piersb

Blimey, I really want some of those. But the $$$, even at half price...

Tempted to introduce a Bridge manor improvement now.

Madoc becoming king could lead to an interesting spin on the Anarchy. If he ascends to the throne and tries to become a better person than his father was in the role - due to the PKs promptings, perhaps? - it'll make his death at the hands of (whoever did it) all the more tragic.

In my own GPC we have a NPK who was widely acknowledged as an utter arsehole. Also didn't believe in the idea of women knights. When a PK beat him in combat and spared his life, he had a change of heart and is now one of the campaign's prime movers for equality, raising his own daughters to become knights.

Every winter phase, I move one of his trait points from Unjust to Just to reflect him trying to be a better person. (I'm going to cap at 16.)

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(posted three times, but I can't see a way to delete...)

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So let's say your player's knight doesn't die while attempting to stop Uther. Either by a personal attack or by raising an army against him*. And succeeds. Uther is dead.

Everyone of note dies just before the anarchy, so there's an easy way to get back on track at that point; the only big question is going to be Who Gets To Be Arthur's Dad in this version? Line of succession would tend to indicate Madoc.

How bad *is* Uther in this situation? If your players are OK with exploring this, then he could be even worse than written, so that more of his knights side with Gorlois. If both Uther and Gorlois die at the battle of Tintagel, Madoc and Ygraine could get together consensually within a year or two, and you're back on course.

Your players actions might even decide which side of the battle Madoc fights on.

* Cornwall! Cornwall! Cornwall! hemhem

On 6/7/2022 at 2:37 PM, creativehum said:

But as the players point out Pendragon has lots of elements right there on the character sheet that hem in the PKs against certain behaviors and encourage others.Now, the game allows you to create the character you want over time. If you behave certain ways, if you take certain actions, if you spend your Winter Phase points certain ways, you can slowly (but not easily) create something new in Mythic Britain (which is what I think the game is about in many ways).

It is an effort. Which runs counter to Punch the Nazi play.Everyone is having a good time. They tell me this, and I see it. 

I think this is the most interesting thing about Pendragon. My players told me that it took time to get into the rhythm of the game, but enjoyed it once they'd got out of an everything-happens-today mindset.

You can't punch the Nazi today with no consequences; but your actions in the present will change the world (one way or another) for your children and your children's children.

"Remember Sir Utherkiller? Spent years in self-imposed Exile afterwards. Would appear once a year in disguise at a battle or for Adventure, and died a heroic death. Some people think that redeemed him."

Or he might get caught and killed and his family will have to decide whether to honour his name or besmirch it.

Lots of interesting things that can happen; but unlike a punch-the-nazi, the consequences do play out, and they play out over decades.

In my GPC, while some knights have indeed been mown down in their prime without support, there was a case when a PK was about to die and another said aloud "I'll do anything to help her live."

Bold words, if the Fairy World is close.

A trade was offered and accepted; a healing salve in the here and now, in exchange for a favour to be granted in the future, in the Forest Sauvage...

In the GPC the Adventure of the Raid/The Pillage (p66) is set at a point of your choice in Uther's reign, while at the back of the 5.2 rulebook the Skirmish of Allington is a raid by Sir Blains on Earl Roderick's land.

So yes, there's certainly some raiding and pillaging going on while Uther's around.

Must say, I'm absolutely loving this concept.

On 12/30/2021 at 7:15 AM, MOB said:

In a similar vein, Sixth Edition provides details on losing Honor through inaction (when confronted with dishonorable acts and failing to do anything about it)

Had this thorny problem come up in a game recently. One temporary PK (player's usual character had gone mad) did a cold-blooded murder or two.

Player's an optimiser, so the chances were that if any of the other PKs attempted to stop this character by fighting, they'd just be dead, and he would get away with it anyway.

My initial ruling was as above - loss of Honor for not putting themselves in harm's way, though less that the 10 point loss that Sir MurderHobo took. But then overnight I reconsidered - you don't lose Honor through not going up against a Large Giant or other beastie that will likely-as-not kill you instantly; so why should you have to take an Honor loss when the monster is a person?

Given that, I'm a bit leery of losing Honor through inaction rather than through action.

(If they'd assisted in the murders, or covered for Sir MurderHobo if asked what was going on by their Liege Lord, then that would be an act of commission rather than omission, and I'd be cool with an Honor loss in those circumstances.)

The Liminal Blade Season One - The Rule of Uther - is now complete. 

Season Two - The Anarchy - will begin in Spring 2022.

2 hours ago, Jape_Vicho said:

I wonder if the developers have thought about making some of the named non-player knights women.

I'm considering it down the line in my campaign, given that it's now been clearly established in-game that women can become knights.

Haven't made a decision on gender-swapping some of the KOTRTs one way or the other yet.

PRESS RELEASE: Ancient writing discovered near Salisbury

30 November 2021
For immediate release.

No Oxbridge to my knowledge, though I'm reasonably sure two of them studied medieval literature as a part of their undergrad courses.

I think the key here is bribery a reward system. Any wiki entry (or other creative endeavour) gets either a free experience check or a free experience reroll (player's choice) in the Winter Phase. 

The Knight's Prayer

(Anonymous, 5th-6th century)

From the catalogue of James Harcourt Fine Art Ltd

The Madness of Sir Bryn
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, ARA (1833-1898)

Gouache, water and bodycolour on paper attached to a wooden stretcher
23 × 22 in (59 × 56 cm)
Signed with initials

All the thanks are due to my amazing players, who write up their own stories.

It's a highlight of my week reading them too. 🙂 

Casting Shortlist: PENDRAGON (1982)

1 hour ago, Alex said:

Such as long as by the time the (express or implied) game pitch is done, everyone at the table is more-or-less on the same page (as it were) as to what take on the literature and starting assumptions for the fiction of the game are in play.

Yup; when starting mine I made the express decision that whoever chose to play a female knight would be the first, that we'd see the ramifications of that play out in game, and that everyone knew that from the start.

While my game is using the GPC as a base, for me it's the chance for all of us to re-tell the Arthurian story in our own words and actions that makes it interesting, rather than running according-to-Malory.

I'm expecting to diverge more as time goes on and the world reacts to the PKs and their actions. We'll see.

Reprieve and Recovery

Lady Nim’s eyes slowly opened as she groggily became aware of her being once more. Everything was fuzzy. She thought she remembered saying goodbye to her friends. As her senses lost their dullness, she could feel the crescendo of pain where the axe had caught her. She’d felt her life ebbing away and had only regretted not being able to serve for longer. So – had that been it?

www.pendragonreviews.com

Season 1 Episode 7: The Healer of Lindsey

Synopsis: Gilbert’s wife dies in childbirth, and his brother dies shortly afterwards.

I created this for use in my home campaign, and am posting it here in case it's useful to others.

Pendragon Battle Record.docx

It's a battle record sheet for use with the battle rules given at the back of the 5.2 rulebook.

Sheet 1: Each round, record the round number, the 3d6 battle modifier, the enemy number (from whatever table you're using) and their name. (If the unit is disengaged, just note that instead.) There are also checkboxes to show if the enemy is mounted or has a great spear which will deny the mounted bonus, and a space to note any prisoners the PKs have captured with the Unit Commander's Battle Roll at the end of each round.

Sheet 2: Name of the PKs, plus checkboxes to see if they've broken their lance, are afoot and/or alone, or disheartened through a failed Passion roll. There are also spaces to record the number of times each PK rolled a Critical, Success, Failure, or was Disengaged for Glory purposes at the end. The number of NPKs in the unit and their fate can also be recorded at the bottom. I generally give this page to one of my players to track.

I've found this to be a real help running battles.

The Tragedy of King Uther, Act 1, Scene 2

Enter Uther, Gorlas, Merlin, Madock & Attendants

An Unusual Knight

Her squires watched, rapt at the sight, as Sir Nim sparred with her knights once again.