jeffjerwin

Hi. I'm the author.

Lands of Tristram was commissioned by Green Knight but they folded before they could publish or pay me for it. A copy leaked to the web but I had nothing to do with releasing it.

Greg asked me to rewrite it for KAP and it's awaiting the 6th edition. It's substantially rewritten, with scenarios and integrated with the newer books.

On 9/2/2020 at 4:27 AM, Tizun Thane said:

Do you still work on this future Book about Britanny ? It looks very promising.

Yes.

On 5/23/2020 at 12:33 AM, Fierce Tiger said:

@jeffjerwin  The reference you gave is from 1570.

From wikipedia...

Lack of records seem to indicate that the crossbow was not in much use. Perhaps because it hadn't been improved enough to be accurate.

Crossbows were used for hunting as early as the 15th century, and the Queen's hunting parties were a deliberately conservative past-time. https://todsworkshop.com/products/15thc-hunting-crossbow

Crossbows are very accurate. I'd make them a standard piece of hunting gear for men and women for the Grail and Downfall periods.

Crossbows are not used by knights when in battle, but are definitely used by them when hunting.

Note that women did use crossbows (and bows) while hunting, if you have lady characters. https://books.google.com/books?id=-FNAAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA107&lpg=RA1-PA107&dq=queen+elizabeth+I+crossbow+woodstock&source=bl&ots=R-8RTkRA50&sig=ACfU3U0Zcw3b_Mfb1N3DhXt5_iYcalVz0w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiii6jy3MfpAhWGrZ4KHauOC40Q6AEwDHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=queen elizabeth I crossbow woodstock&f=false

I think 510 makes sense. You could start with the 'tourney' at London before Arthur draws the sword from the stone and the PCs could witness it as the first adventure. You can steal most of the story from Boorman's Excalibur and most of the players will get into the story right away. Have them help Arthur search for a sword for Sir Kay.

1 hour ago, jmberry1s said:

Well, Book of Sires doesn't go quite that route - in official KAP lore, Cadlew is the son of Tybion ap Cunedda, and so Lot is kin to the kings of Merionydd. As an aside, Nentres is another great-grandson of Cunedda, although his line seems to be entirely an invention of Chaosium's (Nentres ap Clydog ap Herawd ap Cunedda). Strangely, Uriens isn't listed in either the Gododdin or Coeling family trees Book of Sires gives, although its a simple matter to add his lineage (Uriens ap Cynfarch ap Meirion ap Gwrast ap Ceneu) into the Coelings.

That's true. Welsh genealogies have Llew (Loth) and Arawn (Nentres) as the brothers of Urien and thus sons of Cynfarch.

2 hours ago, jmberry1s said:

His father's name is Cadlew in the GPC and Book of Sires, btw (taken from the Harleain MS 3859).

I personally also have Cadlew as the famed northern warleader in the early Uther Period, since pushing Lot's birth back runs the risk of ironically making him too old when Arthur shows up.

If the name is from MS 3859 then he's direct descendant of Llew hen ap Gwydion... which would make his ancestors interlopers in the North, presumably claiming rule via a female line.

In the Guiron cycle, Lot is illegitimate, and his legitimate sister is the Lady of Nohaut. He is descended from one of the followers of Joseph of Arimathea, Perron, in the Lancelot-Grail. I would make him at least 30 in 510 to give his insult against the 'beardless boy' some meaning. Uriens has adult bastard sons in 510 so he would have to be about 40 in 510 and since Lot was his superior and seeming elder it would look better if Lot was at least a handful of years older than him, maybe born in 465. So 468 isn't impossible...

Edit: also, the Lady of Nohaut is no older than her 30s in 522 when she meets Lancelot, which implies that Cadlew as Lot's father should really be the warlord in 485.

32 minutes ago, Luca Cherstich said:

What came first?

I guess it was "Warlord" first and "Map Folio" later.

In Warlord we got maps with "Chalkhill" and mentions of the Bishop having ChalkHill on page 97, but also there are also clear mentions of Churchford on page 12.

In Map Folio we got the map with "Churchford" and no Chalkhill at all.

 

So, I guess, did maybe Greg changed idea while he was working on Warlord, while giving the final name "Churchford" name in a map only in Map Folio?

What's strange is that the original hundred in medieval Wiltshire was Chalke hundred. I wonder if Churchford derived from a messy piece of handwriting Chalkhill > Churchford could look pretty similar, particularly if scribbled in pencil.

1 hour ago, Morien said:

p. 196: Southern border of Salisbury, the source of Ebble River, where Broad Chalke is.

Or p. 13 for that matter.

It's Broad Chalke in Wiltshire.

In the Downfall period mercenaries abound (in parallel to not only Mordred's use of them, but also the 15th century and 'bastard feudalism'). Now the Wasteland might have been one reason for this, and the rise of a cash economy, but are there sound mechanical reasons for it in KAP?

Though I can't share more I have worked on this region. Here's something I can fairly tell you:

If you are featuring Listeneise you may want to read the Estoire du Graal and the Queste, not just the abridged story given in Malory. Needless to say, the Grail Kingdom is not a peaceful place in the centuries and decades prior to Uther and Arthur's reign, starting with the death of King Lambor onwards. You may also want to read the commentaries on the Conte du Graal written by Pickens (Perceval and Gawain in Dark Mirrors) and Cazelles (The Unholy Grail). Chretien depicts a kingdom devastated by war and in simmering conflict with Logres. Think more of Border Reivers, the Anglo-Scottish wars, and the wasting of the North by William the Conqueror.

26 minutes ago, Dagonet said:

How do your Cornish fighting arts stack up against Llap Goch?

AS a Cornish AND Welshman I am a master of all the fighting arts.

17 hours ago, Greyblade said:

Oh f yes totally!

As a Cornish person I must disagree. Our martial arts involve wrestling giants and ambushes out of hidden fogous.

5 minutes ago, Username said:

I imagined it was more because he'd probably been married for at least a decade with 0 kids with his wife.

Possibly second marriage, of course. Keep in mind, however, that the likely original of Leodegran is Ogyfran Gawr, 'Jackdaw the Giant' and his daughter's name, Gwenhwyfar, in Welsh means 'Beautiful Phantom'. Guinevere and her father were originally fairies. An aged king with a magic table and a supernaturally beautiful daughter and heiress are fairy tale rationalizations of this.

23 minutes ago, Leingod said:

Couldn't he just as easily be a maternal cousin to explain that?

Could be. As I recall, however, Guiomar first appears as Leodegran's ally and vassal (along with his brother Sadoine) in the Estoire de Merlin. As a vassal of Cameliard he's more likely to be part of Leodegrance's line than his wife's, as Leodegrance presumably married outside his kingdom (like most medieval rulers).

In some romances, however he's specified as the Queen (Guinevere)'s nephew. This is chronologically improbable in KAP as he's already a knight in 510. But it also suggests that he is related to Leodegrance in the mind of the author, as he would have to be Guinevere's sister (?)'s son.

Guinevere also has a first cousin named Guiomar, obviously by Leodegrance's younger sister, as he isn't a contender for the Cameliard throne. He was the lover of Morgan briefly in the 510s before Guinevere ordered them to break it off, embittering Morgan against her forever.

On 2/29/2020 at 11:03 PM, Atgxtg said:

He's not a great leader or reponsible for his victory as first. That's the point. . Part of the narrative of the sources is that Arthur is in way over his head and doesn't have the ability to win those battles. Arthur's early victory have little to do with Arthur (who is mostly ineffective or messes up when he does act-for instance he almost gets killed by Pellinore and only survive because Merlin puts Pellinore to sleep). 

Badon is really where Arthur starts to get his act together and the Conquest Period is when he comes into his own as a leader. But prior to Badon, Arthur wins only because someone better steps in and helps him. Which kinda makes sense. A 15 year old squire is hardly going to have the skills required to win multiple battles and run a kingdom. 

 

 

You'll note that Badon is also Arthur's first great crisis without Merlin, who disappeared only a year or so prior. He _has_ to step up, and maybe Merlin's retirement/death is a deliberate decision by the wizard.

1 hour ago, Atgxtg said:

Of course all that being said, it's easier to screw things up than improve them, but hopefully the person that Greg left in charge will see that the game is properly cared for. 

 

Don't worry. It'll be good. I know the person you speak of.

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

So he'll start with Macsen's arms, the Double headed eagle displayed sable will be what he carries. (although that seems more Holy Roman Empire than Rome).

As arms of the Holy Roman Emperor, these arms were retroactively assigned to Classical emperors (and to Constantine the Great). At some point the Julio-Claudians were assigned personal arms (the medieval heralds loved anachronisms like this) but they all feature the eagle, the undifferenced one being supposedly Julius Caesar's personal coat. The coat of arms of Aeneas is often shown as a variant of the Hapsburg coat in the early renaissance because that family claimed unbroken descent from him (Or a lion rampant Gules). Brutus is assigned the three gold crowns on blue, in bend, sometimes impaled with Pandrasus (Gules a double-headed eagle Or - for Greece/Byzantium).

There are a bunch of attributed arms from the HRB tradition here: http://wappenwiki.org/index.php/Edward_IV_Roll

The white and green on the Welsh flag comes from the livery of the Tudor family and is wildly anachronistic for Aurelius, though of course any heraldry is, so I'd prefer the white or even  better a golden shield to match his brother. The dragon itself is associated with Cadwaladr in Welsh tradition, who is the descendant of Maelgwn, but Aurelius adopting one makes sense.

However there are arms assigned to Aurelius/Emrys in rolls of arms. W. Gurney Benham, in "Ancient Legends connected with the Arms of Colchester," in The Essex Review, v.9, on p.216 illustrates them (see below). They allude to his descent from Constantine and Coilus.

Arthur's three crowns are attributed originally to Constantine the Great. A variant Azure three antique crowns Or 2, 1 (or in pale as in Arthur's arms) is attributed to Beli Mawr and Cunobelinus. It seems to be the arms of the High Kingship, really.

Coilus is (also) assigned Azure three open crowns in bend Or.

Macsen Wledig is assigned the coat of arms of Rome: Or a double headed eagle displayed Sable.

Cunedda is assigned Sable three roses Argent 2,1.

Gorlois was traditionally assigned Argent three Cornish Choughs Sable beaked and taloned Gules 2,1. The arms used in KAP were modified from those of King Mark.

6 hours ago, IlluminatedSeraph said:

Since I'm at the design stage right now, which of those two models (more counts and dukes or the fewer barons with fewer knights) so you think make for more interesting and powerful storytelling opportunities while moving through the full Arthurian legend? I can see the immediate effect of making my PK a bigger player in the second model, but beyond that, I'd value your experience. 

The RTK knights drive the narrative, and most of them are not kings, great nobles, etc. By having too many great nobles, it distracts from them. In theory, the RTK is an equal brotherhood under the king and quite possibly a counterbalance to the magnates.

In KAP canon, he's related to Igraine, and his son and probably he are Arthur's cousins if you read carefully. There'll be more detailed official information in the future.

He's clearly not Gorlois' son in the game or it would have been mentioned in the same statements. In various non-game sources he's Gorlois' son, Gorlois' cousin, Arthur's cousin, the son of Geraint ab Erbin (who is identified as a son of Constantine, but this is not the case in KAP), the brother of Mark (see this Cornish pedigree: https://books.google.com/books?id=DRwiAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&dq=alanus+becket+cornwall&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvsIm_1NnnAhVKu54KHfftBHMQ6AEwAHoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=alanus becket cornwall&f=false) etc. The Cornish (and apparently the Bretons) also identified him with Teudar or Tudar (T can resemble C in medieval handwriting) and called Teudar King Mark's father. But this comes from the version of the Mark and Isolt and Tristan story where they lived a generation after Arthur. Teudar was identified by the Bretons with a son of Macliau or Meliau, King of Vannes, in Brittany. Some Cornish and Breton stories suggest that the two regions were one kingdom. Despite the wealth of Cornish stories about the period, there is no coherent chronology, because many of the stories derive from hagiography, and the writers of saints' lives tried to place their heroes as early as possible. The historical Geraint or Gerran, for instance, seems to have lived in the 580s or so, but he is made a younger contemporary of Arthur and various saints said have lived in the first half of the sixth century in religious stories.

Note that Constantine son of Cador is the Constantinus of Gildas' De Exidio, and would have lived in c.545.

Also note that Yder king of Cornouailles, who becomes Idres in KAP, derives from a spelling error for Cador. Idres, Yder, Cador (and several of these other characters, like 'Sador') are all distinct characters in KAP.

5 hours ago, Username said:

The Camelot Forest got really hurt by me using that more detailed map of forests in the dark ages. Who would have thought their business so much logging I guess? I'll take another look at it, and see what we can do about changing it around there are a lot of adventures to go on in that forest around Camelot. 

Here's just how "afforested" medieval (as opposed to Dark Age) Hampshire was... Though some of this pasture, moors, and unfortunate villages...

http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/ForestIndexSouthCentral.html

N.B. Camelot Forest covers the the west and northwest of Camelot's surrounds if the romances are anything to go by, as it must be traversed by knights travelling from Cornwall, Cambria/Gales and Cumbria/the North.

4 hours ago, Morien said:

That was as actually the central idea in my Silchester Rebellion expansion of the GPC event.

The formatting is a bit wonky because the quote boxes are no longer there but it is still readable enough, I think: https://greathall.chaosium.com/Pendragon Forum Archive/index.php/t-2266.html

Originally this comes from Chretien's Cliges, if I recall correctly. Count Angres was identified (at least in Greg's older stuff) with the Count of Silchester.