GURPS Classic Camelot
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Theywemt31ebegt~iab~~orld.Tbey were sdvMby the mtwt powerful wulmdof alf . .. Mdriin Jlbmelf. &d thgsrlesuder was mg Arthur, barer ofE!m=8i'but* I Tbe story of CameIot is the &ry of &fvw itself. All the knightlg traditims off- .. monsOer-shayin& ~~~, jsousts, adIre~~tumindkguk.,.~fr0mthe~ of gingbrthur, ast01dbgatboUSDdyearsof bards. Now Cmel& comes alive for Ule rolepftlw. CUR.?% Cbmlet Wudes: backgrounds for three versions of the legend. The Pfiadijional Arthur of folklore. The modern Cine& Arthfll: , of sw&bmMng adrentues. And the lS,uW Arthur, the aneieat British ruler who fought against Saxon invaders. This is a sourcebook for the GUm&IsSc Set - but it e-an be used wrth other roleplaging systelm. Atm Also11ded are: * Complete charPfter desc~onsfor Arthur, Merlin, Guhevem, Lancelot, Galahad, and all the hportant Enights of the Round Table - as well as Arthur's chief foes and I%&. * Ten different maps, including a six-level plan of Castle Camelot. * A detailed timeline of both medieval nnrl thematic events. * Over two dozen ma& ttemr and mytW I artifacts, from ExcAiand the Holy Grail to Merb's magical bed! Arz?]rwPedugon. MU*qf Cantelat. A&@, I ovdmw~rcf last by tr&wheyayet nevermly defeated. An%@, the &ee and I.)lture &kg. I Some dag, in &me of &st me$ MU*will by Bob& N. Schroeck and Pegg. ~chroeckl Edhd by SWeJackson Cmw by Slohn Zebdk ,111wtratkd by Tapper Helmem eTEVE JACKSON GAMES ISBN 1-556311-L99-? I Roleplaying in the Court of King Arthur By Peggy U.V. Schroeck and Robert M. Schroeck Edited by Loyd Blankenship and Steve Jackson Additional material by Aaron Allston and J. David George, Loyd Blankenship, Steve Jackson, Chris W. McCubbin, Steffan O'Sullivan and Daniel U. Thibault Cover by John Zeleznik Interior Illustrations by Ruth Thompson, Keith Berdak, Carl Anderson and Larry McDougal Cartography by Mike Naylor Useful Suggestions: Lisa Pinkham, Vincent Wales, William R. Wells Research Assistants: Gabriela Catalano, Lisa Pinkham Heraldic Consultants: Lisa and Scott Pinkham Playtesters: Ken Allison, Chuck Bikle, Tom Bither, Drew Bitmer, Andy Blum, Marcellus Cadd, Bert Carney, Jennifer Caroselli, Casey Clark, Larry Cohen, Bonnie Coleman, Chris Cosper, Ben Davis, Salvatore T. Falco, John M. Ford, Mike Fox, Jonas Karlsson, John Kono, Chris McCubbin, Wayne McDonald, Tim McGaughy, Walter Milliken, Tom Pafford, Mike Perez, Luis Rodriguez, Brian Seeley, Brett Slocum, Curtis Stabler, Daniel U. Thibault, Dave Van Cleef, Chris Vermeer, Ken White, Todd A. Woods, Steven T. Zieger. GURPS, IUluninaf, Rokplayer and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All names of other products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. GURPS Camelot is copyright @ 1991 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 1-55634-164-4 12345678910 STEVE JACKSON GAMES Power .................. Medicine ................ Magic .................... Religion .................. CONTENTS Clothing Styles ............ Character Types Technology ................ 50 ............. INTRODUCTION ..........3 A Real "Excalibur"? ....... About GURPS ............. 3 Castle Terminology ......... 52 Status and Rank ........... About the Authors ...........3 lheLake ................ 53 Campaign Focus Castle Camelot ........... 54 ............. 1 CHARACTERS ..........4 Barbarian Onslaught! ....... Economics ................ 56 Infiltrating The Enemy Advantages .................5 56 ...... Prosperity ............... "Arthur's Men" Disadvantages ...............8 City and Castle of Camelot ........... History and the Game ....... Skills .................... 12 Map ................. 56 Character Types ............. 13 Roman Construction Map ... Trade .................. 57 RomanRoads Job Table ................. 18 57 ............. Quests and Errantry .......... Saxon Violence Errantry ................ 57 ........... 2 .JOUSTS AND TOURNEYS 16 Other Possibilities lhe Imaginary Merlin 57 ......... Non-Lethal Combat .......... 17 ....... Adventure Seeds ........... Honor and Calling Blows .... 17 Quests ................. 58 HISTORICAL CHARACTERS Pavilions and Pavilion Etiquette 58 . Jousting Lances ........... 17 Artorius Riothamus Adventures 59 ........ Jousting .................. 18 .............. Guenhumara ............. Courtly Love ............... 60 Ambrosius Aurelianus 3 .MAGIC 19 60 ....... .............. Religion .................. Bedwyr The Nature of Mages ......... 20 Adventure Seeds ........... 60 ................. Power Level ............... 20 Other Faiths ............. 61 7 .A CAST OF THOUSANDS Magic and Arthurian Society .... 20 lhe Once and Future King .... 61 Arthur Pendragon .......... 90 Merlin ................. 20 5 CINEMATIC CAMELOT 62 Guinevere ............... 91 Herbalism and Potions ........ 2 1 . Lancelot du Lac 92 Arthur. Britain and the World 63 ........... Creation of Concoctions ..... 21 .... Sir Kay ................. 93 Gender and Magic ......... 2 1 What Is Different? ........... 63 Galahad 94 Technology 63 ................ Historical Magic .......... 2 1 ................ Percival 95 H White and the Cinematic ................ lhe Celtic Church ......... 22 T. Tristram 96 Arthur 63 ................ Special Combat Rules: ............... La Beale Isolde 97 Magic Weapons. Revisited 63 ........... Invisibility and Darkness ... 23 .... Palomides ............... 98 Communication and Empathy .... 24 Politics and Warfare .......... 64 Breuse Sans Pit6 98 Faerie Castles 64 ........... SPELLS .................. 24 ............ Generic Knight 99 Court Intrigue 65 ........... MAGIC ITEMS ............ 30 ............ The Orkney Brothers 99 Religion .................. 65 .......... 4 MYTHIC CAMELOT 35 Gawaine ................ 99 . .... Magic .................. 65 Agravaine 100 Britain - Physical Map 36 "Let Us Not Go To Carnelot; ............... ..... Gaheris 101 Arthur's Britain ............. 37 It Is A Silly Place." 65 ................. ........ Gareth ("Beaumains") 101 Arthur's Predecessors ....... 37 'Ihe Cinematic Picts ........ 65 ...... Geofley of Monrnouth 's History 37 Mordred ................102 Adventure See& ........... 65 Magic-Wielders 103 5th Century or loth? ........ 38 How Long A Reign ? 66 ............. ........ Merlin 103 Barons and Kings .......... 38 ................. 6 THE HISTORICAL Morgan le Fay 105 Political Divisions ........... 39 . ............ Nimue 106 'IhePicts ................ 39 ARTHUR ............72 ................. Cinematic-Mythic Britain - Riothamus ................. 73 Other Characters ............107 Principal Locations Britain in the 5th Century ...... 73 Nobility ..................107 and Kingdoms Map 40 Riothamus and Geofiey of Ladies ...................109 ...... Knights 110 Political Alignments ........ 4 1 Monmouth ............. 73 ................... Foes and Troublemakers 114 l'?ae Dolorous Stroke ........ 43 5th Century Britain ....... Avalon - The Island of Avalon Historical Map ......... 74 Other Notables ..............115 at Glastonbury Map ..... 44 Historical Europe of the Plot Hooks ................116 Equipment ............... 45 5th Century Map ....... 75 8. ARTHUR1AN BESTIARY 1 17 Non-Magic Magic Weapons ... 45 Post-Roman Britain ........ 76 Mystical and Magical Beings ....118 Europe of the Cinematic-Mythic Technology ................ 76 Beasts ....................121 5th Century Map ....... 46 Transportation ............ 76 Races ....................122 Money ................. 47 Weapons and Armor ........ 76 Courts and Royal Progress .... 47 i'he Villa Society .......... 76 BIBLIOGRAPHY .: ....... 124 The Political Environment ...... 48 British Tribal Society ....... 76 GLOSSARY .............126 Arthurian Names .......... 48 Fortifications ............. 77 Arthurian Idioms ............126 Alliances. Rivalries. and Hatreds 49 South Cadbury Castle Map . 77 Storming the Castle: lhe Fortijkations at Cadbury . 77 CAMPAIGN PLAN .......127 Siege Warfare .......... 49 The Celtic Tribes Map ...... 78 INDEX ................128 Round Table Politics .......... 50 Communications .......... 79 Contents INTRODUCTION Perhaps the most enduring legend of the Western world is that of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. For 15 centuries the tales have About GURPS survived, and in that time they have undergone changes that would astound their Steve Jackson Games is committed to original tellers! But still, something remains the same at the core of the myth, full the system. Our address is SJ Games Box 18957, Austin, something bright and glorious that transcends the stories and evokes a brilliant, TX 78760. include a self-ad- perfect vision at the mere utterance of the word "Camelot." dressed, stamped envelope (SASE) any GURPS Carnelot seeks to evoke of that vision. More than just a simple game time You write us! Resources now avail- able include: setting, GURPS Carnelot will challenge the players - and the GM - to live the Roleplayer. This bimonthly magazine ideals at the heart of the tales. includes new rules, variants. new races. Although tales about Camelot date back to the 6th and 7th centuries, it was beasts, informationon upcoming releases; not until the appearance of Geoffrey of Monrnouth's Historia Regum Brittaniae ~~~~~~~~i,"~~~c~~~~$~~ in 1136 that Arthur truly caught the public imagination. In less than 200 years, tion, King Arthur went from a shadowy ruler in a few Welsh and Breton legends to a New supplements