The Crusades: Campaign Sourcebook, Historical Reference, 2nd Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, No. 9469) [Paperback]

Allen Varney (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: TSR Inc. (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560768584
• ISBN-13: 978-1560768586
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writer and game designer based in Austin, Texas. I've published eight books, three boardgames, two dozen tabletop roleplaying game supplements, 300 articles and columns, the 2004 edition of the PARANOIA RPG, and over 75 articles for the online gaming magazine The Escapist. I co-wrote the original design doc and co-created the plot for the Nintendo Wii videogame "Disney's Epic Mickey."

My new venture, Ultraviolet Books, offers all-new official ebook novels based on PARANOIA. The first two novels, Gareth Hanrahan's "Reality Optional" and my own "Stay Alert" (Book 1 of the trilogy "The Troubleshooter Rules") are available now for the Kindle family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to running a Crusades campaign, September 28, 2004

By 

Wayne's Books "www.WaynesBooks.net" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crusades: Campaign Sourcebook, Historical Reference, 2nd Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, No. 9469) (Paperback)

I just finished reading this reference last night. Wow! For one, the Crusades were a empty spot in my knowledge of the Middle Ages, and this book filled that in nicely. I knew that there were several Crusades, and that King Richard and Saladin played a part, but that was about it.

This work, without being burdensome, acts as a great primer to those events, and the players. When finished, you'll be ready to run an AD&D campaign in Outremer... the Crusader States in the Middle East. The guide details 3 levels of camapigns: Historical, Legendary, and Fantasy. You decide how realistic, or how cinematic to run your campaign.

The Crusades are a fine background for FRPG play, with medieval cultures mixing, trading, and fighting. Are you a Frank, fresh off the boat? Are you a second generation European living in Antioch, gone native? Are you a Saracen, trying to get these foreigners expelled from Muslim lands?

The guide doesn't flinch from the realities of brutal medieval warfare, and helps the DM deal with these issues. Both Frankish and Muslim culture and perspectives are addressed, as well as the situation for women. Several adventures and campaign seeds are introduced to get you started.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the historical campaign sourcebooks, November 25, 2001

By 

C. Bedford Crenshaw "the Rebel Rockhopper" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crusades: Campaign Sourcebook, Historical Reference, 2nd Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, No. 9469) (Paperback)

The best (and last) of the historical campaign sourcebooks for 2nd Edition AD&D. This settings allows you to be a psionicist. This book also allows you to import many of the Al-Qadim material. WIth this book you have TWO sides to choose from: the Europeans and the Muslims. Add to it a decent snapshot of the world at this time, and you are all set EXCEPT for updating this book to be made d20.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sorry I bought it., June 23, 2002

By 

robert bezold (moscow, idaho United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crusades: Campaign Sourcebook, Historical Reference, 2nd Edition (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, No. 9469) (Paperback)

The backgroud information this gives about the crusades is not only no better (for a DMs use) than any history book from your local library, it is slanted in favor of a pro-muslim, pro feminist point of view.As far as actual game mechanics go there are no character/monster write-ups, no maps (none that you couldn't get from a history book), no (complete) scenarios, and worst of all, the author completely sidesteps the issue of opposing clerics in a monotheistic campaign. Clerics are treated in the most generic form possible.What a waste.