The Dragons of Britain 1 - The Birthday Hunt

Winter 2013

The Birthday HuntA Pendragon adventure into the land of Faerie

Scholars of the Cycle: Gildas & Britains Dark AgesHammer To Fall: An Age of Arthur AdventureAround The Table: Greg StaffordPendragon Through The AgesGanieda The EnchantressWhispers Around The Realm

STYGIAN FOX

Dragons of BritainTheTHE JOURNAL OF GAMING IN ARTHURS BRITAIN

1Zoltan Noll (order #6488567)

The king stablished all his knights, and gave them that were of lands not rich, he gave them lands, and charged

them never to do outrageousity nor murder, and always to flee treason; also, by no mean to be cruel,

but to give mercy unto him that asketh mercy, upon pain of forfeiture of their worship and lordship

of King Arthur forevermore; and always to do ladies, damosels,

and gentlewomen succor upon pain of death.

Also, that

no man

take no

battles

in a

wrongful

quarrel

for no law,

ne for no worlds

goods. Unto this were all the

knights sworn of the Table Round, both old and young.

And every year were they sworn at the high feast of Pentecost.

- Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte dArthur.

Zoltan Noll (order #6488567)

ContentsThe Pentecostal Oath

Contents

Noble Edicts Editorial by Steff Worthington

The Birthday Hunt A Pendragon Adventure by Dave Elrick

Pendragon ThroughThe AgesA look at the various editions of Pendragon by George Quail

The OtherworldA look at Arthurian linksout in Internet-land

Hammer To FallAn Age of Arthur adventure by Paul Mitchener

Ganieda, sister to MerlinAn NPC for Pendragon by George Quail

Gildas & Britains Dark AgesArticle by Paul Mitchener

Gawains TaleVerse by Steff. J. Worthington

Around The TableGreg Stafford & Steff Worthington

Whispers Around The RealmPlot nuggets and ideas

Gratitudes & ComplimentariesLinks to our contributors

WritersSteff. J Worthington,

Dave Elrick, George Quail,& Paul Mitchener.

ArtistsSteff. J Worthington,

Pareeerica, starscoldnight, AnaRasha-stock,

John Atkinson Grimshaw, ITSDura, Lor Myers,

& Misty Patricia.

A sincere thanks to all the artists who have contributed to the past

and present art of Pendragon.

Cover art: Woods by Jessica Dueck

http://starscoldnight.deviantart.com/

Direction & EditingSteff. J. Worthington

Copyright

Submissions & Contactsteffworthington@hotmail. com

Dragons of Britain is a magazine dedicated to the world of Arthurian gaming & RPGs King Arthur:

Pendragon is copyright 2013 Greg Stafford & Nocturnal Media. Age of Arthur is copyright 2013 Wordplay Games. This free fan based magazine is not for sale and is a work of fiction. No similarities to real world people (still living or sleeping under-

neath a hill) or events are intended.

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I grew up with the tales of King Ar-thur and his knights (although I dont remember him being referred to as King) and from an early age began to wonder who this leader of battles, this Dux Bellorum, actually was.

Id spend hours in Mold Library (one of the largest Arthurian collections in existence) breathing in the dust from old volumes and wrestling with French names which seemed so in-congruous next the Welsh names I was used to from the tales I had been told.

Part of the charm of these investi-gations was deciphering who was who and what was what. Myrddin, or Emrys, was Merlin. Cai was Kay. Afallan was Avalon. But it was only when my beloved aunty bought me a copy of RISK when I was young that I started to get into gaming. In time, progression to role-playing games, and thence to Pendragon, was only natural for me.

The hobby and the Matter of Britain still hold sway for me. Im currently writing my own non-magical RPG version of the Welsh Arthur (The Bear of Britain), I now draw maps profes-sionally (and some of these appear within this issue), and my knowledge of Arthur has widened.

Still, I cannot claim to be an expert. If anyone does claim to be, they are mistaken. So little is known of the

great warlord that it almost impos-sible to rely on any facts with any certainty. His reputation, personage, and deeds are so vague as to be con-sidered myth by some (not a view I hold).

I sometimes wonder what will hap-pen if we find Arthur. Will we find him in a sunken field that was once a pool near Baschurch in Shropshire? Buried in a wall as part of Chesters amphitheatre? (A candidate for Ca-melot), in a mountainside cairn in Snowdonia? Or under the grass on Salisbury Plain? Will we wish wed not gone looking?

I think sometimes that people need to reveal the truth more than know the truth. That finding him and hav-ing the fame is more interesting than learning who he was. Will we look down into that shallow grave in the earth, at the detritus, rotted fabric, hiltless sword, and old bones and think we shouldve have left him un-discovered? That our dream of Arthur cant possibly match up to the reality?

I would counsel caution. I want to know who he really was too, but in doing so we could unravel the great-est wonder and relic this island of the mighty has to offer.

Yet still we seek him.

- Steff. Worthington

Noble Edicts


BirthdayThe

HuntA Pendragon adventure by David Elrick

during the Period of Unification


6The Birthday Hunt

A Pendragon adventureby David Elrick

The following adventure was origi-nally written to be run at games conventions and so was designed to fit into a four-hour slot. I set it in 514AD, immediately after the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere and before the military campaign against Maelgywn of Gwynedd. With a little work (mainly chang-ing background details) it should be easy enough to place almost anywhere during the Pendragon period.

A mix of Pagan and Christian knights works best with this ad-venture, although an all-Christian group would be interesting too. At least one knight should have a rea-sonable Faerie Lore score (or the equivalent if you are using a sys-tem other than Pendragon).

Some maps are provided with the adventure. They were not needed any time I ran this adventure but If you need to map the woods, it should have a river running through it and a long meadow (pic-nic field) at one side.

Location/Date

This adventure is set in the sum-mer of the year 514 AD, although this can be changed to suit your campaign.

It begins at the court of the Earl of

Tewkesbury (a kinsman of the Earl of Salisbury) and takes place in woodlands along the Gloucester/Sugales border and in the fringes of the Dean Forest (the border of the realm of Faerie).

Plot Summary

The PCs are knights of Salisbury who have come north ahead of the main army ready for the new campaign. They are at the home of their Lords brother in law, so they are among friends and can there-fore relax. Their role is to arrange temporary quarters for the army and prepare their host and his household for its arrival.

This is a double celebration - the ar-rival of old friends, heralding the arrival of the Lords kin, plus the Lords eldest son is 21 and ready to be knighted. There will be a cel-ebration feast followed by a hunt the next day.

Part 1 is the feast and gives the players opportunities to test skills such as dancing, orate, sing and others (the lord has a couple of beautiful daughters too). Friend-ships may be made/renewed or spoiled as the night pans out.

Part 2 is the start of the hunt. The hunt goes slowly initially. Apart from the PCs, the Lord and the birthday boy, there are several knights of the Lords household and a couple of other guests. Plus ladies, squires, beaters, dogs and assorted servants with the picnic M

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train... At first, the hunt is pretty normal - plenty of hares, a few boar and a couple of stags. Some grouse and pheasants might be spotted too. They will also meet a hermit who will give them useful advice (hopefully theyll take it).

In the middle of the day, the serv-ants will set out the picnic lunch in a clearing and more social type stuff might ensue (Part 3).

In the afternoon, the party splits up (deliberately or otherwise) and the hunt moves into thicker, wilder woods. Some more game is spot-ted and possibly hunted. Some of the game may be more fantastic creatures. Then the boys horse is spooked and bolts...

Chasing the horse leads the PCs into wilder areas of the woods and to a clearing where a tower stands. This is the border with Fa-erie and the PCs need to find the birthday boy.

The boy lies in an enchanted swoon in the tower, attended by several Fa-erie maids who are holding him for their queen. They offer the PCs food and drink, hoping to ensnare them too. The boy can be released if the PCs leave an equal gift this could be someone else, or a song or poem.

If the PCs escape back into the real world the tower is just a ruin...

Map of Sugales/Gloucester border

Magna draconis arturius rex


8Part 1 The Feast

Location: The Great Hall, Tewkes-bury Castle

Date: Late Summer, 514AD

The game opens in the great hall at Tewkesbury castle. The hall is filling up and there is a buzz of conversation as the knights and ladies of the court discuss the news brought up from the South by the player characters.

Most of the ladies want to hear about the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere which happened in Camelot at Pentecost (earlier this year roughly the beginning of May, or Beltane to the pagans). They will be eager for any news, especially the fashions of the la-dies and what Queen Guinevere is like. If you are running this in another year, substitute whatever is the current news from Camelot.

On the other hand, the men are mostly interested in the forthcom-ing campaign against Maelgywn of Gwynedd and whether the player characters think there will be war, or whether Maelgywn will back down when he sees the size of Arthurs forces. They will also speculate on the size of the army and what the Saxons will or wont do while Arthur is campaigning in Gwynedd. There are opportu-nities for Boastful and Modest checks are the player characters are questioned about their own

experiences in the wars against the Saxons.

This is also a good point for the player characters to learn about Maelgwyn and Gwynedd, Maelgw-yns renouncing of Arthurs rule, the recent raids into the borders of the Earls domain and the forthcoming war. Answer any questions but dont force information on them.

The hall will settle down as every-one finds their seats. As honoured guests (and representing members of the Countesses own family) the player characters are given places at the high table. Once everyone is seated, the pages blow the horns and Earl Gherard and his family en-ter and take their places. The Earl and his lady are accompanied by their three sons (Rhun who is 21 and the other two, Giles and Briant, who are around 12-13) and two daugh-ters (Meraud who is 17 and Alys who is 18).

It is a good feast, with plenty of rich food. Entertainment is provided at first by some of the Dukes own household, but one or more of the player characters might win some glory by performing a song or story. Orate and Perform rolls are suitable here.

At some point during the feast, the Earl will rise and welcome his guests. He will also propose a toast to his eldest son who is to be made a knight tomorrow. Particularly keen or pious knights might offer to M

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9share the boys vigil in the chapel and will get smiles from the Earls daughters and will be the first to get a chance to dance with the la-dies (if they choose to do so).

Once the feast is finished, the ta-bles are cleared and moved back against the walls and the danc-ing begins. The player charac-ters will probably want to dance with Meraud and Alys, the Earls daughters, who will be delighted to agree. Any player knights who wish to roll an Amor passion for either young lady should be en-couraged to do so.

The girls have high Chaste scores, so they will be unlikely to agree to any improper suggestions, but will be delighted and flattered by any romantic gestures (songs, etc). Some of the Earls own retinue however will be more than a little jealous and this might generate a little tension between some of the Earls household and the player characters later out of earshot of the young ladies.

The player characters are among friends and allies (the Earl is their Lords brother-in-law) so there should be no serious problems or fights unless someone seriously oversteps the mark. If someone does over-indulge or go all out to cause offence, challenges will be issued, but the Earl is keen not to spoil his sons glory and will at-tempt to smooth over all but the most blatant transgressions.

Eventually, the feast breaks up. An-yone who chooses to accompany the Earls son will be shown to the chapel. The boy is armoured up for the vigil as is the custom, but the player characters dont have to be unless they choose to do so (they are already knights). They will be in for a sleepless night of prayers and will have -5 to their alertness rolls during the hunt the next day; however they will gain some glory for joining the boys vigil.

Part 2 The Birthday Hunt Sets Out

Location: Woodlands near Tewkes-bury

Breakfast is a hearty affair in the great hall. The Earl and his knights and the player characters are all ar-moured up and ready and eager for the day ahead.

Eventually the hunting party assem-ble in the main courtyard. Earl Gh-erard pulls aside the player knights and asks them a favour. His son is a bit reckless and accident-prone (think a sort of young Boris Johnson). Can they go with him and make sure he doesnt come to any harm and doesnt wind up looking like a fool. It doesnt matter if he isnt successful in the hunt, just that he has a good day and doesnt wind up doing any-thing stupid.

The party will set off towards the forest, splitting into smaller groups along the way. The plan will be to



10

hunt until noon and meet at a meadow close to the river. In the player characters group will be the PCs, the Earls son, a couple of re-tainers and a few dogs. The squires will not accompany their knights unless expressly ordered (they are required to help transport the pic-nic).

Run the morning hunt using the rules from pages 84-86 of the main rulebook (5th ed.) and the table in the sidebar. The morning hunt will take four phases (hours) and will involve hunting through the woods after game.

It is a pleasant summers day. The woods are warm and light and airy. The trees are far enough apart to make mounted travel easy, but close enough together to provide covered areas and shade. The woods are full of game mainly rabbits and deer, although a few wild pigs/boars can be seen or heard (mostly crashing away from wonder boys incessant talking).Rhun is very talkative (mainly about himself) and, frankly, a bit of a twit. If it will aggravate the play-ers further, give him an annoying laugh too. He will undoubtedly spoil the hunting by startling any game and generally making a lot of noise. The retainers will shrug but will say nothing against their Lords heir.

There is one mandatory encounter during the morning. About half-way through the morning the path

rounds a small rocky hill and drops down towards a stream. The dogs will stop at the base of the hill, barking at something amongst the rocks. The something will turn out to be an old man dressed in rags, sitting high on the rocks and at the mouth of a cave.

Rhun will attempt to call off the dogs, but will only succeed in adding to the rumpus and making things worse.

If the player knights (or Rhun) are rude or abusive to the hermit, he will pretend to be mad and will utter some gibberish, hoping they will go away.

If the player knights attempt to talk to the hermit, he will be polite and sur-prisingly well-spoken. His clothes are tattered, but he has the remains of a tonsure (a sort of haircut favoured by monks), which suggests his previous occupation. He will warn them to be-ware of the deeper woods and not to go beyond the ford by the black rock. If they do go past it, he warns them to take nothing while they are in the Queens realm without leaving some-thing in payment or you will never find your way home again. Above all, he warns, they should stay away from the tower. Rhun will be dismissive (Queens realm, what nonsense all this land belongs to my father) and eventually quite abusive.

If the player knights ask the hermit to expand upon his tale, he wont be able to give them much to go on. He just knows that not all this land be-longs to the Earl and the wilder woods conceal things that he wont talk of, in case they hear and come for him.

The Morning Hunt

D20 Roll Creature

1 Bear (Avoidance 7)

2-4 Rabbit (Avoidance 12)

5-7 Wild Pig/Boar (Avoidance 10)

8-12 Red Deer (Avoidance 15)

13-19 Fallow Deer (Avoidance 18)

20 Wolf (Avoidance 10)

Range at which the ani-mal is first spotted is 1D6 + the avoidance value mi-nus the characters hunt-ing skill.


Eventually they will tire of this and set off again. If they spend too long quizzing the hermit, Rhun will ei-ther get angry or lose interest and set off in search of game. When the player knights catch up with him, he wont talk about anything the hermit said (most of it means noth-ing to him anyway).

Part 3 Lunch

Location: A handy clearing

Eventually the morning will be over and the groups will assemble for lunch. Several pavilions have been set up in a meadow close to the riv-er and a feast has been laid out for the Earl and his guests.

Meraud and Alys will be there and keen to hear of the mornings adven-tures from any of the player knights who are interested in spending time with them.

Rhun will be full of the mornings escapades and very talkative (he has a very high Boastful score).

If the player knights spoke to the hermit, they may decide to ask the Earl about him and what he said.

The Earl knows that there is a her-mit living in the woods. The hermit is well-spoken and the Earl believes that he might be a monk who was driven out of Norgales, or possibly further afield. He has been living in the woods for at least three years and the Earl has made several at-tempts to offer him shelter or aid,

but with no success so far. The hermit seems to have more than one home in the woods as he has been seen in sev-eral widely separated locales. Some of the Earls advisors have urged him to capture the hermit or drive him out, but the hermit isnt doing anyone any harm and the Earl isnt keen to tempt fate, just in case.

If asked about the ford by the black rock, the Earl knows of a black stand-ing stone deep in the forest away to south west. He doesnt go down that way because it eventually leads into the deep woods and, if you go far enough, becomes the Dean forest where the fair folk are said to live. He dismisses it as pagan superstition, but perceptive knights will notice that he crosses himself just in case. In any case, the hunt wont be going that way.

If he is asked about the Queen, he is mystified. The only Queens he knows of are Queen Guinivere in Camelot or Uthers Queen, Ygraine, who now lives in Amesbury. The Irish are said to have a Queen in far away Tara across the sea, but that cant be it. A successful Faerie Lore roll (either here, or earlier when the player knights were talking to the hermit) will suggest to the char-acter that the Queen might refer to the queen of the fae.

Part 4 The Hunt Continues

Location: Thicker, wilder woods

Once again, run the hunt using the rules from appendix 3 of the main rulebook. The woods are still full of game and there are even signs of more



varying from thigh to chest deep as you travel along it. It is icy cold.

The stream leads down through the woods into a shallow valley where the trees open out a lit-tle. On this bank of the stream is a standing stone. It is large and black with silver flecks shot through it. It is higher than a man (maybe 8-9 feet tall) and about

as thick around as an armoured man. Close to the standing stone, the stream is very shallow (ankle deep at most). On the other side of the river the woods are thick and dark, but there is an obvious path (the first the characters have seen for a while).

Rhun will want to cross the stream

fantastic creatures (See sidebar).

After a couple of hours, regardless of how well the players make their hunting rolls, it becomes clear that they are lost. The woods are thicker here and there are places where the trees crowd in, making a path through them more wind-ing. There are no clear trails or landmarks.

Eventually, the party will come to a stream through the woods. The stream is clear and fast-flowing and, here and there, it tumbles over rocks, making a pleasant sound. It isnt especially wide an unarmoured man would have trouble jumping across it, but even with a rider a horse would have no problems. It also isnt very deep,

The Continued Hunt

D20 Roll Creature

1 Bear (Avoidance 7)

2-4 Rabbit (Avoidance 12)

5-7 Wild Pig/Boar (Avoidance 10)

8-12 Red Deer (Avoidance 15)

13-18 Fallow Deer (Avoidance 18)

19-20 Signs of giants (footprints, broken trees, discarded club)

Range at which the ani-mal is first spotted is 1D6 + the avoidance value minus the characters hunting skill.


and explore, especially if he over-heard the hermits warning. Let the player characters decide what to do or argue with him. The retain-ers will be no help, even if hed lis-ten to them. If anyone tries to enter the ford, their horse will be skittish and may initially refuse to cross the ford, but will go on if urged.

At some point, Rhun will spur his horse into the ford. He will look back in triumph at the others, and then his horse will rear in alarm and bolt off up the path with Rhuns shouts of whoah echoing back. He is lost from sight before the players can react.

Alas!

Sensible players will now turn back, but there is the small matter of their promise to Earl Gherard.

Part 5 The Tower

Location: Outside a mysterious tower

Following Rhuns trail isnt hard the horses hoofprints are clearly visible in the packed earth and, in any case, it follows the trail un-til the trail runs out. There is no sign of Rhun, although a success-ful hunting roll will reveal his rid-erless horse grazing in a nearby clearing.

What the player characters do now is up to them. Retracing their steps to the stream is relatively easy.

Finding a trail to follow is more difficult as there isnt really much to go on. Most likely they will try hunting or blundering around. If any of them mention the tower that the hermit warned them of, soon afterwards they will break out of the woods and see a tower ahead of them. This will be the final straw for the retainers, who will make a run for it.

The tower is tall and made of a dark stone. It has a single open doorway and several high windows. There is no sign of life.

The player knights are not chal-lenged when they approach the tower. Close up, the walls of the tower are smooth (if anyone looks closely, they will see no signs of brick or stonework on the tower it looks as if it is made from a sin-gle piece of stone). The doorway is large enough to admit men, but not large enough for horses, which must be left outside.

Entering the tower, the knights find themselves in an empty chamber with a circular stair in the far wall. They can hear the faint sounds of music, although there is no clear idea where it is coming from. No one will answer if they call out.

Part 6 The Challenges

Location: Inside the same tower

Climbing the stairs in the tower leads the player knights to another



chamber. This one is lavishly fur-nished, with wall hangings and couches. The music is clearer now, although there is still no obvious source. Low tables groan with food and drink. There are several young women here clad in flowing robes which touch and billow in a quite distracting fashion. Lustful or Chaste rolls may be appropriate at this point.On a couch directly opposite where the characters enter the chamber lies Rhun, with two young ladies trying to tempt him with grapes and goblets of drink. He seems to be in a daze and does not immedi-ately notice the player characters.

Successful Faerie Lore rolls at this point will reveal what the hermit warned the characters about (un-less they were rude to him): this is in the land of Faerie and anyone who eats or drinks anything here will be unable to leave.

The young women will try to tempt the player knights with food and drink, or more lustful pursuits if that seems to be how the charac-ters tastes lie. They will also resist any attempts to remove Rhun (they are holding him for their Queen, although they will not admit this unless directly asked).

An obvious option would be to at-tack, but it would be a ruthless or desperate knight who would attack unarmed ladies in their own home (failing a Valorous roll or succeed-ing in a Cruel roll would do it). In any case, due to the glamour on this place any fighting skills are at

-5 (swords get tangled in robes, tables get in the way, etc).

For the player knights to remove Rhun, they must leave something of equal value or they must dis-tract the maidens. Again, Faerie


Lore rolls will suggest this if no-one comes up with a better idea. If someone has succumbed to their greed or lusts, they will be lost, but Rhun can be grabbed in the confu-sion. Otherwise, songs or poems are good.

This can turn out to be quite straightforward, or it can turn into

a Benny Hill sketch. Alternatively, everyone gives in and eats, drinks or wenches and all are lost

If the player knights manage to grab Rhun (and any other knights afflicted by the glamour) and try to run without leaving anything be-hind, the maidens start to scream. The tower seems to lurch and


LavishRoom

LavishRoomof theSeelieCourt

Ground Floor

Top Floor

The Faerie Tower


when the players get into the lower chamber, they will find their way blocked by Faerie Knights (one per player knight and one for Rhun). They stand tall and fair and hold glittering swords. Use the Faerie Knight stats from the rulebook.If the player knights choose to fight, run three rounds of combat and any knights still on their feet at the end of that manage to escape the tower. Fighting skills are not at -5 in this lower chamber (the glam-our is greatly reduced), although they will be if the fight spills back into the upper chamber.

Part 7a Home Again


If the player knights manage to grab Rhun (and any other knights afflicted by the glamour) and es-cape the tower, either by leaving something or by fighting the Fa-erie knights, they find their horses close by. Ahead, the woods will look more overgrown, but less menacing.

Looking back, they will see that the tower is just an overgrown ruin. No Faerie warriors will follow them and only the fading memory of the enchanting music still seems to echo in their ears. It is the same day, and they have escaped the realm of Faerie.

Part 7b You Can Never Go Home Again


If the player knights ate or drank anything from the tower or grabbed Rhun (and any other knights afflict-ed by the glamour) and escaped the tower without leaving something behind or by fighting the Faerie knights, they find the meadow in front of the tower empty and over-grown and no sign of their horses. Ahead, the woods will look more overgrown, but less menacing.

Looking back, they will see that the tower is just an overgrown ruin. An hours walking through the woods will bring them past the black stone and into open, cultivated mead-ows. The first farmstead they come to will be farmed by Saxons, who will be suspicious of these armed and armoured strangers.

If the player knights somehow con-trive to talk to the Saxons rather than attacking them, they will know nothing of Earl Gherard the lord of Tewkesbury is a Saxon war-leader called Eorsa. Any mention of Arthur will increase suspicion, although Arthur is long dead...

Although theyve left the world of Faerie behind, it most certainly isnt the same day. In fact, many years have passed. Such is the re-ward of those who accept the hos-pitality of the fair folk...

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The Non-Existent Edition

One of the oddities of Pendragon history is that it leaps from first to third edition. The No-bles Book for 1st Edi-tion starts with a side-bar which claims that and future supplements will make reference to a 2nd Edition, which rather than being split between a Players and Gamesmasters book will be divided into a Squires, Knights and Kings book. Multiple small books suggest this would still have been a boxed set product and the Nobles Book specif-ically assures us therell be no real rules changes. However, this second box never came to pass. On his own website, Greg Stafford has ex-plained that continuing to make boxes was ex-

The Story Of Pendragon's Many Editions

If a role-playing game stays in pro-duction for any length of time, it inevitably sees multiple editions released. There are several reasons for this, including the artistic urge to tweak the game as well as the business sense of releasing a new core rules product all users will purchase rather than increasingly fringe supplements. The revisions may vary in how major the chang-es are and how long passes be-tween them, but any game which stays in print for over a decade will usually have at least two editions of its core rules.

King Arthur Pendragon is no excep-tion. Over the years it has had five distinct core rule books released which can be grouped into three general families of game prod-uct. None of their changes are as severe as, say, the revision between editions of Dungeons & Dragons: but changes there have been, both

in mechanics and tone which gives each family of products its own advantages and disadvantages. Unlike other games there is little in the way of edition wars in Pen-dragons community - appreciation for the older and newer products is mostly universal, even when peo-ple espouse a stronger fondness for a certain incarnation of the rules.

The Three Families

The Early Family is the first Pen-dragon boxed set and its supple-ments: The Pendragon Campaign, Nobles Book, The Grey Knight and Tournament of Dreams. (If it had been printed, the non-existent 2nd Edition would have fitted here see sidebar.) All the essentials of Pen-dragon are clear from the start and a character sheet in this edition could be mistaken at first glance for a 5.1 sheet - Traits & Passions as major personality controls, Skills which start quite low and increase through checks, Attributes which are rarely rolled but used to deter-

ThePendragon Through Ages

by George Quail


pensive and the differ-ent taxation of books versus boxed games made it awkward for sale in some countries. As such, second edition evaporated and the first single-tome edition of the game was 3rd Edi-tion.

four sessions of play.

The Middle Family comprises of 3rd and 4th Edition along with their supplements - 4th edition ba-sically just being the 3rd edition book with some supplemental ma-terial already included. As well as The Boy King, the latest Pendragon campaign, there are many supple-ments. Most of them are of a per region or culture basis - Beyond the Wall, Saxons!, Land of Giants etc - and include regional maps, adventures themed to the area and revised/expanded character gen-eration for that locale.

The regional knowledge and lan-guage skills are gone; considered an awkward hurdle in character interaction. The Boy King is a far larger, more explicitly detailed campaign book still starting with Uthers death, though the core rules is still written from the point of view of generating characters from across Britain during Ar-thurs reign. (There is a separate Salisbury-495 character genera-

mine other rules elements like Hit Points. The core rules cover charac-ters from across Britain, with the Nobles Book introducing French characters. Skills hold the obvious mechanical difference here as each culture has its own language and knowledge skill - thus characters must roll if they want to speak to a Saxon or understand the Pictish traditions. Supplement wise, The Pendragon Campaign commences in 495 with Uthers death and is far vaguer in structure than the later books. Only the initial decade or so is provided in full with ad-ventures & battles all detailed out, while the rest is provided in very general terms with the assumption that the GM will do much of the heavy lifting. The two adventure re-leases, meanwhile, are very heav-ily detailed and resemble more tra-ditional RPG modules much more closely. Compared to the year per session model of many Pendragon campaigns, The Grey Knight feels more like it follows D&Ds expecta-tions of a module lasting three or

1st Edition

3rd Edition


though some like the revised wife table are blink-and-youll-miss-it changes that have definite effects in play. 5th Edition supplements beyond The Great Pendragon Cam-paign were self-published by Greg Stafford and are principally me-chanical supplements that expand on the subsystems of character gen-eration, mass battle and property management; 5.1s supplements have so far done much the same.Compared to previous editions 5th

edition is far more focused with no rules for non-Salisbury player characters in the core rules - and the default year of the core rules is moved from 531 to 485, making it more obviously connected to The Great Pendragon Campaign which starts at this year and thusly in-cludes a decade of play while Uther reigns. No magic rules or non-GPC adventures exist, unlike the Middle Family, which further refines the game experience down to a nar-row point. The supplements add a lot of extra rules complexity to

tion system in The Boy King to ac-count for this.) Character genera-tion in Knights Adventurous/4th Edition goes into more detail on the different regions of Britain than before & the regional supple-ments add many new PC options from distant lands. Magic is given explicit rules on how it operates and the 4th Edition core rules lets you generate PCs using those rules - this is probably the most contro-versial of any edition change, and both Greg Stafford & many fans consider these rules to have been a mistake that changed the focus of the game and codified what should have remained vague. Overall this version increases mechanical de-tail, though not the complexity of the core engine - which remains mostly unchanged.

The Current Family is 5th edi-tion and 5.1, the latter of which is almost more an errata-included version of the former than a true new edition - even by Pendragon standards the changes are minor,

4th Edition

5th Edition


to one edition, though. The fami-lies are all so interrelated that the Pendragon GM can easily raid the whole back catalogue for ideas, inserting in whatever takes your fancy. I myself have done exactly this - running 5th edition with its various supplements, but with a single player character rolled up using the magic rules of 4th Edi-tion and taking individual scenar-ios such as the Cantref y Gwaelod adventure from 1st Editions books when they caught my eye. In all these cases conversion work was minimal and could be done on the fly rather than requiring me to go through any conversion docu-ment or similar.

In Closing

Thanks to Nocturnal having the entire back catalogue of Pendrag-on available on PDF, the modern gamer has easy access to older ma-terial which would have been im-possible a decade ago. Where once finding an 80s RPG book required raking through second hand bins or trawling eBay, you can obtain and read any of Gregs older books in minutes; and a hard copy can ei-ther be ordered from the same site or is just a laser-printing session away. Particular attention should go to the region supplements which are often mentioned to play-ers interested in those cultures re-gardless of which edition you play. In all cases, the GM who finds the topic of a book catches their eye shouldnt let the rules edition get in their way of giving it a try!

their subsystems compared to the core rules versions, which means a game using them all can end up very crunchy.

Comparing The Families

Each family has its own assets. The first editions lighter Pendragon Campaign book may appeal more to people who find the larger, more scripted campaign books of later editions intimidating - especially for those who want to make big changes to the order of history. The middle family is the best for games that go outside the default Knights-of-Salisbury approach - ei-ther a narrow game set differently such as an all-Saxon-group, or a more kitchen-sink mixture of Dan-ish warriors, Irish knights, Pictish Druids and Cymric Ladies. Fifth edition meanwhile offers the di-rectors cut with the latest version of the rules including far more fo-cus in its supplements.

One doesnt really need to commit

5.1 Edition


Scholarly Links

King Arthur Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/arthurtheking/?fref=ts

A BBC Arthurian primer http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/arthur_01.shtml

A Malory-heavy sitehttp://www.kingarthursknights.com/

A historical resource by Thomas Green http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/

A Times Lit article on Tolkiens Arthur. http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/arti-cle1278838.ece

King Arthurs Wales primer (a brief tourist page created by the WelshTourist Board).http://www.visitwales.com/explore/tra-ditions-history/king-arthur-myth-history-locations

Gaming Links

Greg Stafford's Pagehttp://www.gspendragon.com/

Nocturnal Media's KAP Forumhttp://www.nocturnal-media.com/forum/

Pendragon on DrivethruRPG (5.1 edition but other editions are available)ht tp://r pg.dr ive t hr us tuf f .com/prod-uct/81449/King-Ar thur -Pendragon-Edi-tion-51

Age of Arthur RPG (FATE powered)http://wordplaygames.co.uk/?page_id=32

The AoA Forumhttp://www.ukroleplayers.com/forum/view-forum.php?f=189

Age of Arthur at DrivethruRPGht tp://r pg.dr ive t hr us tuf f .com/prod-uct/111752/Age-of-Arthur

Social Networks

Facebook

King Arthur Pendragon (RPG)https://www.facebook.com/groups/pen-dragonrpg/

Age of Arthur RPGh t t p s : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /groups/444779355581235/?fref=ts

The Dragons of Britain (Arthurian fanzine) https://www.facebook.com/groups/british-dragons/

draconum Britanniam

(Youre reading it!)


Lindums forces- Helig ap Glannog, the so-called King without a King-dom, and a mercenary warband of Saxons under the command of the female warrior Edgith- saying they had left Lindums service. Helig considers his honour insulted. Edgith has said she is now in the employ of the Angle prince, Edgar, who has recently come into the area to command the Angle forces.

The player characters are sum-moned by the Prefect of Lindum to help- they are the only ones he can trust, since his Chancellor has van-ished, and Centurion Quintus Dru-sus is under suspicion. Maybe any player characters not from Lindum want something in return.

The City of Lindum (modern day Lincoln)

Before the Romans came to Britan-nia, Lindum was a settlement by a deep pool. The Romans conquered it and the surrounding area, build-ing a fortification on an overlook-

Background

The city of Lindum has remained at peace with the Angles to the east, though other petty kingdoms have been swallowed up by the overseas invaders. It does this by paying mercenaries, who camp outside the city as a deterrent, and by regularly sending payments to the Angles not to invade. They do not want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, so Lindum has re-mained safe and prosperous.

Normally the Chancellor and sen-ior Centurion Quintus Drusus (who commands Lindums own small forces) go together to pay the groups, along with an escort of eight soldiers.

This time, however, Quintus was ill, and Chancellor Brion Varro went alone with the soldiers. He left a week ago to make his journey to pay people, and did not come back. Messengers were sent from the two groups of mercenaries augmenting

HAMMERTO

FALLAN AGE OF ARTHUR SCENARIO SET IN LINDUM BY PAUL MITCHENER


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maintain the citys prosperous sta-tus. The public baths are still in use. The way of life in Lindum re-mains largely Roman.

There are temples to the gods Be-lenus and Lugh and a Christian church dedicated to St. Paul. The Pelagian bishop at the church tol-erates the pagans and the pagans ignore the Christians. Many in Lindum see no contradiction in at-tending both the church and the temples, petitioning both Christ and the old gods to keep Lindum safe from the forces ravaging much of Britain.The truth is a little more complex. Lindums safety is by no means guaranteed despite the intact for-tified wall and standing army.

ing hill. As the area became more settled and the borders of Roman Britannia were pushed further north, the fortification became a civilian settlement for retired le-gionaries.

Lindum grew into a major flour-ishing settlement and local capital, with access to the sea granted by both the River Trent and the River Witham. The aqueduct supplying water to the city is still intact, as is an octagonal fountain amongst the public buildings. The slopes of the hill between the old fortress and the River Trent are the commercial centre of the town. The forum situ-ated there is surrounded by eques-trian statues. Across the river are extensive textile workshops, which

AnglesAn

gles


Level 1: Languages,Melee Combat, Riding, Strength

Languages: Brythonic, Latin, Latin Literacy

Composure 7

Health 4

Gladius: +2 damage, ignore 1 point of armour

Chancellor Brion Varro

Though not present in Lindum at the start of the scenario, Brion Var-ro has an interesting background, which we mention here for clarity, along with his game stats, in case they prove relevant later on.

Always prone to visions, which he could only occasionally control, Brion Varro sought to channel this innate magic through the Chris-tian priesthood. He failed.

He then started to find his visions, uncontrollable as they were, use-ful, and used them for his own profit- certain pictures of disasters led to some lucrative commercial ventures. However, a vision of Lin-dum being invaded and destroyed by the Angles came more and more frequently. The Chancellor decided to abandon the city, taking all he could, including the treasure used to pay the mercenaries and the An-gles.

He fled to prince Edgar of the An-gles, hoping to buy his own life and

Blecca, the ruler of Lindum, calls himself a Prefect rather than a king, in the style of one appointed by Rome. By instinct Blecca is iso-lationist, making no military alli-ances with other realms of Britain. He is now known to habitually pay off those who might consider at-tacking the city. So far, Lindum can afford this policy. Would be raid-ers have found it more profitable to threaten and be paid off, than to attack.

In this scenario, the policy is begin-ning to fail.

The Investigation

The player characters are effective-ly in charge of events as they un-fold, though they must answer to the Prefect, who can either help or complicate matters, and there are others of potential importance in-volved.

The main person to talk to is Quin-tus Decius, who is described in more detail below.

Prefect Marcus Blecca

Aspects:

A Roman Prefect, Not a KingStubborn Old ManThe Independence of Lindum

SkillsLevel 4: WillpowerLevel 3: Leadership, WealthLevel 2: Empathy, Lore (Roman), Strategy and Tactics

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about the wine and the Chancellor, and indeed kept the flask, but the wine story does not reflect well on him, so he kept both that and his suspicions to himself.

Aspects: Senior Centurion of LindumLikes a DrinkPride Comes Before a Fall

Skills: Level 4: IntimidationLevel 3: Melee Combat, Missile CombatLevel 2: Leadership, Strategy and Tactics, Wealth

Level 1: Awareness, Brawling, Languages, Strength

Composure 3

Health 4

Armour and Shield: Absorption 3

Gladius: +2 damage, ignore 1 point of armour

Pilum: +2 damage, ignore 1 point of armour, short range Lindum's Army Lindums native (non mercenary) army consists of 200 men. Aspects:Used to Peace Roman-style Infantry Skill 2 Armour 2 Gladius: +2 damage, ignore 1 point of armour

continued prosperity.

Aspects:

Lindum is Doomed to FallDriven by GreedFailed PriestFormer Chancellor of LindumUncontrolled Visions

Skills: Level 4: DeceptionLevel 3: Charm, WealthLevel 2: Divination, Healing, LanguagesLevel 1: Awareness, Empathy, Riding, Willpower

Stunt: Diviner (can have the Divination skill; no other effect)

Languages: Brythonic, Latin, Latin Literacy, Saxon

Composure 4

Health 3

Centurion Quintus Decius

Quintus Decius was given a flask of fine Italian wine by Chancellor Brion the night before they were due to set out to pay the tribute. He drank it all, as the Chancellor knew he would, and the wine, be-ing lightly poisoned, made him ill.

Quintus needs to be beaten in a relevant social test (just use a sim-ple test, probably against Intimi-dation, to keep things moving) to reveal this. He has his suspicions

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given Edgar her word, even if paid, unless somehow convinced thatleaving Edgars service is the hon-ourable thing to do. One potential opportunity is that the money Ed-gar used to pay her was the Chan-cellors money taken from Lindum.

If a social contest results from talk-ing to Edgith, if the player charac-ters fail, Edgith will try to capture any prominent player characters to give to Edgar.

Aspects: I Am No Mans InferiorMercenary CommanderWoman of Her Word

Skills: Level 5: AwarenessLevel 4: Leadership, Missile CombatLevel 3: Charm, Melee Combat, Strategy and TacticsLevel 2: Agility, Gaming, Stealth, WealthLevel 1: Deception, Intimidation, Strength, Survival, Willpower

Stunts: Precision Shot (Bow shots ignore 2 armour)

Dirty Fighter (using Aspects placed as Manoeuvres grants a +3 rather than a +2 bonus)

Composure 4

Health 4

Armour: Absorption 1

Pilum: +2 damage, ignore 1 point of armour, short range Outside the Walls

Prince Edgars army is on the march. It will reach Lindums walls within three days. Edgar is cunning, and wants an extra ele-ment of surprise. Therefore he has sent out some of his elite warrior bands in groups of eight to am-bush people travelling in his direc-tion (or that of the mercenaries). The player characters are likely to run into one of these groups. The elite warriors are Gunthers wolves, who are under the com-mand of Edgars champion, Gunther, who is described below. Aspects: Trusted with Special Missions Warriors of the Wolf (they wear wolf-shaped helms, and can run as quickly as a wolf) Skill 4 Seax: +2 damage Battleaxe: +3 damage

Seax: +2 damage

Battleaxe: +3 damage

Talking to the mercenaries is a like-ly action of the player characters.

Edgith

Edgith has changed her service, but is in the same location. She will not readily change back, as she has

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Tactics, Strength Level 2: Agility, Intimidation, Missile Combat, Wealth Level 1: Awareness, Contacts, Gaming, Healing, Survival

Languages: Brythonic, Latin

Composure 3Health 6

Stunts: +1 with sword and shield to attack

Armour 2 (leather and shield)

Spatha: +3 damage

Sling: +0 damage, medium range

War Horse

Helig's Warriors

There are 100 warriors in Heligs band

Aspects: Warrior Ideals

Looking for a cause and a home

Skill 4

Armour 2

Spear: +2 damage

Sling: +0 damage, medium range

Gaining FundsTo get the mercenaries back on side will need, at the very least, money to pay them. Such money is not

Seax: +2 damage

Battleaxe: +3 damage, enchanted with a rune so it has the Aspect: Al-ways Sharp.

Longbow: +2 damage, long range

Edgith's Band

100 men, mercenaries and bandits

Aspects: Regard Edgith as luckyWar is about victory and profit

Skill 3

Seax: +2 damage

Battleaxe: +3 damage

Shortbow: +1 damage

Helig

Helig ap Glannog is not working with the Angles, but he is very in-sulted- and is touchy enough to en-ter a duel. He is packing up with his followers, preparing to head elsewhere and leave Lindum to its fate- most likely he and his men will move south west to Ratae. Aspects:Sensitive to Insults Heir to a lost kingdom Champion duellist Mercenary Skills:Level 5: Melee Combat Level 4: Brawling, Riding Level 3: Leadership, Strategy and

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on the stone warn people of a curse from excavating the mound, and of the being trapped within the mound.

Firstly, the mound needs excavat-ing. This is in theory simply hard work at digging, but excavating the mound leads to all manner of small accidents, and a difficulty 6 Endurance Test (probably us-ing the Strength skill) is needed as things go wrong, and there are nu-merous small injuries. As usual for Endurance Tests, each level of fail-ure inflicts a point of stress dam-age.

If there is more than one differ, the leader makes the test, possi-bly with assistance from others worked in, and the stress is spread out amongst those taking part.

Once the burial chamber is exca-vated, further earth collapses, and the thing inside leaps out to attack! The thing is a Fachan- a being with half a body, a vast wide mouth, a tufted mane, and but one arm, one leg and one eye.

Fachan

Aspects: Terrifying MonsterOnly Half a BodyWide MouthPhobia of Salt (difficulty 2 Lore check to know; salt does Compo-sure damage, with the Fachan flee-ing at zero).

Skills:

available in Lindum. There are two possible sources.

The Angle Camp

Within the Angle camp is Chan-cellor Brion Varro and much of the money he took out of the city (Edgith was bought off with this money, but Helig was not, and the funds have yet to be distributed by Edgar to his followers). The chan-cellor is in chains; he could not bribe his way past the Angles, and they simply captured both him and his money. He and the money are guarded by eight of Gunthers wolves (see above), though there is danger of the player characters attracting the attention of a whole army if they attempt to steal back the money and things go wrong.

A mere eight warriors will be the least of their problems.

The Fae Mound

Those wise in the ways of ancient lore know of a Faerie mound to the north of Lindum, where, according to rumour, treasure is buried. In-deed, the GM might want to com-pel a relevant Aspect of a player character with interest in the Fae so that they investigate.

The mound is marked with a soli-tary standing stone. An ancient (pre-Roman) Celtic king is buried there although his name is forgot-ten. His treasures are in the mound with his skeleton, though they are not unprotected. Words in Ogham

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lier, there is an Aspect in play of Roman Fortifications, due to Lin-dums walls. This can be used once in the battle at no Fate Point cost.

The initial stages of the battle- a battle of champions (with Gunther being the Angle champion), a bat-tle of magicians against Inga, and manoeuvering, will bring further Aspects into play, each of which can be used once in the fight at no Fate Point cost, as usual for the Age of Arthur rules.

If either Helig or Edgith joins the Lindium forces, they have 300 men, This gives them 4 tokens, and because of the skill of the mer-cenaries, raises the average skill level to 3. If both Edgith and Helig join up, the skill level is 3, and the number of men is 400- enough for 6 tokens.

Prince Edgar

Aspects: Poor Prince of the AnglesCool and CalculatingEndless Ambition

Skills: Level 5: Melee CombatLevel 4: Awareness, Strategy and TacticsLevel 3: Leadership, Missile Combat, StrengthLevel 2: Gaming, Languages, Stealth, WealthLevel 1: Agility, Brawling, Contacts, Riding, Survival

Languages:

Level 5 StrengthLevel 4: BrawlingLevel 3: Glamour, IntimidationLevel 2: Agility, SurvivalLevel 1: Awareness, Stealth

Armour 2

Chain: +2 damage, attack every-one in the same zone

Bite: +4 damage

Health 13

Composure 3

The treasure in the mound is at twice what is needed on normal occasions to pay the mercenaries.

The Final Battle

Almost whatever happens, the An-gles will arrive to attack Lindum in the next three days. The question is how prepared Lindum is to face them. The prominent individuals amongst the Angles are listed be-low.

The Angle army numbers 700 (10 tokens) with a skill of 3, raised to 5 by Edgars skills. As well as its own Aspect, there is likely to be an ad-ditional Aspect of Hideously Out-numbers Enemy in the battle. This can be used once in the battle at no Fate Point cost.

The Lindum army numbers 200, and has a skill of 2, plus any rais-es due to the player characters. As well as its Aspects, mentioned ear-

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Saxon, Futhark Runes

Stunts: Brew Poisons, Hedge Witch, Rune Magic (use magical skills listed above), Call of Hretha (can use Rune Magic as a skill in a magical contest in mass combat)

Infusions: Arrow Poison (Strength vs. DC4 when hit, with each level of failure doing one extra point of stress dam-age), Blessing of Winter (a salve to treat injuries; add +2 to Healing tests).

Composure 3

Health 3

Seax: +2 Damage, Aspect (from runes): Unhealing Wounds

Longbow: +2 Damage, Long Range, Aspect (from runes): Seek the Heart

Gunther

Aspects: Wuffingas Royal FamilyAs Much Wolf as ManRespected Warrior

Skills: Level 5: BrawlingLevel 4: Awareness, StrengthLevel 3: Leadership, Survival, WealthLevel 2: Agility, Investigation, Melee Combat, Strategy & TacticsLevel 1: Contacts, Intimidation, Riding, Shapechanging, Stealth

Saxon, Latin, Brythonic, Latin Lit-eracy

Stunts: +1 defence with Spatha and Shield

Armour: 3 (Ringmail and Shield)

Health 7

Composure 3

Spatha: +3 damage

Seax: +2 damage

Longbow: +2 damage, long range

Infusions (from Inga, see below): Arrow Poison (Strength vs. DC4 when hit, with each level of failure doing one extra point of stress dam-age), Battle Strength (extra Aspect, use once for no Fate Point cost).

Inga, Saxon Witch

Aspects: Angle WitchPact with Hretha (warrior goddess of death and winter)Feared Rather Than Respected

Skills: Level 4: Plant and RootLevel 3: Missile Combat, Rune MagicLevel 2: Intimidation, Healing, Melee Combat

Level 1: Awareness, Deception, Lore (Magic), Stealth

Languages:

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Aspect: Form of the Wolf; can use once per round at no Fate Point cost.

Damage +2

Scent Tracking

There are around 700 Angle warri-ors serving Prince EdgarAspects: Confident of VictoryLoot and PillageThe Glory of Destruction

Skill 3Seax: +2 damageBattleaxe: +3 damage

Languages: Saxon, Brythonic

Composure 3

Health 7

Armour 1 (shield)

Seax: +2 damage

Stunts: Change to wolf form without a Fate Point cost or an animal skin need-ed.

Gunther in wolf form: Gunther asa Wolf


NAME STRESS

Health 3Warleader and bastard prince Composure 4 ASPECTS FATE POINTS

Bastard prince of Ebrauc 5 Romancing the Prefects Daughter Leadership by exampleSeeking fame and glory LanguagesRival of Helig ap Glannog Brythonic, Latin, Latin Literacy

SKILLS EQUIPMENT

Level 5: Melee Combat Spatha (+3 damage)Level 4: Awareness Leather Armour Agility (+2 Absorption) and ShieldLevel 3: Wealth Set of Fine Court Clothes Leadership War Horse StrengthLevel 2: Missile Combat Strategy and Tactics Charm RidingLevel 1: Willpower Brawling Contacts Gaming Languages

STUNTS

Heroic Charge: +2 to first attack in close combat.Fighting Style: +1 to attacks when fighting with sword and shield.Rally: Pay Fate Point and make Difficulty 2 Leadership check to recover a number of followers equal to degree of success.Counterstrike: After a successful defence in hand to hand combat, spend a Fate Point to inflict damage as if the defence were an attack with the same degree of success.Warband: Andoc has ten loyal followers with a Skill of 2, armed with Gladius (+2 damage), Leather Armour and Shield (Absorption 2)

Pre-Generated Characters

AGE OF ARTHUR

Andoc


Background

Andoc is the illegitimate son of King Einion of Ebrauc. He was brought up in distant Londinium, gaining his first experiences as a war leader there, fighting Saxon raiders. He served for a time as a mercenary, and devel-oped a fierce rivalry with Helig ap Glannog, the so-called King without a Kingdom, who is another mercenary captain.

Tired of the roving life, Andoc returned to the kingdom of Ebrauc to serve his father, though he still seeks fame and glory. However, he has served the kingdom well, and is a highly regarded war leader. However, he is still not officially accepted by the King as a son. King Einion has prom-ised Andoc such acceptance- and the promise of further advancement and responsibility- if he can secure a permanent alliance with the city of Lin-dum. Andocs tactic here, which further feeds into his own ambitions, is to marry Pontia Blecca, the daughter of the Prefect of Lindum, and heir to the citys ruler.

Of course, all this counts for nothing in the face of a threatened Angle in-vasion if it cant be beaten back.

The Telling of your Adventures

Oaths Taken

Allies Fallen


NAME STRESS

Health 3Bard and ambassador Composure 4 ASPECTS FATE POINTS

King Einions Ambassador 6Fascinated by the Fae Limited Druidic TrainingInsults are an Art Form Languages Brythonic, Saxon, Latin, Latin Literacy

SKILLS EQUIPMENT

Level 5: Performance Ragged ClothesLevel 4: Charm Staff (+1 Damage, +1 Defence) Empathy Riding Horse Leadership LyreLevel 3: Awareness Deception StealthLevel 2: Willpower Contacts Druidic Magic (This skill is used to place temporary blessings and curses, represented by Riding Aspects. Spend a Fate point to make a curse long-lasting). LanguagesLevel 1: Healing Lore [The Fae] Melee Combat Riding Bargaining

STUNTS

Bardic Knowledge: +1 to all Lore skills; unknown Lore skills at level 1.

Bardic Protection: Use Performance skill as defence if physically attacked due to a performance, unless the Biting Satire stunt is used.

Song of Battle: Can use Performance as a magical skill in mass combat.

Biting Satire: Spend a Fate point to use the Performance skill to cause physical damage; Willpower to defend.


AGE OF ARTHUR

Casnar ap Cartivel


Background

Casnar makes an unusual ambassador He is a shabby dresser, and in performances, he prefers insults and satire to flattery. However, King Einion of Ebrauc forgives him all of this, and indeed trusts him greatly, for one very good reason. Casnar gets results, and is loyal to the King.

King Einion has sent Casnar as part of a delegation to the city of Lindum in order to persuade the Prefect of Lindum to make a formal alliance, joining the two realms. Casnar has sworn an oath to help Lindum as the Angle threat draws closer. Although the Prefect resists the idea of a formal alliance, Casnar is already amongst his trusted advisors.

Casnar is fascinated by the Fae, though he realises how dangerous they are. Just south of Lindum is a Faerie mound, said to contain treasure. Though duties have so far prevented a visit, perhaps circumstances will give Casnar the chance to investigate.


Oaths Taken

Allies Fallen

To help Lindumin its time of need.


NAME STRESS

Health 4Daughter of the Prefect Composure 5 ASPECTS FATE POINTS

Heir of the Prefect of Lindum 6 Determined to prove herself Blessed by the god of warFuture warrior queen LanguagesRedwarld is a friend as well Brythonic, Latin,as a servant Saxon

SKILLS EQUIPMENT

Level 5: Leadership Clothes fit for a princessLevel 4: Wealth Spatha (+3 damage) Empathy Lorica Squamata (-2 to non-combat physical skills, Absorption 3)Level 3: Strategy and Tactics War Horse Melee Combat Spear (+2 damage, short range if thrown) Willpower Gold Earrings (value 4)Level 2: Contacts Lore (Religion) Lore (Roman culture and history) Charm RidingLevel 1: Strength Languages Missile Combat Agility Awareness

STUNTS

Elegant. +1 to Charm at formal occasions with time to prepare.

Weapon of Vengeance: Spend a Fate Point to dedicate a weapon to the destruction of an enemy; it does +2 damage to that foe.

Heroic Inspiration: Spend a Fate Point and make a difficulty 2 Leadership Test to give a +1 bonus to combat skills to everyone commanded for the duration of a battle.


AGE OF ARTHUR

Pontia Blecca


Background

Pontia Blecca is the daughter of Caius Blecca, the ruler of Lindum, who takes the title Prefect as if still appointed by the Romans as an administra-tor. Pontia, as his heir, respects her father, and respects Roman traditions, but knows that time has moved on. When she rules, it will not be as a Prefect, but as a queen, gaining authority and respect with her people and the other rulers of the fragments of Britain. Before she can do this, she will have to prove herself.

The young woman is also a gifted leader in battle, and has studied and practiced the military arts. The coming conflict with the Angles provides opportunity for her to show her worth, as well as danger.

Pontia has a Saxon servant, Redwarld, who was a bandit before he was enslaved.


Oaths Taken

Allies Fallen


NAME STRESS

Health 4Saxon slave Composure 3 ASPECTS FATE POINTS

Former member of Edgiths warband. 5 I will earn my freedom Enslaved Saxon.In the shadows. Languages Brythonic, Latin, Saxon

SKILLS EQUIPMENT

Level 5: Stealth Seax (+2 damage)Level 4: Missile Combat Longbow (+2 damage, long range) Agility Latrunculi board and piecesLevel 3: Awareness Black Cloak Deception SurvivalLevel 2: Melee Combat Investigation Gaming EmpathyLevel 1: Strength Brawling Healing Charm Languages

STUNTS

Dark Adapted Eye. See in the dark with no penalties.

Precision Shot: Attacks with Missile Combat ignore 2 points of armour.

Vanish: Stealth can be used for short periods without cover.

Quick: +2 to Awareness for the purposes of Initiative.

Climb Like a Spider: +2 to all Agility tests made to climb.


AGE OF ARTHUR

Redwarld


Background

Redwarld was once a member of the warband of the mercenary Saxon commander Edgith. However, in one of those times when Edgiths band turned to banditry through lack of legitimate work, Redwarld was cap-tured by soldiers of the city of Lindum. It still rankles that Edgiths forces were employed to defend Lindum not so long after that.

Now, Redwarld is a slave, and is employed as a servant and bodyguard to the daughter of the Prefect of Lindum, Pontia Blecca. Though slavery is a humiliation, Redwarld is genuinely loyal to Pontia, and will earn his way to freedom rather than escape.


Oaths Taken

Allies Fallen

To serve and protect Pontia Blecca.


GaniedaSister to Merlin

An NPC for Pendragonby George Quail


campaign, I present my version of her history as well as details on how she can be inserted into your games.

History

Merlin's origin, as recounted in the Great Pendragon Campaign, is of the coupling of a demon and a nun whose holy actions preserved the soul of her child and allowed it to escape the role the demon may have intended. One cannot seri-ously imagine a woman with child remaining in a convent, though, and so Merlin's mother was mar-ried off to remove her from the con-vent and ensure the safety of her son. Merlin's mother was a daugh-ter of a king so her marriage was to a man of some import - Sir Morfyn, an officer from Cambria. (Mon-mouth calls this kingdom Demetia, which in Pendragon would equate to Estregales.) From this marriage other children were inevitably is-sued, and Ganieda was the first such child.

Sir Morfyn was a British Pagan and his children were raised as such. Raised in a religion with a strong role for women, she found her mothers recounting of Chris-tian teachings distasteful and in particular the position of women & sex offensive. When she grew older, Ganiedas innate magical skill be-came clear and she was sent to the Ladies of the Lake for tutelage. She quickly became known as a master of dweomers her skill with divi-nation eclipsing even her brothers power. In this period she became more opposed to Christianity, be-

An Obscure Arthurian Charac-ter, And How to Use Her in Your KAP Games

Of all the characters of the Arthu-rian mythos, Merlin is perhaps one of the best known. The idea of an ancient, bearded magician who aids the king has become so ingrained in popular culture that almost all wizard stereotypes seem to come from representations of Merlin rather than anyone else - even Tolkiens Gandalf draws some lineage through him. Arthurian stories on screen or in prose may drop Kay, Tristram, Palomides, Lot, Ygraine or others.... but Mer-lin is always there: whether it's as the bombastic aide of Boorman's Excalibur, the manipulative ad-viser of Starz's Camelot or the phi-losophising teacher of White's The Sword in the Stone.

Yet Merlin is not the only spell-caster in Arthurian legends and one character in particular is note-worthy for having a connection to him: Ganieda, the sister (some-times twin sister) of Merlin. She appears only in some of the older Welsh stories and in Geofferey of Monmouths tales. After that she vanished, probably having been absorbed into a proto-Lady of the Lake - few if any modern versions recount her existence. But Ganieda provides excellent possibilities as an inclusion in your Pendragon campaign, especially if you wish to provide the possibility of a ma-jor feminine angle in the style of Marion Bradley's The Mists of Av-alon or wish to focus on Cambria. Following my use of her in my own



tion I would default to her dying of old age or retiring to Maidens Castle or similar to teach. Since she does not interfere in the ma-jor events of the Twilight Phase we must assume she has passed away or retired beyond the reach of men by this point.

Adventures with Ganieda

Merlins birth date in the original edition of Pendragon was 454, which puts a likely birth date for Ganieda between 455 and 460. Assuming she is born in 460, she will be 25 when the campaign be-gins; 35 when Uther dies; 50 when Arthur draws the sword from the stone and 63 when Merlin vanish-es in 523. This means she is best used in the early section of the cam-paign, though considering Merlin by no means became weaker with age theres no reason she cant con-tinue to be a prodigious diviner in her later years.

Below are some ideas on how to in-clude her in your games.

During Uther & Anarchy phase, Ganieda can be found in Came-liard or accompany King Leodegrance when he travels, which may include events such as the royal marriages of the Uther Phase. Depending on their relationship with Mer-lin the player knights may be sceptical of dealing with her. Ganieda is very attractive and well-preserved for a woman of her age, and not beyond trying to seduce a knight she thinks could be of use to her.

lieving its male-dominated nature was bleeding into society and even into some Pagan communities.

Following her apprenticeship, Ga-nieda became ensconced within the court of King Leodegrance of Cameliard. A wealthy but widowed Cambrian lord with a known lusty nature, Ganieda believed him an excellent ally she could use her fem-inine wiles on and as his kingdom was to be inherited by his daughter Guinevere she thought she could instruct her such as to make her the architect of her female emanci-pation dream. Unfortunately inter-nal politics in Cameliard compli-cated this and Guinevere was sent to a convent for education where she became a devout follower of the Christian faith that Ganieda so resented.

Ganieda found another mon-arch to work with, though: Mon-mouth recounts her as married to King Rodarch of Cumbria, which doesnt map easily to Pendragon. Ive read the suggestion this is sup-posed to be the south of Scotland; I might choose Rheged as the best fit here, so she could be a aecond or third wife to Uriens. With a British Pagan king she finds a good match for her personal beliefs and spends her later years trying to prevent the spread of Christianity north of Hadrians Wall through magic and politics. Despite her problems with Arthurs faith she remains on good terms with the king and is happy to assist him when he needs help.

Her final fate is vague and so can be left to Gamesmaster interpreta-

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almost certainly invoke repris-als. Will the knights slay these men whose mystical power is great or can they not bring themselves to kill old men with-out swords?

If the group are not foes of Mer-lin, Ganieda could seek them out to guard her outlaw brother when he returns to Britain on personal business. (To be exact, travelling to Norgales to check up on how the young Arthur is doing.) Uther may be dead but the kings command remains, and some like Sir Brastias would delight in the chance to have revenge on the Archdruid. The knights are required to pro-tect Merlin from harm, perhaps as bodyguards or perhaps as distractions for those who pur-sue him.

One of the knights has a daugh-ter who demonstrates innate magical ability for extra ten-sion, a Christian knight who may not view such gifts as blessings but a curse. Ganieda requests the daughter be hand-ed to her for apprenticeship and tries to groom the daughter into the same religion and politics as her own. A male knight who hopes for a meek, gentle, chaste daughter may not be happy at the feisty woman who returns, nor of her newfound opinion that sex is the ultimate prayer. Tolerating this behaviour will cause scandal and possibly a loss of Honour but disowning a daughter would be a loss to Love (Family)

If your group seeks passage into the Forest Sauvage they may wish to find a way to cope with the faerie geography that sees travellers lose their way within. Ganieda as a master diviner may be able to assist, but wish-es assistance in this endeavour: the right to call the knights up for service at a future occasion, say, four knights service for a month. Will they put them-selves in an enchanters hand when they cannot know when and for what the call will come? (Failure to follow through on the vow when requested would probably be an Honour loss, as well as putting them in a magi-cians bad books.)

When the Anarchy phase sees internal battling between Brit-ons, Ganieda seeks the aid of the knights to slay Druids who she says are using their magi-cal powers to aid a rival king-dom. (Cornwall is an obvious choice but it can be adjusted depending on the exact year and events in your campaign.) This isnt necessarily a lie but a bigger part of her request is the Druids politics, which is of a more patriarchal nature than Ganieda likes they believe the Ladies of the Lake are fine teachers but the true preaching and ritual enacting should be left to menfolk. If these Druids have magic it is more divina-tion or the like and they are lit-tle threat in battle, though they may be guarded by knights and those who murder them would



of both religions take on the same quest to see which faith triumphs. (A monster from the Pendragon bestiary terrorising a corner of Britain is a simple but effective option.)

Ganieda learns of the May Ba-bies affair and is horrified that Merlin is countenancing the act of infanticide. She appears in court enraged and swearing revenge on her own flesh and blood not necessarily reveal-ing what has happened but making it clear Merlin has done something unconscionable. A violator of hospitality must be punished, but what can one do when two arch-mages are hav-ing a family tiff? If Ganieda is banished for her insults the knights may have to accompa-ny her out of Logres, and keep-ing tabs on a spell-caster who can try to use illusion to escape your watch will be difficult Awareness and Trusting rolls likely being involved.

Ganieda & the False Guinevere

Another older Arthurian story not featured in The Great Pendragon Campaign is that of the False Guin-evere. In the Vulgate, a charac-ter called Guinevak appears - the Welsh Gwenhwyvach being a bit much of a mouthful to most English speakers so I have chosen the more easier Anglicisation! An identical half-sister of Guinevere by a differ-ent mother, the two ladies can only being distinguished by Guineveres distinctive crown-shaped birth-mark. For a time Guinevak con-

The Beltaine fires are a fertility ritual long practiced in Pagan counties, including by some kings but Christian men and women find it obscene. The knights are charged by a lord to prevent the ceremony taking place in that lords land, stand-ing guard on ritual spots but Ganieda is determined that it will still occur. Mysterious mag-ical happenings and odd faerie creatures appear to pester the knights in an attempt to get rid of them, which could include fearsome visions they must roll Valorous to resist, wild beasts they must battle with their swords, pagan sorceries they must resist with Love (God) or fey charms that prey on their Lust.

The crowning of King Arthur is an affair dripping in Christian ceremony and Ganieda fears that the Bishops will use Ar-thurs High King-ship to try and unite the country under one faith, forever destroying her own. She seeks friendly Knights of the Round Table to speak to Arthurs court and gain assur-ances that freedom of worship will remain a legal right but passionate Christian knights & lords may speak against the knights, insisting that convert-ing the country to Christianity would be a holy endeavour. This could lead to duels or to chal-lenges by either side to prove the worth of their argument perhaps a tournament between Christian & Pagan knights, or a challenge whereby knights

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the daughter of Leodegrances seneschal, but though gossip is that she is truly the Kings bas-tard.

When encountering Ganieda the knights will find that Guine-vak has been taken on as her apprentice they may in fact not immediately realise that it is Guinevak and not Guinevere. (This will be especially confus-ing to them if Guinevere has married Arthur by this point they may wonder why their Queen is traipsing around the woods with a pagan priestess.)

Before the Battle of Badon, Guinevere asks Arthur to fly a different banner than normal. Rather than his draconic coat of arms which she perceives as a pagan symbol, she asks that he fly a standard with the Vir-gin Mary on it. Arthur is hesi-tant lest he offend his pagan allies he needs every knight he can to beat the Saxons but is eventually convinced into it. Player knights may note this change and pagan ones in par-ticular may feel slightly uncom-fortable riding into what seems to be changing from a war into a crusade.

After Badon and with the coun-try unified, Guinevere presses further on the topic of the state and religion. While Arthur (who has the Religious Knight bonus in official statistics) is Christian, it is Guinevere who comes over with crusading fe-ver perhaps a consequence of

vinces Arthur that he married the wrong sister and that she is true heir to Cameliard, forcing Guin-evere to seek sanctuary with Lan-celot: but eventually the deceit is revealed and normality is restored.

It isnt difficult to see why this wasnt included in the GPC not only is it an older story not repeat-ed in the major collections like Le Morte Darthur, it also seem quite clich to modern audiences. Identi-cal twins seem a bit too bad-soap-opera. I agree! And yet, part of the charm of Pendragon is taking something as well-trodden as King Arthurs story and making it your own: and with the addition of Gan-ieda & her stay in Cameliard dur-ing Guineveres conception and childhood, this can be converted into something a bit more epic us-ing the following structure as a guide:

An early visit to Cameliard may reveal that Ganieda is very close to Leodegrance, possibly including flirting with him. However, his attention his else-where on his wife, and on the wife of his seneschal whom he does not act improper towards but clearly lusts after.

The GPC already includes an adventure to meet the child Guinevere in Cameliard. At the same time as introduc-ing her, show another child at court; one who is cared for by a junior handmaiden but looks strangely similar to Guinevere. Intrigue success will reveal the child is called Guinevak and is



knights react to this? Arthurs word is law but they will knows and possibly have loyalty or emotions for Guinevere.

The true Guinevere is sentenced to death by burning as an im-poster: news of this travels the country, including to Sir Lan-celot who seeks to come to her aid. Will the player knights join him? Will they try to talk him out of defying the king? Who do they feel they owe loyalty to?

More of Arthurs court trav-els to Cameliard and someone challenges Bertholai to a duel to determine the true Queen. (This could be Lancelot, or it could be a player knight so in-clined.) If successful, God has spoken and Guinevere is prov-en true though Arthur is still bewitched and his curse must be lifted before he will realise he has been deceived. A fail-ure could be more of a problem unless you assume that this is when Lancelot intervenes, per-haps stealing away Guinevere before Arthur can be brought back to his senses.

If magic and Ganieda are sus-pected then she or another ma-gician can be sought out to clear the curse from Arthurs head that makes him suspect his wife and love the interloper. A more traditional adventure can fit here as the player knights may need to hunt for magi-cians, tomes and ingredients to cleanse the stain of magic from Arthur.

her convent education - and she seeks to convince the pagans to convert. This isnt full fire and brimstone, but she does ask how knights can serve a Chris-tian lord without themselves being Christian, or how they can fail to convert when a bless-ed sword on the holy land of St Pauls Cathedral revealed their monarch. (Note that in Malory she is polite when she brings this up to Sir Palomides, but she still considers it appropriate to question the religion of one of her husbands warriors!)

Ganieda fears the turn that Brit-ain is taking and that Guinev-ere will force Arthur into mak-ing the whole isle Christian. She concocts a plan and con-tacts her old apprentice Guine-vak and Bertholai, a knight of Cameliard, to set it in motion. Unbeknownst to the court, Bertholai slips a magical po-tion to Arthur perhaps attack-ing him when he is out, more likely poisoning him while he visits Cameliard.

While at court, Bertholai pre-sents Gunievak whom he claims to be the true wife of Arthur; the true Guinevere he brands an imposter. (Perhaps claiming a switch was done but a night or two ago.) She may even brand Guinevere as being Guinevak and a common maids bastard who seeks to bewitch Arthur. Because of the magic of Gan-ieda Arthur believes this and banishes Guinevere. If they are there, how will the player

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stat block is easily used in another edition of the game, using the mag-ical skills just a relative measure of her magical power scaled much as the regular skills.

The following statistics for Ganie-da are when shes 40 and use the Pendragon 4th Ed magical skills to quantify her magical powers. If you dont have this particular edition of the rules, have no fear the whole



GaniedaEstregalesAnarchy 40Cymric 2Sir Morfyn Enchant.NobleKing Canan EstregalesPagan RhiannonHigh PriestessEstregales Carmarthen

2 1816 411 916 416 410 108 122 1810 1016 414 68 1218 2

+5 Deceitful vs Men

1515171618

101281518

342256

Womans Gift: Naturally lovable

9

1411

11812

51461

5315335315

3

2817

165

HarpRunes

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siege 6

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16884484

11,000


Sources

Thanks to Timeless Myths (http://www.timelessmyths.com), the website where I first read about Ganieda. Their section on Arthu-rian myth summarises a lot of dif-ferent versions of characters and in particular their Arthurian Women section is a goldmine of campaign idea.

Marion Bradleys The Mists of Avalon was a major inspiration in my characterisation of Ganie-da. The female driven narrative gives particular focus to Guinev-ere and Morgana Le Fay, but here those principles have instead been placed on the blank canvas of Ga-nieda. The clash of religious prin-ciples between Pagan & Christian is well handled, not feeling too preachy on either side it would be easy to make it a story where one of the faiths is demonstrably evil, but instead a darker side of both comes up at different times.

MAGIC SKILLS

Animal Friend 11Control Faerie Creatures 15,Dispel 7,Divination 20,Emotion 5,Glamour 17,Healing 16,Sacred Space 2,Shapeshift 5,Summon Faerie Creature 10,Travel 3,Weather Control 3

Queen Guinevere Pendragon

The timeline presented earlier has Ganieda based in Cameliard for the Uther/Anarchy phase, allow-ing her to serve Leodegrance as a magical assistant and be a tutor for the infant Guinevere, much as Merlin fills these roles for Uther and Arthur. This means that Came-liard could be an excellent place to start a Pendragon campaign rath-er than the usual Salisbury. The knights will spend their early years adventuring in Cambria and Cum-bria, witnessing the formation of Guinevere and the machinations of Ganieda. Arthur will not be their rightful king but merely a noble lord who marries their lady, whom they ultimately owe fealty to before the Pendragon. While the details of such a campaign are beyond the scope of this article but something I hope whets the appetite of those who, having completed the Great Pendragon Campaign, feel they have done all there is to do about King Arthur!

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is used by historians, it is intended to be a more neutral judgement on the lack of historical records compared to both earlier and later times. When talking about Britian, the Dark Ages applies to the 5th and 6th centuries CE. In this time, Roman rule ended, and the Angle and Saxon invasions were at their height. This period is also the time the legends of King Arthur and his knights are set.

Im not going to speculate here about whether a historic Arthur

The term Dark Ages was widely used in the 19th century to refer to the time in Western Europe be-tween the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. It was seen as a time of decline, a period of darkness between the twin lights of ancient and more modern cultural achievements. Modern historians do not use the term in this way, re-ferring to the above period as the Middle Ages, and recognising its achievements.

Today, when the phrase Dark Age

GILDAS & BRITAIN'SDARK AGESby Paul Mitchener

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This continued up to the year of the siege of Badon Hill, and of almost the last great slaughter inflicted upon the rascally crew. And this commences, a fact I know, as the forty-fourth year, with one month now elapsed; it is also the year of my birth

In most versions of Arthurian myth, the battle of Badon Hill is the most famous battle of the Kings reign, when the Saxons were beaten back for a generation. Gildas passage gives some idea of when this bat-tle took place (circa 500CE). It does not, however, say who was lead-ing the British forces, or whether it was still Ambrosius Aurelianus. Of course, in other later accounts, the British forces

The Dragons of Britain 1 - The Birthday Hunt

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