Castles & Crusades: Classes

While in the base Castles & Crusades Reforged book, there are 13 classes, in the Player Archive, there are a total of 36 classes (repeating the 13 base game ones, so 26 new ones), and in Amazing Adventures, there are 16 more (repeating only 2 of the ones found in the player archive).

This gives us a total of 50 character classes.

With these, we can multi-class (advance in two classes at the same time), for roughly 1,225 combinations (50 x 50, minus the disallowed same-class multiclasses, divided by two since the reverse combo is the same as the first).

We can also class-and-a-half, and this works both ways, so we get another 2,450 possibilities.

So we are talking about a total of 3,675 (very roughly) possible class combinations using both, for just two of the 50 total classes across the two games. Now, you can also triple-class (or more), and the number of combinations becomes truly insane. My numbers are just for two classes.

Just using the core C&C player's book, we have 78 multi-class possibilities, plus another 156, for a total of 234 combinations. What matters isn't the number of combinations, but how they combine and if the end result is worth putting together. Many of these combinations can describe characters with a wide variety of builds, and I can put together classes that synergize very nicely for many types of characters.

Want to be that fighter/wizard/rogue? Or an assassin/ranger? A bard/illusionist? A barbarian/cleric? Combine these with a race selection, and even in the base game, you have almost infinite possibilities. Combine these with custom races, and my mind spins with how many different character types are possible.

For example, I have a character for whom an illusionist/bard would be a good fit, but she is more of an illusionist than a bard. I would probably do a class-and-a-half illusionist/bard for her, saving the high-level bard powers for the "pure bard," but still giving her that element of music to her class, while focusing fully on illusions. This keeps her XP/level within reason, while still keeping that musical element to her illusions and class powers.

I get that class-dipping 5E is potentially more combinations, but there is something very fun about crafting a multi-class build in C&C and knowing how your powers will progress. But the overruling aspect of this is quality, not quantity. 5E classes tend to be more in-depth than a comparable C&C class, with OSR-style classes being the least in-depth.

The C&C classes hit the right amount of depth for me, and the SIEGE Engine covers the rest. If I need a new "class ability" for a bard, make a check for it and let it be. I don't need it written down in some subclass ability or buying an expansion for 70 dollars and not having it in my online character designer.

The "gardeteeer/powered" character from Amazing Adventures can cover a lot of ground. For a class that slowly mutates or gains powers, like a sci-fi mutant, demon, dragon, or angel that grows into powers, or another class that gains spell-like abilities as they level, this is perfect, and it multi-classes very well. Have a cleric that is slowly turning into an angelic valkyrie? Multi-class cleric/powered and slowly unlock powers. Make these unlocks a part of the story, and pick powers that fit the theme. By level 5, if you saved up enough power points, you could get their wings by buying a "fly" power.

C&C and its classes, combined with the multi-class system, especially if you know how to work the combinations and options, are far more expressive and powerful than your average OSR game or BX implementation. Amazing Adventures opens up a lot of flexibility and is a great addition to the system that covers many genres.