[RPG]: CZ9: The East Mark Gazetteer, reviewed by MerricB (3/4)

[RPGnet Reviews]

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13868.phtml

Merric Blackman's Summary:

"The Mouths of Madness"... or "The Caves of Chaos"? A preview of what is to come in Castle Zagyg!

Go to the full review (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13868.phtml) for more information.

[tylermo]

I haven't had a chance to use these products either. I purchased the initial Zagyg hardback at Gencon 05. Picked up East Mark at Gencon last year. Incidentally, the late great Gary G. was there, meeting and greeting with folks. Anyway, I now have all of the expansions, the main book, and a Rob Kuntz adventure which was released in 05 or 06. Most of it looks meaty to me. It's hard to remember what feels similar to old 1E product, since those were my first years of playing(back in 82 and 83). I'm looking forward to future expansions, and the CZ: Upper Works coming in July or August. I was told July at one point, but that could have changed. If not perfect, I think these works are a testament to Gary's legacy. And, despite Gary's death, Troll Lord Games has been entrusted to continue releasing his work. It's in good hands with those guys. Plus, Castles and Crusades is a fine game that evokes the best of old school rpg-ing. As for 4E, I've only played one session. Some of it, I could take or leave at this point, but I think monsters may have been done well. Time will tell. Either way, it's always nice to see a good C&C/Zagyg review.

[MerricB]

Either way, it's always nice to see a good C&C/Zagyg review.

Thank you. :)

I started using "Mouths of Madness" yesterday... we had one encounter from it, although there's a bunch of quest material I've gained from it. (And I'm integrating it with my existing maps for my version of Castle Greyhawk...)

Should be fun, and I really want to see the entire dungeon in print!

Cheers,
Merric

[tylermo]

As for the Upper Works, I'd assume it will be ready before GenCon at the very least. What are your thoughts about Castles and Crusades in general? I quite like the game. Better than 3 and 3.5 to be certain. Haven't played enough 4th to make a fair comparison. I'm just not on fire for D&D as much anymore because of other systems like Savage Worlds(for most genres) and Castles and Crusades(for my fantasy needs).

[Kevin Koch]

As for the Upper Works, I'd assume it will be ready before GenCon at the very least. What are your thoughts about Castles and Crusades in general? I quite like the game. Better than 3 and 3.5 to be certain. Haven't played enough 4th to make a fair comparison. I'm just not on fire for D&D as much anymore because of other systems like Savage Worlds(for most genres) and Castles and Crusades(for my fantasy needs).


Not the OP but...
I personally had given up on 3.5. Everything took too long and the game constantly bogged down. I bought C&C on a recommendation and we were having a great time with it. I will go back to it some day. BUT then 4.0 came out. We gave it a try and are hooked. The game is fast and fun. Of course we're using several "cheats". Everyone has bowls of red stones to represent hit points, we've printed out cards with everyone's powers on them and so on, but even so we blast though even large fights in a very short period of time.

If they actually publish Castle xagyG I will definitely buy it but I will prolly' try to run it in 4e.

[tylermo]

Haven't played it enough to get hooked on it. I'm giving it a fair chance through a weekly game that my friend is running.

[Ghul]

Merric,

I appreciate that you took the time to review the product, and I hope that you and your players enjoy many hours of fun and role-play with the adventure.

Best,
--Jeff Talanian

[1L19]

I preordered (and paid for) this last year.

I still don't have it.

This is the second time in a row that I have pre-ordered something, waited a very long time for it, not gotten it, and found a review about it posted to RPGnet.

I am done pre-ordering.

I actually regret my pledge to Pagan for Targets of Opportunity now.

[MerricB]

What are your thoughts about Castles and Crusades in general? I quite like the game.

I don't have C&C, although at some point in the coming year I intend to add it to my collection. I expect it will be a game I never run, although I also expect it is an excellent system!

To explain a little further: at this point, most of my players really, really enjoy the increased mechanical options and complexity that modern versions of D&D (3.5e and now 4e) have brought PCs. As a DM, I tend to "systems like D&D" that my players like - to some extent, as a DM, system is irrelevant due partly to my ability to master even complex systems. (I taught myself ASL last year, to give you an example of such!)

So, C&C being, as I understand it, a simpler system from the viewpoint of the players (and certainly the DM) is not quite what they want at this moment. :) Perhaps this may change later...

Cheers,
Merric

[MerricB]

I appreciate that you took the time to review the product, and I hope that you and your players enjoy many hours of fun and role-play with the adventure.

Thank you, Jeff. I rather hope we do. :)

My group entered the Mouths last session. I'll have reports up in my livejournal from time to time...

I hope to continue reviewing the CZ line in the near future (when more of it is available to me!)

I have the Moat district, so I hope I'll have time to complete a review of that later this week.

Cheers,
Merric

[d_fens1969]

Good Christ, I was 3/4 of the way through this review when I realized it was written by someone who plays 4E. Wish I would have known that sooner--I wouldnt have started reading at all!