GURPS Crusades by Eugene Moyers, Graeme Davis

Show description

Temperatures range as high as 130°F in summer and as low as 40°F with chilling rains in winter. Blowing sand finds its way into food and clothing, making life miserable. Flies and other insects plague travelers. Small injuries or wounds can easily become infected, and European Crusaders were especially vulnerable to diseases such as malaria. Outside of towns or oases, water was a huge problem, especially during summer months. GURPS WWII: All the King’s Men (Life in the Desert, p. 89) can be consulted for additional rules.

Scaling a castle’s walls to free hostages, breaking out of a besieged castle to bring help, or sneaking into a Saracen camp are all everyday fare for cinematic Crusaders. The epic battles and sieges of the Crusades give ample opportunities for heroic roleplaying. A creative GM can easily bend history to add color to adventures. Having an important character like Richard the Lionheart make a cameo appearance in an adventure, or conjuring up an unchronicled minor Crusade, are completely acceptable in a cinematic campaign as history takes a back seat to good adventuring.

Persian and Syrian societies were ancient monarchies with a feudal elite. The Turks were a tribal people with dominant clans and families. However, Islam had a strong influence on all these societies, teaching that all men are equal in the eyes of Allah. At the time of the Crusades, however, most of Islam was a roughly feudal society with somewhat more upward social mobility than in contemporary Europe. The rulers of Islamic kingdoms were hereditary Caliphs. Under the Caliphs was a class of Emirs who gave service in exchange for land, like Western knights.