Uhtred

I prefer the simplicity of Google Docs. Simple excel style sheets where I can post images and put text and then share with players as appropriate. In one doc we have sheets for the local Court, another sheet for the Court of Logres, and a third sheet for foreigners of note. Since the file is shared with all the PK’s they can attach notes to any npc as they see fit - also, in the template for npc info I simply list birth year, PK’s can do the math based on current year on their own. There is also a family doc for each PK which is only available for me and that player, but can be annotated by them same as the npc doc. Then each PK has a doc for their estates which is only shared between me and the individual player. Makes it easier for them to manage and track and we include a map of the estate in each doc so players can get as in depth and detailed as they desire. It’s very low tech compared to the other options being discussed here, but it’s completely free and works very well for us.

Thank you for that link, it wasn't the one I remembered but it will be meat for the feast and has provided a lot of ideas to build from.

I believe there was a previous thread someone had created about some home brew rules for recruiting experienced knights - in regards to seeking specific traits, or higher loyalty, etc. I think I saw it originally on the old Nocturnal Forum, but sifting thru the archive has yielded no results. Can anyone recall such a post and where I might find it?

The Esoteteric Order of Roleplayers posted these charts - and at least one other, for yearly Kin Events - and I reached out to them through their Facebook page to have the fighting events explained and they responded fairly quickly with a thorough explanation. I enjoy the charts, and my PK's equally rue and exalt in them. They have added depth to our story beyond the straight GPC events. I've started making players roll for their yearly event prior to the Spring Court so that I can work the results in to the GPC - for instance one PK rolled a Bad Luck Event for this year, and it turned out to be Horse Dies in an Accident and this just happened to be 495 so when his horse was wounded at St. Albans I decided it will become infected and die during our post-feast wrap-up this week. Having a week or two to work the event into the story has proven far more rewarding then just roll / effect. As for the Luck roll, we base it on the chart from BoKL according to where we are - for instance one adventure that took the PK's to Ireland meant the player rolled on the Irish Luck table instead of the standard (Cymric) table.

Thank you so much Cornelius. This will be immensely helpful.

The archived GSPendragon page is unable to direct the Hundreds link to the former maps, does anyone know where I might find these images? I did not see anything on the Nocturnal archive, and Google searches have turned up nothing. I'm also looking for a more detailed map of Rydychan to run the Usurpers for my players - I have the maps from GPC and Lord Domains - but was hoping to find something more detailed.

Thanks for all the replies. It really helped solidify my perception and set the “ground rules” for the PK’s in a way we could all agree.

Our group is still in the Uther period - soon to be Anarchy - and I’ve encountered a speed bump in the form of what level of armament and armor is permissible in the various Courts? I assume when you are in your Lord’s Court - as you are a trusted member of his entourage - wearing your sword is always acceptable as it represents being ever ready to defend your Lord. Does the same apply when you visit the King’s Court? What about the times you are sent to the Courts outside Logres, like going to Malahaut or Estregales? Specifically, my PK’s are having to travel to Cumbria to handle a situation regarding the extended family of one of the players wives - and they are all trying to figure out where and how to secret the most weapons possible to make sure they are never unarmed and unarmored. It is a carryover from Pathfinder and such that they feel this paranoia, and discussions about Hospitality always circles back to the Night of Long Knives, so it got me wondering just how acceptable is it to wear your armor and weapons outside your home Court?

Is income by settlement size codified anywhere? I know Book of the Manor has a census / population growth entry that allows for the addition of a new Hamlet with a population of 100 people that adds £1 to Manorial Harvest Income, and Book of the Estate lays out approximate population by settlement size - Clusters / Hamlet / Village / Town. Estate also includes costs for building a Hamlet and Village, but I don’t see an entry there for increased Manor revenue. I’ve done the math using the two books to generate a quick guide to income by settlement size but it seems wrong - or flawed. The Hamlet generates £1 per Book of the Manor and my math leads to £2.5 average Village income. Book of the Estate says that a Hamlet is 1/4 of a Village, so shouldn’t a Village be £4? If this info is laid out in a previous edition book, could someone please point me in that direction?

It should be difficult to mess up at the high table, but when you let a bull loose in a china shop the result can be disaster. While the % of rolling a Crit remains the same, I know few players who feel better about trying to roll a 6 as opposed to a 16. The likelihood may be the same statistically, but most players feel better with the latter target. And I agree that the benefit of sitting near the salt is an improvement and I do not begrudge the characters this sort of bonus, but when you have a household knight with barely 3,000 Glory sitting alongside King Uther, Prince Madoc, Duke Gorlois and his wife, Duke Ulfius and the Duke of Lindsey and his extended family following the Battle of Lindsey then a PK should be aware of the social gulf that exists at the moment. Simply getting a Crit on APP should not place a knight of such low standing in the company of the King - and it is really egregious if a PK with APP 6 or less, no benefits from jewelry or attire, gets a Crit and then is granted a seat at the High Table because of his amazing beauty. Uhm, what?? Mockery is not always pointing and laughing, sometimes it is as simple as commenting on the out of fashion attire, the poor grooming, or lack of standing. Court and Feasts are a form of combat all their own. The situation between Uther and Gorlois is not unique to the 2 of them. For instance, when the entire nobility of Logres is assembled do you think Duke Ulfius will not see the advantage of praising the Steward of Levcomgus - who has been excluded from this lofty gathering - at the expense of a household knight of one of Roderick's vassals? The PK can not claim he was slighted, and Roderick can not fault Ulfius for praising his absent retainer, but the point is made none the less. Flirting with the ladies of the high table is not the issue - it is one of only 4 activities he can choose to engage in. But when a PK values roll playing over role playing and declares that he will follow the successful Flirt with the Duke's wife with an attempt to Seduce then he has chosen to run blithely into the minefield. Now, if he had succeeded in his Courtesy roll he would have had the Archangel of Conscience sitting on his shoulder whispering that it is inappropriate to tell the Duke's wife that he appreciates her ample tracts of land and that they look ripe to be ploughed. Having failed his roll, he is allowed to proceed with his ill chosen activity - and since the other PK's are seated away from the high table they are not there to intercede.

I do not penalize for Flirting - failed or successful. But when a PK decides to follow a successful Flirt with a seduction, then there are consequences. Also, the loser of a duel to first blood can sometimes build an entire life upon righting that perceived injustice. Argan ap Maelgad WINS his duel and still uses it to build a feud that he passes down to his sons.

I'd like to throw a couple of cents into this topic - 1) Sitting Above the Salt isn't very beneficial to most players. Yes it boosts your Geniality and you gain 100 Glory at the end, but not being able to get cards binds your options to interacting with the upper echelons attending the event - and if that is outside your comfort zone you are likely to gain more enmity for your faux pas then admiration for your bling and threads. 2) Boosting your APP through jewelry / clothing / attendants / etc. helps give you a chance to Crit your roll and get to Sit Above the Salt, but this isn't a boon for your APP 6 PK. First - see above. Second, if your APP is that bad and you throw on a lot of gold and new clothing you are more than likely being invited to the High Table as entertainment for the hosts and their guests (somewhere between Dinner for Schmucks and Malibu's Most Wanted). It is unlikely that you are wearing the proper accents and styles, it is more likely you have donned Mr. T's collection of gold plated chains. As always, YPMV, but for my game PK's who get seated above their proper station have to make Courtesy rolls every few rounds to make sure they are keeping their heads above water with the people around them. During our last Feast a PK got his Crit and sat AtS and hated the lack of interactions generated by the cards, eventually he decided to start flirting with the women - which were mostly the wives and daughters of the Dukes and Barons - and being a simple household knight he was roundly rebuffed. When we convene for our next session there may well be some issues that he and the rest of the group have to address as one or more of the husbands / fathers complain, either directly to Roderick or to the PK's. This is something actually to be considered in the Wives thread, the possibility that a wife complains of unwanted attention during a Feast or Court (either real or imagined) may be the base for a feud for a PK that lasts through the generations.

Thanks for the x3 and x10 Morien. I see the Warlord quick roll chart in the BotW which lists kit quality and such, but did not see anywhere the expressed the value. As for the armor itself being gold or silver, I find that highly unlikely - especially in Uther and Anarchy - unless it is of fae origin. I intend to describe it as embellishments, like sleeve or collar borders, or a cross of gold rings upon the chest - where the decorative rings are attached atop the actual armor rings perhaps with fabric accents to highlight the upper class status of the wearer. Thus the armor is still usable in a fight and less costly to repair the silver or gold adornments.

We, as a group, have been excited about your treatise on armors, partial armors, and mix-matched sets since it was teased on the Nocturnal Forum... but at this moment I am most interested in “silvered” and “golden” chainmails mentioned on Dr. Pendragons list generation site. As with most treasures, I know I am given extreme latitude as the GM to decide the cost / value of such items; but that can often be seen as too arbitrary by my pk’s and I am wondering if such armors are actually detailed in any of the older supplements.

Where can I find rules / prices for non-standard armors? I often use the Dr Pendragon site to create NPK's on the fly and a high number of them have silvered or golden chain and I have no way to explain to my pk's how to get that for themselves - other than killing said NPK - or what it's value is if they should choose to sell it.

I would really like to voice an opinion against a book of What if's... not because it doesn't sound cool, or interesting, or exactly like something I would explore, but because this isn't one of the other game houses pushing out a supplement a month and rule book every quarter. Perhaps scheduling for things will pick up in the near future with Chaosium and we will see more than one book a year, but this isn't the sort of thing I would want to see them devoting time to. A book of What if's will, by it's very nature, never be finished as people new to the game postulate possibilities based on their knowledge of the history, the writings, and the myths. Even cultural interpretations will cause ripples in the story line, so people will always complain that this should have been included, or that should go this way. The What if's/Arthurs are expertly delved in to in settings like here on this forum, where the voices of experience can share their knowledge - whether it is based on previous iterations of the game, history backgrounds, or knowledge of the various writers who have laid the foundation for KAP. As a gamer, this is a great time to be playing games because for once WE have the ability to reach each other and discuss alterations to the system, or the storyline; to ping pong ideas and open ourselves to paths we hadn't previously considered - all without the game designers being involved directly, or disturbing their developmental work.

According to BoU or BoW, Uther is confronted by one of his high ranking officers over bedding his wife after Ygraine withdraws her affection following the disappearance of Arthur. It is a public event and scandal resulting in a very public shaming of Uther.

That was my understanding, I just could not find anything that said a 0 trait is still subject to a roll if a check is earned. He feels it is ignored and I disagree.

My question was predicated on his insistence that he wouldn’t have to make the roll against Cowardly because it was a 0. My interpretation was that the mandatory check would indeed require a roll, and as he could not roll under or equal to 0, his Cowardly would indeed go up by 1 and decrease his Valorous. The coneygarth is not already included in his holding, he just joyfully declared that now he could build one without worrying about any effect on his Valorous / Cowardly and that seemed inaccurate based on my understanding.

I’ve searched the old Nocturnal Forum, and re-read the traits section multiple times and can not find a definitive answer regarding the opposed traits if one is 20 or higher. My specific situation is a PK who has spent every Winter Phase increase boosting his Valorous so he will be famous for it. Now he states that his character is immune to Cowardly rolls - even if required by something like a Coneygarth improvement to his manor - because his Cowardly stat is 0 (or may soon be negative if he puts this coming Winter Phase increase in it). Is that how the system actually is designed? I know he gets punished on the flip side by always having to act brave - which will cost him dearly when Uther goes to war with Cornwall and he witnesses the attack on Prince Madoc - but outside of being the first to lead the charge, or GM imposed deductions when he chooses to act in a non-valorous manner, is he actually immune to the Cowardly roll?

It’s 486 and she’s in her late 20’s, the start of Anarchy will see her in her late 30’s, and if they fail in their endeavors and she looses her lands and becomes eligible to wed she will be in her 40’s so the PK will be unable to have children with her. By the time Arthur arrives to reinstate her claims the PK’s will be retiring original characters for heirs, and he will have to watch his “spare” come to the fore as his original retires to his Barony. Will he have a friend and ally in high places? Sure. But there will be no Baron PK.

Yes the Crits in question are all related to a single Feast - after having caught her attention during a previous Courtly encounter do to an Orate Crit by one of the other PK's lauding his knightly virtues. What I was pursuing lies in your point 1 and 2 though - I knew she would be empowered to pursue her own marriage having been widowed multiple times already, and I did not particularly feel that route. Having been confirmed by Uther or Aurelius was the option I was groping in the dark for. Seeing that, I lean automatically to Aurelius and actually having Uther chafe at her presence - she is capable, self-assured, and completely disinterested in visiting his bed chamber to meet her personal ambitions. Book of the Warlord includes 3 women of power - Lady Pomponia, Lady Blodeyn, and Lady Sulwyn - and I've slotted one in to each age bracket for interest and game play. Lady Blodeyn is the aged dowager style matriarch shepherding her dynasty, Lady Pomponia is the mature power gamer looking to gain more, and Lady Sulwyn is the (relatively) young woman looking to secure her future as her own. So how does Lady Sulwyn secure an heir while not becoming lost in the shuffle of simply being a wife? If she marries someone of equal standing she loses her place on the Council of Barons correct? If she has children out of wedlock they are bastards and aren't given standing, and if she marries beneath her status, then.... ? Just to reiterate, the party balance will not be disrupted by the PK marrying into an estate because his only chance at marrying her is if she looses her lands during the Anarchy. If the PK's can negotiate a successful alliance that benefits Clarence and Salisbury, one of the costs will be a wedding between the good Lady and an appropriate Lord in Salisbury who can cement the union - creating a very well known moment of lament for the PK as he sees his beloved married off to bring peace.

Nothing is spilt as of yet, I merely rolled the dice early to consider implications and possibilities. As I said, he has 0 chance of wedding her but thru the solo charts I found on another site he has developed a devotion (not amor) to her and expressed that his multiple crits preclude wandering off with random strumpet at the feast. My mind is wandering far down this path though because she is a Baroness, not just a Lady and not a female knight. She has power and I want to build upon her ambitions to retain that power. Uther has not forced her to be married her off for some reason - maybe historically age or widowed, but I am writing her up as late 20’s with no (surviving?) children - even though she would be a good political match for many, so how is she staving off being shelved? In the PK she sees a foreigner that her people would be less than enthusiastic to have as their Lord, so flirting with and being courted by him allows her to claim she is doing her duty and looking toward the future while not actually acting on it, while allowing the PK to continue his pursuit. He is a young player though that relies on dice rolls as opposed to role playing so I intend to honor those rolls, while stymieing his endeavor. In the end, should the PK’s elect to try to build a coalition around Clarence and Salisbury to fight the Anarchy I expect to break his heart as she will be married to a higher power - or she will be dispossessed by Nanteleod’s invasion and he will wed a landless noble intent on reclaiming what is rightfully hers. Christian or Pagan, some people want power at whatever costs and I’m playing her that way. Unfortunately, the time and place dictates she must have heirs to carry forth her lineage but getting said heirs means being married off and subsumed by her husband (historically), so how does she keep what’s hers while avoiding Uther’s dominion? As a quick aside, will you be continuing your work on the armor values in the near future?

I have a PK that wishes to begin courting Lady Sulwyn - Baroness of the Hidden Vale. Obviously she is unattainable despite his rising star status - he has been part of Earl Rodericks retinue during several negotiations, he just helped retrieve Excalibur - while almost single handedly slaying both foes - and he’s a foreigner who brings an air of mystery. While Uther would never see fit to marry such a low tier knight to a Baroness, the feast cards allowed him a tryst with a Lady and he’s angling for the Baroness based on his devotion - and my dice say there should be an offspring on the way. I haven’t ruled one way or another formally, and I intend for the Baroness to introduce the Order of Boudicca’s Daughters I have seen mentioned on the Nocturnal Forum (further cementing her intent to be her own power, not simply a trophy to be wed), so I see several paths forward allowing a myriad of rp options - but I lack historical perspective that I’m hoping some of the more experienced members might share with me. In the long story arc, I intend for the Baroness to survive in to Anarchy and her relationship with the PK might be the bedrock for an alliance between Clarence and Salisbury that will unfortunately make a bad situation worse for the PK’s as his amor might interfere with his duty. Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated