Troll Lord Games

I'm getting to the age where even the text in the full size books is hard to read.
No digest for me.

It doesn't have any discussion on "The End Game: Why old characters never die" despite the description on the Kickstarter Page.

I downloaded a copy of this today. The comparison to Unearthed Arcana is very strong. I did like how they added back spellcasting for Paladins/Rangers/Bards like 1E at an extra XP cost. The new classes are unusual with a few having powers that may be extremely overpowered...for example the magic use...

If BTB is too intense you can always modify the save by taking only 2/3 or 3/4 of the attacker's hit dice to add to the save difficulty. This still makes saves harder than 1E but allows higher level PC's to have a better chance to save than BTB

Roll 1 on 1d6.
1-2 for elves

Charisma is not a dump stat. None of the stats are dump stats in C&C.
All of the stats are tied into saving throws. Charisma is actually associated with saves against some very nasty effects like death magic.

I just use Tertiary Attributes as per the CKG.

I was burned out as a DM after running Age of Worms for my players. I vowed never to play 3.x again. It was also around this time that it was announced Castle Zagyg would be in C&C rules and Gygax supported it. I switched to C&C and found it allowed me to use all the 1E/2E resources I had yet had a ...

Recently bought the AD&D package from GOG.com. 1. Played Planescape Torment for the first time. I was absolutely stunned by the story, NPC's, music and the dialogue. I eventually turned difficulty to easy so that the boring combat didn't get in the way of progressing through the plot. Very haunting ...

I've thought about SIEGE in 1E as well.

I much prefer the C&C monk and Illusionist however.

I end up letting players use spells from 1E PH and UA anyway.

I DM'd GDQ 1-7, S1....my players loved those.

As a player, I really liked S4.

To clarify, it's not the calculation time that is the issue. It's the rapid progression of bonuses that make high level play boring unless you have monsters with extremely high AC. 1E had as the fighter's THACO or (number on the matrix) rapidly progressed beyond the maximum THACO that monsters had a...

One thing I really disliked about 1E and subsequently 2E, 3.X and even C&C is the bonus bloat that occurs with attributes, magic items, to hit progression and class features. For example: 10 th level fighter with 17 str, +3 sword would have +15 to hit (this is not even counting weapon specialization...

1. I only use about 2/3 or 3/4 of attacker's hit dice for saving throw difficulty modifier while the saving party gets their full level as a modifier. 2. I have slowed down the BtH progression in the teen levels with a maximum BtH of +15 for fighters (also max AC of 30). Of course they add str, spec...

http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/88CSB/ ... EAKER.aspx

Use this to break swords instead of a sai.

Not sure if it's historical although Chinese versions of maces sometimes were simply square metal rods with a handle and guard.

Very good ideas.

Just to clarify, I was looking for ways to make low level humanoids challenging for a group with average level of 15+.

When I switched to C&C I considered throwing away all my 3.5 stuff. I didn't and realized many of the 3.5 monsters can be used as is for high level parties...keep the crazy to hit and damage bonuses intact. Similarly, running a 3.5 module as is makes it challenging for C&C characters of levels highe...

You don't have to create an illusion that creates damage. Distraction can be very effective, illusion of a flame moving away from party bad guys chase it...saves you from combat or gives you a surprise round attack from behind. Illusions that draw attacks away from PC's, reducing damage to party. Us...

I was thinking of new ways of making groups of weak monsters/npc's challenging. By coincidence I was reading Axe of the Dwarvish Lords and noted they had all kinds of neat rules for volley fire, shield walls, spear/pike walls, coordinated attacks. These typically use the concept of having a group of...

I always had PC's roll for damage vs. items back in 1E whenever they failed a save or were exposed to certain situatioins (eg. immersion in corrosive fluid, lava, etc). CKG suggests similar. CKG also has higher target numbers. I don't go out of my way to destroy stuff, playing by the rules in 1E and...

In comparing the wastage rules in the CKG, I can't help to notice the target scores on the d20 roll are much more difficult than the item save table in 1E. Dragon breath (green) almost invariably will destroy even powerful magic items of steel...like swords. My party is hating these rules. As a DM t...

If allowed make it cost LOTS of gold and magic, perhaps xp to do so.

I love giving out power magic weapons in uncommon forms...eg/ daggers, picks, hammers...to encourage better use and variety of weapons rather than the one that does the most base damage, which they specialized in.

I agree with Arduin. The one criticism I have about C&C is the simplified spell initiative. 1E had varying casting times and the spell initiative in that game (although complicated) made it very difficult to cast spells with casting times of 3 or more segments in combat. Gygax even wrote that use of...

I recently started my group in the free Dragonsfoot module "Where the Fallen Jarls Sleep" using C&C of course. In a 4.5 hour long session they finished about 40% of the module. A combat that involved over 40 opponents only took about 20 - 30 minutes to complete. Use of SIEGE saves, and HD = to hit, ...

I'm not sure classic or historic martial arts weapons are all that real any more than civil war buffs, but I get you point and agree fully. One of my PCs noted that many threads believe the Monk is too underpowered and that WIS bonus to AC should be added... thoughts on that? I have considered that...

I agree. As much as I love reading 1E books, C&C is a more elegant game. The siege mechanic, simplified to hit for monsters, and the customization in skills/saves that choosing primes allows makes it extremely smooth to run. As a DM I can run most sessions without looking up specific rules all the t...

I really like the monster books for hackmaster...lots of neat variations and new stuff.

One thing I really liked about one of Gygax's later games (I believe Lejendary adventures) was that all weapons could do the same amount of maximum damage, but some bigger weapons had a higher minimum damage. This allows a dagger to be lethal, but your chances of really damaging someone more reliabl...

I've always thought that RPG division of swords was a little too reductionistic. Basically the Jian(GIM) straightsword is a cut and thrust sword. The Dao is basically a slashing sword although some versions were straighter and more 'pokey' in its usage. Swords also ranged from short (20"-26") to two...

Apart from the expanded weapon list, no other real changes. I had originally wanted to capture the concept of a Wandering Chinese Swordsman, common in Chinese Wuxia literature and movies. I had experimented with monk / half fighter concepts before realizing that you don't need the +1 weapon speciali...