Medieval d20

[Dogbrain]

As for the Purple Knight stretching the color palette... I can give you sources and page numbers... each and every single one of those colors appears in medieval Arthurian literature, most multiple times.

But what color is this purple, and is this purple presented as the correct color or as the completely wrong color? Most people, if asked to point out something "purple" as it would have been used in the Arthurian source material, will point to something that is completely the wrong color. They will point to something "violet", not to something that would have been described as "purple" in the Arthurian literature.

http://www.virtue.to/articles/images/1300s_real_dalmatic_lg.jpg is a photograph of a true purple garment. No, it is not faded. No, it is not discolored. It is "purple" as the term was used in the medieval and earlier eras.

So, are these so-called "purple" knights for which you claim authenticity actually authentically "purple" or are they actually the completely incorrect modern "violet" color?

And a discussion of the heraldic "purpure" vs the Roman/Imperial "purple":
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/purpure.htm

 

[jstater]

I really enjoyed Legends of Excalibur - seemed well thought out and easy to implement. I hate to admit it, but I just didn't care for the Medieval Player's Manual. There were too many classes, and too many systems for simulating things one would rarely need to simulate in a RPG. It reminded me of the old days of AD&D - a rule for everything. I think it could have been much more streamlined. Just my opinion.

 

[Krieg]

So, are these so-called "purple" knights for which you claim authenticity actually authentically "purple" or are they actually the completely incorrect modern "violet" color?[/url]

:\

Splitting hairs has been raised to an art form.

 

[Wombat]

I actually have no problem with purple as a colour during the Middle Ages, in that I know that purpur(e) was a recognized heraldic tincture, but rather that I don't remember reading of a "Purple Knight" in any of the Arthurian legends. Then again, I am quite willing to be proven wrong on this point.

 

[Razuur]

If you are going for a true medieval feel, the I recommend the Medieval Players Handbook (GRR) and Love and War (Atlas) - both by David Chart of Ars Magica fame. You should easily be able to create an accurate medieval game.

Legends of Excalibur has a real Arthurian feel. Philosophy: make the system fit the world. New classes, more genuine arthurian mood.

R&R: Excalibur is basically D&Ded Arthurian fantasy. Philosophy: make the world fit in D&D. Combines Arthurian concepts with core DnD concepts on creatures, classes, etc.

As for R:R Excalibur or LoE? That is really a cup of tea, on how you like your systems. I prefer the LoE approach, but I know many who prefer the R&R approach. They are both quality products, and the wonderful thing about D20 is that we get choices like this!

Razuur

 

[Dogbrain]

:\

Splitting hairs has been raised to an art form.

I'll take that as an admission that you failed to do adequate historical research and used the wrong hue, altogether.

Should I expect similar care throughout your book?

 

[Dogbrain]

I actually have no problem with purple as a colour during the Middle Ages, in that I know that purpur(e) was a recognized heraldic tincture, but rather that I don't remember reading of a "Purple Knight" in any of the Arthurian legends. Then again, I am quite willing to be proven wrong on this point.

Except that this "purpure" may very well not have resembled the modern "violet" that is called "purple" in any way, at all.

 

[woodelf]

Except that this "purpure" may very well not have resembled the modern "violet" that is called "purple" in any way, at all.

In this particular case, i'm really not seeing why it matters. It's the name/designation for a particular order of knights. Everything works identically, and makes exactly the same amount of sense, whether the purple knights are named for (and/or wear) a very-reddish magenta, or a nearly-blue lavender, or a bright violet, or a deep royal purple, or anything in between. So long as the people of the time and place can differentiate it from whatever other colors/orders there are (such as blue or red)--which they presumably can, given that they have a separate term for the color--it all works just fine.

 

[woodelf]

The meat of the product line will be the many Regional Sourcebooks we will be releasing. The core rules will contain all the crunch while the supplements will contain all the historical, geopolitical and religious info you could want. Examples would be a book on England, one of the Holy Roman Empire, another on the Holy Lands, etc. Also, books on The Church of Rome, Knightly Orders, etc are scheduled for release as well

Each sourcebook will have basic and prestige classes specific to the region the book covers. The England book will of course contain info on playing the Archer class while the Celtic Lands book will have the Highlander, Druid and Bard classes along with others.

The setting is designed to be realistic and historically accurate with the execption of some fantasy elements. Magic works and Priest of the Church of Rome will be able to cast spells. Magic is not as '"flashy" as traditional DnD or Tolkien style fantasy games however.

Medieval people believed fairies lived deep in the forests and Dwarves dwelled in the mountains; in High Medieval this will be fact, not legend. That said non-humans will be rare and the game is defintely human centered. Adventurers may encounter and Ogre in the wilderness but there will be no hordes of marauding Orcs.

Anyway, just thought you folks interested in Medieval-style gaming might be interested in this. We do not have a release date set yet, but game development is well underway. We are hoping for any early 2005 release.

If anyone would like to know more, or has any questions feel free to contact us at morrigan@nbnet.nb.ca

So, pretty much Ars Magica without the cool magic or the troupe-style play? Or is there some other way in which these are distinct and/or better than an Ars Magica product?

Hmmm...that sounds more disparaging than i mean it to. If they're good, and not all crunch, i'll probably pick up at least some of the regional sourcebooks for use with Ars Magica. But i do have to wonder if the market you want is already playing Ars (or Pendragon, or Harn). Or, how does your product differ from these (so that it's targeting different people)? More fantastical? Less deadly? Just that it's closer to the D&D3E baseline?

 

[Krieg]

I'll take that as an admission that you failed to do adequate historical research and used the wrong hue, altogether.

Should I expect similar care throughout your book?

LOL Sorry but I have no connection with the book whatsoever. A bit of advice, the next time you try to play the "adequate research" card, be sure to have to have done you own.

The bottom line is that what you or I perceive as the "proper" hue for purple is entirely irrelevant. We are talking about a D20 book printed in black & white that uses the term "purple" as a symbolic descriptor for a game interpretation of mythological characters. What the color looks like does not matter, what it means does.

The majority of what we can consider Arthurian Myth is based on stories from 400-500 AD that were later forced into 15th-19th century trappings by period authors. That being said arguments about the "authenticity" of a color set within the anachronistic mess that is Arthurian Myth are fatuous, at best.