Publisher: Troll Lord Games
Introduction
Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure is a book that complements the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook and the Castles & Crusades Castle Keepers Guide. The book contains a collection of over 400 monsters and 200 treasures for the fantasy role-playing game Castles & Crusades. The book is designed to help the Castle Keeper (CK) create and run exciting and challenging adventures for the players.
Content
The book is divided into two main sections: Monsters and Treasure. Each section has its own introduction, table of contents, and index.
- Monsters: This section presents a variety of creatures that can be used as enemies, allies, or neutral parties in the game. The monsters are organized alphabetically, from Aarakocra to Zombie. Each monster entry includes a description of its appearance, behavior, habitat, and abilities. It also provides the monster’s statistics, such as hit dice, armor class, attack bonus, damage, saving throws, special attacks, and challenge level. Some monsters also have additional information, such as variants, subtypes, ecology, lore, tactics, and treasure. The section also includes some guidelines on how to use monsters in the game, such as how to adjust their difficulty, how to role-play them, how to create new monsters, and how to award experience points for defeating them.
- Treasure: This section showcases a range of items that can be used as rewards, incentives, or complications in the game. The treasures are organized by type, such as coins, gems, jewelry, art objects, magic items, and artifacts. Each treasure entry includes a description of its appearance, value, function, and rarity. It also provides the treasure’s statistics, such as weight, cost, bonus, effect, duration, and activation. Some treasures also have additional information, such as history, origin, curse, drawback, or special feature. The section also includes some guidelines on how to use treasures in the game, such as how to determine their quantity, quality, and distribution, how to create new treasures, and how to handle identification, appraisal, and selling.
Evaluation
The book is well-written and well-edited. It uses clear language and consistent terminology to explain the rules and concepts. It also has a glossary of terms and an appendix of tables for quick reference. The book is well-designed and well-printed. It has a hardcover binding and full-color pages. It also has stunning illustrations and graphics that bring the monsters and treasures to life.
The book is suitable for both novice and experienced CKs. Novice CKs will find it useful to have a ready-made collection of monsters and treasures to populate their adventures. Experienced CKs will find it inspiring to have a variety of options and ideas to customize their adventures. The book is also compatible with other game systems based on the classic rules of Dungeons & Dragons. You can use it as a supplement or an alternative for other role-playing games.
Conclusion
Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure is a book that offers you everything you need to add more flavor and challenge to your Castles & Crusades game. The book is well-written, well-designed, well-printed, and well-illustrated. The book is a quality work that shows the passion and expertise of the authors and publishers. The book is an invitation to discover or rediscover the wonder and danger of Castles & Crusades, a role-playing game simple but deep, fun but challenging, classic but innovative.