The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 503

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 503

The eighth 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.

One of our major deviations from the way things are “supposed” to go in the narrative as laid out by the campaign takes place this year. The Mercian alliance decides to go to help London as a massive force of Saxons attacks. Sir Aeddan, with a Battle skill approaching 30, has been appointed Marshal by Countess Ellen, and leads the armies in this conflict. The rolls are so exceptional that the Saxons are defeated, their lines broken, and the entire force routed. In official continuity, they capture London. In our game, they are driven back.

Some shit is also going on in the north, as King Nanteleod of Estragales starts gobbling up territory, including Lindsey. His main rival there was the kingdom of Malahaut, bolstered by Saxons, but Nanteleod defeats them in battle and is relatively unopposed. Lyndsey gives fealty to him, and he looks like he’s planning to keep going. This creates a new threat from the north in addition to the Saxon problems, and it looks like Cornwall is going to start making trouble too.

Thoughts: I wanted the character of Aeddan to be able to have a real impact on the outcome of the battle as Marshal, and the Salisbury forces were on the right wing along the river. He managed to make the Saxon forces break and fall back early in the battle, allowing his forces to reach and destroy their ships, cutting off their retreat down the river. Swinging in, the right flank then caused another rout in the center of the line. Overall, the defending forces had many more soldiers than they are assumed to have in the text and several really good Battle rolls turned the tide of the battle from defeat to victory. This also makes Aeddan one of the most influential characters in the country about now.