Introduction to C&S

I just wanted to document for you a commentary of my player’s adventures in Harn using C&S. This is a group of friends whom have been playing C&S with me for many many years and to this day enjoy the game as much as they did the first day they played.

Chivalry & Sorcery 2nd Ed. We as a group have used C&S 2nd ed. since it first came out in 1983. The system although dated by later versions is we think the best version made that strongly allows the players a depth of character generation and background that meets our ideal as a gaming system. We thrive on the mathematical content of the system and revel in the PCF and blows system that portrays combat in a fast and accurate way that no other game mechanic seems to be able to match. The system allows the GM a scope of rules and tables that bring out in vivid colour the depth needed to bring a medieval fantasy world to life. This system was designed with many aspects also seen in the Lord of the Rings setting with Uruk Hai, Trolls, and Haeflings etc.... The detail given to NPC's and Monsters is unsurpassed in any other game or even version of C&S for fleshing out the beings and creatures a GM needs to face the party as they journey in a fantasy world. C&S 1st and 2nd ed. rules are used world wide by thousands of players and GM's because of the total commitment to detail and depth C&S provided within its book covers. And now as a reader of this journey of my players you will get to see exactly what they do week to week as it happens using probably the most accurate and detailed set of rules that portray a Medieval setting my players have dwelt in for over 23 years now.

HARN, Harn is an awesome setting for a Medieval / Feudal campaign, rich in detail and complexity of its societies, their cultures and the maps provided that make this world better than anything I have ever GM'd. I have taken much poetic licence with the setting and adjusted it to suite my own style of play and that of the players. C&S being the vehicle that drives the game I had to change modify and even leave out some details of the Harn style for these reasons. For instance the orcs in Harn are called Gargun. I dropped this to keep the flavour of C&S with the traditional style. I use C&S magic system over that portrayed in Harnmaster and so on.

I also have Hobbits/Haeflings in my version even though Harn only talks of them in old folklores and do not have them in the current settings. I use C&S social tables and character types and names/titles over those released in Harn in some areas, they are not much different anyway but subtle differences can be noticed if compared. If the reader understands this and makes allowances for it if a devoted student of Harn then you will still find this ongoing story interesting for the read alone.

I do not have anything to do with Harn from an ownership or employee basis just to set the record straight. For us Harn provides a setting far superior than most others currently out there, I would even go do far as to say its just as rich and detailed as Middle Earth !

I have a great bunch of players that have been with me for many years that are mostly school mates or friends of my school mates that over the years we all call our friends now all because of our common interest in Chivalry and Sorcery. Also newer faces have appeared over the years that came from workmates that turned into life long friends of not only mine but also that of the entire group.

Denis: Plays, Guthric, a Human Squire to Xavier. Denis loves fleshing out characters with mountains of detail, has been known to sit and write god knows what for his characters for 3 hours after a session has finished. Is adept at playing any character class he chooses. He's the guy that when something funny happens can't stop crying with laughter, he becomes quite uncontrollable laughing for long periods, very funny to watch.

Hurley: Plays, Xavier, a higher level Chevalier from Shorkyne. Another old veteran of C&S, he loves the game for the mateship just as much as the game itself. Enjoys the idea of the Grand Campaign, journeying great distances to long forgotten Crypts etc. Loves magical weapons and armour and taking on Legendary Creatures. He usually is the leader of the group and the others follow his plans etc...Even if they don't agree with them. His BIF is very high and we use this for group/party leadership status.

Glenn: Plays, Votta. A Dwarven Noble Warrior. The Rules Lawyer of the group! He is one of my oldest friends and a great guy. He is a paperwork freak! Who enjoys Rules and limitations being put on the players and believes that players must abide by the written Rules as Lore! The other guys want to chase him around with their swords & axes by the end of a session but stop short of this as he helps them with interpretations just as much as hindering them.

Jonathan: Plays Borian, a Grey Elf Ranger/Merchant. Jay is the romantic of the group; he enjoys the Grand Campaigns also but loves the Role play aspect deeply. He loves playing Elven Rangers stalking thru the wilderness with Longbow in hand hunting an enemy one on one. He is also called the groups, "Drug Dealer" he knows nearly every Herb by name and keeps detailed lists of their uses, when entering a Town he runs straight for the Apothecary!

Robert: Plays Thorvald, a Norse Warrior. Robbo is the fighter amongst the group, he enjoys combat for combats sake, and he is the guy that tries to do things outside of the rules parameters. Rob loves the blood and guts of mortal combat and tends to play nothing but Viking Warriors...and yes he loves Berserkers! He's the guy that will leap onto a Shield III and try to skid down a steep snowy slope to safety if a combat is going bad... he's the guy who yells out a battle cry and charges when the rest of the group are arguing about whether to fight of flee!

Chris: Plays Aedon, a Kaldorian Cleric. Chris is our resident Cleric and passive, he enjoys playing Clerics and Healers and avoiding combat at all costs. He's the guy that usually works on the group’s morality and fair play in the game, pulling others up for foul deeds etc... He usually ends up with far more exp than the rest by the end of the night solely for healing them! His character is one of the oldest surviving of the Campaign now.

Danny: Plays Ordeith, another Dwarf Warrior. Danny is the group jester; he's the guy that enjoys making the others laugh. He plays Dwarves and acts like the clown, he enjoys the fighting in C&S and enjoys getting the goat up so to speak of the other players, especially Denis. He and Denis have a great taunting skill banter going on that keeps the rest of us laughing all night.

Alan: Plays Erixorthien an Elven Ranger. He used to play as much as the rest of the guys but due to work commitments and a new family he had had far less time to the game. He is the guy voted most likely to pick a fight! He fights for the blood lust of wielding a heavy weapon and seeing what it will do when it hits his foe. He gets off on charging into battle fighting against overwhelming odds and coming out hopefully alive at the end. He's the guy that leaps into a fight without thinking and has to be rescued by the rest of the party. He is expanding lately by playing a Ranger to help him think more about skills and avoiding the fights....but this has not stopped him in the slightest from shooting anything that moves with his longbow! We all enjoy his gaming style of no guts, no glory attitude.

Treece: Plays Lafora, she is the Real-life girlfriend of Danny who plays Ordeith. She has until a few months ago never heard or knew anything about RPG's and decided to give it a go with encouragement from Danny. Her character is a young Female Viking Priestess of Sarajin (equiv of Odin) She is referred to as the "Valkyre", in game and seems to enjoy the fun. Even if it is dominated by 7-10 loud males all night, she becomes excited when she scores a critical hit in combat. We acknowledge that gleam in her eye as a true Viking bloodlust!

There are many others that play C&S with us but only on an irregular basis, they add greatly to the sessions when playing but are not permanent players.

Shane.