Chivalry & Sorcery - Second Edition (C&S2)

Second Edition (C&S2)

The second edition, released in 1983, was presented in a cardboard box containing three booklets of rules, showing greatly improved presentation in comparison to C&S1. The text is lighter and more concise and there is a tendency towards greater consistency in the organization of the rules. There are no fundamental mechanical changes as compared with C&S1; but multiple changes intended mostly to clarify or simplify some points in the rules. The medieval setting was clearly divided into three distinct periods: Early Feudal, High and Late Chivalric Feudal, each period having a distinct technology. For example: Heavy plate armor and two-handed swords only become available in Late Feudal (14th - 15th centuries). This avoids the anachronisms and gives a useful indication of technological advances at each period, allowing campaigns to be made more realistic; an ongoing concern to which the authors, Ed Simbalist and Wilf Backhaus, were very attached.

One addition in this second edition (which would subsequently be extended to the whole system of rules in the later editions) is the appearance of Skills, mainly -- but not exclusively -- for thieves, murderers and affiliated professions. A character can learn skills by spending experience points, some talents are more expensive than others. Alongside the skills of "traditional" thieves are -- for example -- cooking skill. This system of skills (very popular in the roleplaying of the vintage, including in particular Chaosium's) diversifies the characters away from rigid traditional stereotypes.

The mass combat system was removed from the second edition, but could be found in various forms in extensions of the game, especially Swords & Sorcerers and the two Sourcebooks. C&S refocused on the roleplaying aspect and its wargame aspect was set aside, presumably both to reduce the size and complexity system of basic rules and to mark the distinction between genres.

With C&S2, the system was designed as a complete simulation of the Middle Ages in all its aspects: Political, economic, and military; enhanced by a strong fantasy element, derived mainly from the world of J.R.R Tolkien, giving a strong sense of realism, much stronger than in most other games in the same period.