SaxBasilisk

We made it through, and the players enjoyed it! Writeup here and here. Thoughts: The players figured out the whetstone as a goal rather quickly, commenting that many of the others seemed to be about food. They did briefly consider bringing back multiple items, although this proved to be too much. I was indeed concerned about the lack of agency at the monastery. It might be good to think how it works with the group. Everyone in mine said they were fine. I find the giant a bit problematic for larger parties - I couldn't bring myself to use a regular-sized giant, as even with a low hit value, 15d6 damage is a one-shot. It would be nice to have an small-to-medium giant. More troublingly, usually giants are figures in folklore that are defeated by trickery, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do so. Most of the material between Inapercu and the final confrontation seems to be filler. I actually think this is a good thing - you can use or cut it to accommodate session length. I did use Gilegra, but I turned the Emotion spell into a simple conversation between the raven warrior and Gwf, trying to call in Nerys' favor to Morgan. I didn't think it would work, of course, but I thought it would be better as a character beat. For the final fight, it feels better to work in "the squire can interrupt the combat" fact in an earlier session. Maybe at the tournament, a squire jumps in waving to make sure their knight's helmet is properly tied. Once I mentioned that the squire was there, they figured they could ask him to intervene. Thanks, everyone!

The Worst NPC in Pendragon, vote results: 3rd - Llylla, although one player later suggested they had forgotten about Pellinore, which would have tipped the balance 2nd - Uther 1st - Merlin

515 continued... After some discussion and Sir Sara’s failed pass of the lance against the knight of Listeneisse, the Knights of Peryl despaired of finding a non-violent way to convince him to give up his charge, imprisoning him and his squire in service to a dead village at least a little longer. They came next upon a serpent and a lion locked in battle, with a smug child hiding in the rocks nearby and prodding the knights to intervene. The serpent turned to fight them in combat, snapping, lasting its tail, and breathing fire, but it quickly fell to their blows. The lion revealed its cubs and then transformed into a knight and said, “The innocent are saved, though the serpent spawn lives. The grey knight’s cause is unjust.” Then he vanished. It’s unclear if that was a non sequitur. Next, though Sir Cerise would claim that they had encountered the Wild Hunt for at least a year more, the rest of the group was quite firm that they happened upon the Sluagh, who served as an ordeal on their eventual destination: The Queen of the Wasteland. All remained faithful to their oaths, although Roderick was reportedly looking for a better deal than what they were offering. When the Knights, dehydrated, lost and tired, reached the Queen, she gave them succor and a place to worship before explaining the nature of the challenges they faced on the way to her: the succubus’s abbey, the guardian of Olbray, the parable of the lion and serpent, and the test of valor by the Sluagh. She also told them who they should seek next: Lord Bercilak, a castellan of Hautdesert in Cameliard, and Lady Elavane. On the way out of the Wasteland, they happened upon some knights of Pellam. They made the knights aware of the plight of the squire from Listeneisse before continuing their quest. Hearing the name of the leader of the knights, Sir Gwef named her most excellent canine companion to honor and vex him, dubbing the hound Regis the Greatest. They took passage on a ship from Carduel to Cheshire, and ride thence to Hautdesert. After some delicate negotiations with the castle guards, they were received by Sir Bertilak. He knew where the whetstone lay but was hesitant to tell them, given that he had given his word to the owner. He went hunting as he considered and the knights greatly impressed him with their skills, except for Sir Gwef and Cerise who stayed behind with his wife for chess. Sir Gwef impressed her with her tactics and mind, while Sir Cerise was exiled from the room. After conferring with his wife, Bertilak led them to the forest. In the forest, after some negotiation about the maximum amount of iron they could carry and the noise of their companions, the Knights of Peryl finally arrived at Inapercu, a fae realm. The king, graciously, did not press them when Sir Harri lied about how they found them and was receptive to their request for the whetstone. In return, he asked them to retrieve his lady’s mount. Guided by a fairy maiden in the form of a white bird, the Knights retrieved their steeds and armor, slew the Saxon (giant) and retrieved the horse (who galloped, riderless, all the way back to court). The fae were quite grateful and threw a feast in celebration. Rather than riding forth to pursue their mission, they stayed for a feast. Many of the knights tried their sword arm against the fairy knights and fared well. Sir Cerise fell in lust with an elf despite not knowing her name. Sir Gwef gamed with the fae, losing in good spirits. With time short, they rode for London, delaying only to help a lady imperiled by some bandits. She joined them on the ride back, but after a late night conversation with Gwf, it turned out she was a raven somehow. Sir Harri barely killed the bird before it took the whetstone from them. They arrived to find the duel in progress, with Sir Gawaine hard pressed to keep up with his seemingly immortal opponent. With the stone in hand, Sir Gawaine’s squire Eliezer called for a pause and enchanted the blade so that it could cut through the black armor and cleave his head. King Ryons died again in the arms of his lover, the Lady de Vance, who in turn died in misery that winter. Merlin kept with the whetstone despite several protests, but no one seemed to want to make an enemy of the most powerful magician on the island. The year’s travails over, Sir Sara, accompanied by many of her companions, traveled to Cornwall to witness the coronation of her liege, King Mark. Sir Harri was raised to the Round Table, a recognition of his talent, service and chivalry. This was the second year that Sir Gwef petitioned for permission to marry Marcus, but somehow her plea fell on deaf ears again. Sadly, Sir Roderick was unable to acquire a lion cub for Count Robert. -Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

Microscope is a fun way to set up a campaign. I think it might need a little more structure and world-building knowledge among the players for a typical Chaosium game with a previously detailed backstory - but it's worth looking into.

I know there are rules somewhere about this. Or I'd be posting the year-by-year anarchy maps one of my players created.

One of my players has asked Arthur for permission to build a prisoner-of-war camp for Saxons. His hope is that he can recruit some of them for his own nefarious purposes. How would you go about creating such a thing? I'm thinking 12 Libra, 2 Libra upkeep, check to Cruel, access to questionable Saxons.

"Reducing a Passion willingly is normally something performed during the Winter Phase (see Chapter 5). It is assumed that the character spends time loudly denouncing his former Passion in public, and acting in every way contrary to the Passion; for instance, when Sir Gareth learned that his brothers had murdered Sir Lamorak, he disassociated himself from them by loudly proclaiming his unhappiness and his dissatisfaction with his family. A Passion can eventually — one Winter Phase at a time — be eliminated (i.e., reduced to a value of 0) in this way." - KAP 5.2, p. 93 A player and I have been discussing this rule. I've maintained that this is in place of the training rules for the Winter Phase, while he asserts that this is not stated anywhere within (which is technically correct). Do you use this rule? If so, would you have it replace the training during Winter Phase, or allow it to take place alongside it?

AD 515 Sir Sara and Lord Corryn were married that winter in Salisbury, a celebration before another year of peace. The correspondence afterwards tells us that Sir Gwef lost a contest of strength so badly she was bruised, while Sir Harri’s opinion about the merits of the sword impressed other local knights. Cerise gave a toast to the newlywed, praised her loyalty and courage and then recounted her first time blind drunk. Displeased, Sir Sara, above the salt, spent her time learning of Sir Cerise’s new nickname (la Sourise), a gift from Sir Tor, the Onion Knight. Sir Roderick tried to impress other knights with boasting, but didn’t have enough swagger. On the road to court in London that year, they found Sir Agravaine meting out a beating to an old man who - the details are too convoluted to bother writing, but it seems like Sir Agravaine was angry and needed a piece of meat to destroy. Sir Gwef interrupted the beating and scolded Sir Agravaine, who took it poorly. Sir Harri compensated the victims lavishly, while Sir Cerise sought the opinions of Diarmiud, a nearby bard of whom she developed a low opinion. The Knights of Peryl were lodged in Bayard’s Castle due to late arrival, but court went on. A new arrival was a knight from Byzantium, Sir Sagramore, who was intrigued by the speculation about Arthur’s court and his code of conduct. Sir Roderick, through fate, misadventure, or happenstance, was invited with the knights who had demonstrated their chivalric worth to a royal dinner. Sir Harri spoke with King Pellinore, who vaguely recalled their previous encounters; Harri’s curiosity was piqued by the human wreckage who slew kings. Thus he was present when Merlin revealed Pellinore’s seat at the Round Table, next to the Siege Perilous. Sir Sara took pity on the harried Sir Queux and went on a relaxing hunting trip. Sir Roderick was seen gossiping in the wings. Sir Cerise spent much of her time railing at Merlin for perceived ethical faults in his grand scheme for Logres. Merlin [illegible section] departed promptly. Sir Gwef asked around about the fate of Sir Balin. She discovered, through Sir Cynwal and Sir Graid, that he was involved in the blighting of some land in Listeneisse, due to a lack of hospitality. Also it involved an attack by an invisible person. She politely demurred from passing judgment on Sir Balin’s exile. This year involved many contests of romance: more directly, lectures delivered by Sir Harri on the subject in competition with Sir Roderick and Sir Sara, which Sir Harri roundly won. Queen Guenever, her sensibilities offended by the competition, told the participants that it was nonsense. Sir Sara, still infatuated, tried to get the Queen’s attention, only to receive the deadly slight of an impersonal greeting. Sir Gwef, meanwhile, discovered that she had attracted the hostile attention of the Lothian clan by interceding against Sir Agravaine. Not engaging out of discretion, she instead participated in a contest for the attention of lady Ariette with Sir Roderick and Sir Cerise, which was finally determined by a contest of falconry that Sir Sara won- an invalid result considering she was recently wed and not competing. Sir Gwef was the next most accomplished and won a favor from the lady. A variety of knights, aggrieved by the lady’s token, sought Sir Gwef in the tournament. These included Sir Ursus, Sir Agravaine, and Sir Tor, though perhaps Sir Agravaine had other motives. The knights of Salisbury acquitted themselves well, with Sir Harri’s expertise leading to several surprise lance charges, and they unhorsed several opponents. Still, none could compare to Sir Gawain. The brave knight’s victory was hardly acknowledged when the weather suddenly became wretched and mist surrounded them. A dwarf walked onto the field and announced a huge supernatural knight and a lady who walked out of the fog. The Lady de Vance declaimed King Arthur and claimed his empire was built upon the heinous murder of the May Babies. She challenged any knight to prove her wrong in single combat with her champion, her charnel knight. Several knights, including Sir Cerise, stepped forward, but Sir Gawain claimed the gauntlet and the challenge to be met in forty-two days. After a pensive night, King Arthur summoned his knights to him so Vivianne, a Lady of the Lake, could announce that they would need to discover the Thirteen Treasures of Britain (perhaps to keep the knights from getting too restless or curious about the charges). The Knights of Peryl found most of the choices to be depressingly food-based and opted for pursuit of the whetstone of Tudwal Tudclud. The bard Diarmiud directed them to a Queen of the Wasteland, which sounded much like what happened to Listeneisse, so they spoke with Sir Cynwal again for directions. They chartered a ship from London to Carduel to make their way to the Wasteland. While traveling in the barren lands, they came upon a monastery of no clear denomination. They accepted the hospitality of the lone resident monk, who explained that his fellows had fled the blight following Sir Balin’s Dolorous Stroke, injuring King Pellam of Listeneisse. Sirs Harri, Cerise and Gwef drank of the fine vintage offered and soon felt sleepy, as did most of their squires. All involved refused to speak of what happened that night, save that they woke up lost elsewhere in Listeneisse, with the monastery nowhere to be found. Wandering, they stumbled upon the village of Olbray, guarded by a knight of Listeneisse, charged by his king to defend the village many years ago. He refused to let them approach and seemed unaware of current events. Speaking with the aging squire Thomas alone, the knights were told that the residents of the village were long dead and his charge pointless, but he couldn’t deal with his loss of purpose, driving him mad. The Knights of Peryl weighed whether to risk granting him the death in combat that suited his honor or finding a way to relieve him of his duty to a dead king and dead village. Much more importantly, this was the year that Sir Gwef met [the manuscript is smudged here], a mastiff, a gift from Sir Cerise who was enamored by Lady Ariette and desired to steal the attention she had given to Sir Gwef. Almost every volume that mentions these knights mentions this king among dogs, this canine saint, this- [Mordecai spends many pages describing what can be agreed to be the platonic ideal of a dog- the very best boy- in great detail.] -Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni (The session also featured a "Worst Person in Pendragon" conversation, with many excellent candidates being proposed.)

Another general piece of advice for GMs: you might consider how your players (not the PKs) might react to the encounter with the abbey in the Wasteland. I can see the lack of agency involving alcohol and a sexual encounter being a problem for some players. Your group's mileage may vary, of course.

Sorry - I was thinking about the focus on running this as a one shot. Lot does turn up more in the GPC and is more memorable than Ryons, although I think both of them could use some enhancement. I tossed in some details beforehand from the Post-Vulgate - e.g. Ryons is fourteen feet tall and wields a huge bronze-wrapped club, an elephant bone shield, and the sword of Hercules (yes, that Hercules). Then I had the characters, one of whom had squired for Balin, meet Balan for the delivery of Ryons. That way, Balan could tell them what happened and introduce the Lady de Vance in the context of Malory, with Ryons traveling with a small group to visit her when the twins jump him. And, given that Ryons doesn't officially die in Malory or in GPC, the GM should make sure that happens beforehand, too. My players remembered at least some of this, and more when I prompted them. One even recalled independently that Ryons had a brother, which I think is pretty good for player recollection of side information from previous sessions.

Agreed - although when one person has to fight three of them, I have less of a problem with it. I didn't mind the stats for Tor and Agravaine so much, as they're brand new even if they're famous. From what I can see, the stats for Kay and Griflet seem roughly in line with The Boy King, so they're a bit more recent. One desired addition to 6e for me would be stats for more of the knights outside of what's in that odd PDF GPC expansion. In my timeline, Agravaine was knighted early in 515, and Gaheris will be knighted next year, so he hasn't technically "appeared" yet. Lot is better than Ryons in terms of obscurity, but not by much for a new group that hasn't read Malory recently. I feel there's another fix, but I can't figure out what it is.

Our first session is complete. Writeup on the campaign thread to follow. Initial thoughts: I didn't dive too deep in either version, but I'm not sure which one I prefer. The Tales of Mystic Tournaments version does provide the stats for the knights (not sure if they're 1e or not), the character of Diarmiud to work better with pagan knights, and a full version of the poem on the Thirteen Treasures (probably also available online). I like the color shields on The Grey Knight, and I even used the cover illustration, which went over well. I also do like the organization with the rolls in the margins, although it's not close enough to 5.2 to actually use. I was going to swap out Ryons for a dead PC, but apparently I had built up Ryons enough in previous sessions that people were impressed enough with him. (And one of the players explicitly guessed the dead PC when the figure first showed up...) This highlights a weird dichotomy in the scenario. The beginning scenes seem to be written to anticipate that the players are relatively new and want to interact with mythological figures - but then it wants to make the off-screen death of an obscure Arthurian character the centerpiece. I'd lean more into one or the other, depending upon how knowledgeable the group is about Arthurian lore and where they are in the campaign. I'll see how the second session goes.

I'm getting ready to run this adventure. I think it's generally well-regarded, if it does seem a bit like a railroad (which I think is less of a problem for a short adventure, I think). Has anyone run it, or thought about running it? What worked well and what didn't? Also, it seems there's material in The Grey Knight - character bios, the color shields on the back cover, etc. - that isn't in Tales of Mystic Tournaments. Any suggestions of which to use?

I'm going to apologize for going in the opposite direction here. I certainly understand the desire for low-complexity rules - but adding GPC into the mix brings situations that might call for a little more. If I were going to suggest a couple of rules sets to add to maximize the experience, they would be: Book of the Estate, Improvements chapter - Every so often, your knights may be handed a large amount of cash as reward or plunder. The Book of Knights doesn't give a lot of suggestions on how to spend that money. BoE allows the PKs to make some changes to their estates to reflect their personality and priorities - fortresses, money-making opportunities, monuments, etc. I think handing players the whole list is too much, but it might give you some guidelines and suggestions you can make. Book of the Warlord, officer's solo - Anarchy will likely mean the PKs will be the most senior knights in Salisbury, and there's work to be done. Most of my players are now officers of one sort or another, and it's interesting to watch how the solo pits their desire to be religious or chivalric or good people against their duties against their desire for personal enrichment. Your mileage may vary, especially if you're trying to avoid complexity.

One of my players would like his knight to conform to the Roman pagan religious traits. It's a bit anachronistic, but this is Pendragon, so I figure it's within the realm of possibility. His proposed traits: Energetic, Honest, Just, Prudent, Temperate. I'm not enough of a classicist to critique these choices. I think I've seen an "official" sort of answer floating around in some book, but I can't recall where. What traits would you use?

As a responsible scholar, I must make a note here: I can find no more references to Sir Cery in the lists and rolls and censuses, but there is a well known Sir Cerise la Souris of Cholderton. Queen Guenevere, young as she was, was suddenly taken with French fashion- perhaps from all the mention of Brittany’s interregnum- and perhaps asked some of her knights to take French names on a whim. Fortunately, this new name also no longer parses as ‘SorCery.’ 514 was a year of peace, blessed by the wedding of King Arthur and Queen Guenevere at Carlion. The knights bestowed gifts upon their lords and had grants bestowed upon them in kind. Newton Tony presented a beautifully crafted saga of Arthur’s family to his king and asked for little in return: martial arms for his child. Stapleford presented an ornate saddle and in return asked for permission to make a prison for Saxons; he additionally received the queen’s ire. Shrewton presented the couple with a marble statue in their own image and received permission to wear the queen’s favor in the coming tournament, a first in the history of the institution. Broughton presented two fine books and secured a place in Arthur’s house for her knightly child. Cholderton also presented a marble statue of Venus in the Hellenistic style which bore a passing resemblance to the queen; she asked her king to knight her sister Reva, of age that year. King Arthur did so, also knighting Sir Gawainet (now Gawaine) and Sir Tor, the “onion knight”* vaguely recognized by Pellinore as his son, in the same ceremony. Arthur also received a gift well known across the land: King Leodegrance’s Round Table, seating one hundred knights of Cameliard and also having the Siege Perylous for the greatest knight in the land - and promising fiery death for all others. After this, Queen Guenevere’s ladies flocked to poor Sir Sara, decrying her garb as inadequate for the queen’s champion and politely/ firmly dragged her to a fitting room in the royal guest house. Sir Cerise went for moral support and observed a few individuals who seemed fascinated with the guards to the garden leading down to the Usk. Just before the wedding feast, the court burst into chaos when a white hart pursued by a surge of black hounds and a lone white hound entered. A Lady of the Lake, on horseback, pursued the chaos, with Sir Harri recognizing her as the woman he had met on the White Horse ride. Moments after the white hound scored a bite on the hart, one member of the court grabbed the hound and absconded, while a knight in full black armor rode into the hall and took the Lady of the Lake, riding off just as abruptly. King Arthur prudently wished to consider the matter before taking action, but Merlin forbade him this. He admonished that the knights of his court must always be ready for adventure at a moment’s notice. At Arthur’s behest, Sir Gawaine rode off in pursuit of the hart, while the onion knight pursued the hound and King Pellinore rode for the Lady of the Lake and the black knight. Once the chaos subsided, the feast began. Sir Cerise spent her time bothering a variety of pagan religious figures: Merlin, Vivianne, and Queen Morgan. She wanted to know about some text regarding Venus, the care and upbringing of naiads, and the fate of her cousin Sir Hector. (On the latter point, Morgan reassured her that Hector had gone on a trip to Scandinavia for musical inspiration, which the knight accepted as plausible.) Sir Harri, above the salt as he should be, spent his time discovering the truth of recent intrigues, such as Sir Lot’s hesitation to join the battle the year prior or Queen Guenevere’s ire towards Sir Roderick, spiller of heads. He also danced. Sir Gwef spent her time auditioning a series of suitors sent by Ulfius and Morgan. Sara partook of the party to the fullest, but at some point she was wrangled into the audience for King Alain, who required witnesses for his extemporizations/ ramblings about politics on the island - a famous speech, albeit not famously good. Sir Roderick, despite being the noble scion of a famous house, and himself (in)famous, ended up below the salt. There are some theories on why, though there are perhaps too many grudges to be sure which caused it. He spent much of his time working on winning the favor of the Lothian crowd, but he also had a brief conversation with an older, distinguished lady who wore a brooch that twinned a new one of his own. The feast was followed by the first tournament: several days of combat with rebated weapons and flats of the blade, with the common knights of the realm riding against the Knights of the Round. Sir Harri was unhorsed in the first round, but stayed in despite that, having a middling combat with Sir Ulfius. He began looking into the same phenomenon that Sir Cerise had noticed: mysterious figures from Cameliard boating near the garden. Sir Sara performed well at first, but was unhorsed at the end of the first day. Sir Cerise’s performance was better, though she also learned to swim during a breather after one day’s performance. Despite posting a bulletin offering a reward to any Cameliard knight who could perform the deed, Sir Roderick remained in his saddle until the very end. Sir Roderick also managed to unseat Duke Ulfius, who was a bit worse for wear at his advanced age. This concerned Sir Gwef, who thought of him as a grandfather. She invested most of her time outside the lists into her suitors. Two knights of Salisbury lasted until the final round of the tournament: Sir Roderick le Rocher of Stapleford and Sir Harri, Kingsguard of Newton Tony. Sir Harri was knocked off his horse by King Arthur himself, adding extra assistance to his fellow Round Table knights. As some have also remarked upon this, unfolding at the same time was the tale of the three questing knights. Sir Gawaine started his quest by quelling an argument between two knights, but the next day, he found the white hart, slew it and dueled the owner, Sir Ablamor. He would have slain the owner as well, but the knight’s gentlewoman love caught the blow meant for him and was slain in his stead. On his journey home, he was accosted by the vengeful knights of Sir Ablamor (then absent), who overcame Sir Gawaine, but spared his life after some ladies begged for his life. Sir Gawaine related his shame and, after a reprimand from Queen Guenevere, swore to always aid non-combatant nobles. Tor the onion knight, by contrast, jousted some knights before returning with the hound, which had ended up with Sir Ablamor. He slew him in combat when a lady’s pleas overcame his own desire to grant mercy. King Pellinore returned with Nimue, the lady of the lake. His tale sounded like a fever dream. Merlin predicted King Pellinore’s doom for letting his daughter be eaten by lions. What in the fuck. [An illustration of Pellinore’s travails has been devoured by worms; we believe this is a reasonable approximation of its message.] Sir Irwyn of Marlborough, the knight that Sir Roderick had dueled the year prior finally succumbed to his wounds, following Irwyn’s assertions that Roderick is a bastard (twice true). His death was little noticed in Salisbury, as the knights met for the wedding of one of their number… -Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni. * GPC: "Sir Tor is a good character to associate with player knights... Later, player knights who like social interaction should be urged to seek Sir Tor to gain information." My group: "But what if we repeatedly insulted him instead?"

Other items, by year. Some of this is errata, some of it is suggestions for resolving gaps or problems in the material, and some is clarification from literary sources on items not explained in GPC. (Page numbers may vary slightly between the ArtHaus and Nocturnal Media editions; I, unfortunately, have used both below! There should not be a variation more than a page or so, however.) Logres in 485, p. 33 – “London is part of the Duchy of Salisbury” – should be Silchester (h/t Taliesin) Britain 485, p. 26 - Duke Galeholt begins his rise to power in 521, unless you want to assume this is the name of a previous ruler. Britain 485, p. 26 and elsewhere - Much of the material on the rulership of Gomeret and Norgales – Ryons, Pellinore, the three Cadlews, Maelgwen – is quite muddled. (h/t Morien) Logres in 485, p. 31 – Manchester is in the wrong place on the map. (h/t Stoo) 480-495 vs. 514 - The "Round Table of Uther" never shows up in any of the material on Uther. 487, p. 40 – The Great Sword Feast should technically take place at Christmas of 486, so run it how it best works for your game. (h/t Gorgon) 488, p. 46 – “Earl Robert’s force” – should be Roderick (h/t Morien) 490, p. 49 – Octa’s major wound stat should be 13 (h/t Nicolas) 490, p. 50 – “Earl Roderick is going to remain in Eburacum” – should be Lincoln (h/t Cornelius) 492, p. 56 – “King Nanteleod of Estregales” – should be Escavalon (h/t Skarpskytten)494, p. 62 - "Nimue is present to tend to the king. She keeps the knights from announcing the news about the Saxons to the king." - BoU has Nineve performing this action. Given that the GPC characters file has Nimue born in 483, this is probably a deliberate change. 495, p. 63 – “Glory: 60 per round” – this is inconsistent with the “large” size of the battle. (h/t Vedrenne) - Octa and Eosa are not mentioned after this year, so consider whether they should die at St. Albans. Anarchy Period, p. 72 – “Also therein is the healing temple of Lydney.” – Lydney is not in the Forest of Dean. (h/t Nicolas) 506, p. 90 – “Aescwine is now the new king of the Angles” – should be Essex (h/t Vedrenne) 510, p. 132 - "You might send the characters to ask the Saxon bretwalda...)" The bretwalda would be the high king of the Saxons, of which there is none at this time. This probably means the cyning, or local Saxon king. 512, p. 139 – Nineve appears in early summer, although Balin murders her in mid-spring. The Lady of the Lake mentioned here is either Vivianne or Nimue (h/t Morien) 513, p. 141 - "First, on the night before the battle, two knights, unrecognized by the guards, approach Arthur's camp and turn over a prisoner." These are Balin and Balan. 513, p. 142 - "Two knights burst from cover and fall upon Lot's flank..." Once again, Balin and Balan. 514 - GPC doesn't give Gawaine's year of knighting. This is the first time he appears after Margawse visits court. (As a side note, he's knighted at Arthur and Guenever's marriage in the Post-Vulgate.) 514, p. 146 - "Excellent jousting by Sir Lamorak..." According to the 501 birthdate in the GPC characters file, Sir Lamorak would be thirteen now. 516, p. 150 – “’Abbey of Beale’ Adventure” – does not appear in the book (h/t Nicolas) 516, p. 151, "Morning Ambush" - The length of battle is 3 rounds, but the fight lists rounds 1-7. Pick one, I suppose. 517, p. 154, "Saxons Raid Logres" - The book mentions the bretwalda, but doesn't say who is he or when he was appointed. This is King Ælle of Sussex. The Saxons! supplement says he takes on the title this year; not everything in Saxons! corresponds with GPC, of course, but it might be useful to note this occurrence for the players. 518, pp. 155-158 - Badon. The Book of Armies description differs considerably from what is provided in the GPC; do what you will with it. I've been informed that the first day in GPC just isn't counted for BoA, but there are other changes. The scenario also doesn't raise the question of whether weekly healing kicks in during the battle. Also, the entry for 519 states that survivors receive income for every critical roll they make during the battle, so don't forget to keep track of this. 518, p. 157 - Badon, Day 3, Round 4: "Aelle fumbles his modified Battle roll, and Arthur criticals his." I don't think this has any significance in the current rules. High Adventure in the Wastelands, p. 172 - “Round Table Knight” – Sir Lamorak joins the Round Table in 520 (h/t Nicolas) High Adventure in the Wastelands, p. 172 vs. 540, p. 277 - Dornar is previously Lamorak's brother, but in 540, he's a cousin. The first is more literary-based, but there could be two... 519, p. 185 - Pretending not to receive Arthur's order's provides a "Dishonest" check, but one of the checks possible for further plundering is "Deceitful." I suggest dropping the Deceitful check for plundering additional funds. 523, p. 192 - Nimue imprisoning Merlin differs from the material in Appendix 5, which makes Vivianne responsible. 524, p. 194 - "A knight is brought to court on a litter." - The Vulgate gives his name much later as Sir Melian. The story doesn't seem to come up in the rest of the GPC, so I'd send interested readers to that material. 524, p. 194 - "Nimue and the Squire of the Lake," and "the queen glances at Nimue, whose realm is indeed far away." - The Ladies of the Lake writeup at the end of GPC and the GPC stats indicate that it should be Vivianne who brings the Squire to court. 526, p. 203 – Round 6: “Bedivere’s forces gain a +5 modifier” – should be -5 (h/t Vedrenne) 529, p. 211 - Dubricus has retired, so he should be replaced with David. 529, p. 213 - Strike "King Gilmaurius escapes and returns to his kingdom of Dal Riada in Ireland. The Picts flee, but reassemble nearby at Loch Lomond." This is text repeated from 519; we have no Picts, and Galeholt is king of Dal Riada. 530, p. 214 – Carlisle should be Carduel. (h/t jmberry) 530, p. 216 - “forces suffer a -5 modifier” – should be +5 (h/t Vedrenne) Also, strike "King Gilmaurius escapes and returns to his kingdom of Dal Riada in Ireland. The Picts flee, but reassemble nearby at Loch Lomond." This is text repeated from 519; we have no Picts, and Galeholt is king of Dal Riada. Island of Fees adventure, p. 224: "Unknown to anyone for many years, the murderers are actually four of the five Orkney brothers, all except Gaheris." Greg points out that this should be Gareth - but also, Mordred is eleven, so you might consider whether he's involved. 531, p. 237 – Lancelot should be inducted to the Round Table by the end of the year (h/t Greg) 540, p. 276 – “There sits my father…” – Mordred has not revealed his parentage yet (h/t Karmi) 559, p. 356 – Carlisle should be Carduel. (h/t jmberry) 559, pp. 356, 358 vs. 562, p. 362 - Greg mentions that Sir Lavaine is named to the Round Table twice, but his timeline is even more complicated because Greg swaps the Lady's Day Tournament and the healing of Sir Urre from the Malory timeline. Thus, Lavaine, Lancelot's friend is gone from court, then marries Urre's sister, then meets Sir Lancelot for the first time... 563, p. 363 – Carlisle should be Carduel. (h/t jmberry) 563, p. 368 – Carlisle should be Carduel. (h/t jmberry)

There's material on running the GPC scattered here and there. For ease of reference, I thought I'd consolidate this in one thread. (If I've missed one elsewhere, please let me know.) First, there's Greg's own errata for the GPC (archived at Internet Archive). Next, there was a sub-forum on the Nocturnal Media forums for GPC material (archived at Greathall). Also, if you're using the Uther-era material, the Book of Uther contains not only the years 480-484, but also suggested changes to 485-495 (p. 102). I'll add other material here if and when I see it.

If you weren't running on Friday, I'd suggest picking up the Book of Knights and Ladies for character creation, and the Book of Sires for detailed backstories. But that's probably too little time to digest all of it.

Quick and dirty answer:

Is there any spot where we should be posting errata when we find it? I found a minor problem with the GPC, and I'm not sure I want to start a thread just on that.

All of these are off limits to my players. The Secret Chronicles doubly so. Also, I’ll be using profanity a lot. From The Secret Chronicle of Cet of Stapleford, Lately of London, Brother to the Famed Sir Owain, and Uncle of Sorts to Sir Roderick Fuck off, Brother Mordecai! I’ve been faithfully serving the Stapleford family for two generations, and you barely write anything about me! Then again, what do I expect from the Choldertons? Want an explanation, faithful reader? Here you go. Through great effort and vigilance, I uncover evidence that my brother Owain’s wife Ysave is having an affair with that damn wizard Eliavres. It’s not too hard to figure out, especially when he’s playing magical music for her all night. I’m about to bring the evidence to my brother, all gift wrapped like a bunch of heads, when he suddenly has a pang of conscience and gets his own head cut off by Sir Bryn of Stonesleigh to save his adopted son Hector, who can't fight worth shit. Ysave fires me, I go to Hector to talk about it. Next thing I know, Tyngyr of Cholderton’s widow Llylla conspires to kick me out of the four counties and leave my ass running past Saxon patrols to London! So, yeah, that’s why the Cholderton chronicles ignore me while going into raptures about fucking Sir Bread, a guy who did nothing but Hector’s wife. A lot. Anyway, knowing most of my high-and-mighty colleagues can’t read, I’m going to write this backwards and hide it under the pickled onions in the storerooom where nobody looks. Here’s the latest shit I have to scrape off my boot. My nephew Roderick hates those Cameliard fuckers because of a lot of the aforementioned severed head affairs. When the new king comes in, he figures it’s time for payback, right? So he hires some Cornish mercenaries to wear Cameliard livery and start raiding the royal tax collectors. And damned if it doesn’t go off without a hitch. Mostly. The key word there was “Cornish.” Because Roderick can apparently hide what he did from Cameliard, and from Arthur, and even from that scary fucker Merlin, but he can’t keep it from that little fucking polecat Prince Mark. Thus, while everyone else is weeping over Prince Lanceor’s body, Mark takes Roderick aside to blackmail him into becoming his personal court spy. Roderick objects because, hey, fucking Merlin. Prince says, no problem, I know a guy, specialist in Glamour. Roderick says yeah, let’s do this. Now, those who are versed in our family history and read “specialist in Glamour” can guess what the fuck happens next. Who shows up but Roderick’s so-called dad, Eliavres, to give him a nice brooch and a fatherly pep talk. Apparently it will make Roderick appear like a dog to Merlin, letting him sneak around more - the brooch, I mean, probably not the pep talk. No way this leads to problems and hilarity later. Roderick grabs it and stalks off, plotting vengeance. Who does he turn to in his hour of need? His wife? His talking leopard? His friends and compatriots? His trustworthy and wise Uncle Cet, who would be more than happy to fuck over one of the sneaky bastards who got him exiled? Of course not. Those of you who’ve read that Cholderton nonsense may remember, way back when, the rumor that Roderick’s grandmother was trapped on a fairy hill, and that Roderick’s father (?) Owain swapped her for a local wise woman. Well, that’s true. And THAT’S who Roderick sought out to help him with his family drama. So he climbs the hill, only to find a terrifying transformed supernatural hellion - with his little brother Amhar, who he thought had been killed in a Saxon raid. He loses his nerve, ends up scarring himself for life regarding ghosts, and goes to hide in a church. That’s where his wife finds him. Oh yeah. I haven’t talked about Carys yet. You remember all those troubles with the three Rydychan usurpers? Reliable, trustworthy, steady Sir Nerys looks at it and says, “Three men versus one woman? Fuck that!” She gets in touch with MORGAN FUCKING LA FEY who gives her a magical necklace of assassination or some shit. She then recruits a peasant serving girl to go in and seduce Sir Basile, the oldest brother, and then kill him on his brother’s wedding night. Sure, our faithful Sir Leo gets killed in the confusion, but Sir Nerys pulls off her goal and weakens the usurpers so the countess can take back power. Trouble is, she hadn’t arranged to pick up the necklace afterward, so Carys leaves the county and strikes off on her own. I don’t really know how many people she kills - I mean, she’s not going to tell me over an ale, right? - but she squeezes her way into holding Middlewich under King Ryons. He sends her to Arthur’s court, Merlin finds out and asks the Knights to get her necklace… and then Roderick marries her! Anyway, I was stretching my legs near the church while they were talking. First, I hear a bit of a fight. Here's some marriage advice from Uncle Cet: apparently you’re supposed to take your problems to your wife, and not the scary fairy woman who hates your purported father. Anyway, she encourages him to swallow his pride and ask Eliavres for help… because it will set him up for killing him later. And then they hug. I have no idea where any of this is going, except horribly wrong. I’ll keep this updated when I can, or until some arsehole develops a taste for picked onions.

At court in 513, Sir Roderick got into a bit of a scuffle. Sir Irwyn of Marlborough, one of his father’s old grudges called him a bastard, referencing a nasty (and true) rumor that had been circulating about his heritage. Sir Roderick didn’t respond, but bumped into the gentleman a few times until he called for a duel. They jousted and, though struck repeatedly, the huge Sir Roderick continued to maintain the saddle while insulting his opponent. This threw Sir Irwyn off his game so that Roderick could unhorse him, nearly killing him in the process. There were the usual activities, including intrigue, races, falconry to the death, but none so interesting as that duel. There was one note of sorrow that ran through court, however: To the north, many children of nobles had been stolen, sent to sea in a ship, and died when they crashed into rocks. The incident sent a shiver through all who heard of it. That summer, King Arthur’s forces mustered at Terrabil, Cameliard to face the kings of the north, Norgales, Cornwall, and other realms in combat. The evening before, Sir Balan arrived at the pickets to deliver the gigantic King Ryons, trussed in a cart, to the Knights of Peryl. He and his brother, the disgraced Sir Balin, had ambushed the ruler on a discreet expedition to visit his mistress. On the following morning, Merlin’s sorcery ensnared King Lot. His Norgales allies marched against King Arthur, but the kings of the North remained behind and the enemy forces had to shift to cover their flank. Right at the start of the battle, Sir Gwef was dismounted. When the knights rallied to her aid, Sir Roderick suffered a loss of sanity and fled the field, again. Though Sir Harri was also unhorsed and both he and Sir Gwef suffered some minor wounds over the course of the fight, they persisted until Norgales had vacated the field and the Northern Kings rallied. Soon after Lot’s first charge, Sirs Balan and Balin slammed into their ranks, throwing their order into disarray. King Pellinore himself, legend says, pierced the heads of King Lot’s horse and King Lot himself in a single blow. It was a long battle regardless, and Sir Harri guided his troops through it admirably. The enemy forces were routed, but not before the Knights of Peryl lost/ won a round of combat to some Cambrian Weirds wearing their clothes backwards. Sir Cery became lost during the pursuit and found later in the company of some circus folk who she kindly invited to attend her. Sir Roderick, meanwhile, was found in a hermitage. King Arthur held a ceremony to honor the dead kings, with a memorial created by Merlin; the flames in the statue’s tapers would last so long as Merlin lived. Sir Sara was called to account for her participation on Arthur’s side against King Idres by Cornish knights of the Rosecraddoc clan. Although her primary loyalties lay with Logres, Sir Sara had accepted land in return for fealty from the kings standing against Arthur. Records of the following are scarce, but the Knights of Peryl apparently rode across the border to Orofoise to raid them, but stopped at the hill known as the Wrekin where Sir Cery adopted a naiad child. They were accompanied by a knight known as Sir Accolon of Gaul, a servant of Morgan with a prominent facial scar; upon his return, the scar was gone. A fragmentary account also mentions passage through the “gates of heaven and hell,” which sounds ominous. Sir Sara declined to go through either. No word on if they actually raided anything during the raid. On their return, the Cameliard knights accused Sir Roderick of grave robbing the tomb of his hated foe Sir Bryn*, causing Sir Roderick to dodge their blows and flee on his horse. Presumably finding him with the local anchorites, Sir Cery convinced him to return; Count Robert and his fellow knights stood for Sir Roderick’s innocence. The witness to the crime identified not Sir Roderick, but rather King Arthur as the one who entered the chapel at night! When pressed, King Arthur claimed that he was bound by honor not to identify who gave him the request to enter. He faced King Leodegrance’s uncharacteristic wrath, until Lady Guenevere herself came forward to speak for him. Whatever joy the year saw, it was also a year of terrible tragedy, from which the fledgling nation would never recover: the knight known as “Bread,” once squire to Sir Owain, vassal to Sir Hector, and second husband to Sir Hector’s wife, passed in the battle of Terrabil. He kindly raised many of Sir Hector’s children as if they were his own, although scurrilous gossips claimed they really were. … [The passage continues for several pages. The name of the knight is unknown.] -Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni. * Player statement: "I genuinely am kinda sure I didn't do it. Kinda."

I wanted that one for multiple reasons, so that was a nice find.

The coupon is available on the main page, but you can see the full Arthurian studies here: https://boydellandbrewer.com/search-results/?series=byd110-arthurian-studies Also, if you see anything particularly interesting or noteworthy, please let me know. I might be diving in for a second order.