The Magna Carta - Standardized Rules

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Why these rules

 

Rules of the various modules of the Cry Havoc franchise can be contradictory, while leaving other aspects in the dark. The goal of this MAGNA CARTA (named after the charter forced onto John Lackland in 1215 by his feudal barons) is to propose a consistent set of rules that have been validated by the Cry Havoc community to superceed the existing rules.

Bob Gingell already proposed back in 2003 a compilation of the various rules available, while proposing improvements and clarifications. Bob’s comprehensive work is just fabulous, but can really freighten the casual gamer only looking for a rule to play from time to time.

Scope of work

I personnally used the French rules of CROISADES and VIKINGS as a basis as they are recognized as the most complete and consistant to date. I simply added, suppressed or modified the sections that might not be needed for a generic set of rules. I also added those rules published in the various extensions of Cry Havoc Fan and a few others published in various French fanzines, mostly Claymore.

I spent a lot of time creating attractive graphical examples of the various point of rules, as any Cry Havoc-related material must have a stunning visual impact: Check for instance the diagrams for the naval rules that are a significant improvement over the original version.

The MAGNA CARTA is not intended to be an ultimate work, that’s why I didn’t include the rules from SAMURAI BLADES or DARK BLADES. I “restricted” my scope to the historical periods in Europe and the Middle East, following my natural inclination. I will be happy to provide an editable copy of the MAGNA CARTA to anybody that would like to adapt it for periods or themes not covered by this rule.

Version Beta 1

My plan is to print this booklet in a professional way, just like what Philippe Gaillard and I did for our original maps and counter sheets.
The document is too big to fit in one single file: Pages 1 through 58 are in the first zip file, pages 59 through 115 in the second one.

Important: There is still a preliminary version with a total of 116 pages, images are still in low definition and I plan a printed version for the end of the year along with all the game aids and playsheets: Save your inkjet cartridges and paper supplies: Just look at it on line!

PDF (Zip)
Magna Carta B1-1 (4.5 Mb)
Magna Carta B1-2 (7.1 Mb)