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Crypts and Things Remastered $15.16
Average Rating:4.8 / 5
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Crypts and Things Remastered
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Patrick Y. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/20/2022 10:03:13

I just concluded a six-month campaign, taking a party up through level five. Everyone had a blast and would have been happy to continue. My experiences track with the previous reviews. Crypts & Things is an excellent OSR game that captures everything I like about the Sword & Sorcery genre, without including tropes that more properly belong to high fantasy settings.

I like to tinker with rules and had no difficulty doing so with C&T given the overall simplicity of the mechanics. The background system used during character creation is so good that I will transplant it into all my future OSR games. There were a few inconsistencies in the rules, but nothing I couldn’t resolve with a quick ruling.

The included setting has lots of flavor, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. The cosmology is weird cosmic horror, but you can decide how often, if ever, the characters interact with that. If you wanted to use a different setting, like Xoth or Hyborea, you could do so, but would need to modify the background tables used in character creation.

Crypts & Things is now my go-to game for sword & sorcery adventure.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Grahame H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/13/2018 04:27:51

Great product. This game certainly does S&S better than Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea (AS&SH). If you want an S&S style game rather than a high fantasy one, this is certainly one of the best options out there. The rules-light system works fantastically to capture the S&S feel, and the magic system, while not perfect IMO, does a decent job of ensuring sorcery is a dangerous endeavour as befits the genre. The treatment of magic items is well done, with most having negative side effects or other unpredictable consequences. This game feels like a dangerous, low magic S&S setting, rather than a form of AD&D minus demi-humans + pulp fiction monsters.

The only negatives I have are that I don't feel that the optional exotic classes added in this remastered version are very well done. They just feel a little too tied into the setting for my tastes and although this is based on OD&D/S&W, I've never been a big fan of the 'race as class' thing. My other negatives were more cosmetic in nature, there being a large quantity of white space in some sections in the book and quite a few typos, though these do not impede comprehension.

All in all a great product for any fan of this genre.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Steven W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/18/2016 17:08:07

I just finished my first read through of Crypts and Things Remastered. I was disappointed. I thought the original was inovative and engaging. I ran a handful of adventures and thoroughly enjoyed the game. When I heard about the remastered version, I was very much looking forward to getting it. Now I feel as if I have wasted my money.

Not that the remastered version is bad; far from it. It still has the innovative Swords and Sorcery vibe of the original. It just didn't add anything I needed. I rarely use published settings, so the background material for Zarth was wasted on me. I prefered the original generic events tables to the area specific tables in the remastered versions. I also miss the art from the first version. It may have been erratic in theme and execution, but it had a certain charm that the "generic fantasy" art of the remastered version lacks.

I did not like the expanded character classes at all. I felt they added nothing to the game and actually detracted from the clean aesthetic of the original edition. I feel quite strongly that the "Serpent Noble" class will do nothing but foster enmity within the party and lead to a disruptive and less enjoyable gaming experience.

If you do not own the original, then this version is still worth the asking price. If you've already purchased the original, then I would advise you to not waste your money on this version unless you feel the need for the expansion material for the house setting.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Allen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/08/2016 08:19:11

This game ranks among the best of the Sword & Sorcery genre games that I have come across.

I don't consider myself "Old School," per se. I started gaming in '81 with Moldvay Basic (well, before that, but I was ignorant of D&D and was introduced to Holmes by an older cousin). I enjoy the older playstyles, but I am also a fan of newer games (Shadowrun, Rifts, the d20 products, Fate, Cypher, etc). I never read the prior incarnation of C&T.

This game pulls from some of my favorite source material: Conan, Elric, Weird Tales, Lovecraft, etc., The O.G. Dungeonmaster's Guide, Fiend Folio, Stormbringer, music inspirations that remind me of my high school days (old Metallica, Slayer, etc). Magic is powerful and mean (no saving throws, though player characters can "test their luck" to mitigate some dangers). The selection of beasts is a mix of Howard/Lovecraft and others. Magical treasures are reminiscent of Warhammer Fantasy (unique and often consequence laden). Corruption and sanity serve as balancers to the corrupting forces of black magic (yeah, I used corrupting to define Corruption. Big C vs little c. Just go with it, it works.).

What I'm saying here is: the game has an incredible atmosphere that the rules firmly back up. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of a game.

The system is based on Swords and Wizardry, but it is sufficiently different to make the purchase and play worth it. I am really impressed with the author and editor (I can be fairly pedantic at times). I am not one to point out when one uses "he" as a standard pronoun (mainly because, English), although I generally dislike the he, she, or he/she alternating between chapters that some games use. The author/editor chose the route that I generally choose: using words that are completely gender neutral. I feel it shows a more intelligent choice while not catering to a more vocal segment of society (please, no offense is intended towards anyone).

Other reviews have detailed the rules.

I would favorably compare this game to AS&SoH, another S&S game that I think is fairly incredible. C&T edges it out slightly, however, mainly due to ease of rules in C&T vs AS&SoH (Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea). I could see stealing from either game to complement the other.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Bob P. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/05/2016 16:52:37

OK ,do you like OSR Rules? Conan? Lovecraft? Are you prepared for a game without Clerics? Still with me? Then boy Oh boy do I have the game for You! From D101 Games, written by Newt Newport PDF is $13 from Drive through/Hard copies available directly from D101 Games Powered by Swords and Wizardry (OD&D Clone)

You've got your standard 6 stats, with the addition of sanity and Luck

Sanity is very simple and elegant , covered by the wisdom stat

Luck is used for pretty much everything from spell saves to doing maximum damage in combat, again simple and elegant

The Game uses 4 core character classes, Barbarian, fighter,thief and sorcerers, The balance between Barbarian, Fighter and Thief is a little iffy and I think most Keepers are going to want to fiddle w/ this, but only minor fix is necessary. Prob as simple as giving the fighter a few more "specializations" (Feats) but the thief is a little tougher fixer upper.You see EVERYBODY gets backstab (A part of the basic flavor of the game) and should not be changed. I think the fighters could have used a bit more spec's to pick from but this is an INCREDIBLY easy fix. The sorcerer can cast white, grey or black magic. White and Black have different drawbacks , grey has none but is the weakest of the three, any sorcerer carrying his share of the adventuring load is going to want White(Cure spells, cleric y) and Black(fireballs n such) Very Very Very Nice!

A further bunch of character classes are closely tied to the setting provided Beast Hybrid(Lycanthropy) Disciple(monk like with white, black and grey subtypes) Elementalist ( a more standard sort of caster than the sorcerer with it's own spell kist) Lizard People Serpent Noble( classic REH Serpent man)

Character creation is rounded out with many life events charts that help with RPING but are COMPLETELY tied to core setting

A brief version of the setting is provided for players with an expanded section for Keepers

Large sections on Others(the demons of the setting and Serpent men and cool NPCs are followed by a very cool bestiary including many cool new creatures and some old favorites

The book has many many extras including a bunch of adventures(don't use canned adventures so didn't read them) The art is nice and very flavorful, didn't notice ANY typo's or grammatical mistakes

I can sum it all up with the following sentence: 50%Conan/50% HPL , all OSR D&D, Tough to use without their world(which is pretty good) Despite my problems here and there 5 out of 5 stars



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Crypts and Things Remastered
Publisher: D101 Games
by Neil S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/20/2016 09:24:33

An amazing blend of old school D&D with a classic sword and sorcery sensibilities (conan etc). The rules are streamlined with luck replacing saving throws much like old school Fighting Fantasy. Magic lite with a sparkle of the werid, very much the product of British writer. All wrapped up in a unique world that is fun to explore.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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