''GURPS Camelot'' is an

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

supplement published by

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

in 1991 for ''

GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...

'' (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'').

Content

''GURPS Camelot'' details how Arthurian legend can be used as a setting for a medieval ''GURPS'' campaign. Information includes an examination of Arthurian myths, short descriptions of notable people at Camelot, an examination of the historical facts behind the myths, and rules for jousts, siege warfare, and herbal concoctions, as well as suggestions on character creation.

Publication history

''GURPS Camelot'' is a 128-page softcover book written by Peggy and Robert Schroeck, with additional material by

Aaron Allston Aaron Dale Allston (December 8, 1960 – February 27, 2014) was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably ''Star Wars'' novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, sev ...

, J. David George,

Loyd Blankenship Loyd Blankenship, better known by his pseudonym The Mentor, is an American computer hacker and writer. He has been active since the 1970s, when he was a member of the hacker groups Extasyy Elite and Legion of Doom. Writings Hacker Manifesto ...

, Steve Jackson, Chris W. McCubbin,

Steffan O'Sullivan Steffan O'Sullivan is the author of several role-playing game books. Career Steffan O'Sullivan was a writer for '' GURPS'' products including '' GURPS Swashbucklers'' (1990) and '' GURPS Bunnies & Burrows'' (1992). He designed the '' FUDGE'' role ...

, and Daniel U. Thibault. Interior art is by Ruth Thompson, Keith Berdak, Carl Anderson, and Larry McDougal, and cover art is by

John Zeleznik John Zeleznik is an artist and illustrator. Career Zeleznik has provided covers and illustrative work for many role-playing games including ''Shadowrun'', '' Rifts'' (and other Palladium Books games), and ''GURPS''. He graduated from the Otis/Pa ...

. In the 2014 book ''Designers & Dragons: The '80s'', game historian Shannon Appelcline noted that Steve Jackson Games decided in the early 1990s to cease publishing adventures, and therefore "SJG was now putting out standalone ''GURPS'' books rather than the more complex tiered book lines. This included more historical subgenre books. Some, such as ''GURPS Camelot'' (1991) and ''GURPS China'' (1991), were clearly sub-subgenres, while others like '' GURPS Old West'' (1991) and '' GURPS Middle Ages I'' (1992) covered genres notably missing before this point."

Reviews

In the February 1993 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' (Issue #190),

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...

found the "attention to detail is impressive", but thought that it "often reads more like a term paper instead of a collection of neat ideas the designers couldn't wait to share." Swan noted that the book lacked both game-mastering advice and a full-length adventure. He concluded by giving the book an average rating of 3 out of 5, saying that the book "skimps on staging notes and the details of day-to-day existence that might help players bring their characters to life."

References

{{reflist

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

Historical role-playing games Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1991