The origins of the Castles & Crusades Society was formed by Gary Gygax back in 1968 as a chapter of the International Federation of Wargamers. The C&CS published a newsletter called the Domesday book which contained amongst other thing various rules. These formed the basis of 'Chainmail' which would form the basis of the original Dungeons & Dragons RPG.
In acknowledgment of these roots, Troll Lord Games named their flagship product after the society. The game, Castles & Crusades, was one that sought to keep the spirit of an older style of play alive and was inspired by the creations of Gygax and Arneson. The development of the game also had a lot of input from the gaming community. If you look at the player's handbook, you will find a list acknowledging and thanking many people. This community formed the basis of the new society which adopted the old name as well.
At first, there were numerous fansites devoted to C&C and there were proclamations and updates as well as a few initiatives to kick the society into high gear and spread the word. But somewhere along the way, the small crew at Troll Lord Games got busy and concerns for the society fell to the wayside.
After floundering for a couple of years, one member of the society (and co-author of the Monster's & Treasure book) stepped forward and breathed new life into the society. He tried to give it purpose and direction. A few stood by his side to try and make something more of it. They started putting out a fan-based electronic publication named the Domesday. The efforts to carry the burden seemed to be shared by few though and while there was an effort to even put a contest in place, support from the rest of the community seemed to be a bit sparse at times.
The torch to keep the society together passed onto another member and just a few months ago, Troll Lord Games pledged some support anew and a bit of life and direction was breathed into the Castles & Crusades Society once more.
Up to the announcement, there were four issues put together by members of the society, and the fifth is still being finalized. The few who have contributed have helped to keep the flame burning and their contributions are appreciated. In 2010, the Domesday returns in a format more fitting to a newsletter with a page count of no more than 10 pages per issue but much more numerous (and possibly monthly). Earl Seskis, the present High Squire of the Society, has been forming and finalizing the shape that the Domesday will take. The contest that was started to help bolster the society now has winners which appear below:
To sign up with the Society, view past issues and material created by them, or catch up on some news, please visit their site HERE.
M
In acknowledgment of these roots, Troll Lord Games named their flagship product after the society. The game, Castles & Crusades, was one that sought to keep the spirit of an older style of play alive and was inspired by the creations of Gygax and Arneson. The development of the game also had a lot of input from the gaming community. If you look at the player's handbook, you will find a list acknowledging and thanking many people. This community formed the basis of the new society which adopted the old name as well.
At first, there were numerous fansites devoted to C&C and there were proclamations and updates as well as a few initiatives to kick the society into high gear and spread the word. But somewhere along the way, the small crew at Troll Lord Games got busy and concerns for the society fell to the wayside.
After floundering for a couple of years, one member of the society (and co-author of the Monster's & Treasure book) stepped forward and breathed new life into the society. He tried to give it purpose and direction. A few stood by his side to try and make something more of it. They started putting out a fan-based electronic publication named the Domesday. The efforts to carry the burden seemed to be shared by few though and while there was an effort to even put a contest in place, support from the rest of the community seemed to be a bit sparse at times.
The torch to keep the society together passed onto another member and just a few months ago, Troll Lord Games pledged some support anew and a bit of life and direction was breathed into the Castles & Crusades Society once more.
Up to the announcement, there were four issues put together by members of the society, and the fifth is still being finalized. The few who have contributed have helped to keep the flame burning and their contributions are appreciated. In 2010, the Domesday returns in a format more fitting to a newsletter with a page count of no more than 10 pages per issue but much more numerous (and possibly monthly). Earl Seskis, the present High Squire of the Society, has been forming and finalizing the shape that the Domesday will take. The contest that was started to help bolster the society now has winners which appear below:
- Grand Prize - Belinda Kelly (Storm Queen) for "Damek's Fujara"
- Michael Spires (DangerDwarf) for both "Nastala's Lament" and "Grimslade's Grimoire"
- Patrick Wong (Ssfsx17) for both "Crown of the Troll Lords" and "Rorzak's Pendulum"
- John Wright (seskis281) for "Baetylus of Nindaral"
- Chris Maler (thegreenman) for "Mixwell's Legendary Tube"
- Daniel Corwin (Frost) for "Manistus the Scriviner"
To sign up with the Society, view past issues and material created by them, or catch up on some news, please visit their site HERE.
M
Thanks for the reminder. I joined and then promptly forgot about, despite the pleasant emails sent to me.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I thought those two were my worst entries. :) Congrats to all the winners, and to all those who participated!
ReplyDelete