Chivalry & Sorcery
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| Designer(s) | Edward E. Simbalist, Wilf K. Backhaus |
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| Publisher(s) | Fantasy Games Unlimited (1st & 2nd edition), Highlander Games (3rd edition), Brittannia Game Designs (Light, Rebirth, Essence v1.1) |
| Publication date | 1977 (1st edition) 1983 (2nd edition) 1996 (3rd edition) 1999 (Light edition) 2000 (Rebirth edition) 2011 (Essence v1.1) |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System(s) | Custom, Skillscape (since 3rd edition), Essence |
Chivalry & Sorcery is a fantasy role-playing game that was first published in 1977 by Fantasy Games Unlimited. Originally created by Edward E. Simbalist and Wilf K. Backhaus in 1977, Chivalry & Sorcery (C&S) was an early competitor to Dungeons & Dragons. Historically, the two designers of the game were dissatisfied with the lack of realism in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and created a gaming system derived from it, which they named Chevalier. They intended to present it to Gary Gygax at Gen Con in 1977, but changed their minds once at the Con, where they met Scott Bizar who wrote out a letter of intent. After some final changes to get rid of the last remnants of D&D (e.g. the game contained a table of "Saving-throws" similar to D&D), Simbalist and Backhaus published the first edition of their game - now renamed Chivalry & Sorcery - shortly after the release of the first edition of Advanced D&D.
According to Michael Tresca, Chivalry & Sorcery "embraced a realistic approach to medieval France in the 12th century, complete with feudalism and the Catholic Church. Chivalry & Sorcery was most noteworthy for creating the term "game master." It was one of the first games to place the setting at utmost importance over the mechanics of the game." More focused on medieval chivalry than fantasy, Chivalry & Sorcery had from its first version a sophisticated and complex set of rules. The game has been published four times to improve its presentation and to modernize its game mechanics. C&S was the first to introduce new concepts like levels for monsters. Players could adventure in a variety of locations instead of being confined to a dark underground dungeon. The action taking place outside the framework of an adventure became very important, especially for magicians, who had to spend many days to learn their spells and enchant their materials.
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