Well, That Escalated Slowly - A Run through the GPC (+BoU)

[ArkSvid]

If nothing else I am incredibly jealous of the economic system in y'alls game because book of manor would have had all those defenses combined to cost over 1,000 libra

[SaxBasilisk]

1 hour ago, ArkSvid said:

If nothing else I am incredibly jealous of the economic system in y'alls game because book of manor would have had all those defenses combined to cost over 1,000 libra

Well, ultimately, this is all Arthur money, so I'm not so worried about it.

It would be nice to have an updated list of fortification costs that supersedes what's in BoE, BoM, and GPC (perhaps in the promised Book of Castles or in the 6E rules).

[SaxBasilisk]

516 AD

Sir Robert had three requests for the Knights of Peryl: Bring tidings to Lady Katherine of Uffingham; serve as emissaries to Cerdic of Wessex; and attend the king’s court as usual. The knights began with the most joyful, attending a brief court at Rydychan and meeting its familiar faces. Many spent their time in the company of others, with Sir Harri extending a diplomatic introduction to Lady Uffingham. Sir Sara played gwyddbyl with Esclabor, learning about a rival for Katherine’s love, while Sir Roderick skillfully brought down a deer while hunting with Sir Amalar. Sir Cerise renewed her friendship with Eliavres, while Sir Gwef spoke at length with the former Countess, Violette, and later Sir Ulfius about her precarious finances. A rumor began that any who offended the Naiad of Cholderton would be cursed into stags like Actaeon in myth. It’s believed to have been started by Eliavres around this time.

Towards the end of their stay, Sir Gwef noticed a jester bearing the colors of Broughton without her family’s permission and acting bookish in mockery. Bodily blocking the man, she scolded him for overstepping his bounds, but this prompted Sir Agravaine to emerge from the shadows and protest her treatment of his servant. In the ensuing duel, Sir Agravaine’s fervor waned and he lost easily. Sir Cerise derided his fickle spirit and earned his ire. Sir Gwef burned the offending uniform.

The knights left for the royal court at Carlion, only to find that it had already left, with Arthur hastening to Eburacum after hearing that it had been taken by Saxons. The Knights Perylous pushed their horses hard to make it in time, but missed the first clash anyway. They were able to meet the night-time raid from the Saxons and, despite Sirs Sara, Cerise, and Gwef being unhorsed, defeated the enemy heorthgeneats. Resting from the battle, they met Gawain and his younger brother Gaharis, who had Annikleze, the vengeful blade created by Sir Owain from the Black Annis’ claw.

Sir Cador asked for their help in intercepting another Saxon army moving to reinforce the city and they agreed. The army was defeated, but not their leader Baldulf, who snuck into the city in disguise. Then followed the siege of Eburacum, where King Arthur’s army was roundly rebuffed and even Sir Roderick was knocked out. Sir Harri deferred to his younger comrades more, leading to more rash choices this year.

Decamping, Arthur’s court reconvened, albeit more muted. There is a note from one attendee saying Sir Cerise approached Sir Tor on some matter, and got out only a few words about her faerie lover before fleeing the scene. She was nursed through her madness by a Christian holy man, with whom she had several awkward conversations.

Lady Katherine acquiesced to Count Robert’s suit and the marriage was celebrated that year. Sir Harri was the most noted attendant by far, dazzling the onlookers with his light feet and the toast that Sir Roderick called for. Sir Sara acted as a chaperone for an unknown lady, perhaps trying to impress her with a massive donation of alms (and probably undercut herself speaking only of Queen Guenevere). Sir Cerise listened to her count speak at great length about politics and spent much of her time asking about Sir Accolon and Hector’s killer, leading many to speculate that they may be one and the same. Sir Roderick told the same story about humiliating Sir Bryn many times over the course of the night, with more acclaim each time.

The final duty that year was the envoy to Wessex. King Cerdic greeted them coldly and shortly thereafter he asked for tribute once again, threatening them with annihilation when the “White Dragon'' rose. Despite Sir Sara’s best effort to calm tempers, Sir Cerise’s blinding, generational hatred spurred her to impolite and impolitic comments, which led to a duel with Cerdic’s champion, Saexwulf. He landed a heavy blow on her, but left himself open to an attack that knocked him out. The knights left in haste afterwards, as the crowd’s attitude soured.

Now to the important bits: The High King and Queen welcomed their baby, Anna. This is also the year that many scholars believe Sir Sara authored her love letters to her husband, and…

-Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

Edited December 19, 2022 by SaxBasilisk

[SaxBasilisk]

In the year 517, Sir Gwef finally celebrated her marriage to her long-time lover, the gentleman Marcus. It was a raucous celebration, and several servants complained about the sheer amount of excess they had to clean off the floor afterwards. Sir Sara was known to drunkenly hold forth on hunting to a landowner suffering bandit attacks and impressing little. Sir Gwef called for a toast competition, but gave the best of the lot at the start. Sir Roderick gave the count what seemed to be excellent advice and gained a lady’s blessing. It’s anyone's guess on how he did either. Sir Harri was busy looking after the other Knights of Peryl, in response to Sir Nerys’ plea, and asked the count for a suitable marriage for Sir Cerise, who declined it to the Count’s displeasure. She still pined for her fae lover.

Court that year involved many new knights of the round being sworn in at King Pellinore’s suggestion, including Sirs Queux, Tor (despite Pellinore’s reservations regarding recommending his son), Gawain, Ursus and Harri.* Sir Sara found herself alone with the Queen, the new mother, for a moment, and tried valiantly to smooth over the awkward fangirl interactions she’d previously had, but Queen Guenevere excused herself and confused things even further. Sir Gwef extolled how best to maintain a marriage in a manner involving wine and convinced no one of her competence. Sir Agravaine approached Sir Cerise and attempted to intimidate the knight, who feigned being oblivious.

That year, King Arthur decided to drive the Saxons from Cumbria; they met in battle at Lincoln. The knights performed admirably and took several ransoms, though Sir Roderick was unhorsed at one point, falling from his new Salisbury charger, the result of many years of investment from Owain at the beginning of the Anarchy. By contrast, when Sir Gwef was unhorsed, Sir Sara lent her a rouncy when her squire failed to keep up. Many archers fired at the group, and Sir Sara’s squire complained afterwards that repairing her shield was like removing every quill from a hedgehog.

The battle at Lincoln won, King Arthur pursued the Saxons and drove them into a valley past Hadrian’s Wall in the Caledonian woods. There they corralled them with a palisade, until their hunger drove them to a desperate charge. The battle was won handily.

Now in the North, the knights set out for the Candida Casa monastery, where Cerise hoped to find clues about a Sword of Justice. Instead, they happened upon the lady Nimue bidding them to discharge another duty owed to the Lady of the Lake: to free the prisoner of the Castle of Chains, held fast in the tower. Castellan Bertolay, honoring hospitality, gave them welcome, but also told them they held no prisoner to release. Roderick made friends with the local Cameliard dissidents, but pretended to be drunk asleep when a visiting Eliavres sought to speak with him.

Sirs Harri and Sara, still suspicious, broke their oaths by prowling around after the household had gone to sleep and bribing their way past the tower guards. In the tower they found Queen Guenevere, who claimed to have been kept prisoner since her wedding night some years ago. She greeted Sir Sara fondly and expressed her gratitude. The two knights gave battle to the guards, knives against daggers. Hearing battle, the knights rallied to the cause. Sir Cerise’s squire, Circe, retrieved the weapons they had surrendered and they won the Queen’s freedom through a hidden passage.

They returned to the war camp, only to find that while they had been focused on the Saxons to the North, the white dragon had risen. Salisbury had been sacked, dealing grievous injury to their families and estates. This act of savagery heralded the final battle of this volume.

-Excerpts from Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

[Tizun Thane]

On 1/11/2023 at 12:10 AM, SaxBasilisk said:

to free the prisoner of the Castle of Chains, held fast in the tower. Castellan Bertolay, honoring hospitality, gave them welcome, but also told them they held no prisoner to release. Roderick made friends with the local Cameliard dissidents, but pretended to be drunk asleep when a visiting Eliavres sought to speak with him.

Sirs Harri and Sara, still suspicious, broke their oaths by prowling around after the household had gone to sleep and bribing their way past the tower guards. In the tower they found Queen Guenevere, who claimed to have been kept prisoner since her wedding night some years ago. She greeted Sir Sara fondly and expressed her gratitude

Very Interesting. The fake Guenever stotyline ^^ How did you handle the violation of hospitality?

[SaxBasilisk]

On 1/12/2023 at 9:40 AM, Tizun Thane said:

How did you handle the violation of hospitality?

Poorly. I told them that they would automatically lose Hospitality if they spent their time sneaking about, and two of them were willing to take the plunge anyway. One of them had a famous Hospitality, so in retrospect I would have had him roll to overcome it, or roll a passion in opposition.

[SaxBasilisk]

Interlude: The Tale of Guenever

(We didn’t have time for all this last session, so I’ll fill you in now. This is the story Guinevere tells you on the way back to Carlion.)

“My father, King Leodegrance, often tries his best, but as is so often the case, he falls short of his ideals from time to time. Many years ago, he had an affair with the wife of his seneschal Cleodalis. As it happened, she became pregnant, having a child a month after my mother had me. The affair became common knowledge quickly - it was difficult to conceal two children so much alike in visage.

“Nonetheless, my father and Cleodalis were reconciled, and the other girl - named Guenever after me at birth, before the resemblance was clear - became a close friend of mine. We played together, shared our secrets… and even welcomed dignitaries such as the great Marshal Harri when he came to visit!

“As we became older, Cleodalis and my friend became disenchanted with this state of affairs. They were whispering amongst some of their retainers, including Bertolai, who you met at the Castle of Chains. My friend spent her time with an old nurse named Ganieda, who was reputed to be a witch of dangerous ability, experienced in glamour and cunning. The court can be a difficult and treacherous place, and I did so miss her.

“This changed when I began meeting Arthur secretly in the cathedral. Guen told me she knew, expressing the deepest desire to help to overcome my father’s distrust. I shared everything with her, answering her most probing questions. A wonderful time - I was in love with a king, and I had my best friend back!

“On the third night of the wedding festivities, the dissidents enacted their plan. Do you remember that closed garden near Carlion that ran down to the water? I went for a walk in the garden that night, only to be grabbed by Bertolai’s henchmen and spirited away on the boat. Guen walked past me when she did, and I remember the look of spiteful triumph on her face. I hate to think about what she’s done while I’ve been gone.

“That is the story. I hope she hasn’t done much damage. I care about my friend, but treason against the realm is too much to bear.”
 

[SaxBasilisk]

The white dragon spat malice from the skies above court in Carlion of the year 518 as fledgling Britannia marshaled its forces. With Merlin gone and unable to locate spies at court, Sir Harri dedicated himself to the task. He found none - but rumor had it that Cornwall had planted a mole within Arthur’s retinue. Sir Sara sought information about the vanished Sir Marrok of Silchester, but she only served to muddy the waters further, convincing others that his disappearance was a questionable affair. Sir Cerise spent her time with her mentor Sir Brastias. They rode together, but Sir Brastias fell from his horse and was bruised. A record from Circe, Cerise’s squire, suggests they talked around the specter of death without naming it. Sir Roderick went to market, and found that, despite the conflicts, trade was thriving under King Arthur’s reign, with goods coming from unprecedented distances. Sir Gwf and Sir Ulfius spent their time executing Ulfius’s final schemes and intrigues.

They returned to Salisbury in anticipation of the battle. Sir Harri and Sir Cerise spent their time with their families. Sir Sara spent her time in desperate training, determined to bring the Saxons to justice for kidnapping her child. A good child of Cholderton, Sir Gwef exhorted her peasants and knights to courage with the promise of immortality in the lists of the honored dead. Sir Roderick worried about his estates and secured some of his family outside Salisbury, while concerning himself less with the fate of his concerningly large number of prisoners.

On the eve of battle, Sir Cet, son of Hector, was given his spurs by King Arthur himself. Cet was named after his great uncle Cet (or a leopard or a dog or one of his cousins; it’s a little unclear how many Cets were in Salisbury at this time). Afterward, to their surprise, Sir Sara, Sir Cerise, and Sir Gwefrfawr were all inducted into the Round Table, which they regarded as a clear sign of impending doom (and the likelihood of empty seats in the following seasons).

Perhaps divine justice had something to do with all the injuries Sir Roderick suffered in the next couple days. In the Battle of the Enbourne, Sir Harri, through exceptional tactics and violence, led them to victory after victory, before they met Cyning Aescwine in combat. Sir Harri knocked him unconscious with one strike before taking him prisoner. Later, they came upon the youthful Cyning Yffi of Deira, who Sir Harri also struck down. Despite the Knights of Peryl exceeding all expectations, the tide turned against them and the armies of Arthur retreated to Donnington. The Saxons on their heels, Brastias and the Iron Chargers dove headlong into the mass of Saxons to buy time with their lives.

At Donnington, ceaseless rain turned the battlefield into a quagmire. Sir Roderick took another injury, as did Sir Cerise. The giant Tom-breaks-the-mountain was an old friend of the late Sir Hector. Newly freed by Arthur’s engineers, he faced the Saxon armies on his own to cover the retreat of King Arthur’s forces, an act of betrayal noted in few histories, but surely noted by Sir Cet.

On the third day of battle, Arthur’s forces had retreated into Marlborough county. After much discussion, Sir Harri suggested that they retreat to Badon, rather than be besieged in Marlborough Town, depending on the impatience and battle lust of the Saxons to keep them from destroying any of the region’s walled towns. This fulfilled the words from Harri’s mysterious scroll:

    The Angles, Saxons, Franks, and Jutes,
    Shall not fall to worldly boots.
    See the bold red dragon rise
    To chase the white across the skies.
    Salisbury leads Logres to mend;
    Badon shall stand tall in the end.

Indeed, the Saxons did lay siege to Badon. 

The next day, Sir Sara was unhorsed as they battled heorthgeneats, but the trustworthy knights rode back for her. Sir Roderick was knocked out and badly injured. The newly knighted Sir Cet rode in his place and his first day as a Knight of Peryl saw him facing giants. Her blade still slick with giant blood, Sir Sara is quoted as saying, “The feats of the Knights of Peryl in these battles will go down in legend; even the Saxons will sing of us in their sagas.” A notably humble knight. The day’s action ended quietly, with the knights riding against Saxon archers in the dark, resulting in much confusion and few injuries.

The fourth day of combat began with the appearance of the hissing Red Dragon at the zenith. The Saxon forces thinned; the Knights of Peryl saw an opportunity to slay Aelle, but Sir Harri’s campaign against Saxon royalty finally faltered. They also fought a band of the white dragons, Saxon warriors armored in dragon scale and armed with rancor. The Knights suffered no casualties against them. When the opportunity arrived to fight Cyning Cerdic of Wessex, Salisbury’s long-time nemesis, Sir Harri passed the opportunity to Sir Sara, who took him captive. As the fallen king lost consciousness, Sir Sara growled, “This is for Brastias, cur.” Finally, the glorious Sir Gawain took King Aelle’s life to end the struggle against the Saxons.

Among the day’s casualties was Sir Ulfius, Duke of the Vale, one of the few nobles left from Uther’s reign after the Bloody Feast. Some considered him the heart of Logres in the absence of its king, a cunning and ruthless bastion against the never-ending incursions of the Saxons. Among the many injured were Sir Agravaine, Count Robert and King Arthur himself. The surviving Iron Chargers retrieved Sir Brastias’s remains and held an impromptu wake for him, caked in blood, dirt and glory as they raised their wineskins. There’s a quote attributed to a variety of people, from Sara to King Arthur: “He fought for his lord, his king and coin, but whoever he served, there was none better to have at your back.” Cerise was inconsolable.

King Arthur decreed that the Saxons would receive their proper funeral rites through cremation. Above them on Badon, a mound was raised, ringed with swords, for the dead of Logres. Exhausted and already grieving, the knights retired to their battered castles to find who in their households had survived the brutal week and bury those who didn’t.

-End of Volume 5 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.
 

(This was an interesting session, to be sure. Most of us, save for one, openly rolls in the chat, so the players ended up having an incredible string of luck on the rolls. There was not a single round where the Battle Events table gave them a negative modifier, and they managed to maneuver through their encounters with giants and berserkers with ease. I promise I tried to do my duty to kill them properly, but they made it through.)

[Tizun Thane]

17 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

This was an interesting session, to be sure. Most of us, save for one, openly rolls in the chat, so the players ended up having an incredible string of luck on the rolls. There was not a single round where the Battle Events table gave them a negative modifier, and they managed to maneuver through their encounters with giants and berserkers with ease. I promise I tried to do my duty to kill them properly, but they made it through.)

Lucky them! You used the battle rules in the Corebook, didn't you? They are nicer than the Book of Battles.

[SaxBasilisk]

3 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

Lucky them! You used the battle rules in the Corebook, didn't you? They are nicer than the Book of Battles.

I did use the corebook. I usually give them a choice of troops they can fight with a successful Battle roll - one from the rulebook table, and one from the Book of Armies. Sir Harri has gotten his Battle up to 24, so they usually choose the group they want, so they have some ability to ratchet things up and down.  But in this battle, they were regularly going after the Saxon kings, berserkers, and giants. 

(Berserkers are slightly nerfed, because I'm using the 6e rules on passion amounts, and I feel as if giving them a +10 for passions and PKs a +5 is unbalanced. I think they only ended up with two or three rounds against berserkers, though, and they're still nasty.)

(I will be keeping the choice of units. It's an expression of my overall GM philosophy of "facilitate other people's poor life decisions," which seems tailor-made for Pendragon.)

I usually plan the battles out beforehand in terms of troop composition, creating a table so I can run more quickly. On Day 4, I had initially intended to use the Book of Armies "easy" table, but I swapped out to the "hard" table during the session. They would rather have fought King Aelle, though. (They did get intrigued by the draconic warriors, so they'll be coming back.)

So I'd say they have an easier time than Pendragon as written, but the dice were also very much in their favor. I think we only had one or two PKs unhorsed aside from Sir Roderick, for instance. I had adopted the Book of Battles rule that they could fight an additional round against the same unit to save their friend and give them an opportunity to get back on the horse. Often the outcome of the "rescue" is a trade-off - but not today!

Also, they used their passions a lot - but no one went mad at any point over the four days. I had already decided to house rule any departures so people wouldn't get stuck without characters, but it wasn't needed. Usually I can count on someone flying off the field and being gone for a week. 

Edited March 2 by SaxBasilisk

[SaxBasilisk]

AD 519

Over the winter, Sir Harri’s wife passed away after years of painful decline. The brave marshal fled into the wilds in grief, where he spoke two new prophecies: “A secret falls on a razor’s edge” and “The Lady Rose will bring dismay to one you love.” Accompanied by the monks of Amesbury, he returned a much diminished man with only the memory of his wife left to him.

The knights began their year by sacking some Saxon towns. Many, especially Sir Roderick, chose to indulge their darkest pleasures while doing so. The newly arrived White Knight suggested that the Knights of Peryl and others stay their lusts for violence and cruelty, but even pious Sir Sara considered him a “dork.”

Sir Harri chose to ride with the White Knight on the hunt regardless to distract himself from his pain, receiving a sermon about some sacred cup instead. Sir Sara was honored by appointment to the Queen’s Knights, one of the few members to overlap with the Round Table. She was slapped during the trials by one Lady Indeg, because Sir Sara had indelicately tried to inquire after her husband Sir Marrok’s disappearance the year before. Sir Agravaine continued his feud with Sir Cerise by seizing her goblet and drinking her wine right in front of her (which was somehow not flirting). He unhorsed Sir Cerise to win the duel and continued his assault when she was on the ground, but finally surrendered after she thoroughly blooded him in response.

Sir Gwef renewed her friendship with Sir Uffo. He complained that he was only inheriting Silchester, not his father’s old holding of the Vale. Sir Gwef also took Coelred the Saxon as squire in a conciliatory effort. The group’s reaction was mixed; some chose to ignore him and others hassled him, although Sir Sara welcomed the new arrival. Sir Roderick spent his time in a drinking contest with a Cornish emissary (and presumably nursing a hangover afterwards). 

Court ended with a ceremony of recognition for the great deeds of the past two years. Sir Sara and Sir Harri were honored with the estates of Cherinsford and Woodland, respectively, for deeds in service to the crown in prior years. Boso became count of Rydychan, the Countess Violette having passed in the winter. Lady Lylla became the baroness of her ancestral Castle Vigor in Anglia.

Arthur’s troops marched north to meet an army of Picts and Dal Riadans who sought to exploit the king’s supposedly depleted strength. The Irish were driven back to their borders in the Battle of Alclud, and the king pressed the Picts back to Loch Lomond, forcing the Picts to swim for survival before suing for peace. Sir Roderick set out on his own to pillage and apparently missed messages from the king to return. His deeds during this time have been a matter of scholarly dispute.

Once their duties were discharged, the Knights partook of the oracle of the Eagles of Loch Lomond. Some knights chose to ask personal questions, but Sir Gwef asked if Merlin was primarily responsible for the May Babies.* The eagle’s response: yes. Another answer confirmed the wizard still lived. They had planned to investigate the circumstances of the May Babies to find the perpetrator, and this was an unexpected boon.

Nonetheless, Merlin was still missing. None of the other major mystical figures of the island were easily found, so the group went to Morgan le Fay at Gaiholm, the capital of Gorre.** She was entertaining Sir Accolon and Sir Uffo as guests when they arrived. Le Faye had few answers for them and referred them to Queen Margawse in the Orkneys. She also noted that one of the knights had a method of avoiding Merlin’s attention. After some speculation to Morgan's amusement, Sir Roderick admitted that he did.

Seeking a ship in Stirling, the Knights of Peryl were intercepted by the Orkney faction: Gawain, Agravaine and Gaheris. After Sir Cerise childishly riled up Agravaine, Gawain kept the peace. He offered to give them passage to the Orkneys to meet the queen if they mind their manners and not upset his mother. He also asked that the knights speak with him before bringing the claim of Merlin’s involvement to his uncle the king. On the ship, Sir Roderick buddied up with Agravaine while Sara attempted to apologize to the knight for an off-hand comment. She misspoke, earning his enmity from that day forward.

When they arrived at Orcaide, they found Queen Margawse in a state. Sir Harri tried his best to be diplomatic despite his melancholy. She laid many claims at the feet of Vivianne and Merlin regarding the lost children. She had delved deep into the arcane arts in an attempt to surpass the powerful wards blocking her attempts to see the fate of the May babies, to no avail. Yet she had worked magic to draw out her own memories of the one glimpse she gained through her scrying session. She entrusted the knights with the sketch and an entreaty to find the babies. Sir Harri recalled the island from his time squiring with Sir Helen and the original Knights Perylous - it lay off the Breton coast!

The knights returned from the Orkneys to Logres, where they had a memorial feast for Sir Harri’s departed wife at which Sir Roderick proved most beloved by the crowd. Sir Sara convinced King Cerdic to find the whereabouts of her heir through correspondence. Sir Cerise asked her fairy lover to forgive her infidelity, - but would a fairy even understand the concept?

The year claimed the lives of many influential Britons. The household of Broughton had seen too many die before their time, even before Marcus passed by falling off the fortress’ new wall. Cet the elder, brother of Sir Owain, drowned in a manner that was not recorded. Few not at Staplefort loved Cet, but he was as influential as any behind the scenes, despite his low status. Surely an accident, his death. Cleodalis was much beloved, but King Leodegrance’s affair with his wife had borne much sorrow and chaos, with the whereabouts of the false Guinevere still unknown. Queen Ygraine was mother of the king and the queens of the north, the wife of two of the kingdom’s most powerful men and a power in her own right, though many seemed to want to forget that. The Knights of Peril would recall her efforts to kill their parents during their treason trial at Tintagel…

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

* I polled the players for what they wanted to do next, and this one won unanimously. I think it will work out well, for someone.

** List under "things I should have seen coming, but was caught unawares by nonetheless." I would have liked to introduce Ywaine and Morffyd, Hector's twin children. Next year's court...

[Tizun Thane]

10 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

Sir Sara had indelicately tried to inquire after her husband Sir Marrok’s disappearance the year before

Nice.

10 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

Sir Gwef renewed her friendship with Sir Uffo. He complained that he was only inheriting Silchester, not his father’s old holding of the Vale.

Nice foreshadowing, again.

10 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

Sir Gwef asked if Merlin was primarily responsible for the May Babies.*

The Eagles told me the truth!

10 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

I would have liked to introduce Ywaine and Morffyd, Hector's twin children.

You mean Urien, not Hector, I guess ;)

Otherwise, I really like this year, and the way you handled Queen Margawse. Her alliance with the players looks very promising ! I really hope the PKs will find her lost son, and give peace to this bereaved lady ^^

[SaxBasilisk]

2 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

Nice foreshadowing, again.

Thanks! This is one area where I think the GPC as written could insert a few hints...

2 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

You mean Urien, not Hector, I guess 😉

Oh yes. Hector would never have done anything untoward and/or uncanonical when escorting a lady to her wedding! He'd stand for himself on the matter, but Morgan says he still hasn't come back from Scandinavia...

2 hours ago, Tizun Thane said:

Otherwise, I really like this year, and the way you handled Queen Margawse. Her alliance with the players looks very promising ! I really hope the PKs will find her lost son, and give peace to this bereaved lady ^^

I think this will all go wonderfully!

[Morien]

15 hours ago, SaxBasilisk said:

I think this will all go wonderfully!

No downsides, happy ending for everyone!

[SaxBasilisk]

Cet the elder statesman of the august Salisbury house Staplefort, younger brother of Sir Owain le Terreur and uncle of Sir Roderick, renowned and ruthless schemer, the unofficial shadow of the knights of Peril, drowned in 520. There’s no record of the circumstances; quite Leopoldian.

Sir Harri, dealing with his own losses, spent his time at court pondering mortality. Unfortunately, the Irish peace delegates at court were preoccupied with the coming war and didn’t care to ponder the nature and meaning of death just then. Sir Sara listened to the concerns of some monks about spiritual parallels to a panther and their inability to convert Cerdic of Wessex, an unspoken plea to Sir Sara.

Sir Gwf spoke with Sir Uffo about his desire to become Duke of the Vale, although her letter of support had little effect. Sir Cerise asked Sir Gawain if he could still trust Arthur after his mother’s allegations about Merlin; Sir Gawain reaffirmed his devotion to his liege. Sir Roderick assumed Cet’s legacy and schemed with Sir Agravaine. 

Among the various competitions at court, Sir Sara found herself debating Cerdic of Wessex over the religious virtues, hoping to convert him. Neither proved themselves a master of theology, and their passionate embrace of their respective virtues was indecisive, so in the end Sir Sara won on sheer eloquence.*

The Knights opted to join the force suppressing the rebellion in Anglia to discharge their royal duty, rather than joining the war in Ireland. The siege was broken quickly, but some of the mercenaries were sacking the reclaimed property. The knights (sans Roderick, who was preoccupied with looting) stood against the Green Cloak mercenaries, turning the tide against the pillagers.

After the rebellion was dissolved, Sir Gwladus of Hereford blamed the uprising on the cruelty of Baroness Llylla, Sir Cerise’s mother. Sir Cerise and the knight were set to stand against each other, but both of them, contemplating their abiding passions in the coming battle, found themselves instead in a well of despair. They both fled from the field, mad.**

Rousing herself from her stupor some days later, Sir Cerise found herself addressed by an eagle, perched on a high tree. “Pride is the fault of the Pendragons. Tell King Arthur,” it said. It would provide nothing more, so Sir Cerise returned to the keep where it happened that King Arthur was visiting. She related the strange message and the stranger provenance. Apparently an avid ornithologist, King Arthur set out to meet the eagle. Once the King’s cousin, the transformed bird had a message to relate from the Eagle King (at least one realm that Arthur did not seek to conquer):

Quote

“You will almost die, and then find yourself lost among a field of stones.
"A boatload of children will make you marvel and fear.
"A white knight will also be a monk.
"You shall sit on a throne in Rome.
"Your son will be King of Britain.”

Sir Harri is recorded as referring to the eagle afterward as "douchey."

Their duties discharged, the knights of Peryl turned to a more personal matter: the abduction of Rhian II, heir to Shrewton. Missing for some years, Sir Sara had found her in a Saxon town in Hantonne. Arriving, Sir Roderick, uncharacteristically incensed by the existence of Saxons, pressed past his comrades to murder a Saxon peasant in cold blood.*** The town roused itself and the knights soon found themselves surrounded by peasants with spears held ready. Sir Harri mixed a guess and a risky lie to answer the growing crowd: He claimed they were on the king’s business to look into the source of the weapons that the peasants were arming themselves with. With this and the payment of the weregild, the crowd was sufficiently cowed, and the heorthgeneat Feimurgan emerged with Rhian II.

Sir Sara heard the woman’s story before asking for her child’s return. She paid the price the woman asked out of Rhian’s sight, so that her child wouldn’t think of this as a transaction. Fearing that the years of absence had left them strangers, Sara hummed Rhian II’s favorite lullaby and was pleased to see the child remembered her with love. Sir Gwef recognized the heorthgeneat as the murderer of her father, but put aside her vengeance in deference to the gentle moment of the reunion.

Finding themselves with a few months of good weather left, the knights pursued the May Babies to Brittany. Before they left Hantonne, they heard a popular new song making the rounds:

Quote

 

There was a knight named Roderee, 
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
‘Twas twice as big as you and me
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
He climbed the mountains peak to peak
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
For there adventure he would seek
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,

Hail, sir Rodrick! All Alba did you save
Through your bravery, and your mighty blade!

And there he met King Pellinore,
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
Looking for the nearest door,
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
“Rodrick, there’s a dragon green,
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
The meanest beast I’ve ever seen,
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do.

And when that scared king turned and fled,
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
Toward dragon Rodrick turned his head
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
He found the foul beast in a field
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
There he knew he’d make it yield
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,

Then Sir Rodrick spurred his horse
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
heading toward the dragon’s course
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
With one quick stroke chopped off its head
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do,
And left the mighty dragon dead
Hi dee dee, a diddle di do.

Hail, sir Rodrick! All Alba did you save
Through your bravery, and your mighty blade!

 

Upon arriving at the town of Dol, Bishop Samson advised them on the quest. Sir Sara discovered that her father Nidian I was considered a saint here, to her amusement. They spent weeks scouring the coast until they found the woman reputed to have taken in a shipload of children: Marie. She explained how she had come to be their caretaker, finding them after the wreck and raising them as her own, with the help of a chest of gold and silver. There were none that matched their expectation of a child of Morgawse, however. Apparently there was one absent child, Roi, seen last at the coastline, and late to return.

The knights went in search and found him in a cave, in company with Gros-Jean, a monster who fed naughty children seaweed before punishing them by telling them stories of bad children.**** In exchange for the child’s return, it wanted a story. Sir Harri expertly wove the tale of young Roderick, who was tasked by his lord with filling a golden sack threaded with silver with fresh apples. The squire, hungry and curious, bit into one of the apples and threaded it poorly while closing it, so when his lord went to open the sack at the summit, the bag spilled all the apples to the floor, exposing the bite mark and the squire’s iniquity.*****

Laughing, the monster told Sir Harri that the key had been underfoot all along and dove into the waves. They brought the young man back to the house unharmed. Upon inspection, he really did resemble the Queen of Orkney.

Marie then shared with them a sealed letter, with the seal effaced.  After some discussion, the Knights opened it:

Quote

To his Highness, the Pope:
This child is the son of a king and a queen of Britain. His father hight King Lot, the greatest king of Britain, and his mother hight Margawse, daughter of Uther Pendragon. The gifts sent by messenger are a token of appreciation and trust that you will raise our children in the best manner possible. Please save them from the devil worship of Merlin the Enchanter.

The knights debated what to do and came to an agreement to return the children to the north, but consensus on the letter came less easily. In particular, Sir Cerise said she would not be silent on its contents. In the end, the king read the letter aloud to court and welcomed his nephew, Mordred.******

Sir Gwef announced her marriage to Harri Jr, her beloved HJ. Sir Cerise, meanwhile, performed a poem for the winter court:

Quote

To fall from bough and tree,
to dance however free;
to fade away.
I dance upon the breeze
in fall before the freeze,
my evergreen,
so let’s marry and !@#$.

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

* Method - Contested rolls of Religion, followed by contests of religious virtues (opposing, save for Generous, where the two values were directly contested.) Success on one's religious virtue garnered a point, and two for a critical. If the winner doesn't have a religious virtue, they can block the other person's point, but gain no points themselves. Orate tie-breaker.

** Players: "Do we have seconds for this duel?"
Me: "No, this is too funny."

*** I don't know if this is uncharacteristic of Roderick in general, but he does have one of the lowest Hate (Saxons) in the party. 

**** This was a fun bit of Breton folklore to build in.

***** A modification of the story of the four heads Sir Roderick dropped at Leodegrance's court.

****** A happy ending for everyone!

[SaxBasilisk]

[Illegible] murdered Sir Sara’s husband Corryn with an ax. Desperate for a distraction from her grief, she turned to court and danced with whoever was available, ignoring the monks’ concern over Cerdic’s immortal soul. A different murder on Sir Cerise’s estate prompted her to challenge her guest, Sir Accolon, to a duel. [1] She had long suspected him of murdering her cousin Sir Hector, composer of the song “Fuck up the Saxons.” Accolon postponed the duel regardless.

In the year 521, court was held in the nascent Camelot. Sir Sara asked Morgan to contact her elder sister for help with the recent estate deaths, but Morgan, unusually cheerful, was distracted by Sir Harri at the Camelot menagerie near the panther cage. Sir Cerise dueled a knight, Sir Jean-Pierre of Claudas’ court, for declining a lady’s dance. Sir Gwef spent her time gaming with Sir Uffo and invited him to her upcoming nuptials.

Sir Gwef wanted a grand celebration of her union with Harri Junior, so it was held in Camelot. During the feast, Sir Cerise was showered with interest from the other guests, even as Sir Harri gave a speech and toast honoring the couple. Sir Roderick, meanwhile, caused a ruckus.

While there was a royal feast that year, the Knights of Peryl opted to go on their own, less raucous hunt. They were accompanied by Sir Guaire, an Irish knight and friend of Orkney. Sir Harri, an accomplished hunter, cornered the hart before the rest of the group arrived. The beast repeatedly gored him, but the beast went down when the others arrived. Their hunt ended, the group returned to Camelot where Morgan tended to Sir Harri’s needs [2].

After the royal hunt ended, the court discovered Arthur and Uriens missing. Also missing was Sir Accolon, a confidante of Morgan. Sir Harri remained in Camelot and let his un-gored daughter take his place with the Knights of Peryl. They dutifully searched the woods for their liege that night, led by Sir Roderick’s hunting leopard, and dutifully became lost.

As the sun rose, they heard someone playing a familiar tune. Following the sound through the underbrush, they were waylaid by Saxons in dragon hide wielding claws. The Knights were driven back by the dragon warriors’ fury, and Sir Cerise’s wounds reopened. Finally, Sir Roderick called upon the tooth of St Germanus to break the enemy’s ranks.

The Knights followed the music until they arrived at a clearing where a duel between two knights was underway. The combatants were unrecognizable. Their shields were dented and blood obscured their tabards. The audience said that they championed local lords in a dispute over a manor, but didn’t know either fighter. The knights watched until one duellist disarmed the other, causing Excalibur to land at the feet of the crowd. Cerise originally wanted to return the sword to its owner, but Sir Sara urged caution. After the knights revealed themselves, she gave the blade to the unveiled King Arthur. Knowing he was doomed, Sir Accolon collapsed under the weight of his wounds.

Sir Accolon admitted plotting to overthrow Uriens and Arthur, and that the duel was a pretext to kill Arthur, all for love of the mastermind: Morgan. Arthur then collapsed and the group took both to the estate of Sir Ontzlake. [3] The knights stood guard, but Sir Cerise took a moment away from Arthur’s bedside to hear the last words of Sir Accolon. Accolon expressed regret for his treason (but not killing Hector). 

As the Knights kept their long vigil, Morgan appeared in Arthur’s room and attempted to take his life with Excalibur, but Sir Betrys heard her enter and took the blade from her. Morgan fled on bronze wings [4], still clutching the sheath and dodging the dagger Sir Betrys threw.

A few hours later, a party from Arthur’s court found the king, and they all retired to Camelot. Harri related to them what happened in their absence: The night before, Sir Harri had sought Morgan’s aid again [5], but discovered her tending to Uriens and left her to it. The next morning, he checked in with Morgan [6] and found her armed and struggling against her son Ywain; she was trying to kill Uriens with his own sword. Sir Harri knocked the sword from her hands and gave her a parting wound as she vanished [7].

Arthur pronounced Morgan an enemy of the crown and banished her children from court, despite their loyalty. [8] Many knights voiced their protest at the fate of Ywain and Morffyd, but Sir Cerise’s words so affected Sir Gawain that he chose to go into exile with Sir Ywain. Sir Gwef invited Morffyd to remain at Broughton. 

Arthur’s action in response to the treason was swift, pursuing Morgan’s household out of Camelot, but he found himself lost in a field of standing stones. He also had all the knights of the land swear fealty to him, personally at Sarum. The year’s campaign in Alba had gone poorly. The Picts never met the knights on the field of battle, using hit and run tactics in the rocky terrain. This is also the first year that the cult of Regis is found in the record.

Sir Harri finally decided to retire from active duty. His baseborn daughter took his place in the Knights of Peryl. Sir Betrys, second Kingsguard of her family, had been in the group’s retinue some time and witnessed Arthur draw the sword from the stone, as well as fighting at Bedegraine, Lincoln, and Badon. She had heard of her father’s deeds from the other knights her whole life and spent much of her time in awe of her comrades, hoping to live up to their legacy.

-Excerpts from Volume 6 of Brother Mordecai’s Annales Sorvioduni.

[1] Some timing, waiting for this year to kill Accolon...

[2] Even worse timing.

[3] If you get the group involved in the duel, I'd recommend handling it this way. "All right - the king is injured, you don't know any of these people, and you're the only ones from Camelot here. You've just become his bodyguards. What do you do?"

[4] The wings of King Bladud, hidden under Westminster, to which Nerys was instrumental in granting Morgan access.

[5] Me pushing the player with Lustful 18.

[6] His idea this time.

[7] Courtesy of the Ring of Eluned, gifted to her by Sir Hector.

[8] You'll note that I forgot the maiden with the cloak - but I think this is an example of Arthurian literature just piling on parallel incidents. It also makes him look kind of dumb that he even thinks about it. YPMV.

Edited May 9 by SaxBasilisk