Tizun Thane

The map is very interesting. Thank you! 

On 3/28/2022 at 7:37 PM, AlHazred said:

"La Dama Misteriosa (The Mysterious Lady)" from Nivel 9 #10. This one has a strong faerie element, and ties in to a major (but not crucial) character -- what a great way to have the PKs have a lasting campaign impact without totally derailing the GPC.

I agree. It's a very nice adventure, with a nasty dilemna and many ways to solve the adventure. A solid 8/10.

thanks to @AlHazred, I learnt about the spanish side of the hobby. I manage to grab a few stories.

On 2/7/2022 at 5:58 PM, AlHazred said:

Aventura del Ciervo blanco (The Adventure of the White Stag,)” Lider (2nd Epoch) #39 (January 1994) [ES]

I read it. The figure of the white stag is not really exploited in the story.

The story itself is a nice little tale, with a touch of folklore. There is some riddles, and I love riddles.  However, the scenario itself is a bit short. The story is a solid 7/10 in my opinion. 

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Dosdediez #7 - La aventura de la doncella sitiada

The adventure of the bessieged damosel.

this scenario is a tribute to the story of Perceval in Chrétien de Troyes's story, especially the siege of Beaurepaire. It's always interesting to take an old tale, and make it a roleplaying scenario. Of course, if you know the original tale, it's a copy-paste.

8/10 if you don't know the original tale, 5/10 if you do (You have to change numerous details to make it works).

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Nivel 9 #12 - Do ut des

I didn't like it. It's more a synopsis than a scenario. The stakes are too high, and the obstacles too low. It was not easy to read either.

4/10.

On 3/25/2022 at 9:28 PM, SaxBasilisk said:

think the adventure will be less about trying to convince your beloved to do the vinegar/milk bath, but finding "a woman who truly loves you."

Indeed, except one thing. It works better with a Guinier-like figure. In the original tale, Caradoc saves Guinier at the beginning of the story, and Guinier saves Caradoc in return latter. There is a nice symmetry, and it's always nice to have a lady saving the day.

On 2/9/2021 at 4:19 PM, Voord 99 said:

So what if we got rid of Galahad and stuck with Percival as the Grail knight, who has a close family relationship with the Grail king and is destined to be Grail king himself?  After all, in Pendragon we don’t need the story to revolve around Lancelot — it revolves around the PKs in the actual game, even if the background story doesn’t.  

As I said elsewhere, I am currently playing the Quest (with a Q). Galaad ended up murdered at the end of the first year. It was quite a shock. I will make Perceval the Hero again, except if some PK is really worthy (They won't, I guess). 

The end should be a mix between Parzifal, the 4th continuation of Perceval, and Perlesvaus. Perceval (maybe with the help of some PKs) will have to fight the Black Ermit, go the Grail Castle, cure the Fisher King. The Fisher King will die (or retire, I am not sure yet), and Perceval will marry his Blanchefleur and become the next guardian of the Grail. 

On 3/23/2022 at 6:18 PM, SaxBasilisk said:

"Strong-Arm" is a nickname alternate-Kay gave the PK, due to his lame excuse of "my hand is weak" for an embarrassing incident at court.

Well done !

On 3/23/2022 at 6:18 PM, SaxBasilisk said:

she's the nephew of Cador, and I had the group play out the scene where Cador is found with a broken leg after she's kidnapped. I haven't brought her in yet. 

It's a bit late to make her the sister of another PK, I suppose. Maybe a lost cousin ? I think the story works better with a familial connection with another PK taking the role of Cador. 
In the original tale, Aalardin is a faerie knight kidnapping Guinier. So, I guess it's easy to have some troublesome encounters chasing him.

First, I love the Book of Caradoc. Congrats ! What I suggest for your campaign:

• About Caradoc "Briefbras" himself. Scholars don't agree about the meaning of the nickname. Some say it means "short arm" (so probably, -1 or worst in For) and others say it means "strong arm" (from the welsh deformed in french, so probably +1 or more in For).
• Have you a Guinier? If you have not, choose one girl, preferably the sister of another knight. Like in the tale, Guinier will be kidnapped by some faerie knight as a test (Aalardin, if I remember correctly). You could have a fun little adventure chasing them.
• Make the snake nasty. Caradoc have one year to find a solution, and his right arm is uselss. He needs his friends. Make sure they understand it's a magical snake, and if they try to use lethal force, Caradoc will die. 
• the mother don't know the answer. PKs will have to ask Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, Morgan le Fay, etc. The benefactor knows how to heal Caradoc (the maiden, the milk and the vinegar). However, he will ask for another quest first. You have another adventure.
• Guinier could be convinced, because it's very dangerous and the whole story is crazy. Or, as in the tale, she volunteers immediately.
• The ultimate challenge is very difficult. Guinier losts a bit of herself, even if her brother Cadoc critted. If they don't kill the serpent in one shoot, the maiden will die as well.

4 hours ago, Darius West said:

The Pater Familias has the sole right to determine which of the children presented to him by his wives he will recognize as his legitimate progeny.

In roman Law, because the Pater Familias in roman Law was all-powerful. Pagan Britons are the less romanized of the Britons, and shoudn't use Roman Law. And, of course, are not talking about Get of Bast.

But it's nitpicking, because yes, basically, that's the way to play it in KAP. You have an official wife (1), and maybe some concubines if you fancy them. Your wife however have no right to any lover (Double Standard, alas).

2 hours ago, SirUkpyr said:

How about a LUST for good food/drink.

In my eyes, a lust for food is Indulgent. A lust for blood is Cruel. etc.

A lust for food, drinks or drugs falls under Indulgent.

2 hours ago, SirUkpyr said:

I've known many a married couple who were randy as goats and who had their physical pleasures as often as rabbits when they could.

"Lustful" does not mean "must have sex with anyone".

Sure, it does. If you have plenty of sex with your spouse, and only your spouse, you are still chaste. I am not making a moral statement. I am reading the rules, and all the scenarios ever published.
 

13 hours ago, David 2 said:

Well, in Greg's Pendragon - the game he created - Pagans see Lustful as a virtue and if you wish to be a pagan religious knight, then you must behave in a Lustful manner. That is, unless a GM doesn't want it. As Greg has said, many many times, Lustful doesn't have to mean slutty, and, to quote, "monogamy and non-monagamy are equally valued", though marriage is still a contract relating to property and inheritance. That's clarified a bit more in KAP6. In Greg's game, there certainly are festivals with fertility components (Samhain and Beltaine) and most non-monogamous couplings occur during these times. There might be no evidence of Celtic fertility festivals in real life (maybe), but there are in Pendragon.

I know. Believe me, I know. I struggle years with this concept of lustful as a virtue, as a symbol of "immanence of the Goddess", or as a symbol of the celebration of life itself. From a social perspective, I does not make sense in my eyes, for the "legal" and "social" reasons given by @creativehum

The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. I don't understand how a lustful character can value monagamy, whereas there is so many opportunities to feel "the immanence of the Godess" with other people. I don't understand how a husband can be sure the children of his wife are his, where she is encouraged by her own religion to have sex with other people.
Free sex is not a sin in this religion. It's a virtue.

Britain is still a patriarcal society, even before the Christians came. No patriarcal society allows wives to fool around, because otherwise, you don't know who the father is.

I know this won't be changed in the next edition. Chaosium wants to be faithful to Greg's vision. I still think it was a mistake.

As a houserule in my game, I will add Vengeful as a pagan virtue. I think it contrasts nicely with the Forgiving virtue of the Christians. Pagans don't turn the other cheek, and it's interesting in game.

Otherwise, I could use Indulgent. It's the "love of life" part of pagan life. As Morien said, neither are chivalric virtues. It does not change the balance of the game.

I love it ! The old tale vibe is strong ^^

On 3/12/2022 at 11:55 PM, creativehum said:

But how does one handle the fact that the Pagan blessings will not be Christian? I assume the children are still "legitimate."

In the magical kingdom of king Arthur, the religious acceptance is the norm, and pagan mariage are as valid as christian ones. There is no polygamy.

In the historical middle ages, christians did not recognize pagan weddings as valid. The spouse was a concubine in the eyes of the clergy, and the child a bastard. 

On 3/13/2022 at 5:16 PM, creativehum said:

King Arthur Pendragon assumes a healthy Pagan culture living alongside the dominant Christian culture (which I'm all for!) But the Pagan culture also celebrates lust, fertility rituals, polyamorous relationships and so on. So things like marriage/first born son/legitimate line of succession and so on get somewhat tricky

As I said before, the lustful aspect of the paganism is a mistake IMO. There is no historical evidence of real "fertility rituals", and it seems to me that celtic pagans valued virginity for their maidens as much as the christians. Actually, there is no clear evidence that celtic pagans still lived in Britain in the years 500s.

I recommend to drop lustful as a pagan virtue, and use vengeful instead, to avoid the mess you are talking about.

19 hours ago, creativehum said:

I'm finally getting a chance to start the Great Pendragon Campaign

Congrats! Good luck !

5 hours ago, creativehum said:

he key is I'm looking at The Uther Phase as a discrete unit of campaign. It ends in a bloody and horrible disaster, a cliff-hanger of a cliff-hanger for the PCs. Conflicts that had been the focus for years were finally going to get resolved... and now those conflicts will be torn open for the next ten years, with things even worse than they were before!

Exactly. That's why you should start slowly. IMO, during Uther's reign, raiding between different estates is tolerated. A light raiding, in order to maintain the strength of the knights. Steal some sheeps, burn some huts. Good fun for young men full of viguor. Of course, things could degerenate quickly, but the king will not allow it. If he can crush cornwall, he can crush you.

During the Anarchy, there is no rule anymore, no daddy-king to say "stop". The lords are left to their own morals. Old feuds could now explode, even if it's really stupid with all this Saxons around.

Thank you for your explanation. We have a different way to handle Just/Arbitrary, but both are valid in my eyes.

19 hours ago, SirUkpyr said:

I think a lot of the "arbitrary" aspect would revolve around how the two codes are being judged - does the knight ONLY accept his code as being the "right/correct" code or not.

Exactly. My Just/Arbitrary is always from a knightly point of view. 

19 hours ago, SirUkpyr said:

Now I would agree with you Tizun if they were only judging based on the Knight's code - but as they are taking into account the Giant's code - I didn't give them an Arbitrary.

Indeed. Your game, your rules.

On 2/14/2022 at 11:39 PM, SirUkpyr said:

As for Arbitrary - I would disagree. If the giants were knights - then it would be a shameful thing to do - but they are not knights - they are giants punishing the man who killed their father. Thus - to *them* - it is not shameful - it is simply a valid form of punishment.

You handled it differently in your game, and it works beautifully, but I disagree. If they were eating people, because the Giant code of honor allows it, the knights how let them go still gain their arbitrary check. The Just thing to do is to punish them for their bad deeds.

On 2/15/2022 at 8:17 AM, Morien said:

Given that the usurpers' army is 25 knights and 100 foot soldiers, about £300 would be in line of that. However, it is said that they are not popular rulers, hinting that the true power of the kingdom would be more. I would not go above £500 in any case, and even that might be a bit difficult to explain, given the geography.

Computer is cheating ^^ I think this army have only fake knights (mounted sergeants) and brigands with bad moral as infantry. Good at frightening peasants, bad for fighting.

• 25 sergeants x 2£ = 50 £
• 100 x 1/5 £ = 20 £

You only need 70 £/year, and the usurpers probably squeeze their estate to the last grain. 

I would go with a little barony, with 5 enfeodded manors of 10 £ each (the suroundings) and a main demesne of 80 £ (the Red City itself). So, it's a beautiful reward, but still manageable without breaking the game.

Love it! 

28 minutes ago, SirUkpyr said:

Thank you Tizune Thane for posting the adventure - my group and I had a blast with hit - and now I must reread Erec and Enide.

You're quite welcome. Everything is going according to the plan...

30 minutes ago, SirUkpyr said:

Oh - for figuring out how many "5 many sheep" and "3 some sheep" meant - I gave a check to Gaming - as I could not think of anything better.

Hilarious !

IMO, the adventure is better suited for the marvels of Arthurian Times, and a bit wasted during the Anarchy. It's a very courteous adventure, and at odd with the grimness of the Anarchy. However...

During Morgana's wedding, the risk is high some PK dare to ask Morgana about the mystery. She probably knows the truth, but why would she help the players ? If you want to play safe, you could replace the old lady with Morgana. 

Lady Alice (the nice girl looking for a husband) could be a very young  lady-in-waiting of Morgana, or some important NPC (same age as the squire). And so on

On 2/12/2022 at 9:06 PM, The Wanderer said:

How did you introduce the rules of the BoFeasts in this adventure? I'm considering running it during Morgan's wedding at 501 (I think it's easy to change things to adequate it for two players: a glorious knight and his squire.

I played the cards as usual. Every time an opportunity arised, I used one of the NPC and role played the encounter.

If a lady is flirting, maybe it's lady Laudine or the other one looking for an husband. If there is some challenge of some knight, sir Ailgell is probably involved. And so on...

After a few rounds, your players will probably connect the dots, and chose some gossiping (intrigue) to know the truth.

In the original story, Erec tried to talk to them, but the giants were too boastful and cruel, as Giants usually are. Maybe Erec failed his roll ^^

If the PKs manage to rescue the knight without any violence, in my game, they would check Prudent and Arbitrary.

The whipping of the knight, as if he was some kind of criminal, is a shameful thing to do, and should not be remain unpunished.

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Castor and Pollux, two little giants (with club and whip at 15),

Small, not little  ^^ My bad.

34 minutes ago, SaxBasilisk said:

Typically, scenarios that start with a skill roll run the risk of everyone failing the roll. I would have the group gain additional information about the coming encounter with such a roll.

I agree, of course. But for the [awareness] roll, it is often a way to initiate an encounter, to create artificially a tension.

But your post is "thought provoking". Maybe the [awareness -5] roll give the PK a clue the woman seems real and not a fairy? 

Thank you all 😀

Is the text easy to read?

I love to throw a little adventure during journeys, like in the canonical sources. If someone plays it, I would be glad to hear the prowess of your players !

I see a lot of good ideas. I have a few questions, if you don't mind:

• After the 5 first years, do you still roll on the survival table? After all, the NPC adults must roll.
• Do you use the standard of living modifiers? Except for extreme poverty, it seems not.

20 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

I don't want to make him play another kinsman but he wants to play the heir as squire and don't think it'll be a good idea (there are only two players in my campaign and the other one plays a 8000 glory PK). 

It could be fun to play a squire a few years. Good RP dynamics between the players.

Otherwise, you could keep the ugly uncle a few years more, and ignore the rules for now.

2 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

Apart from the glory (now I'm thinking it could have been more...) I rewarded them with gifted manors (one for each PK; should have been granted?), and also they became officers (seneschal and marshall) of Salisbury!

11 hours ago, creativehum said:

You get 250 Glory for killing a lion. I think this tale is worthy of more than that -- knocking down villains, bringing stability to the troubled isle, saving the sister-in-law of Duke Ulfius -- but that might be just me.

250 Glory Points each is a fine reward for the Rydychan adventure.

A lion is a magical and fearsome beast. If the group kill the lion, they split the glory among them.