NEW HERE? Check out the Run Down to see where we are, scroll down just a smidge to learn what this campaign is all about! NPC Almanac!
Run Down #25: Holy Carolina! NEW STRETCH REWARDS!!! Check out the Player Treasure Cards! But before that, with a few more bold adventurers joining the fray you unlock Satine Phoenix of Gilding Light! Satine is an amazing DM and storytellers (check out her website, beyond cool stuff). She joins the fray after the next stretch reward, adding even more to the village of Bergman.
PLAYER TREASURE CARDS…you know you’ll need them…New stretch rewards below!
What has been added so far?
This is the picture that has inspired Bergman itself. It is a small village in Italy called Bagnoregio.
The Cover for the NPC Almanac!
The NPC is an essential part of any role playing game and Castles & Crusades is no exception, as the characters encounter them in almost every session. NPCs play a variety of roles from the barkeep at the tavern that passes on juicy rumors for a few coins to the well-paid henchmen who drags the wounded character to safety and healing. The NPC is a multi-faceted tool a Castle Keeper can use in an almost limitless number of circumstances. NPCs can start games by supplying the player characters with the where, why, and what of an adventure. They can forward stalled adventures by supplying yet even more information to confused characters. They can heal wounded characters, they can attack them, and they can serve them or lord over them. NPCs serve as the catalyst for plot points, awarding characters for success or punishing them for misdeeds. That’s the short list. There is almost no end to the utility of NPCs so long as the CK understands the value of the tool at hand.
ALSO……WHAT HAVE WE MISSED? I have posted the working TOC for the NPC Almanac at the bottom of this page (just beneath the Stretch Rewards descriptions). PLEASE check it out and let us know what types of NPCs we missed! You’ll see the non-class based NPCs by subject matter. Let us know what we forgot so we can make this the most useful tool for everyone’s gaming table that we can.
NPC ALMANAC and OTHER RPGS
As you will see below the details in these NPCs are far more than mechanics. Castles & Crusades is an extremely simple system, requiring very little heavy lifting by the Siege Engine. Its attribute check system is not dissimilar from other games. So if you play any version of Dungeons and Dragons, Swords and Wizardry, Dungeon Crawl Classics or other similar RPGs, you can take the NPCs here and with a little retooling, have them at your table. Determine for yourself if this will fit your game with this sample:
“Eber Werfred (He is a chaotic good, human 2nd level cleric whose vital stats are HP 13, AC 15 and Move 30. Eber’s primary attributes are wisdom, charisma and intelligence. His significant attributes are wisdom 16 and charisma 15. He wears scale mail and shield and carries a footman’s flail one scroll and one potion of levitation. He has 120gp worth of coin and jewelry on his person.)
Eber is a barrel-chested man who stands a full 6 feet and five inches in height. He sports a massive beard. He is well-groomed and clean except when on campaign when his appearance is of little concern to himself. Raised as a cobbler, Eber was orphaned in his early teens and saved from slaughter by a priest. That priest raised him under the aegis of his deity.
While there, Eber’s sincere devotion and will to do good in the world was recognized and he was ordained into the order. Eber’s nature was always a bit eclectic and the disciplined life of the temple was not to his liking. He was given dispensation to wander the world and undertake the will of his deity as he chose fit.”
ABOUT THE NPC ALMANAC
The NPC Almanac is your complete guide to Non Player Characters. Designed for use with the Castles & Crusades RPG, you’ll find that it works with just about any role playing system. In the Almanac you’ll find three different approaches to non player characters: the shot, standard and long (see below for more), this approach brings to life hundreds upon hundreds of NPCs for your favorite tabletop game. The Almanac is roughly 175+ pages long, will be produced as soft cover, black and white book. It is text heavy. The print copy will retail for around $25.00, the PDF for $15.00 or thereabouts.
The Deluxe Almanac Box Set comes complete in a tuck box, and will retail for about $79.99+ but is jammed packed!
THE DELUXE ALMANAC BOX SET INCLUDES
The NPC Almanac will be a tool you will use over and over again. The Deluxe set will allow you to control the content of all your NPCs, and give you a storage space to tuck them all away in.
ENTRIES
The NPC Almanac has two basic types of NPCs: Class Based and Non Class Based.
Class-Based NPCs: Class-based NPCs possess the same abilities as characters; CKs create them using one of the 27 classes from the Players Handbook and the Adventurers Backpack. They are rangers, fighters, knights, druids, wizards, etc.They include all henchmen, some hirelings, and many adherents, and, on the rare occasion, the creature.
Non-Class-Based NPCs: The list of non-class-based NPCs is extensive and includes any NPC not based on a class. Hirelings are the most notable of these, but these also include adherents and creatures. These NPCs generally play only minor, secondary, or tertiary roles in any game. They include all your bar keeps, merchants, guards, beggars, farmers, herbalists, and so on.
The NPC Almanac tackles them all. Treatment of NPCs is given in THREE forms: short, standard and long.
Short: A short entry is the down and dirty. This entry includes the bare bones you need to play it: name, race, sex, a brief note on personality, adventure hook, alignment, level, BtH, HP. For the class based it includes primary attributes movement and AC.
Standard: The Standard is a little more involved and includes more detailed descriptions, personality and motives. It also sports the standard C&C stat block. It goes something like this:
Long: The long is a whole new approach. We take a single NPC and lay them out career wise. You’ll have versions of the same NPC at 1st level, 3rd, 5th and so on. This allows you to take that particular NPC and weave them in and out of your narrative over time. It goes a little like this:
As you can see, the non player characters in the NPC Almanac are designed and written for both immediate play and long term use. Its a book you don’t want to be without.
IMMORTALIZE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER OR NPC
Whether you are a player or a GM, its always cool to see your favorite character or NPC in print. To that end we’ve created two pledges that allow you to do just that. Upon approval we’ll add them to the Almanac, making them an NPC at gaming tables all over the world. You’ll chose the format (short, standard, or long) and send them in, we’ll take it from there!
Every character needs help. Every GM needs NPCs!
In case you want multiple copies of the Almanac or some of the other GMing tools we offer, here is a list of Add ons for the Kickstarter!
Below are expansions to the NPC Almanac game we’d love to see come to your table. With your help, we can make them happen! Follow the map to see what treasures have been unearthed!
$3,500: NPC Almanac Funds! FUNDED! We’ll roll the Almanac and the Deluxe box set out for your gaming table!
$6,000: Aihrde NPCs: UNLOCKED! We’ll take some of the most iconic figures in the world of aihrde, Luther, Dolgan, Aristobulus and others, and include them as they were originally designed and written!
$9,000: Recurring Villains: Unlocked! We are going to create 12 encounter groups that can be used as recurring villains.
$12,000: Expanded Development Tables: Unlocked!Family: Too often the CK or player needs to quickly develop a character’s or NPCs family, their background etc. We’ll develop tables that allow you to rapidly determine things like number of siblings, family status, relationships etc.
$15,000: Monstrous Villains: Unlocked! We will create 12 monstrous NPCs for single use or continuous use as the campaign or you desire.
$16,000: The One Stop, The Bergman Tavern: Unlocked! We are going to flesh out the tavern with bartenders, barmaids, serving boy, stable boy and 5 regular patrons. The tavern will serve as the perfect starting point for many a campaign. This entry will be included in the NPC Almanac for everyone to enjoy.
$17,000: The Bergman Merchants: Unlocked! We are going to design five merchants that dwell on the square in and around the Bergman Tavern. Probably an armor, grocer, stableman, leatherworker and something else to be determined. The Merchants frequent the One Stop of course, adding to the five regulars already there. They will be perfect for interacting with characters, resupplying, etc. This entry will be included in the NPC Almanac for everyone to enjoy.
$18,000: The Bergman City Patrol: Unlocked! Bergman exists on the edge of the wilds, where many a monster and many an adventurer comes to visit. We are going to flesh out a Captain of the Guard and 6 guardsmen. They are all patrons of the One Stop and know the village very well. This entry will be included in the NPC Almanac for everyone to enjoy.
$19,000: Bergman Government: Unlocked! Bergman is small but has a village council. It consists of the Mayor, a few cronies and 2 aldermen. We’ll flesh out the village government and throw in a little intrigue to boot! This entry will be included in the NPC Almanac for everyone to enjoy.
$20,000: Bergman’s Ivory Tower: Unlocked! Bergman is home to a few who make their living off of peddling information. A sage, wizard and bard all dwell here and we will flesh them out with a small host of adventure hooks. All here to engage the characters and further the game. This entry will be included in the NPC Almanac for everyone to enjoy.
$21,000: Map of Bergman: Unlocked! Peter Bradley is going to map out the village of Bergman. He’ll place all the relevant buildings and houses in it. This map will be included in the book as well as an 8.5 x 11 card stock map in the Deluxe Box Set.
NOTE: Here we begin offering two sides to each stretch reward. Guest Contributors will submit their favorite character(s) and we’ll put those in a Rogue Gallery. James Ward for instance will submit some of his from Starship Warden fame! And each contributor will add material to Bergman!
$22,000: The Muddles: Unlocked! Mac Golden, co-creator of Castles & Crusades, returns to the game he loves so much. Mac created the legendary figure of Mac Muddles, a character of old that appears in the Codex of Aihrde and founder of the Muddles Thief Guild. Not only will Mac write up and include Mac Muddles in the NPC Almanac but he will create a small charter guild of Muddles thieves for Bergman. This entry comes complete with adventure hooks and plot devices. Mac returns with a vengeance, will your characters be ready?
$23,000: The Rogue’s Gallery Expanded and Bergman Grows: Unlocked! James M. Ward, long time friend of the Trolls, frequent writer in the Troll Dens and creator of such titles as Castles & Crusades Of Gods & Monsters, joins the fray. After 40 years of gaming, and many of those years gaming with Gary Gygax you can imagine James has some colorful characters. This book covers a few of them. Lidabmob the 14th level Wizard rose to be one of the seven rulers of the magical city of Dragonkind. Ren ‘o the Blade was a half elf magic user/thief, cruelly sent onto the Starship Warden and still there after 35 years. Gro-org, the massively muscled warrior dwarf that Gary Gygax always played when he was in my fantasy campaign. Ben, a rather nasty human who kept coming back as a more and more powerful undead to attack the characters that killed him. Tethes the elf, who searched the world for a perfect magical bow and never found one.
$24,000: Kain the Godless and Temple of the Og Aust: Stephen Chenault, creator of the world of Aihrde and author of such C&C books as the Adventurers Backpack, will create a temple and all its occupants for the city of Bergman. What’s more, he’ll join the Rogues Gallery by adding Kain the Godless (this one started in 1979 and is a bit chaotic and evil), William Crowbill (the tobacco spitting, crowbill wielding gnome), Angrim the mad and by request Coburg the Undying, Lord of Aufstrag (well self-styled).
$25,000: Henchman Cards Art: Hiring and then designing henchman is a laborious process, especially at high levels. We are going to streamline this for you. We are going to commission 26 pieces of individual art, each depicting the long versions of the PCs. These will become part of the Henchman Card deck and tie the deck of cards to the Almanac like crazy (we’ll keep the rest of the cards generic enough to use in multiple games!)
$26,000: Tom Tullis: Unlocked! Tom Tullis of Fat Dragon Games enters his favorite PC into the Rogue’s Gallery! Now we can all finally learn what motivates the master of DragonLock 3D Printable Terrain (really, check his site out).
Treasure Found!: Unlocked! We are going to include a separate book for the town of Bergman in all pledge levels $75.00 or more. The content will be duplicated from the Almanac, but be put in a separate book (as well as the Almanac). You’ll just have a separate book for ease of access!
$28,000: Elisa Teague, Author and Game Designer joins Bergman: Unlocked! Elisa Teague, best known as being a lead designer on Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk, Talisman: Kingdom Hearts Edition, the Apocrypha Adventure Card Game, and her Geek Out! line of games, including the upcoming Disney Edition, not to forget her RPG work for D&D, which includes Return to the Ghost Tower of Inverness and the upcoming Wardlings 5e compatible campaign setting! Elisa joins in Building Bergman! She’ll people the small village/town with a university, a repository of information and the perfect place to harvest information about the game and surrounding world! With this pledge Bergman continues to grow!
$30,000 Players Cemetery: Unlocked! So clearly Bergman needs a cemetery. And how better to people it than with your favorite dead PC. Everyone who backs the Almanac at $30 and above can, if they choose, send in the name and cause of death of their favorite character. It’s then up to the CK to do with them what they will…what a zombie horde that would make!
$32,000 Satine Phoenix: The indomitable Satine Phoenix joins in Building Bergman! She will bring her considerable storytelling skills to our little village by creating a troop of bards who frequent the One Stop! Satine is founder of Gilding Light, where she helps us all enter the world of storytelling. Satine is an accomplished writer (she created her own graphic novel, the New Praetorians) and artist and is now co-host to the show Destination Fantastic! Satine will take pen to paper and pen an area of interest for the Lost City!
$34,000 Jeffrey P. Talanian: We’ve worked with Jeffrey for years and though he is best known for his own Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, we know him best for his amazing work with Gary Gygax on Castle Zagyg and its many expansions! Jeffrey joins the fracas in Bergman to create the Laternarius Society, more NPCs, for the town of Bergman! Town guides that lead your players and your game through the cobbled streets of Bergman.
$35,000 Player Treasure Cards 1: Your efforts unlock an untapped wealth for your fighters and wizard characters. We’ll create your followers and guilds as outlined in chapter 10 of the CKG. Each presented on 8.5 x 11 card stock and placed in the Deluxe Box set.
$36,000 Player Treasure Cards 2: Your efforts unlock an untapped wealth for your cleric and rogue characters. We’ll create your followers and guilds as outlined in chapter 10 of the CKG. Each presented on 8.5 x 11 card stock and placed in the Deluxe Box set.
$37,000 Player Treasure Cards 3: Your efforts unlock an untapped wealth for your druid and bard characters. We’ll create your followers and guilds as outlined in chapter 10 of the CKG. Each presented on 8.5 x 11 card stock and placed in the Deluxe Box set.
$38,000 Player Treasure Cards 4: Your efforts unlock an untapped wealth for your knight, paladin and illusionist characters. We’ll create your followers and guilds as outlined in chapter 10 of the CKG. Each presented on 8.5 x 11 card stock and placed in the Deluxe Box set.
$39,000 Player Treasure Cards 5: Your efforts unlock an untapped wealth for your barbarian, monk and assassin characters. We’ll create your followers and guilds as outlined in chapter 10 of the CKG. Each presented on 8.5 x 11 card stock and placed in the Deluxe Box set.
Note on Shipping: Shipping cost and payment will be assessed after the Kickstarter is completed. This will either be via Kickstarter or BackerKit. Every attempt is made to keep the shipping costs down, both in the US and internationally.
Large box sets such as this one are hard to print and bind and we have to choose our printers with care.
One of the greatest challenges we face is creating such a large book and maintaining the quality of the printing and binding. In order to do this, we must find a printer with the knowledge and capabilities to execute a book of this size and have it look polished and professional, something we take great pride in. This will cost more than usual printing so Kickstarter becomes essential in raising enough capital to give this book the quality it demands and deserves.
We are confident that with a successful Kickstarter we can bring this product to the world not only as a great resource, but also as a great looking book.