The following has been copied and pasted from my former Land of Xenophobia Q&A Thread to inform PC Players how I plan to handle Combat as the Castle Keeper
I read a response from Tek in the Cirro Prologue that defines how I will be dealing with Combat and Dice Rolls etc.

I have both Dice and 2 sets of Card Decks that I will be using!

Fumble Deck is used when a 1 is rolled and as an example, when I was playing Castles & Crusades at the Tulsa DefCon7 last month my character made an Attack and rolled a 1, so I had to draw a Fumble Card and the result was I cut the ear of a teammate who was next to me in the battle!

Other Fumbles by players in that game resulted in one character missing his opponent and cutting his own foot and nearly taking himself out of the fight while bleeding!

There are Many Other Scenarios that make for an interesting Flavor!

As for the 2nd Deck, I will have to post a description in an Edit later as I am at the office early typing this info!

CRITICAL HIT DECK is the other Card Deck that I have the Choice of Using Depending Upon the Scenarios!

No Details to Share About the Critical Hit Deck other than it is an Option that I will Consider Using!

The FUMBLE DECK will Definitely Be Used as Frequently as Possible during the course of our adventure!
As the Castle Keeper ie DM/GM the players will state what they want to do and then I as the Castle Keeper ie DM/GM will do all the dice rolls and Card Deck Draws and then write up the description of what happened and the results!

The following is a Copy and Paste of what Tek replied to Cirro's question:
Tek
I use description and all that, and then at the very end of my post, list all of what happened (Wounds suffered, spells used, etc.) in a synopsis of the post. I most often don't include die numbers, as they tend to clutter up the post, in my opinion.

I'm sure you already know, but the major difference between Rules-based and Freeform is that in Rules based, the players state what they want to do, and the DM does ALL the dice rolls.

The following is a sample of the Castles & Crusades Character Sheets. I will supply more information when I acquire the PDF File from the 3rd edition Players Handbook.

I will purchase the 4th edition Players Handbook which is scheduled to go to press sometime in June.

Castles & Crusades Character Sheet


Character Name and Title


Race

Class


Alignment

Religion

Level
Three

Holy Symbol

Experience Points


[Needed for Next Level]


Language Proficiency

Racial Abilities

[X = Primary Attribute] Attribute Checks = d20 + Mod + Level >_[greater than or equal to] CC

Attributes Mod Saving Throws
___ Strength Paralysis & Constriction

___ Dexterity Breath Weapons & Traps

___ Constitution Disease, Energy Drain & Poison

___ Intelligence Arcane Magic & Illusion

___ Wisdom Confusion, Divine Magic, Gaze, Attack, Petrification, Polymorph

___ Charisma Death Attack, Charm & Fear


Combat Move [Base - EV Penalty + Miscellaneous]

AC [10 + Armor + Shield + Attribute Mod + Miscellaneous

To Hit [d20 + Attribute Mod + Level Bonus + Miscellaneous >_ [greater than or equal to AC]

HP =

Wounds Suffered

Armor

Shield

Helm

Horse / Animal Companion / Familiar

Type

Name

HD

Move

Attacks

Damage

Saves

AC

HP

Special Qualities / Abilities


Weapon/Type/Name Bonus to Hit Bonus to Damage Weapon Damage Notes / Special


Weapons In Hand


Character Persona and Equipment

Age

Gender

Eye Color

Hair Color

Height

Weight

Race

Class

Entitlement

Scars or Other Distinguishing Marks

Clothing Style

Description

Personality

Background

People of Interest [Names of ]

Companions

Foes

Other NPCs

Treasure

Gold

Silver

Platinum

Copper

Jewels & Gems

Magic Items

Expendable Items

Food Quantity Remaining

Bolts Quantity Remaining

Arrows Quantity Remaining


Primary Gear
[Armor, Weapons, Scrolls, Spell Components, Holy Items, Totems, Thieves' Tools & Other Class Equipment]

Item Location EV

Secondary Gear
[Clothing, Rations, Drink, Camping Gear, Packs, Tools & Other General Equipment]

Item Location EV


Transport and Tack

Item Location EV


Magical Armaments, Devices & Other Items

Item Location EV

Sometime in July the much anticipated reference book titled Of Gods & Monsters is scheduled to be released by Troll Lords Games.

I have read some references about this title both online at www.trolllord.com and from articles in The Crusader magazine that Troll Lords Games publishes.

Some of the deities are particular to certain races and give those races special abilities for worshipping/serving a particular deity.

These abilities are in addition to what will be updated in the 4th edition of the Players Handbook that goes to press in June.

Just read that the new Players Handbook goes to press on the 29th of May and that Pre-Orders begin on June 1st
I had planned to wait on this publication before beginning the recruitment for Haunted Highlands, but the initial response for the upcoming adventure made me decide to go ahead and at least get things started.

Needed deity info will be provided when the book is published.

Mythic epics are the driving force behind fantasy role playing games! Castles & Crusades is no exception. Here for the first time C&C branches out into the ether and brings you OF Gods & Monsters a book we guarantee you’ll want and use. Written by James M. Ward this book stands along side the Monsters & Treasure as a tremendous resource for adventure and fun.

James M. Ward returns to a subject he knows very well and delivering a plethora of information on hosts of gods, godlings, heroes and the magic that drives them. In Of Gods & Monsters Mr. Ward explores over 16 pantheons including Norse, Greek, Roman, American Indian, Aihrdian, Inzaen, demi-human pantheons and more. Beyond a simple recitation of deities, Of Gods & Monsters present playable incarnations of the gods in the guise of their own avatars. The deft and experienced hand of Mr. Ward explores spells, magic items, rituals and more.

Castle Keepers need not struggle with characters encountering all powerful deities, but rather they can use the avatars to spice up and drive adventures of the mythic and the divine. These avatars and designed to be playable version of the gods, but not the gods themselves. Complimented with mythic monsters and holy items Of Gods & Monsters is a must have for any serious CK.

But its not for the CK alone. Players find loads of information from hosts of new cleric and druid spells to rituals of the divine. Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Bards and all the characters benefit from Of Gods & Monsters.

Graced with a beautiful painting by Peter “20 Dollar” Bradley, lined with hordes of pictures of the gods themselves, Of Gods & Monsters is a perfect compliment to the ever growing C&C game system.

Talked to Steve last night and gave him my Email to send me the PDF File info.

Just checked my Email and the info has not been sent yet.

I will be pre-ordering the 4th edition Players Handbook on Monday and will mention it again if it does not show up in my Email by Monday.

..... for 3rd printing PDF File has been forwarded to all currently registered players including myself.

Steve mentioned it is in a Zip File so just follow his instructions that were included in his message to me.

Thursday I am flying back to Tulsa, so it may be a few days before I log on again!

Just be sure to look at your particular Character Class for info about your chosen Class and then distribute your 93 points for creation as mentioned earlier!

Race Attribute Modifiers will be configured after you submit your original 93 points and be sure to mention the Primes you are using!

First Prime is automatic for your Class and you get to choose a 2nd Prime from there!

Humans get 3 Primes!

I have pre-ordered the 4th printing of the Players Handbook and will note any changes that may have an influence on your current character choice after I get the book and have a chance to read the updates in a few weeks!

You should have enough information to begin developing your character for back story and history etc.

..... ordered the new 3rd printing update of the Monsters & Treasures Handbook that I will also incorporate into the Haunted Highlands adventure!

has been typed but I have to find a computer that I can use my memory storer to get it copied to the Inn.

Also typed the Opening for after the responses to the intro.

Will try to get this posted in the next couple days!

Came to public library but my copy of the Haunted Highlands intro was typed on a newer version of Word, so I could not open it here.

Will have to come back here on Monday with my laptop if I cannot get it done sooner!

Copies of the Players Handbook were Emailed to everyone a few days ago.

also is not working here at the library!

Site was down on Sunday when I was at a friend's house and was able to access my file, but not able to post.

Maybe I can get over there later today!

..... is now posted and you can kind of follow the Nordrog the Gnome post for writing your PC Character info.

Hopefully all of you have received the Email that had the PH attached to the message.

I know for sure that Nimu received his copy.

The south region was rather generic on purpose as your characters will not be returning from the Haunted Highlands [that does not mean they will Die unless any of us makes a blunder in our choices along the way!]

You have free literary license to embellish a storyline for your character background using the limited info that describes the region in the south where your characters have been for the past several years.

Enjoy!

Hey Hammer,

Having read the C&C Players Book, I'll sign up, if you'll have me. Not 100% sure on what kind of character yet. Rogue, Barbarian, Monk, and Knight all stand out right now.

Couple questions:

1)Equipping Characters: do we start out with the max 1st level standard gold as per class? Is there another method to determining our starting gold? Are we allowed to buy expertly-made weapons/ armor?

2) Starting Experience: Do our characters start with the minimum XP needed to acheive 3rd level or 5501 xp? (the min needed to be a 3rd lvl paladin... the most required for a class to acheive 3rd level). At 5501 xp, everyone will be at 3rd level, though adding the 2500 xp in addition to it, will cause an few of the classes to bump up to level 4.

Thanks!
(please let me know if I'm in and I'll begin working on the character)

Ayrn

You are most welcome to join!

The original Rogue player dropped out and I had contacted ShadowDragon about whether or not he would like to play a Rogue instead of a Wizard.

Rogue or any other choice is fine, but we really need a Rogue along the way.

Please note in the Haunted Highlands intro that everyone is Level 3 on the journey to the Roadhouse.

*** Meaning that every PC is at the Minimum Experience Points for their Class as a Level 3 Character

The additional 2500 EXP plus what I am adding to each character for their entries in the Haunted Highlands thread will move each character closer to 4th level. ***
Actually the Bard will be bumped to Level 4 once we are somewhat settled in the Roadhouse and everyone else will bump to Level 4 after we set out on an expedition from Dirty's.

*** Each PC will have a different Magic Weapon and after a couple of encounters using the Magic Weapons the total Experienc Points of the combined Magic Weapons will be added together and then divided evenly to each character, thus bumping the others to 4th level and possibly the Bard to 5th level.

Not each Magic Weapon is worth the same amount of Experience Points, so adding the Exp totals and dividing Experience evenly seems the best way to compensate the party for this.

When they were hired each PC was only promised a Magic Weapon, not a specific weapon!

There will be some time for some role play at the Roadhouse before the expedition gets underway!

Armor can be upgraded whenever we return to the Roadhouse and the Smithy can make better upgrades with the treasure each PC carries back to Dirty's! ***
We will have 100 GP and a Magic Weapon as our startup before we leave the Roadhouse, but take a look at Nordrog the Gnome and notice that he is wearing Studded Leather and has a Light Mace and Quarterstaff for the journey.

Each character is moderately equipped for the journey, just do not pile up the equipment for the journey outlandishly.

Hope that answers your questions, I will take another look after posting this response.

Ok, Hammer I just cannot get my mind around how to create my character, the Bard. I must be missing something about PC creation, but I am not understanding the system. HELP!

Did Shadowdragon indicate that s/he wanted the role of Rogue? If s/he does not, then I will take it up.

If Shadowdragon does wish to play the rogue, I shall play a... hmmm... barbarian, monk, or knight... again, not sure...

Let me know which way Shadowdragon is leaning!

Ayrn