Welcome to the Realm of Arthur, his Court of Camelot, and the spelendor of new realm united at last under his rule.  The brief shining moment of Arthur's Rule.
    I have decided to set this story/game in the classic image of Arthur, about 14th century.  So all the great equipment/armour/weapons are available.

   This game is set in the time shortly after Arthur is crowned and married at Camelot.  It is a game of chivalry, epic quests, political intrigue, striving for a balance of roleplaying and some adventure (combat).  It is an adult type game with a certain amount of 'R' rated type violence and adult situations.  However it will not be the focus of the game.  It is intended for experienced roleplayers with a few years of playing under their belts.  I would like to have this as a combination message board and chat based game.  I will be setting up a chat room for maybe once or twice a month chat sessions to hurrry along action.  A lot can be accomplished in a 2-3 hour chat game!
   I intend to keep the party size small and use the character classes from the Legends of Excalibur E-Book, A Knight's Handbook.  It's $8 online if you don't have it (fairly cheap when you think of the amount it costs to see a movie and you don't get to keep the movie).  Other classes acceptable from the main player's handbook include: the fighter, rogue, barbarian, and druid* (druids are very important in the Celtic Mythology).  If you need help with character creation, please get in touch with me and we will work on it together. :)
      The other classes including, knights, hermits, hedge wizards, enchantress, skald, fool, ministrel, priest and others (there are about 8 kinds of knights at the higher levels) in the ebook.  If you cannot afford the ebook immediately, I can help you create a character, but it is easier if you have the book to look up the classes and make informed decisions.

For new interested players, a druid, hedgemage, priest, or fool would be a good addition.

I'm trying to keep the party small to keep the postings dynamic.  If I only have 3 players I will run the game.  One other note, if you wish to cross class across the 'numbers' above, than that's fine too, as long as it's logical! :)

contact me swim_doll@yahoo dot com for details if you like

Overview of content:

New Core Classes
Pierce the veil of the future with the hedge mage and hermit; draw
your sword and make your stand against the heathen with the knight;
bond with the land and lead your people to victory with the noble;
serve the One God and wield power both temporal and divine with the
priest; live for no honor greater than a full belt pouch with the
robber baron; or master the ways of archery with the yeoman.

New Prestige Classes
Enforce the will of the One God with steel as a Crusader; combine
magic and beauty as an Enchantress; protect Britain as a Lady of the
Lake; seek the Grail as a Quest Knight; or follow one of five
different paths as a Spectral Knight, choosing to be a Black, Blue,
Green, Red or White knight.

Nobility
Be judged by your deeds with an innovative nobility system that
replaces alignment; some characters will care little for their
personal honor, such as the robber baron, while others can gain
power from being pure of heart, such as the priest and the quest
knight.

Fate and Destiny
Choose a fate for your character, allowing him to perform truly epic
deeds on your chosen path to glory; but beware, your destiny, a
secret fate your character does not know, looms close as well.

A New Magic System
A unique spell point system replaces slots, allowing you to use the
spells you know and love from the PHB in new ways, with sources of
power that allow a character's spell energy to recover more quickly
on his favored ground. Depending on the type of magic you follow,
your source of power could be ley lines, mysterious stone circles,
cathedrals of worship, fog-shrouded lakes, or the holy land itself.


GM Hints
This section deals with all the big issues with running a game set
in the world of Arthurian legend: evoking the right atmosphere, new
rewards for players, and a guide to converting published adventures.

NPCs
Statistical blocks for all the new core classes from the Knight's
Handbook are given through 20 levels of experience, DMG style.

Magic Items
New special abilities for magic armor and weapons, tied to the
Excalibur nobility and quest systems. Also in this section, full
statistics and descriptions of the items Arthurian legends are
famous for: Excalibur, the Round Table, the Holy Grail, and many
more.

Guide to the Arthurian Age
An overview of Arthurian legend for the GM, with campaign tips for
each of the three main eras of play: Rise of Arthur, One Brief
Shining Moment, and Dream's End.

Guide to Arthurian Campaigns
This section is designed for one thing: make the GM's life easy.
From numerous short quests, designed to take as little as an evening
of play, to campaigns that could be the focus for months of game
play, this section provides plot hooks, and numerous NPCs drawn
straight from Arthurian legend to enhance the campaign and take away
much of the grunt work.

Bestiary
A selection of new monsters, as well as give the GM tips on what
monsters to include from published sources.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:15, Sat 31 July 2004.

The game is designed for a high nobility (non-evil) party starting at 5th level.  I will accept character classes from the the Legends of Excalibur handbook and the following classes from the Player's Handbook only (fighter, barbarian, rogue, druid), although prestige classes could feasibly become available through play if your character is best suited to the prestige class rather than their standard class.  I don't impose and restrictions on the ability of any given class to Multiclass, within reason.  Nobility restrictions would still operate and make a Crusader/Rogue combination rather unlikely, but I'm all for Hedgemage/Ministrel types and their ilk.

I expect players to be able to post each weekday or at worst, every other day.

Characters should be created according to the Standard Point Buy system, with 34 points available to be distributed.
(With this system a character you create could have scores like 18,14,14,10,10,10) a genuine hero-this is an heroic game. :)  Divide them anyway you like, just have fun making a character you like and want to play!

Ability    Point  Modifier
Score      Cost

 08         00       -1
 09         01       -1
 10         02       00
 11         03       00
 12         04       +1
 13         05       +1
 14         06       +2
 15         08       +2
 16         10       +3
 17         13       +3
 18         16       +4


I have access to the following books, so only those will be accepted for Character Creation:

3.5 Edition Player's Handbook
3.5 Edition Dungeon Master's Guide
3.5 Edition Monster Manual
3.5 Edition Legends of Excalibur
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:15, Wed 27 Oct 2004.

Hi Guys,

   I have these 4 character types confirmed:  2 knights, a hermit, and a ministrel.  I have interest from a few others so hopefully we can fill out roster and be started by the weekend. :)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 17:50, Sat 31 July 2004.

Taking a page from other DMs/GMs on this board, I've decided to impliment a posting incentive program.

   I've decided to give out awards for good posters.  For every post that is quality, that is, one that's at least 3 sentences long and show's good description/dialogue.  100 XP points to a maximum of 600 per week. If you do post 6 times, (good posts) then there's an extra 200 bonus XP.


So...if you do everything great, everything, you could win up to 4800 extra xp a month for your character.  :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:43, Thu 18 Nov 2004.

Duties of a Knight of the Round Table
Any player character aspiring to a seat on the Round Table will
have to earn it. First, they will have to attract Arthur’s attention
through some valorous deed or trait, such as prowess at arms,
undaunted bravery, a thorough command of magic, unerring piety,
etc. Once Arthur has noticed such persons, they will have to
impress him with their adherence to a strict code of behavior.
They must be just, loyal, courteous, generous, and, most
importantly, reverent; they must protect the poor and weak, and
never deny protection to a lady or maiden; the must remain clean
and chaste in spirit and in flesh (though it is permissible to love
from afar); they must strive for candor and flee from pride; and
they must face death at all times with courage and good bearing.
Although Arthur is not foolish enough to believe that all of his
knights can live up to this code all of the time, he will not extend
an invitation to the Round Table to anybody who displays more
than minor variations from these standards.
Taken together, these standards may be interpreted as the Code
of the Round Table. The code is rooted in deep faith in God,
in the beneficence of the a special order, and in the belief that men
and women prove their worthiness only to the extent that they
 serve an ideal greater than themselves.
While, for game purposes, it should certainly be possible for a
player character to become a man of the Round Table without
sharing Arthur’s religion, they should share these three beliefs, at
least.

HOUSE OF PENDRAGON
Arthur: King of Logres, High King of Britain
Guinevere of Rheged: Arthur's wife, High Queen of Britain
  Mordred: Arthur's son
Igraine: Arthur's mother, wife of Uther, High King of Britain, first husband was Gorlois
  Morgause: Morgause: daughter of Igraine by her first husband, Gorlois
  Morgan le Fey: daughter of Igraine by her first husband, Gorlois
Kay (Cei): Arthur's foster-brother and Seneschal of the Realm
Bedivere: Arthur's foster-brother and wise counselor

HOUSE OF ORKNEY
Morgause: widow of King Lot, half-sister of Arthur
  Gawaine: son of Morgause
  Gaheris: son of Morgause
  Agravain: son of Morgause
  Gareth: son of Morgause
  Mordred: son of Morgause

HOUSE OF NORTHUMBRIA
Urien: King of Northumbria, husband of Morgan
Morgan le Fey: half-sister of Arthur, wife of Urien
  Uwain: son of Morgan and Urien

BRITTANY FACTION
Launcelot of the Lake: Arthur's best friend and lieutenant
Ector de Maris: Lancelot's half-brother
Bors: brother of Lionel, cousin of Lancelot
Lionel: brother of Bors, cousin of Lancelot


HOUSE OF PELLINORE
Pellinore: warlord of the Wrekin
  Lamorak: Pellinore's eldest son in wedlock
  Perceval: Pellinore's youngest son in wedlock
  Amide: one of Pellinore's many illegitimate children

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROUND TABLE FELLOWSHIP
Accolon of Gaul: Morgan le Fey's lover
Agricola: Roman King of Demetia
  Vortipor: arrogant nephew of Agricola
Bagdemagus: warlord of Dorset
Cador: Duke of Cornwall
 Constantine: his son and successor
Colgrevance: warrior friend of Gawain's from the Continent
Dinadin: Tristan's best friend
Florence: warrior friend of Agravain
Geraint: King of Devon, husband of Enid
Gingalin: son of Gawain and Ragnell
Griflet: Master of the Kennel and husband of Frieda
Ironside: aging warrior
Lovel: warrior friend of Agravain
Lucan: Arthur's Gatekeeper and butler
Palomides: slave-born Arab, lover of Isolde
Pelleas: husband of Nimue
Petroc: warlord from Devon

HOUSE OF CARBONEK
Mark: King of Cornwall
Isolde: Mark's child-bride from Ireland
Tristan: nephew to Mark, Isolde's lover

WOMEN OF CAMELOT
Brigit: Irish foster-sister to Guinevere
Brisane: governess to Elaine of Carbonek
Enid: sharp-tongued lady-in-waiting, wife of Geraint
Lynette: daughter of Ground's Keeper in London, wife of Gareth
Vinnie: Roman matron in charge of ladies-in-waiting

VARIOUS HEADS OF STATE
Anastasius: Emperor in Constantinople
Clovis: King of the Franks
Theodoric the Great: Ostrogoth King of Italy

OTHER CHARACTERS
Mr. and Mrs. Badger: gardener and housekeeper at Joyous Gard
Bercilak: Charcoal burner and prankster who is one of the Ancient Ones,
          half-civilized, half-wildman
Cathbad: Druid who was Guinevere's childhood teacher
Cerdic: Saxon leader who challenged Arthur at Mount Badon
  Cynric: Cerdic's son, kept as a peace-hostage after the Battle of Mount
          Badon
Dagonet: Arthur's Court Jester
Frieda: Saxon milk-maid, wife of Griflet
Gildas: past suitor of Gwen, monk and student of Illtud
The Green Man: and Ancient God who may or may not be a figment of everyone's
               imagination
Gwyn of Neath: horsebreeder and builder of the Hall on Glastonbury's Tor
Gwynlliw: representative of warlords in Dorset hill-forts
Illtud: Prince/warrior who became a monk
Kimmins: crofter in the Cheviot Hills
Lady of the Lake: High Priestess and creator of Excalibur
Maelgwn: Guinevere's cousin, King of Gwynedd
Merlin: Arthur's tutor and mentor, the Mage of Britain
Nimue: Prietess and protege of Merlin, wife of Pelleas
Ragnell: leader of nomadic Ancient Ones, lover of Gawain
Riderich: Arthur's bard
Taliesin: peasant boy who becomes a famous bard
Wehha the Swede: leader of East Anglian Federates
  Wuffa: Wehha's son
Yder: brother of Gwyn of Neath
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:21, Tue 15 Nov 2005.

Chivalry (derived through the French cheval from the Latin caballus) as an institution is to be considered from three points of view: the military, the social, and the religious. We shall also here consider the history of chivalry as a whole.

MILITARY
In the military sense, chivalry was the heavy cavalry of the Middle Ages which constituted the chief and most effective warlike force. The knight or chevalier was the professional soldier of the time; in medieval Latin, the ordinary word miles (soldier) was equivalent to "knight." This pre-eminence of cavalry was correlative with the decline of infantry on the battlefield. Four peculiarities distinguished the professional warrior:

his weapons;
his horse;
his attendants, and
his flag.
Weapons

The medieval army was poorly equipped for long-distance fighting, and bows and crossbows were still employed, although the Church endeavored to prohibit their use, at least between Christian armies, as contrary to humanity. At all events, they were regarded as unfair in combat by the medieval knight. His only offensive weapons were the lance for the encounter and the sword for the close fight, weapons common to both light-armed and heavy cavalry. The characteristic distinction of the latter, which really constituted chivalry, lay in their defensive weapons, which varied with different periods. These weapons were always costly to get and heavy to bear, such as the brunia or hauberk of the Carlovingian Era, the coat of mail, which prevailed during the Crusades, and lastly the plate armor introduced in the fourteenth century.

Horses

No knight was thought to be properly equipped without at least three horses:

the battle horse, or dexterarius, which was led by hand, and used only for the onset (hence the saying, "to mount one's high horse"),
a second horse, palfrey or courser, for the route, and
the pack-horse for the luggage.
Attendants

The knight required several attendants:

one to conduct the horses,
another to bear the heaviest weapons, particularly the shield or escutcheon (scutum, hence scutarius, French escuyer, esquire);
still another to aid his master to mount his battle horse or to raise him if dismounted;
a fourth to guard prisoners, chiefly those of quality, for whom a high ransom was expected.
These attendants, who were of low condition, were not to be confounded with the armed retainers, who formed the escort of a knight. From the thirteenth century the squires also went armed and mounted and, passing from one grade to the other, were raised finally to knighthood.
Flags

Banners were also a distinctive mark of chivalry. They were attached to, and carried on, the lance. There was a sharp distinction between the pennon, a flag pointed or forked at the extremity, used by a single chevalier or bachelor as a personal ensign, and the banner, square in form, used as the ensign of a band and reserved to the baron or baronet in command of a group of at least ten knights, called a constabulary. Each flag or banner was emblazoned with the arms of its owner to distinguish one from another on the battlefield. These armorial bearings afterwards became hereditary and gave birth to the complicated science of heraldry.

SOCIAL
The career of a knight was costly, requiring personal means in keeping with the station; for a knight had to defray his own expenses in an age when the sovereign had neither treasury nor war budget at his disposal. When land was the only kind of riches, each lord paramount who wished to raise an army divided his domain into military fiefs, the tenant being held to military service at his own personal expense for a fixed number of days (forty in France and in England during the Norman period). These fees, like other feudal grants, became hereditary, and thus developed a noble class, for whom the knightly profession was the only career. Knighthood, however, was not hereditary, though only the sons of a knight were eligible to its ranks. In boyhood they were sent to the court of some noble, where they were trained in the use of horses and weapons, and were taught lessons of courtesy. From the thirteenth century, the candidates, after they had attained the rank of squire, were allowed to take part in battles; but it was only when they had come of age, commonly twenty-one years, that they were admitted to the rank of knight by means of a peculiar ceremonial called "dubbing." Every knight was qualified to confer knighthood, provided the aspirant fulfilled the requisite conditions of birth, age, and training. Where the condition of birth was lacking in the aspirant, the sovereign alone could create a knight, as a part of his royal prerogative.

RELIGIOUS
In the ceremonial of conferring knighthood the Church shared, through the blessing of the sword, and by the virtue of this blessing chivalry assumed a religious character. In early Christianity, although Tertullian's teaching that Christianity and the profession of arms were incompatible was condemned as heretical, the military career was regarded with little favour. In chivalry, religion and the profession of arms were reconciled. This change in attitude on the part of the Church dates, according to some, from the Crusades, when Christian armies were for the first time devoted to a sacred purpose. Even prior to the Crusades, however, an anticipation of this attitude is found in the custom called the "Truce of God". It was then that the clergy seized upon the opportunity offered by these truces to exact from the rough warriors of feudal times a religious vow to use their weapons chiefly for the protection of the weak and defenseless, especially women and orphans, and of churches. Chivalry, in the new sense, rested on a vow; it was this vow which dignified the soldier, elevated him in his own esteem, and raised him almost to the level of the monk in medieval society. As if in return for this vow, the Church ordained a special blessing for the knight in the ceremony called in the Pontificale Romanum, "Benedictio novi militis." At first very simple in its form, this ritual gradually developed into an elaborate ceremony. Before the blessing of the sword on the altar, many preliminaries were required of the aspirant, such as confession, a vigil of prayer, fasting, a symbolical bath, and investiture with a white robe, for the purpose of impressing on the candidate the purity of soul with which he was to enter upon such a noble career. Kneeling, in the presence of the clergy, he pronounced the solemn vow of chivalry, at the same time often renewing the baptismal vow; the one chosen as godfather then struck him lightly on the neck with a sword (the dubbing) in the name of God and St. George, the patron of chivalry.

HISTORY
There are four distinct periods in the history of chivalry. The period of foundation, i.e. the time when the Truce of God was in force, witnessed the long contest of the Church against the violence of the age, before she succeeded in curbing the savage spirit of the feudal warriors, who prior to this recognized no law but that of brute force.

First Period: The Crusades

The Crusades introduced the golden age of chivalry, and the crusader was the pattern of the perfect knight. The rescue of the holy places of Palestine from Moslem domination and the defense of pilgrims became the new object of his vow. In return, the Church took him under her protection in a special way, and conferred upon him exceptional temporal and spiritual privileges, such as the remission of all penances, dispensation from the jurisdiction of the secular courts, and as a means of defraying the expenses of the journey to the Holy Land, knights were granted the tenth of all the church revenues. The vow of the crusader was limited to a specified period. For the distant expeditions into Asia, the average time was two or three years.

Second Period: The Military Orders

After the conquest of Jerusalem, the necessity of a standing army became peremptory, in order to prevent the loss of the Holy City to surrounding hostile nations. Out of this necessity arose the military orders which adopted as a fourth monastic vow that of perpetual warfare against the infidels. In these orders, wherein was realized the perfect fusion of the religious and the military spirit, chivalry reached its apogee. This heroic spirit had also its notable representatives among the secular crusaders, as Godfrey of Bouillon, Tancred of Normandy, Richard Couer de Lion, and above all Louis IX of France, in whom knighthood was crowned by sanctity. Like the monastic, the knightly vow bound with common ties warriors of every nation and condition, and enrolled them in a vast brotherhood of manners, ideals, and aims. The secular brotherhood had, like the regular its rule imposing on its members fidelity to their; lords and to their word, fair play on the battlefield, and the observance of the maxims of honour and courtesy. Medieval chivalry, moreover, opened a new chapter in the history of literature. It prepared the way and gave ready currency to an epic and romantic movement in literature reflecting the ideal of knighthood and celebrating its accomplishment and achievements. Provence and Normandy were the chief centres of this kind of literature, which was spread throughout all Europe by the trouvères and troubadours.

Third Period: Secular Chivalry

After the Crusades chivalry gradually lost its religious aspect. In this, its third period, honour remains the peculiar worship of knighthood. This spirit is manifested in the many knightly exploits which fill the annals of the long contest between England and France during the Hundred Years War. The chronicles of Froissart give a vivid picture of this age, where bloody battles alternate with tournaments and gorgeous pageants. Each contending nation has its heroes. If England could boast of the victories of the Black Prince, Chandos, and Talbot, France could pride herself on the exploits of Du Guesclin, Boucicaut, and Dunois. But with all the brilliance and glamour of their achievements, the main result was a useless shedding of blood, waste of money, and misery for the lower classes. The amorous character of the new literature had contributed not a little to deflect chivalry from its original ideal. Under the influence of the romances love now became the mainspring of chivalry. As a consequence there arose a new type of chevalier, vowed to the service of some noble lady, who could even be another man's wife. This idol of his heart was to be worshipped at a distance. Unfortunately, notwithstanding the obligations imposed upon the knightly lover, these extravagant fancies often led to lamentable results.

Fourth Period: Court Chivalry

In its last stages, chivalry became a mere court service. The Order of the Garter, founded in 1348 by Edward III of England, the Order of the Golden Fleece (Toison d'or) of Philip of Burgundy, dating from 1430, formed a brotherhood, not of crusaders, but of courtiers, with no other aim than to contribute to the splendor of the sovereign. Their most serious business was the sport of jousts and tournaments. They made their vows not in chapels, but in banquet halls, not on the cross, but on some emblematic bird. The "vow of the Swan" of 1306, was instituted during the feast of the dubbing of the son of Edward I. It was before God and the swan that the old king swore with his knights to avenge on Scotland the murder of his lieutenant. More celebrated is the "vow of the Pheasant," made in 1454 at the court of Philip of Burgundy. The motive was weighty indeed, being nothing else than the rescue of Constantinople, which had fallen the past year into the hands of the Turks. But the solemnity of the motive did not lessen the frivolity of the occasion. A solemn vow was taken before God and the pheasant at a gorgeous banquet, the profligate cost of which might better have been devoted to the expedition itself. No less than one hundred and fifty knights, the flower of the nobility, repeated the vow, but the enterprise came to nought. Chivalry had degenerated to a futile pastime and an empty promise.

Literature, which had in the past so greatly contributed to the exaltation of chivalry, now reacted against its extravagances. In the early part of the fourteenth century this turning point becomes evident in the poetry of Chaucer. Although he himself had made many translations from the French romances, he mildly derides their manner in his "Sir Thopas." The final blow was reserved for the immortal work of Cervantes, "Don Quixote," which aroused the laughter of all Europe. Infantry, on its revival as an effective force on the battlefield during the fourteenth century began to dispute the supremacy which heavy cavalry had so long enjoyed. Chivalry which rested entirely upon the superiority of the horseman in warfare, rapidly declined. At Crécy (1346) and Agincourt (1415) the French knighthood was decimated by the arrows of the English archers of Edward III and Henry V. The Austrian nobility at Sempach (1386) and the Burgundian chivalry at Morat (1476) were unable to sustain the overpowering onslaught of the Swiss peasantry. With the advent of gunpowder and the general use of firearms in battle, chivalry rapidly disintegrated and finally disappeared altogether.

Camelot is near Salisbury.