GURPS Camelot

The Forgotten Pages

[GURPS CAmelot Cover]

But First, A Couple Items Of Interest...

Word has reached me that as of 1997, GURPS Camelot was part of the recommended reading list for a course in Arthurian Literature at Indiana University. A big thank you to "Shadowcat", whose use of the book as a reference in a paper for that course set off a chain of events that resulted in a copy being put in the university's reserve room... And another big thank you to that nameless professor for his/her openmindedness about gaming materials...

Also, there is a rather unusual original fiction work blending the Japanese anime Sailor Moon and the Arthurian mythos, which was (according to early accounts) written using GURPS Camelot as a reference. A Tokyo Senshi In Queen Rei's Court by John Biles is really worth a look, even if you don't know thing one about Sailor Moon and couldn't care less. The story and some supplementary material can be found here.

There was very little that was cut from GURPS Camelot. Besides the usual editorial trimming, the following items were removed. Note that these were written for and crossreference pages from the Third Edition, Revised and are not necessarily immediately usable with the Fourth Edition.

From "Characters" Chapter, Disadvantages:

Wanderlust (-15 points)

You can't stay in one location for very long -- the desire to "move on down the road" becomes overwhelming after a few weeks (or at most, a few months) in one location.

After you have been in the same place for 1 month, you must make a Will roll at the end of each successive week, or pack it up and hit the road!

This is a very appropriate disadvantage for knights-errant!

From the "Bestiary" Chapter:

Black Beast of Arrrghhh

ST: 40
DX: 12
IQ: 4
HT: 14/65
Move/Dodge: 7/7
PD/DR: 4/6
Damage: 3d+1 imp
Reach: C
Size: 30 hexes
Weight: 10,000 lbs.
Origin: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Habitats: Sub

This unique reptilian predator is clearly a distant relative of dragons, but it is unlikely that the dragons would acknowledge it. It is a bipedal, wingless creature covered above with greenish-yellow scales and beneath with cream-colored plates. It most prominent feature is its huge, misshapen head. Much larger than its body, the Beast's head is little more than a huge maw filled with sharp teeth, surmounted by a tapioca-like mass of foot-wide eyes. A pair of monstrous curving, yellow horns extend for yards from either side of its head behind the eyes, their base covered with a bristly, straw-like hair. Large, cow-like ears and a flat snout complete the picture. It has a heavy, thick tail with which it can attack in the manner of dragons.

The Black Beast inhabits the Cave of Caerbannog and never comes out (although this may be because the White Rabbit of Caerbannog guards the only exit large enough to afford it egress). It is not a clever hunter, but it is adapted for the semidarkness in which it lives, with both Night Vision and Alertness +2; it has a 16 IQ for the purposes of sense rolls. Its favorite (perhaps sole) tactic is to pursue its prey relentlessly. It has enough brains not to roar when it stalks hiding prey, but that is the extent of its craftiness. When it does catch its prey, it attacks only with its bite; if it does over the victim's HT in one attack, it has swallowed him whole.

White Rabbit of Caerbannog

ST: 1
DX: 18
IQ: 5
HT: 16/5
Move/Dodge: 40/1
PD/DR: 0*/0
Damage: 1d-1 Cut*
Reach: C
Size: <1 hex
Weight: 1 lb.
Origin: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Habitats: M, Sub

The so-called White Rabbit of Caerbannog is a unique creature which guarded the Cave of Caerbannog and the clue to the Grail hidden within. Superficially it resembled a normal white rabbit, approximately 1 foot in length and 5 pounds in weight. It is, however, an omnivorous creature that prefers to feed upon human flesh, as evidenced by the great numbers of nibbled skeletons surrounding the mouth of its lair.

The White Rabbit of Caerbannog is by its nature territorial, protecting its turf fiercely from all invaders. This territory was quite small -- the mouth of the Cave of Caerbannog and a small clearing (approximately 20 feet across) immediately in front of it. However, if its turf is violated, it goes berserk and attacks the invader(s). This would normally be of no real consequence, but the White Rabbit of Caerbannog possesses a mana organ which allows it the power of Hawk Flight (see the spell, p. M62), giving it a move of 40 (80 mph). Between the Bunny's small size and its high speed, characters suffer a -13 penalty to hit it in combat. As Arthur and his knights discovered, the best approach is to use an area weapon or spell upon it while it is upon the ground and feeding.

If a person is unlucky enough to encounter a White Rabbit in combat, the enraged rodent will exclusively attack for the throat. Treat this as an attack to the head for purposes of hit penalty, but if the rabbit's damage penetrates DR, it is tripled. Damage to the throat over HT/3 results in the victim's jugular vein being ripped out; on the following turn he will begin losing blood at the rate of 3 HT per turn. A successful roll versus HT-3 will reduce this to 1 HT. Damage to the throat over 3/4 HT results in instant decapitation.

The White Rabbit rarely attacks the same target two turns running if others are available; it prefers to stay in the air, zooming from one victim to another until they flee or die. In no case will it pursue a target beyond the range of its territory.

The Bunny is an incongruous creature from a humorous retelling of the Arthurian tales, but a deadly one nonetheless. If a GM sees fit to place this creature in his game, it should be guarding something of great value.

From the "Cast of Thousands" Chapter:

Sir Brusewane/Bruswayn/Brucewaine

The Dark Knight of Gotham in Nottinghamshire.

[Go To Steve Jackson Games]


This page was created on October 16, 1997.
Last modified August 19, 2011.