The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 497

Summary: Our group is attempting a complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign  using 5^th edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith. I am the GM.

Year 497

The second year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.

Our current roster of characters:

•         Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.
•         Sir Quintus, played by Matt.
•         Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.

Invasions press from all sides! King Idres of Brittany and Cornwall is rolling up into Britain, capturing Tintagel this year. The Isle of Wight refused tribute to Cerdic of Wessex, so he invaded and put everyone to the sword, giving the island to his son.  Lords elsewhere in Britain are paying the Saxons, or are out-and-out joining them as vassals.

This year, the player knights decide to consolidate Countess Ellen’s hold on Salisbury. There are a number of recalcitrant bachelor knights who have not sworn loyalty to the new Countess, so the player knights travel around from manor to manor convincing the knights to swear fealty. They are mostly successful, through a combination of persuasiveness, deal-making, and outright bribery. Salisbury stands united.

This is a good thing, as three separate Saxon lords come demanding tribute. The Countess decides to pay this year, but the hostility between the different Saxon legations allows her to play them off one another to Salisbury’s benefit.

Thoughts: The campaign book is super light this year, but the players decided to try to bolster the regime in their home province. This self-directed task was quite successful thanks to many very good rolls on courtly skills. The knights they could not just convince through talking were given concessions or bribes by grace of the Countess, and Salisbury is in a pretty good position pretty quickly. This is super important, as will be seen in future years.

The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 496

Summary: Our group is attempting a complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign  using 5^th edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith. I am the GM.

Year 496

The first year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.

Our current roster of characters:

•         Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.
•         Sir Quintus, played by Matt.
•         Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.

The realm is in chaos after the loss of the king. He is buried near Stonehenge in Salisbury. Our player knights have also shuffled up significantly, we have two new young knights and Sir Aeddan returns from his madness to a world changed. So many knights died at St. Albans that there are many manors held for children in Salisbury, and the Countess Ellen takes over for her slain husband until their son Robert can come of age.

All over Britain the Saxons are coming around to extort protection money. Almost every lord pays, and the Saxons are good to their word, not attacking those who have paid up. Based on the counsel of her court, the Countess Ellen did not yet pay, and two Saxon emissaries are in court demanding money. Things are looking pretty grim. That’s when a new threat emerges in Hampshire, reports of a new Saxon king landing and quickly capturing land. The player knights are on the southern border of the county and they meet King Cerdic, the new Saxon ruler, who claims to be descended from a former British king, and is looking to claim what he believes is his inheritance. These Saxons, even more than those in Sussex and Kent, are a real direct threat to Salisbury.

The year ends with lots discussion. The knights all have a particular hatred of Saxons, and advise the Countess not to treat with these interlopers. It’s unclear how long Salisbury can withstand their demands, however, but the Countess puts off their extortion for a second year.

Thoughts: Lilith brought in a new character, Sir Safrax, a cousin of her old character Eleanor, and the main surviving knight of her household. Sir Conmorl’s son is still far from his majority, so Matt brings in a new Roman character, Sir Quintus, a bachelor knight. Neither knight is a landholder. Playing lower ranked knights is an interesting choice, and their decisions and ambitions are definitely affected by the status. The players had all had pretty high Saxon hatred passions, which are starting to cause trouble in the Anarchy Period, definitely the age of the Saxons.