2010-2014随心游玩（以及创造）任何游戏 2010-2014The freedom to play (and create) any game p.430

如果我是一名桌游 DM^[2] ，然后你作为玩家想八折买这把火焰剑，我是不会掷一个 20 面骰看你是否成功的。相反我会让你通过对话展现你的砍价技巧 […] 这就是为什么我不太喜欢‘对话’类的技能，因为它们取代了玩家本人的能力。

As an adventure designer you don't want the intellectual skills of the characters to take precedence over the player's thinking. [...] if your character was stuck in a flooding room with three levers, each marked with different magic symbols, I would not roll for Spellcraft; I would show you a picture of the symbols and ask you which levers you want to pull.

Pierre Begue
《圣杯骑士》作者

Pierre Begue,
Knights of the Chalice's creator

在《圣杯骑士》的旅途当中，有很多巧妙的设计让冒险变得流畅。你可以通过休息让队伍完全恢复，但休息需要的篝火是有限的，这就对你的资源管理造成了压力；有时一些战斗对你目前的队伍水平来说过于困难，但附近藏有如杀戮之箭（Arrow of Slaying）^[3] 这样的有用资源；当然你也可以通过制作治疗术魔杖或火球术卷轴来弥补有限的休息次数。

然而，游戏唯一真正的短处便是制作系统。游戏里只要付钱就可以制作角色需要的每一件装备；但反过来说，在探险过程中收集的战利品也只有在能卖钱的情况下才有用（允许你用这些钱来制作更好的物品）。考虑到游戏地牢探险的本质，假如将制作系统改为在地牢里不时获得新的奇妙物品，游戏可能会因此多一个大卖点。

Throughout your tour of KotC's world, you'll be greeted with ingenious design decisions that make the adventure flow. Like how you can revitalise your party completely by resting, but must do so at limited campfires that put pressure on your resource management. Or how the game presents you with fights that are sometimes too difficult for your current level, but hides useful resources like Arrows of Slaying nearby. Or how you can compensate for the restricted resting by crafting wands of healing or fireball scrolls.

The crafting system is also the game's one, true weakness, however. You can craft every single piece of equipment your characters need, as long as you can pay. This, in turn, means that the loot you gather throughout your quest is only useful insofar as it can be sold for gold, allowing you to craft something better. Considering the game's dungeon-crawling nature, being rewarded with new, wondrous items now and again could have been one of the game's main draws.

目前《圣杯骑士 2（Knights of the Chalice 2）》也正在开发当中，新项目背景设定在一片新的大陆，计划引入更多新种族、职业和法术，以及一个 mod 编辑器。

Knights of the Chalice 2 was kickstarted in 2020, with its backers receiving an early build. It's an ambitious project, featuring many new races, classes and spells, as well as an elaborate module editor tool.

游戏也是围绕两个战士、一个法师和一个牧师的队伍来平衡的，因此队伍里施法者越多，游戏中后期就越容易。

通过让其他游戏相形见绌的努力，《圣杯骑士》说明文本的完善程度在所有 CRPG 里首屈一指。通过一个基于超链接的工具，玩家只需要点一下就能明确相关游戏规则的方方面面。因此，《圣杯骑士》规则体系的复杂和透明程度都走在现代 RPG 的前列。它证明了游戏说明完善的重要性，也让人们质疑为什么即便是 3A 级的 RPG 游戏也经常在这方面做得含糊不清。

《圣杯骑士》是 RPG 游戏中的经典。这类游戏的老手会受它的复杂程度和深度所吸引，而流畅的设计和丰富的说明则便于寻找策略挑战的新人上手。

The game is also balanced around a party of two fighters, a mage, and a cleric, and so taking along more casters will make the mid- and endgame easier.

In an effort that dwarfs almost every other game, KotC is perhaps the most well-documented CRPG in existence. Thanks to a hyperlink-based based tool that describes every aspect of the rule system, any clarification you might need is just a click away. As such, not only does KotC have one of the most complex rule systems of modern RPGs, but also one of the most transparent. It stands as a testament to the importance of good documentation and brings into question why even AAA RPGs are often incomprehensible and vague in this regard.

Knights of the Chalice is as classic an RPG as they come. Its complexity and depth will appeal to veterans of the genre, while its slick design and wealth of documentation makes it easy to dive into for newcomers looking for a tactical challenge.

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² 译者注：DM，Dungeon Master，直译为地下城城主，一般是在泛 DND 类桌游中担任主持人兼导演和裁判的人。
³ 译者注：一种魔法箭，消耗品，可以增加对特定生物的伤害。受到攻击的生物必须过一个难度为 17 的耐力检定，不然受到的伤害增加 6d10（豁免成功则降为一半）。该道具在造成额外的伤害后变回普通箭矢。