What books do I need to be a CK?

[Jon Hook]

Hello. I was recently gifted a copy of the Player's Handbook (6th printing) and the Monster Book (4th printing). I'm totally new to Castles & Crusades, but a grognard as far as RPGs in general go, (specifically with Call of Cthulhu). My question is this, do I need a "game master" book to create and run C&C games, or does the Player's Handbook contain all of the rules I need to create and run my own games?

Thanks guys.

[serleran]

You have everything you need. Whether you want more is up to you. The Castle Keeper's Guide is loaded with options, some of which some find indispensable and others find as fluff... nothing wrong with either approach, as imagination games are supposed to be adjusted to personal needs. Many other books, to pimp myself, could be useful too like Engineering Dungeons. I personally think one can never have too many monsters, so you might want to get more of the books on them. Also, depending on preferences, you may enjoy one or more of the Codices. And of course, there are settings to consider...

[Buttmonkey]

You have the complete game with the PHB and M&T and do not need anything else to create and run your own game. The Castle Keeper's Guide is totally optional. As Serleran said, it is filled with optional rules, sometimes multiple options for the same thing (e.g., three different ways to handle disease effects (I'm making that up; I don't have my CKG in front of me)). I've been running a campaign for 2+ years now and I have only used about 3 paragraphs out of the CKG with my game. I rarely use anything outside the PHB and M&T. Lately, I find I just make up my own monsters to fit my needs. If I need inspiration beyond M&T, I usually look to Monsters & Treasure of Aihrde. There's a lot of good stuff in M&TofA.

[Tadhg]

Welcome!

[Jon Hook]

Thanks guys! These books are beautiful, and I can't wait to dig deep into them both.

[Aramis]

The key thing you really have to get a handle on is applying the SIEGE engine. Once you can do that on the fly, you will find you often don't need to use the books at all save for monster, spell and item specs (although we do always find ourselves cracking open the books whenever some misguided fool says "I know, I'll grapple the owlbear").

[Tadhg]

(although we do always find ourselves cracking open the books whenever some misguided fool says "I know, I'll grapple the owlbear").

Haha!!

I had 2 players last night try to grapple a rust monster!! They failed, but I kinda was hoping one would succeed to see what would happen next!!

PCs do the darndest things!!