Using Only "Book of Knights" to Run a Campaign

[Stan Shinn]

The 4.1 edition (as I've heard it called) Book of Knights product listing describes it as a "complete edition of King Arthur Pendragon."

Could I run a campaign with this book alone? And would this be all that players would need?

I like simple rulesets (as I mentioned in this related thread) and I'm wondering if I could use Book of Knights by itself to run the 5.2 edition of The Great Pendragon Campaign.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Stan Shinn

[Grimmshade]

It turns out I already owned this on DTRPG, but I had never downloaded it. Must have been part of a bundle. I just grabbed it and gave it a look and it's pretty complete looking! Way more than I would have expected. I'm sure it's nothing compared to the full rules, but it's enough that I might use it to test out the system while waiting for 6e. 

I don't know that your could use only these rules for TGPC, as there are not rules for mass battles, feasts, etc. At least not that I saw on first pass.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Grimmshade

[Hzark10]

I assume you mean Green Knight's "Book of Knights"?

It builds upon 4th edition. The main difference is in Squiring phase, you get three benefits per year (not one), but you are limited in only 1 per Statistic, Passion, Trait or Skill.  So, no +3 SIZ in one year; you could take +1 in three different Statistics, however. Nor could you raise a skill to 15 and immediately add 1 more to it in the same year.

The rules are boiled down to simple explanations. There are no scenarios in the book, so you need to create your own. As Grimmshade noticed, but it does give the basics from which you can build your on KAP campaign. If you wanted to run the GPC using just these rules, you will need to fill in many areas, but it is possible.

[Morien]

Frankly, you are much better off buying the 4e pdf instead. 

[Grimmshade]

1 hour ago, Morien said:

Frankly, you are much better off buying the 4e pdf instead. 

I'm sorely tempted to buy the 5.2 PDF, but it feels like an impulse buy when I'm really wanting 6e.

[Morien]

12 minutes ago, Grimmshade said:

I'm sorely tempted to buy the 5.2 PDF, but it feels like an impulse buy when I'm really wanting 6e.

Do you have a gaming group eager to try KAP?

In that case, you could easily run a mini-campaign with 4e and the free stuff:

The rules of 4e and 5.2 are mainly the same. Sure, there are some minor differences, such as Double Feint doesn't exist in 5.2 anymore, and the chargen is a bit different, too. But the bones of the system are very much the same, so if you learn the play the game with 4e, it is almost the same as 5.2. And what we have seen of the KAP 6e rules so far in the Quickstarter and The Great Hunt, it seems that the fundamentals (opposed rolling, stats, traits) do not change all that much, so 4e will work very well as a training set for 6e, too.

Point is, the 4e + free stuff would cost you $9.99, from the Chaosium website: https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon-classic/

That is about a single movie ticket, or half of a pizza, or a Big Mac meal.

[Grimmshade]

8 minutes ago, Morien said:

Do you have a gaming group eager to try KAP?

In that case, you could easily run a mini-campaign with 4e and the free stuff:

The rules of 4e and 5.2 are mainly the same. Sure, there are some minor differences, such as Double Feint doesn't exist in 5.2 anymore, and the chargen is a bit different, too. But the bones of the system are very much the same, so if you learn the play the game with 4e, it is almost the same as 5.2. And what we have seen of the KAP 6e rules so far in the Quickstarter and The Great Hunt, it seems that the fundamentals (opposed rolling, stats, traits) do not change all that much, so 4e will work very well as a training set for 6e, too.

Point is, the 4e + free stuff would cost you $9.99, from the Chaosium website: https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon-classic/

That is about a single movie ticket, or half of a pizza, or a Big Mac meal.

Man, sold! Thank you. Now I can get a taste but still hold off on loads of purchases for 6e.

[SaxBasilisk]

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.

[DreadDomain]

On 9/16/2022 at 5:10 AM, Stan Shinn said:

The 4.1 edition (as I've heard it called) Book of Knights product listing describes it as a "complete edition of King Arthur Pendragon."

Could I run a campaign with this book alone? And would this be all that players would need?

I like simple rulesets (as I mentioned in this related thread) and I'm wondering if I could use Book of Knights by itself to run the 5.2 edition of The Great Pendragon Campaign.

As other have said, Book of Knights is a simplified set of 4e and is not a 4.1 edition. I was not meant to replace, update or improve on 4e. Personally, I would not really bother with it if you don't have it, and would get 4 or 5.2 instead. If you have it and nothing else, sure it's usable even if some areas of the rules are not represented.

Edited September 17, 2022 by DreadDomain