Chivalry and Sorcery: Encyclopedia II - Chivalry and Sorcery - Overview and history

Chivalry and Sorcery - Overview and history

The first incarnation of Chivalry & Sorcery was Chevalier, an advanced version of Dungeons & Dragons which focused on realistic, medieval, low fantasy. Self-published by Ed Simbalist and Wilf Backhaus, with an orange cover and ringed binding, the booklet was rejected by Gary Gygax after his meeting with the authors at the 1976 Gen Con. Scott Bizar of Fantasy Games Unlimited, however, purchased the book on sight.

By 1977 Chivalry & Sorcery saw its first publication. Over the course of the year the book went through significant rewrites, which among other things, converted it to a stand-alone game system. Additionally Scott Bizar requested that the name be changed to Chivalry & Sorcery, since he felt that few people would know what a Chevalier was.

1983 saw the release of the second edition of Chivalry & Sorcery. This set of rules was also released by Fantasy Games Unlimited, and was primary an update to the original.

In 1996 Chivalry & Sorcery 3rd Edition was released - this time published by Highlander Games. The third edition was a major departure from earlier Chivalry & Sorcery rules. While still focusing on the low-fantasy, realistic feel that permeates the system, the underlying game mechanic was completely changed. Instead of a complex level and skill based advancement system, everything was unified under a mechanic called Skillscape. Skillscape is based completely on a percentage system. Every success or failure can be determined by a roll of a d100, with an accompanying d10 "crit die". The d100 determines success or failure, while the crit die determines the degree of that success of failure. This mechanic was applied to virtually everything in the game, making it significantly more playable. In addition to Simbalist and Bakhaus, GW Thompson of Highlander Games is listed as a primary contributor to the book.

Chivalry & Sorcery Light was published in 1999. It is a simplified, bare bones version of the 3rd edition, available at a lesser cost. Chivalry & Sorcery Essence is an even simpler rule set and is available as a free download.

In 2000 the most recent version of the game was published: Chivalry & Sorcery: The Rebirth. The Rebirth is published by Brittania Game Designs. It primarily improves and tweaks the rules of the 3rd Edition, although it does bring back some of the best rules from the 1st and 2nd edition that were omitted for the 3rd Edition (converted to the Skillscape system of course).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Overview and history", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki