tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37626906985481341792024-03-08T16:34:36.028-05:00Dispatches from the TabletopBrennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-92119025821158600252018-05-08T12:37:00.002-04:002018-05-08T12:37:48.294-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 503<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 503<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The eighth
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> 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.</span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-90278342645322270072018-02-07T18:46:00.002-05:002018-02-07T18:46:43.031-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 502<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 502<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The seventh
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Quintus, played by Matt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lots of
politicking this year as Silchester approaches the Mercian alliance that the
player knights set up, asking to join, but not formally. Word has come that
raids are aimed at London and Duke Ulfias of Silchester wants to stop them.
With the advice of the player knights, Countess Ellen is on board. The military
alliance the player knights have set up is pretty strong right now, no match
against all the Saxons unified, but luckily they are not unified.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Saxons
and Angles are fighting each other this year, and King Cwichelm, such a threat
last year, loses in this little battle. It also keeps all the invaders off the
Britons’ backs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> Again, the players’ efforts
in unification pay off. Without all their work on the alliance, they and
everyone else would be in a much more precarious position. This year’s
“adventure” is basically nothing, something that happens a lot in the Anarchy
period. There are a number of years where there are big political maneuvers,
but nothing concrete provided for the players to do. Of course, what I do in
these situations is find an adventure for them to go on, usually one that ties
into the bigger events, but sometimes just a knightly adventure. My notes are
bad for this year and I don’t remember what I had them do. Interestingly, the
Anarchy period seems to be about the only one with this issue in the campaign.
After Anarchy ends, almost every year has two wars or adventures, but at least
one at the minimum. Anarchy calls on you to do a lot of stuff as the GM to keep
the players entertained.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Special Note:</b> Something important
happened in 497 that I failed to mention in the writeup! Robert, the son of the
Earl, is in his minority during the Anarchy period, and his mother, Countess
Ellen, is running the county. I am keeping track of important families, and one
of the events that can happen to such families is that someone dies, especially
kids. Well, young Earl Robert died in 497, leaving his sister, Ishild, as the
heir to the county. She has been growing up in the intervening years, and is
now 15, getting close to the age where she could take over administration of
the county.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-48772407138507828222018-01-31T10:23:00.000-05:002018-01-31T10:23:15.308-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 501<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 501<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The sixth
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Quintus, played by Matt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King
Cwichelm of the Angles makes a surprise attack, capturing the counties of
Hertford and Huntington before anyone can raise an army to prevent it. He
continues to advance, but is stopped by the combined armies of Salisbury and
Rydychan. While away fighting the Angles, Salisbury is left open to raiding
from the Jutes of Kent, retribution for failing to pay tribute. A new Saxon
chief arrives and sets himself up in Portsmouth, luckily mostly fighting other
Saxons on arrival.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Wales,
Escavalon conquers Norgales, solidifying his hold over the entire region.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saxons also
kidnap Ygraine and her daughter Morgan from the nunnery where they were
staying, but all the Saxons are found mysteriously dead and the two ladies
unharmed. The young Morgan is perhaps the cause of the deaths. Sir Safrax, Sir
Quintus, and Sir Aeddan then accompany the pair northward, where Morgan is
married to the king of Gorre.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
At winter
court, a clamor of Saxons demanding tribute, including an emissary of King
Cwichelm, who claims dominion over all other Saxons. Allies counsel caution,
and pressure mounts from Lindsey and Wales to become subjects for mutual
defense. The knights counsel the Countess to wait and see before committing to
anything. Duke Ulfius of Silchester also sends an emissary asking to join the
Salisbury alliance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> The alliance is holding pretty
strong, although the pressure is mounting. Due to their political maneuvering,
Salisbury is actually in a much stronger position this year than the book
assumes. They now have strong provinces coming to them to join, rather than
having to actively recruit. King Cwichelm is a huge threat, though, but luckily
the Saxons don’t all get along or else it would end very badly for the Britons.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-80551495373046031902017-07-13T10:53:00.001-04:002017-07-13T10:53:24.401-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 500<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 500<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fifth
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King Idres
of Cornwall marched on Dorset, but the combined forces of Dorset, Salisbury,
and Somerset repulsed the Cornish advance. Praetor Jonathel of Dorset is thrilled,
and solidifies his alliance with Salisbury.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Despite this
win, there is bad news on the Saxon front. A new group of Saxons, the Angles,
land in Caercolun and quickly overtake it, creating a new kingdom of Anglia.
The Earls of Hertford and Huntington come running to Salisbury, looking for
aid, as they are next on the chopping block.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Wales, Escavalon
conquers Estragales, creating a more powerful kingdom there. The King of
Escavalon also looks to Norgales, where three usurpers rule, aiming to expand there
as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Salisbury
proper, at the prompting of the player characters Countess Ellen agrees to a
marriage with the son of Duke Killian of Clarence, securing an alliance with
both Clarence and Marlboro. The allied block is quite large now, comprising
most of central Logres.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> The player characters are
starting to change the scripted narrative. In the campaign book, Idres conquers
Dorset, but through the diplomatic negotiations they undertook the players have
changed that and secured a valuable ally. They also negotiated the marriage
deal to bring Clarence and Marlboro into their alliance, creating a strong
Cymric block in the center of all the invading nations, allowing them to resist
much more effectively. The players put a lot of their efforts over the five
years of Anarchy into this, and with good rolls and lots of legwork it paid
off.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-72362046617723332322017-07-05T13:28:00.003-04:002017-07-05T13:28:49.194-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 499<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 499<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fourth
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The knights
visit the ruler of county Dorset, Praetor Jonathel, and convince him an
alliance with Salisbury is in his best interest. Jonathel has his eye on the
encroaching Cornish king and agrees readily. Thanks to this alliance, it looks
like war with Cornwall is on the horizon! King Idres has captured county
Jagent, and Dorset is clearly next. King Idres’ son, Mark, has tried to woo the
Countess of Salisbury but is rebuffed and sent packing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Luckily, the
Saxons continue their squabbles, with Kent and Sussex hiring fighters to go
against one another. Sussex and Essex just ask for some fighting men instead of
their usual tribute. Salisbury still does not submit, sending nothing to any
Saxon but Wessex. Salisbury suffers no raids, the Saxons are too busy fighting
amongst themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The player
knights take a grand tour, up through Gloucester and Marlboro, seeking
alliances with Salisbury. Their great honor and courtliness impresses many of the
lords here, and negotiations of alliance open. After helping the Countess of
Rydychan regain her seat from usurpers, the newly restored Countess eagerly
joins the alliance. Marlboro is interested in a marriage alliance, which is
proving a bit harder to secure. Knights from Gloucester are appearing at court
in Sarum, where the walls have been completed, strengthening the forces of the
Countess.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> This year is where the
players really took the lead. They were determined to create a coalition among
the counties remaining outside Cornish and Saxon control, and began laying the
foundation for such an alliance. Their actions in aid of both Dorset and
Rydychan created a good core, if they can see to it that Dorset is not
destroyed by Cornwall next year. Their constant advocacy for strong leadership
in Salisbury and alliances all around has made a big difference, as their
actions start to make the dire situation in Anarchy diminish just a bit.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-64503973795625244232017-06-15T12:46:00.003-04:002017-06-15T12:46:51.825-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 498<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 498<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The third
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King Idres
of Cornwall is attacking the county of Jagent. The knights are more worried
about Saxons, and luckily the Saxon lords seem to be fighting amongst themselves.
That doesn’t stop the extortion request from Wessex, however. They want either
double tribute or vassalage. On the player knights’ advice, the Countess opts
for double tribute. Other Earls are swearing allegiance to Saxon kings, adding
British knights to the forces of those kingdoms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Within
Salisbury, new walls are being built around Sarum, the county seat. They will
take a couple of years to complete, which is why the player knights counseled
appeasement toward Wessex. They are already making plans to resist, and are
also looking at King Idres with a great deal of mistrust. The knights go over
to Jagent to help the resistance to the Cornish advance. Their efforts are not enough
to force the Cornish back, but they do not do themselves any harm in the
battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> Another year where a lot of
the knights’ efforts were concentrated on building defenses in Sarum and trying
to hold back the tide of invasion. They are very worried about Saxons, and the
county on its own has no means to resist. The player knights are now
considering how to deal with that, perhaps by finding allies among the other
free counties in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-11399784112504508492017-05-11T09:45:00.001-04:002017-05-11T09:45:06.998-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 497<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 497<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The second
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> 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.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-15157701632498947812017-05-04T10:12:00.003-04:002017-05-04T10:12:46.430-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 496<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 496<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first
year in the Anarchy Period, there is no king in Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Safrax, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Quintus, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts: </b>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.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-75047152744933060472017-04-26T10:46:00.002-04:002017-04-26T10:46:19.418-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 495<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 495<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The eleventh
and last year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year is
a biggie. The death of Uther, and the end of the Uther period of the campaign.
It all begins with the Battle of St. Albans. A massive Saxon force is met at
this town and the battle is hard-fought. Sir Eleanor falls in this battle,
slain by a Saxon berserker. Sir Aeddan tries to use his passion of hatred for
the Saxons and critically fails, running mad with grief at the death of one of
his kinsmen. He disappears from the battlefield, rushing off into the
wilderness. Ironically, this is what saves him from the betrayal later. Sir
Conmorl fights and kills one of the Saxon kings, and his bravery earns him a
place at the main hall in the subsequent feast. Again, ironically, this success
is what dooms him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Someone at
the feast poisons the wine. All the greatest knights of Britain imbibe and die
horribly at the main hall. Only Sir Conmorl is present, but he drinks freely
and dies, along with King Uther, Earl Roderick, and almost all of the lords of
Logres. Things begin to fall apart almost immediately after.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Irish are
invading Gales (Wales), Picts are scouting the north in preparation for
invasion, King Idres of Brittany prepares to invade Cornwall, and a Saxon
emissary from Essex arrives in the Salisbury court demanding tribute in
exchange for protection from the other Saxon kingdoms. The dead Earl’s wife
takes on the role as Countess until the Earl’s heir can reach majority, but not
all of the local knights swear fealty to her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Duke Ulfius
of Silchester survived the poisoning because of his wounds from the battle, and
is calling a Collegium to appoint a new king, clearly hoping it with be
himself. A sword in a stone appears in London bearing an inscription indicating
whoever pulls it is the right king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts: </b>The banquet is a scripted
event. The outline of the campaign really requires this disaster to happen, and
there was very little the player characters could do. I did give everyone a
chance to avoid dying along with all the other knights from their county with
some Temperate rolls. Since the poison was in the wine, I ruled that a
successful Temperate roll would keep the knight from indulging and dying. Sir
Conmorl, however, chose not even to make
the roll, going for Indulgent off the bat as a celebration.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One interesting thing about this event. It’s
clearly a super important plot development, but the text of the campaign gives
no clue as to who is ultimately behind the poisoning. One of the ladies at
court is the direct culprit, but motive or conspiracy is not revealed. Everyone
assumes it was Saxons but it’s never explicitly stated.</span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-91599582050366530722017-04-21T12:58:00.003-04:002017-04-21T12:58:40.906-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-Through Year 494<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 494<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The tenth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
My notes are
super light for this year, this report is reconstructed mostly from the
campaign book. Saxons run rampage in the north while the king lies ill. The
player knights are sent on an embassy to Estragales to seek allies there. On
the way, they meet a number of young knights who will be prominent in future.
They meet King Canan of Estragales and he hosts them with a chilly and formal
hospitality. After their initial introduction, they are put off for some time.
The court moves several times before the knights’ embassy is heard. Finally,
the king is poisoned at banquet, apparently by his own son. The knights
investigate and find that the king’s steward Sir Orcas is to blame, and make
friends of the sons of Canan, securing a promise of aid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Saxons
break through and besiege Lindsey, there will have to be a conflict the next
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts: </b>Obviously, this year didn’t
make a big impression. There were lots of courtly opportunities here, though,
and the players took full advantage.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-27448948856904848302017-02-01T13:23:00.002-05:002017-02-01T13:23:51.144-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 493<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 493<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The ninth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
<li><br /></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was a relatively uneventful year, primarily consisting
of a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Malahaut in Cumbria. Their lord, Earl
Roderick, has been sent to secure an alliance, and the knights accompany him.
They impress at court with a few Orate rolls, and go on a hunt, where Sir
Conmorl gets lost and captured by bandits for ransom. He manages to get loose
and kill the bandits, but is hopelessly lost until Sir Aeddan and Sir Eleanor
show up on the scene. Not much else of note occurs.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The King is ill, and it really seems like he may be
suffering some sort of curse. He is despondent after the loss of his son, and
Queen Ygraine is still wroth at Merlin for the abduction and won’t hear that
name spoken in her presence. The player knights are better off away from court,
as they are all still Merlin loyalists.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Another
meeting of the Fellowship of the Condemners is held over the winter, and this
lays groundwork for connections throughout the south of Britain that will end
up being very important in a few years.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> This was a good court scene,
but for the most part not particularly eventful or notable. Sir Conmorl would
surely have beaten the bandits had he been fully armed, but he was in his hunting
leathers.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-4924025612618020462017-01-12T12:18:00.000-05:002017-01-12T12:18:17.788-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 492<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 492<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The eighth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The big news
this year is the kidnap of the king’s infant son. The player knights witness
this, with Merlin telling them he is pursued by enemies and disappearing. The
player knights then engage with the pursuers, only to find they are the king’s
men. They are arrested and tried for aiding the kidnap, and questioned closely
by several priests. Sir Aeddan, a pagan, is subject to particular scrutiny and
is more than a bit resentful about it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The knights
are spared if they denounce Merlin and swear new loyalty to the king, which
they all do. They are uneasy about all this, though, since they believe Merlin
has the best interests of Britain at heart. Sir Aeddan gathers all the knights
who were accused, including some NPCs, and creates a new order, the Fellowship
of the Condemners. They take this name as a badge of shame for denouncing
Merlin when they all believe the wizard is a loyal Briton. They agree to meet
annually, and to do what they can for Britain for all their remaining days.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Saxon
news, the two captured kings Octa and Eosa escape to their northern kingdom.
From the continent, new swarms of Saxon warriors arrive to reinforce them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> The whole kidnap and trial is
on rails, rails, rails. The thing is really just a straight steam along a
scripted storyline, and if the knights wish to survive, they have no choice but
to denounce Merlin. The king is in a rage and the queen wants them dead. Of
course, our players clearly found a way to express their frustration and
created a whole new knightly order. This turns out to be hugely influential and
beneficial to the future story in our campaign, so it’s pretty cool to see the
players put their own individual stamp on the game, something that will
continue and I will encourage as the game proceeds.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-15907900807966419022016-12-22T14:04:00.002-05:002016-12-22T14:04:44.767-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 491<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 491<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The seventh
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year is
the conflict between Duke Gorlois and King Uther. After Gorlois returned to his
lands, afraid for his wife’s safety near the king, he has declared the insult
unbearable and raises his knights. While they have their doubts about the
justness of this battle, they go along anyway.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Battle
of Tintagel is fought this year. While the knights, led by Sir Madoc, go up
against one of Gorlois’ fortresses, the King assaults Tintagel, a fortress atop
a sea spire connected to the land by a causeway, very difficult to storm. The battle
is hard fought, and the Cornish attack at night in a daring raid. It is chaotic
close-quarter fighting, and Sir Madoc is slain by Duke Gorlois, who is then in
turn brought low by the player knights. When news of this reaches Tintagel, the
castle surrenders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King Uther
immediately announces that he will wed Ygraine as spoils of war. She reports
being visited by Gorlois even as he fought to his death many miles away. The
players all know what happened, even if their knights do not. By end of summer
it is clear the new Queen is pregnant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Again, lots of important events that have
little to no player involvement. The battle was fun, and the death of Madoc and
Gorlois ordained. I decided to let the players have the victory over Gorlois,
especially as they seemed to like Madoc a bit. The Uther period is all setup
for the Arthurian times so it seems heavily on rails. My players are playing
along, but I also am chafing a bit and the highly scripted adventures at this
point.</span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-28836430615045598872016-12-16T14:06:00.003-05:002016-12-16T14:06:47.485-05:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 490<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 490<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The sixth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeddan of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
In this
session, Mark brings in a new character. His old character’s son is still far
too young to inherit, so he takes on Sir Aeddan, the old character’s younger
brother. Matt decides his old character Sir Galmwr has run off back into the
woods, seeking out the Lady of Flowers to live at her court again.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year
features the Battle of Lyndsey (by way of Geoffrey of Monmouth, apparently).
The Cymric knights go north to fight the Saxons coming down through
Northumberland, and fight them back from their march southward. The two
fearsome Saxon kings Octa and Eosa lead them. The battle is pretty fierce, and
culminates in an opportunity take down King Octa as the Saxons are routing. Sir
Aeddan is the one who breaks through, capturing the Saxon King to win a huge
sum of Glory and potentially a great ransom. After the battle, there is a great
victory feast, and the player knights get their first glance at Ygraine,
apparently super hot, since just laying eyes on her makes you make a Lustful
roll. Even Sir Eleanor makes the roll, as Lilith informs us that Eleanor is
mostly into women. Sure, she’ll marry for heirs, but that’s not where her romantic
inclinations lie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Further
intrigue follows in winter court with the King. He has released all his lords
back to their own lands, but won’t let Duke Gorlois go and the duke is getting
irritated. The king is besotted with Ygraine and keeping the duke around so she
has to stay too. Gorlois steals away along with his wife in the middle of the
night, witnessed but not stopped by the player knights. The king then claims
that Gorlois has abused his hospitality and prepares once again to make war on
Cornwall. Meanwhile, Earl Roderick of Salisbury, lord of our player characters,
and the king’s bastard son Madoc are far more concerned with a massive landing
of Saxons in the lands they already hold. The Earl leaves many of his men
behind to guard the county while he is off on the king’s war.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> More battle! There’s a lot of
that early game in the campaign. This time, a really cool opportunity for the
players to shine and capture the enemy king. I took this event as inspiration
forward and tried to give players the opportunity to make a difference in a
battle, and if they get the result that indicates an enemy general or hero, let
them have a shot at someone important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ygraine stuff is super heavy handed. I see
what they are going for here, the tragedy of Uther needs to play out. I don’t
think being a passive witness and unable to change anything is really involving
the player knights, though. There some serious railroading here in this
section. The whole Lustful thing is also interesting. Only Queen Guenivere
inspires the same sort of rolls in the campaign. It did reveal some interesting
information about one of the player knights, so that turned out well. Sir
Aedden ended up hopelessly in love with Ygraine, which ends up pretty cool
later as he runs into her many times as they slowly age out of the game. </span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-60749570079693495612016-09-28T09:53:00.001-04:002016-09-28T09:53:34.343-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 489<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 489<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fifth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeron of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A planned
fight with Duke Gorlois of Cornwall ends in a truce, with the Duke pledging
himself to King Uther in a scene right out of the 1981 movie Excalibur. Like,
literally right out of it. The Campaign text acknowledges the source, and Matt
immediately recognized the scene from the movie. No one had a problem with
this, in fact it seemed to get my older players more excited about what was
happening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
After this
supposed battle is cancelled, the player knights decide to go up north and
harass the Saxons besieging Eburacum and raiding into Lindsey. This is run like
a skirmish, which is different from a battle, instead it’s a straight-up
round-by-round combat. The fight goes pretty well until Sir Aeron engages with
the leader of the Saxon warband they are fighting, a Saxon berserker. Berserkers
have a Hate (Britons) passion at 20, so a guaranteed bonus on their attack, and
this guy also has a really good Axe skill. He crits Aeron and kills him in one
blow. It’s just as brutal and surprising as our first session. Mark seems a
little disheartened, but we’ve decided to engage the system as it comes and let
the result stand. He’ll bring in his backup knight next session.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the year
winds down, news comes that more and more Saxons keep landing in the north, led
by the very frightening sons of Hengest, the kings Octa and Eosa. They are
laying waste to Northumberland and it’s clear that local Britons aren’t going to
be able to hold them back. Uther is resolved to go up there next year and drive
them back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
At the end
of this year, Sir Conmorl gets married to one of the many NPCs of Salisbury I’ve
created and been keeping track of. It generates a great list of eligible
knights and ladies, and creates a little bit of story outside our featured
knight’s progression. As an example, Sir Caramides, lord of Wylye, had a
terrible string of rolls this year, losing his wife in childbirth and his only
son to illness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The brutality of the system is really brought
home this year. Our player knights are still relatively young, and the players
are learning about the efficiency of their builds. Lilith made the mistake of
making her lady knights small in stature, and that has a big effect on damage
rolls, despite the fact that Sir Eleanor is really strong. Sir Aeron died
because of the way passions work in play, his enemy had a passion and thus got
a really good chance at criticals. The players are now trying to work their
passions in whenever they can for their advantage, and are spending a lot of
year-end points and glory points to raise them. The closer you can get to a 20
the better off you are at getting that hit on the passion. They are also all
really doubling down on that Hate (Saxons) passion they’ve all got, since we’ve
pretty much been fighting Saxons since day one.</span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-10497133894309496222016-09-21T16:22:00.001-04:002016-09-21T16:22:24.160-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 488<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 488<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fourth
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li> <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeron of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Saxon
kings Octa and Eosa are pillaging Northumberland, but the Duke of Lindsey has
so far kept them out of the south. The Franks take over the remaining Roman
territories on the continent, but the player knights are not involved in any of this
at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Instead, they
embark into the forest to see if they can find the missing Sir Galmwr (the
player knight who ran off mad in our first session). This was a completely
unscripted adventure, I didn’t use anything from the campaign at all. The
knights find Sir Galmwr, completely lacking his own memories, armed all in blue
and defending a castle from all travelers. The knights defeat him and go inside
to see if they can get to the bottom of this. They find the Merry Hall,
presided over by the Lady of Flowers, a fairy lady. All of the court here is
women, apart from Sir Galmwr, and the Lady of Flowers puts the player knights
to a test to see if they are worthy of leaving her hall and taking her knight
protector with them. The player knights comport themselves well, and the Lady
gives Sir Galmwr his memories back and escorts them to the edge of the woods,
flanked by a leopard and a lion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
King Uther
has decided to go to war against Duke Gorlois of Cornwall next year and tells
everyone to get ready. Matt decides he’ll continue to play Sir Conmorl as his
primary character. Sir Galmwr is still enchanted by the Lady of the Flowers and
is trying to return to the Merry Hall (he will eventually succeed in a couple
of years).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> This was my first time
straying from the main narrative of the Campaign, and it was a lot of fun. My
players definitely enjoyed it. I drew on my own readings of knightly adventures
and made up most of it on the spot. There are a number of years in the campaign
that are a little sparse on events and doing this sort of unscripted adventure
is definitely something I did more as the campaign went on. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The players
are also taking a longer view, and Matt is interested in having Sir Galmwr’s
son come back into play, a young man raised entirely in fairy, coming to
Camelot from the Merry Hall. He wants to bring the character in during the
Romance period, which we haven’t quite hit yet, but I am down with players
bringing characters in and out as needed. I was expecting to bring Sir Galmwr
back sooner, but Matt wanted to take him out of play completely.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-36806710818574924612016-09-15T11:52:00.001-04:002016-09-15T12:10:45.881-04:00Designing Worlds<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I revived my
old Fantasy Heartbreaker world to play a Burning Wheel game. Ironically, BW
does a lot of what I was trying to do in that design, just a lot better. When I
break out BW, I go back to this world a lot. I figure why not keep developing
this old fantasy world for my own interest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The world
was created for my game The Legend of Yore back in the mid-eighties to
nineties, when I was just getting started on this whole game design business,
and it’s a pretty derivative fantasy world. It’s got elves and dwarves and
wizards, and has great big nation-states that are not particularly Medieval.
It’s also super racist and I’m way more aware these days so that’s pretty
unacceptable to current me. One of my goals when revisiting the game is to clean
this up and be more respectful in the treatment of the non-white nations. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
One of the
things I’m doing as I dig back into this world is to try to make it more real.
How do these magical things interact with culture? In a world where gods are
real and manifest, how does worship work and what does that do to society? What
about multiple species of sentient beings? How does that adjust and distort the
ways people relate to each other? I’m taking a close and practical view of all of
this stuff that is normally pretty epic and not deeply thought about,
especially in knock-off fantasy game settings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I’m doing
this because it’s fun and entertaining to me to think about. Take a major
premise that is sort of standard in fantasy worlds and then figure out what the
actual implications of that situation are and how it distorts social order from
the ways we do things in the real world, or at least apply real world examples
to this big world-changing facts and try to sort out how that would play out in
this fantasy world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When the
game hits the table in actual play, all of these details are not dumped on
players. Instead, they touch on various things and a deeper history and society
are hinted at. That adds depth and richness to a world. You don’t need to
explain everything every step of the way, but you do need to let players get a
little window into that depth and richness. That’s what all the best story
settings do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
There’s a
lot to cover on this topic, I’m planning to write a few more of these as time
goes on, both to share the stuff I’m coming up with but also as an archive for
myself. The details I’ll be hitting are those I’m working on for my Burning
Wheel campaign, but also for the game I’m developing that will use a small part
of this world, the Art of Power. I did a lot of work on the fantasy gods for
the world, so that’s what I’ll talk about next.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-45200691454628867172016-09-14T09:35:00.002-04:002016-09-14T09:35:42.243-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 487<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 487<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The third
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeron of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Overall
events, King Uther’s bastard son Sir Madoc leads a big naval operation against
the Saxons, but our player knights decide to perform a diplomatic mission
instead, accompanying the King northward to Lyndsey and Malahaut to visit Duke
Corneus and King Heraut respectively. They tell the tale of Excalibur to these
rulers, trying solicit alliance with King Uther based on the mantle of the
Sword of Victory. This goes well with Duke Corneus, but not so great with King
Heraut. More courtly skills get a workout. Our knights are still pretty young
and not particularly glorious, so a lot of courtly skills had failed rolls. On
a hunt with King Heraut, Sir Conmorl is ambushed and kidnapped by bandits, and
Sir Eleanor and Sir Aeron ride out and rescue him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the
knights begin to look around for likely matches in marriage, this is when I
started keeping some more detailed records of the other families in Salisbury,
using a shortened year-end procedure to randomly determine what was happening
with births, deaths, and marriages in the other peer households. This has over
time turned out to be a lot of work and a lot of lonely fun, but I’ve kept it
up throughout the campaign and have a pretty robust history of families and
relations between the various households in Salisbury.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sir Aeron
and Sir Eleanor both get married this year. At this point, we have the
conversation about the childbirth table, which includes a 10% chance of death
in childbirth for the mother. Lilith is not interested in having her knight die
on a random chance from a once-a-year roll, so we rule that player knights are
exempt from the death in childbirth result.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> This was an interesting session!
The heavy emphasis on diplomacy was interesting, but the reaction of the rulers
is pretty heavily scripted in the book. I decided to start to step afield from
this and allow the player’s rolls to have a larger effect on the attitude of
the non-player characters they are interacting with. This decision gives a lot
more agency to the players, but also had some large unexpected results later in
the campaign. Also, it really highlights how weak the diplomacy rules are in
the game. Sure, there are social skills, traits, and passions, but how that
interacts with another character’s attitude or actions is sketchy at best,
completely missing at worst. I pretty much just winged it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Last note: Earl Roderick of Salisbury randomly
had a child this year, a girl named Ishild. This was determined by my year-end
NPC rolls. No mention of any of Roderick’s kids besides Robert, his heir, is
made in the book, and I applied the same rules to his family that I was doing
to all the rest. This is super important later in the narrative, as is Ishild, but
just a side note for this year.</span>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-30276926123782917382016-09-01T14:44:00.001-04:002016-09-01T14:44:59.718-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 486<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Summary:</b> Our group is attempting a
complete run of the Great Pendragon Campaign
using 5<sup>th</sup> edition rules. Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith.
I am the GM. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Year 486<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The second
year in the Uther Period, with Uther Pendragon as king of Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our current
roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Eleanor of Dinton, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Conmorl of Winterbourne Gunnet, played by
Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeron of Pitton, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Outside
threats are the Saxons, wreaking havoc up in Caercolun. The Duke of Lindsey is
killed fighting them. These guys are calling themselves the East Saxons at this
point, and they’ve seized a lot of territory. There are already some Saxon
enclaves in Sussex and Kent. The Kents are actually Jutes, not Saxons, but to
our players they are all Saxon invaders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In this session’s big adventure the player knights all get called upon
by Merlin to help him out. This serves as a tutorial on the personal combat
system, after last session’s tutorial on the battle system. The knights all fight
a three-eyed giant, demonstrating again how dangerous combat can be. They are
lucky and don’t get hit by using terrain and ganging up on the thing, and
manage to take it down. Following after Merlin, he instructs them to defend him
while he busies himself in a boat on a small lake. A strange green knight that
appears to be made entirely from plants appears and fights the player knights.
Again, with teamwork, they dispatch the creature.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Merlin gets
good old Excalibur from the lake, and the knights head back to Uther’s court.
We get some cool early medieval flavor here, as the king inspects the spoils
from the battles against the Saxons this year, and gives a gift out to every
knight in the court from it. Merlin then presents the sword Excalibur to the king,
and asks one of the player knights to tell the tale of their adventure. This
brings us into the courtly skill part of the game, and Sir Aeron steps up to
do the honor. He comports himself well, impressing the king and earning some
Glory for himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts:</b> At this point we’ve seen all
of the different systems in the game, and I like how the Campaign is walking us
through this as a starter, doing battle, personal combat, and courtly
activities all within two sessions to get you up to speed. The Excalibur
business was interesting, but the player knights seem like a bit of a third
wheel in this adventure, getting led around by Merlin and witnessing some epic
event but only sort of participating on the fringes. Thanks to the constant
threat of lethality, there is a certain amount of emotional remove between you
and your character that the system itself seems to encourage.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-53239707387782872822016-08-24T11:58:00.001-04:002016-08-24T11:58:24.319-04:00The Great Pendragon Campaign: Epic Play-through Year 485<div class="MsoNormal">
Our group is attempting a complete run of the <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/12405/The-Great-Pendragon-Campaign?it=1">GreatPendragon Campaign</a>. We’re using<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/81449/King-Arthur-Pendragon-Edition-51?hot60=1&src=hottest_filtered"> 5<sup>th</sup> edition Pendragon rules</a>, and we’re
trying to play it by the book if possible. A few tweaks and add-ons are being
used, some tables that can be found online, specifically for <a href="http://nocturnalmediaforum.com/iecarus/forum/showthread.php?1637-Courtly-activities-during-the-Uther-and-Anarchy-phases">feast and courtactivities</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Players are Matt, Mark, and Lilith. I am the GM. This
narrative will go over our experience with the game year by year and I’ll call
out areas where we had trouble or made some adjustments for our group comfort
(generally with rules).</div>
<h2>
<b>Year 485</b></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the start of the Campaign book. Uther Pendragon is
the king of Britain. The campaign focuses on the county of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Salisbury,+UK/@51.0797058,-1.8433628,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x48738c5536009bb7:0xda3e080f25eaa06!8m2!3d51.068785!4d-1.794472">Salisbury</a>, and we
did standard startup based on the book. All of our knights are landed knights
from Salisbury, in charge of a manor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had a bit of discussion regarding gender in the game,
since Lilith wanted to play a female knight. The rules discourage this a bit, but
there is a section on creating women knights. We decided that succession rules
in our fantasy Britain favor male heirs, but a woman can inherit if no male
heirs are available. Also, female knights are not unheard of. They are somewhat
unusual, but are generally accepted, especially in families with no male issue
or a tradition of the practice. Lilith also expressed some concern about her
character dying in childbirth on a single winter phase roll, and so we ruled
that player characters are exempt from childbirth mortality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our final roster of characters:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Florentina of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dinton,+Salisbury,+UK/@51.0816936,-1.9866616,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4873c3f653b9c1bb:0x6185b37b555470ae!8m2!3d51.083183!4d-1.9807695">Dinton</a>, played by Lilith.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Galmwr of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Burcombe,+Salisbury,+UK/@51.0769377,-1.9095758,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4873c1f0e2cc4e5f:0x6f77ce50370f646d!8m2!3d51.076925!4d-1.900821">Burcombe</a>, played by Matt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sir Aeron of <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pitton,+Salisbury,+UK/@51.0814183,-1.7004937,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4873ee0af602d5df:0x89bd18501b687f30!8m2!3d51.081415!4d-1.698305">Pitton</a>, played by Mark.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The big event of 485 is the Battle of Mearcread Creek. King
Uther calls up his knights to fight the Saxons of Sussex and the freshly
knighted player characters follow their lord, Earl Roderick, to the battle. We
were still learning how things work in Pendragon, and the reason the rules
advise you to create a backup character along with your first quickly becomes
obvious.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The players all tried to invoke their Hatred of Saxons to
gain an advantage in this battle. Passions, when successfully rolled, allow a
major bonus to skill rolls. There is a danger in failure, however, and Matt fumbled
his Hatred: Saxons roll. On a passion fumble, the character goes mad from their
lack of conviction, and run off to the woods. Since the roll occurred at the
beginning of the battle, we decided to let Matt play through the fight and then
run off mad. Once a character succumbs to madness, it is entirely up to the GM
when they return.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The battle was joined and we got a taste of Pendragon
lethality. Sir Florentina was hit with a critical from a Saxon axeman, and was
killed outright. It was kind of shocking to lose a player character literally
in the first session, but we all rolled with it. She had a backup character,
Sir Eleanor, Sir Florentina’s twin sister.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Battle of Mearcread Creek ends indecisively, neither a
side a clear winner. Big picture politics: Franks have capture Soissons on the
continent, a large Saxon expeditionary army has landed in Colchester and
defeated the Britons there. More battles against Saxon loom for certain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our tally on player characters as winter phase begins is one
mad, one dead, and one survivor. Pretty grim for a first session! We run
through our first winter maintenance phase. Sir Aeron, our survivor, gets
married. Matt decides he’d like to leave Sir Galmwr’s fate mysterious for a bit
and brings in his backup character Sir Conmorl.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-87455623878992139042014-07-10T07:37:00.000-04:002016-08-24T11:44:52.585-04:00[L5R to AW] Latest StuffI've been running the L5R Apocalypse World conversion off and on for the last year or two, and it's gotten to a pretty good point. The basic rules are really singing. I haven't built out the really massive number of schools that there are, and I'm not as familiar with the current status of Rokugan, but I want to get the current rules out here for people to view and expand if they care to.<br />
<br />
The newest mechanic, and the one that makes the game really sing, is the Love mechanic. All characters have a secret, forbidden love, and this causes them emotional distress. This is what goads these characters into rash action, and that's definitely where the drama is. These rules work great for a convention one-shot, but I think if you worked on a slow build for the love they would be good for a longer campaign.<br />
<br />
You pretty much need the <a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/" target="_blank">Apocalypse World</a> book to run this, I don't repeat much that's already in there. <br />
<br />
Here are the rules as they currently stand:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/d5owx9tklk821cx/l5r_basic_moves.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Universal Moves and Other Rules Stuff</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/i61upwqjq0runj8/archetype_moves.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Archetype Moves</a> - Each character chooses an archetype, like bushi, shugenja, etc.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/80ullqup4bawqrd/school_moves.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">School Moves</a> - Each character also studies at a school, giving them a specialization and focus for their archetype. <b>Note:</b> moves in <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">blue </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></span>are placeholders.</li>
</ul>
Resources:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1jn6vtekgxzqdsw/character_template.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Character Templates</a> - You can use these as the basic character sheet, just add a school and archetype.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/0t3x6vo7e4c0gbi/jade_cup_characters.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Characters from the Jade Cup Scenario</a> - With the base rules and these six characters you can run a really good convention game.</li>
</ul>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-18581897739454078082012-12-07T10:31:00.000-05:002012-12-07T10:31:24.981-05:00FATE Core Kickstarter: Fantasy AdventureSo, I happen to be involved with this little thing:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-core">FATE Core Kickstarter</a><br />
<br />
If you clicked that link, you will see that they have blasted past their goal by an unbelievable number. The cool thing is that my contribution to this project was at the $3k level, which has totally been left in the dust. I'm already working on the "fantasy adventure," and I thought I'd describe it a bit more than the Kickstarter does.<br />
<br />
My assignment was literally that simple: write a fantasy adventure that uses FATE Core, about 10k-20k words. Everything else was left up to me.<br />
<br />
I did get a preview of the Core rules, and the running examples all use a fantasy setup. I'm basing my adventure on this, but I decided to go a bit old-school sword-and-sorcery on it, inspired by Fritz Lieber and Robert E. Howard, pulp fantasists that I enjoy. Once I started down that path, I remembered Howard's Conan story <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_of_the_Elephant">The Tower of the Elephant</a>, a tale of adventure and thievery sitting right where I want this fantasy adventure to be.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to reveal too much about this, that's for Kickstarter backers! Here is a quick (unedited) taste of the intro:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They say the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Palace</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename>Hadrin</st1:placename></st1:place> is one of the seven
wonders of the world. It rises 300 feet, its sheer porphyry walls without seam
or mortar, its walls overtopped by minarets and domes made of crystal.
Constructed in ancient times by methods lost to modern craftsmen, the Palace
was once home to the Satrap of Sarnac. Travelers from all reaches of the world
come to the city of Riverton just to gaze upon it. In the days since Sarnac's
destruction it became home to the local Governor. The bulk and height of the
Palace leaves a whole district on the north side in permanent shadow, a place
where the sun never touches. They call this place Darkside, and no travelers
come here. Or if they do, they never come out again.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p> </o:p>Darkside is a sprawling slum, a shantytown where a life can
be bought for only a few copper coins. The Governor's men do not go there
unless in numbers more suited to a raiding party in wartime than keepers of the
peace. Darkside's streets are occasionally convulsed with gang warfare, and in
those times blood runs ankle deep in the muddy streets. This is not one of
those times. Hugo the Charitable rules there now, his Scar Triad thugs walking
unopposed. None dare challenge him, even the Governor seems content with Hugo’s
rule over this den of thieves.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p> </o:p>At the very center of this vile pit stands a tower, the
Tower of the Serpents. Older than the Palace, older than the city, it is made
of an unknown material, white and hard as steel. The tower's single spire rises
nearly as high as the Palace walls, twin entwining serpents carved curling up
the tower's sides. A sorcerer lives there, they say, and this rumor seems
likely true. The tower has a garden around it that grows despite the lack of
sun, and strange lights shine from the upper rooms at night. No one is ever
seen entering or leaving the place, and the single gate in the garden wall
never opens. Darksiders say that on moonless nights you can hear the loathsome
flutter of unholy wings from the top of the tower, and perhaps it is by this
conveyance that the sorcerer comes and goes.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p> </o:p>They also say the tower holds a treasure of incalculable
value.</span></blockquote>
Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-13145559443813641002012-07-10T07:32:00.000-04:002012-07-10T07:32:05.866-04:00L5R to AW: The Seven ThundersI ran the AW hack at DexCon last weekend, and so I put together seven characters. The way they work is that each character has a list of moves off an archetype, such as bushi, shugenja, courtier, or monk. In addition, each character also has some moves they can buy from their school of training, like Hida bushi or Bayushi courtier. The school moves must be bought in order, you can't skip over Rank 2 & 3 to buy the Rank 4 move.<br />
<br />
The Seven Thunders are advanced characters, so I let the players take seven advances. This made for some pretty kick-ass characters, but that was appropriate for the game. I also strategically highlighted each characters' best ring, in hopes of getting some good advancement in play, which we seemed to get. Our scenario played out nicely, very much like the canon story, thanks to the input from one of our players who knew the L5R lore backwards and forwards.<br />
<br />
Combined with the basic move sheets I've already posted, you can pretty much make an L5R character with the material that's up on the blog now. If you pick a school that doesn't have any moves yet, you'd have to make your own. You will also see the characters from our regular home game below, who have some other schools, including the merchant archetype if you want to play a Yasuki. If there is a move or item that is different between the Seven Thunders and the home characters, use the Seven Thunders version, those are the tweaked ones based on play experience. On of the bushi moves, the Mountain Fall Upon You, has changed, as has katana damage.<br />
<br />
The last piece is the the honor and love moves, which are included with the Thunders below. The new list of basic & advanced moves includes these, now. There have been some minor tweaks to these, especially in the Battle of Words move, now the Negotiate at Court move.<br />
<br />
A tip for running this: offering a loss of face as a hard choice worked great, and made the players think really hard about what they were going to do. It's a powerful arrow in the MC quiver for this hack.<br />
<br />
I'd love to see other people's take on this hack, if you come up with school moves, please post in comments or send PDFs directly to me for posting.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.galileogames.com/pdf/l5r_basic_moves.pdf">New Basic Moves Reference</a> (incl. staff, harm, honor, love, face, equipment, and advanced moves)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.galileogames.com/pdf/seven_thunders.pdf">The Seven Thunders</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.galileogames.com/pdf/l5r_home_characters.pdf">Home Campaign Characters</a></li>
</ul>Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-35873637790609740382012-03-06T09:28:00.000-05:002012-03-06T09:28:57.782-05:00Grandaddy, ERB, and Me: A Love Letter to PulpI was only three years old when my grandfather died of lung cancer. I really don't remember him. My Mom had a lot of pictures and he's always smiling. I've got a nice one of him from the fifties, he's dressed in a short-sleeve button-up shirt and sporting a Walt Disney mustache. He looks very cool. He and my Mom were close, and she has often told me how she regrets Grandaddy didn't live long enough for me to know him. I wear a ring with his initials on my pinky (my hands are bigger than his, the pinky is the only finger it will fit on). His name was Lorin Polk Nunneley.<br />
<br />
I'm thinking a lot about him this week because of a movie that's coming out on Friday called John Carter. John Carter is based on the pulp novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, originally serialized as Under the Moons of Mars in 1912.<br />
<br />
When I was around 10 or so, we were living on the same street as my grandmother and I visited her house often. That's when I discovered the shelves of books in the guest bedroom. I was a voracious reader and I was always looking for something new. Here was a huge collection of first-edition hardback pulps, everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever wrote. Grandaddy had collected them. Grandmother told me he used to go down to the bookstore as soon as a new ERB book was published and buy it immediately. It was a treasure trove for a reading kid.<br />
<br />
I didn't read in chronological order. I started in with the Pellucidar series, still my favorite: Tales of a land in the center of earth, home to dinosaurs, cavemen, and sabertooth tigers. After that, I read Tarzan and its sequels. Then I moved on to the John Carter series, set on a fantasy Mars with four-armed green aliens and beautiful princesses.<br />
<br />
By the time I was 14, I had plowed through the entire collection. Burroughs was an amazingly prolific author, and I can't say all of these are particularly good. They are certainly a bit silly, but coming to them as a preteen and early teen, I was the target audience. I was probably close to the same age Grandaddy was when he started to buy the books. Reading through my grandfather's collection gave me with a lifelong affection for the stories.<br />
<br />
In some way, reading through this collection made me feel a connection to Grandaddy. I feel closer to him, even though I never knew him, thanks to a shared fandom. Because I share this with him, it means I will continue to stay interested and loyal to these books, and go see movie adaptations no matter how bad they are. I regret never being able to know him. I'm sure he would have loved many of the things I enjoyed as a boy, like Star Wars, maybe even Dungeons & Dragons, and I'm pretty sure he would be thrilled with my work as a game designer. He helped shape my life even though he was not physically present, through the fiction he enjoyed and left for me to discover.<br />
<br />
Love you, Grandaddy. Thanks for the adventures.Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762690698548134179.post-81123172876539009092012-03-01T10:34:00.000-05:002012-03-01T10:34:56.365-05:00Dreamation After-Action ReportAnd, man, do I mean action! This was an action-packed convention, thanks to <a href="http://galileogames.com/bulldogs-fate/">Bulldogs!</a> and the new <a href="http://www.margaretweis.com/mwp-online-store/13-marvel/51-marvel-heroic-roleplaying-basic-game">Marvel Heroic RPG</a>.<br />
<br />
I signed up to run a crazy number of games, five in all. This is definitely my limit. Two sessions were playtests of my medieval politics game-in-development, The Art of Power. The first went well but didn't really stretch the system much. The second was much more intense. We tried several things the rules didn't support very well, which is great, and I had the inestimable <a href="http://rdonoghue.blogspot.com/">Rob Donoghue</a> as one of my players. After the game was over, he joined me for dinner and we had a great discussion about the rules, with many wonderful ideas tossed around. As he put it after the game, "I think you've got a solid core here, but now I'm going to take a fire axe to it."<br />
<br />
This gave me a clear idea for future development, but lots more work to do. Also, this game is definitely going in a card-game direction. That opens up a lot of headaches for printing and sourcing. I will be digging into those issues as I go along.<br />
<br />
The other three games I ran were Bulldogs!, all using the Getting There Is Half the Fun scenario, set on the planet of Arsubar and involving a missing cargo. It was loads of fun, and my method of running the game with a random choice from 10 different characters always makes it a unique experience, since I never end up with the same crew. Different players bring a different flavor each time, as well. We ran into one minor issue in the first game when one player felt seriously blocked, but a good conversation between players quickly resolved the situation and the same player got to be completely heroic and badass in a subsequent scene, so all was well.<br />
<br />
I also got a chance to play in a few games. <a href="http://www.kevinallenjr.com/">Kevin Allen Jr.</a>'s Trouble for Hire is basically an action movie in the style of the 1970s and 80s, with a single protagonist. The game shares the GM tasks out among the other players, and periodically everyone switches roles. It was really interesting and fun, and we created a great story that felt just like an action movie. This game is doing just what it intends. I wanted to play because Kevin was interested in publishing Trouble for Hire through <a href="http://galileogames.com/">Galileo Games</a>, and after having a session of the game I'm really excited to be on board.<br />
<br />
I also played in a session of Bulldogs! run by <a href="http://www.jaredaxelrod.com/">Jared Axelrod</a>. This was super fun, I rarely get a chance to play in my own games, I'm usually running them instead, so just diving in with the character of "Big" Brunda Margab, Hacragorkan cargo loader, was a lot of fun. Jared presented a nicely crafted little adventure with some zombism, some space pirates, and a fleet of Templar warships. It was awesome, but we were all pretty incurious and relatively stupid characters, and all the backstory he prepared was ignored in favor of ass-kicking. In Bulldogs!, that's probably as it should be.<br />
<br />
The last RPG I was in was the new Marvel Heroic RPG run by John Stavropoulos. John is a super high-energy GM, and we had a great time with the game. I played as Colossus and managed to absorb most of the damage laid out during the session, even when it was meant for someone else. I also leaped into the East River in metal form to rescue a drowning villain, who returned the favor by feeding off my mutant nature to try to kill me. It was epic!<br />
<br />
The last thing I did was squeeze in a demo of <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boardraptorgames/velociraptor-cannibalism">Velociraptor! Cannibalism!</a>, a card game designed by some friends of mine. It is very goofy fun, and I've contributed to their <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boardraptorgames/velociraptor-cannibalism">Kickstarter</a>. I suggest you do the same, it's a lot of fun.Brennan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14559051901866387910noreply@blogger.com0