campaign world. 

The PC's are escaped gladiators, slaves, etc. from the Romans on the run and desparately trying to get back to thier families, tribes, etc. And simply go from there. Then it's a matter of making thier way across this mythological Europe as a point crawl using the resources in the Mythos series and letting the chips of adventure or fortune or glory fall where they may. 
The Castle Keeper's Guide as well as Monsters & Treasures could certainly help in this regard. There's far more inherit to letting the players struggle, survive, and hopefully thrive such is the barbarian way. There's something about this sorta of campaign that smolders the older schooler blood in my veins. And the fact that there's so much material to pull from for such a campaign. There's so much certainty and uncertainity going into such a Sword & Sorcery style campaign such as this. 
Not only would the point crawl style of campaign work for a Mythos centric campaign but it could help under score the command & conquest nature of such a world setting. There's a lot to consider with such a campaign and these are only my intial thoughts on the matter. 

Review & Commentary On "The Goblins of Mount Shadow" By Brian Young For Castles & Crusades For Castles & Crusades Rpg or Your Old School Campaigns

" Many long years ago the denizens of Mount Yr Wyddfa crawled beneath the earth; foul minded fey, goblins and others of that ilk; they fled for reasons unknown to any but themselves. The terraced slopes, the valleys, ravines and forested highlands settled in peace, farms spread along the greens, people settled and prospered. But the world unfolds, for ever turning, mirroring the past. It began with nightmares, followed by haunts hounding farmers in their fields, terrorizing them on the roads, chasing them to their sanctuaries. And then the goblins came a-hunting. Not seen in many years now they waylay travelers, despoil them of their belongs or worse, killing them on the road. And to all this the terror only adds, spreading even to hearth and home; young women have begun to disappear, kidnapped from their homes. Rumors speak of a new power, called the Grey King, which settled in the mountain. It is he that stirs up the creatures and has brought the goblins to life."

"Drawn by a string of random attacks on the locals, vandalism and sightings of eerie beings about the mist shrouded mountain, the characters must band together to discover the cause. To save the local villages from further devastation, the characters will need to hunt down the goblins and find the source of their rise to power."

"This set of adventures is made for characters numbering 2-5 from 1st-5th level or higher, employing a diverse band of adventurers with preferably an elf or two. The campaign centers on the haunted dark mountain of Yr Wyddfa and the rise to power of the dark faeries within, being guided and led by their mysterious leader the Grey King or the Brenin Llwyd ('Brin-in Thloo-id')."

"The Goblins of Mount Shadow" by Brian Young is a relatively unknown adventure these days. But its a perfect adventure foil to get the PC's into the back of beyond in a dark Celtic themed fantasy area. "The Goblins of Mount Shadow" is perfectly suited for Castles & Crusades. Its also a perfect precursor to 'Night of the Spirits' which we covered here. 

"The Goblins of Mount Shadow" by Brian Young trods places very close to the Halloween & Celtic spirit. The perfect adventure to take characters up to fifth level if they survive. The rise of the Grey King slots into the world that these modules present effortlessly. The layout is well done, the cartography well executed, and plot very quick running. "The Goblins of Mount Shadow" by Brian Young presents a very cleverly designed world that draws deeply from the Celtic myths & legends with a dark Celtic twist up. 

"The Goblins of Mount Shadow" by Brian Young again present's Mr.Young's adventure ideas on display but in a way that actually fits into a campaign pretty effortlessly. "The Goblins of Mount Shadow" is a solid first level Atumn or Holloween adventure. And brings to the table a weird sort of Celtic vibe without being tedious or silly. I highly recommend "The Goblins of Mount Shadow". 

You can download 'The Goblins of Mount Shadow' here. 

Review & Commentary On 'Night of the Spirits' By Brian Young For Castles & Crusades Rpg or Your Old School Campaigns

 "At the end of each year comes the month and holiday of Samonios, Samhain or Nos Galan Gaeaf, or Halloween. This is the time when the worlds are drawn together and monsters, gods and the spirits of ancestors wander between them. It is a dangerous and dark time in which the most holy and sacred of ideas mean more than they ever have before in the previous year. It is a time for the Dead and to honor them.

Events in the last year were steeped in bloody battles, the death of kings and encroaching evil from the Otherworld. The seers and madmen foretell that the omens are in place to bring a wrathful invasion from the Land of Magic. Most nobles and lords scoff at these superstitious words and ridicule them, but the common-folk know that there is truth in those portents and omens."



"Families stay close, hold their festivities in honor of their ancestors and the gods, but stay wary of the dangers that might find their way into their darkened homes and lives. But for the young or unwary . . . .

Little Addolgar ap Maelon Gof has wandered into the thick foliage of the Coed Celyddon, lured by the many colored playful lights that he saw dancing and laughing. Now the young dark haired child of ten winters is deep in the mist-shrouded forest soaked in Otherworld energies. A storm is brewing in the dark woods, stirring the trees and causing the limbs and boughs to crack and knock against each other. Owls hoot in their haunting voice and somewhere distant, wolves howl. Addolgar climbs over fallen trees and makes his way in bramble patches trying to get closer to the mysterious lights in the boughs of the trees.
Night of Spirits plunges you into the heart of Nos Galan Gaeaf, bringing your characters face to face with the Otherworld and the true horrors of the holiday!" 

Clocking in at twenty four pages of Halloween inspired madness 'Night of the Sprits' By Brian Young is a solid adventure for Castles & Crusades. This is a tight adventure with lots of twists & turns using mythology as its basis. And it does it with style. 'Night of the Sprits' takes the adventurers in hand bringing them into a Fey or Celtic inspired adventure centered around the Autumn time of the year. This is a tight & very well done adventure bringing just the righ inspired adventure encounters balanced with the machinations of an NPC of moderate power. But death awaits within 'Night of the Sprits'. The layout is well done, the cartography well executed, and plot very quick running. 

 

The set up in  'Night of the Sprits'. is pragmatic & well thought out. The center of the adventure is the way that Mr.Young brings his ideas to the table without ever becoming tedious or boring. This adventure sings along in only twenty four pages making it perfect for a Halloween game. For Castles & Crusades  'Night of the Sprits' peresents a solid  Adumn time or Halloween adventure. I highly recommend 'Night of the Spirits'. 
You can download Night of the Spirits Here. 

Cha'alt / Godbound rpg Session Report - Bite of the Crocodile God

 Over the weekend there's been a rash of interest in our  Godbound/Cha'alt campaign that's been on going for the past two years. And to a certain degree there's been movement on a faction that wasn't expected & that's the Greco Roman version of Sebek. This version of the god appeared in Imagine issue#16 back in July of '85. Why do I say Greco Roman?! Because of the fact that ancient city of Alexandria had a thriving worship in many of the Egyptians gods with a Greek & later Roman spin on them. 

In the article 'Ancient Egypt A Brief Survey' By Graeme Davis we are introduced to a rather interesting & rather nasty version of the Egyptian god Sebek with a Neutral Evil dispostion. But wait I thought this game was taking place in Arizona, Nevada, California, etc. According to Mummies.com there was an exposition in California in  1884 and this was the source of one of the past lives of a Godbound cleric within our campaign. The other source?! Imagine magazine issue #16 July Eighty five. And this also relates to the source of some of the cleric's spells which are modified versions of the 'Magic of Ancient Egypt' by Rod Stevenson. 

But wait you've got a copy of Castles & Crusades's  Codex Egyptium?! Simply put this was player preference & she wanted her Godbound to be a bit different from our other Egyptian wizard. So with a bit of Eighty five sly flourish Constaince Keely daughter of Sebek  was born into our campaign. She's in dire opposition to our godbound wizard. Three museums are up for plundering by the forces of Cha'alt to destroy the mummies of three very important scribes who know the secrets of summoning some very ancient gods back to Earth. 
Our cleric of Sebek ate one of the ministers of Cha'alt's main corporations literally. Now its a race to the museum to see if they can save the mummies of these priests. 

Review & Commentary On Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium By Brian N. Young From Troll Lord Games

"Brian Young has delivered us the sixth in the Mythos Series, bringing to life the world of Ancient Egypt. From a history of that desert land, to the mythologies surrounding its creation and the gods who carved it from the ether, the realms they ruled and the monsters they commanded. More than that, Mr. Young explores the actual geopolitical and cultural world of Ancient Egypt allowing CKs to bring their players to another world, in another time!"

When it comes to the physicality of a game book I've gotten quite picky. So when it came to the arrival of Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium it was mail call of some excitement for me. The packing was up to Troll Lords standards which is great mot of the time. We're not gonna talk about my go around with the USPS or my current war with em when it comes to delivery of game books. 
First thing outta of the gate is the index! Yeah a solid index is a must with these books if your in the heat of play. 

The layout & cartography is quite good & the book really does cover the ancient Egyptian  history, culture,periods, ruins, etc. quite nicely. The author brings his usual flare to the works & that's not a bad thing at all. The artwork is keyed into Codex Egyptium & doesn't look recycled. This book is dialed into both the players & the DM. 

The layout is clear, the writing crisp if somewhat dry but this is Brian Young's style. The author makes extensive use of his material diving in deep to ancient Egypt. He brings this material into focus for using Egypt as center stage for Castle & Crusades adventures. Its here that we get into the history, culture, & background of C&C Egypt. 

The author knows his subject but there are plenty of opportunities for the DM to build on their own imaginations & deep dives into this land of mystery or adventure. The roll of Egypt continues as we dive down into magick, religion, & the mytological core of Egypt. These are all intertwined in a dance of the divine & incredible.The role of the gods is extensive, interesting, & very dangerous! 

Is the Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium worth getting & buying?! From where I'm sitting here at the table top level as a dungeon master (I'm sorry but the term Castle Keeper rankles me as someone whose been in this hobby since OD&D. So the term is dungeon master no matter the game) the answer is yes. There's a lot of care here on Troll Lords to take Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium to the next level. 

The spells, the magick, the extension of the divine is on point for where the DM wants to take an Ancient Egyptian C&C campaign. The use of social rank is going to be key here especially if the DM wants to take a party of adventures deep into an extended campaign. Mr. Young makes extensive use of his history here in the design. 

All of this ties into the mythological & historical take here in  Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium. Why because it all ties back into the cosmology of ancient Egypt and their view of the mundane vs the fantastical. Mr.Young has simplified it to a huge extent because we as dungeon masters don't necessarily have the time to plow through anthropological texts. There are some players & DM's who will & do. Personally for me there isn't time & its one of the reasons why this book is welcomed for me. This also gets into the monsters who are extensively tied into the gods here in this book & that's a good thing. 

Because this Codex plugs into not only its own campaign setting but into Castles & Crusades own house setting of Aihrde. But can it tie into say Greyhawk or classic Mystara?! Or your own home brew campaign?! In a word yes! The designers & writers had enough brains to make extensive use of the too box approach. 

There's a boat load of appendix that allow the DM to dive into Egyptian warfare, social classes, more options, etc. This is all useful from the prospective of the DM who wants to introduce adventure elements into their games from Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium without jumping into the deep end whole hog.

Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium takes its subject quite well & seriously allowing the DM to get to grips with a well though  out & overall campaign book to work with. There's enough here to take your Castles & Crusades game to either the red or black sands lands here. If this the quality & direction that Troll Lords are heading then it looks to be a solid build upon for both OSR & the Castles Crusades fans. 

Love the Egyptian monsters here, there's a pdf of the Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium available here. The physical book is available right here. 

 

Note that this review was also done to show case the flexibility of OSR blogs whose time in some OSR fans & minds has passed. Recently I was  told that only videos would be used for the future of reviews of  OSR books & pdfs. So I personally went all in on the Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium Kickstarter. This book was bought with my own money & this review was done personally by me. There are already several C&C  expansions for Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium. I will be buying those & sharing my thoughts with you dear readers coming up!