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The opening chapter of Mort D’Arthur tells the story of a king who demands that he may sleep with the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. When his demands are not met, he wages war upon the Duke, and then employs the services of a magician to be able to sneak into the tower where the wife is kept, pass himself off as her husband, and then rape her. Thus, the legend of King Arthur is conceived. King Arthur himself has his own stories of incest, adultery, bloody warfare and treachery to be told later in the book, but surely all of this belies the notion of a genre that is supposedly based upon high morals, high passions and that ultimate euphemism, “romance”? The legend of King Arthur Pendragon is basically an epic tale of sex and violence, as much reflecting the times and first-hand experiences of the author himself: a knight who was apparently imprisoned during the 15th century’s turbulent War of the Roses, for all manner of charges including rape and extortion, which never came to trial.
Now, ‘violence’ has always been a staple of RPGs, to be blunt and making a game that involves such engagements is nothing new, but the ‘sex’ part is a bit more challenging! Amongst other things, it is one of the factors that marks out Greg Stafford’s Pendragon as being something quite special.
Concept
The Pendragon game is fundamentally driven by the concept of chivalric romance, which is essentially about the adventures and loves of a single knight or a group of knights. It is built around the assumption of long term campaigns, played out one year at a time, exclusively based upon Knights alone. In the 5th edition, there is no real compromise on that point, although there is a lengthy section detailing women’s roles in this society, and how they can be involved on a dramatic level, including the option of playing female knights (with historical examples). There are no wizards, rogues or any such else to play, but instead the focus is on building highly individualised knights from the ground up.
There are lots of things a Knight can do, year on year, including resolving conflicts and policing their feudalistic realm, playing in tournaments, having love affairs (including illegitimate ones), and encountering the fey, magical world around them in all its guises. These can be played as individual quests, group adventures, skirmishes and indeed mass warfare, and Pendragon is one of the few games that normatively and technically supports all these types of play well. It is expected that your characters will die, either in battle or in old age, but the legacy and continuation of play will be extended through family generations (through decades, or even centuries). The accumulation of Glory (points) is the ultimate goal of all Knights.
Character generation
In 5th edition, all characters are assumed to be from Salisbury, raised in Cymric culture and are either Christian or Pagan. Their current age is usually 21 at the start (although this can be advanced with previous experience, earning a few more points to spend), and on the verge of Knighthood. Details of their home and family can be generated to flesh out the background. Options for other cultures are given in various supplements, whilst it is possible to play alternative characters with older editions (not recommended though). The key defining elements of characters are Traits, Passions, Attributes and Skills. Attributes and Skills are pretty much what you would expect from other systems, notably Basic Roleplay which is what they’re based on. However, they have been pruned down and tailored for very specific use within this genre’s milieu. There are 24 skills in total, plus about 7-8 combat skills (weapons, horsemanship, etc) and a few other ‘Non-Knightly’ skills (usually for women only). These are rated, like everything else, on a 1-20 (or higher) scale and points are spent to purchase them. There are five physical Attributes (Strength, Constitution, Size, Dexterity and Appearance), also purchased from a points total, and used to calculate secondary statistics (HP, damage, etc) that are mostly used in combat situations. There is an awful lot of logic applied to these calculations, whilst the Attributes themselves are very finely balanced in terms of their use in play.
The Traits and Passions are more personal statistics, used for quantifying the characters ‘inner self’ and providing a skeleton for good role-playing. Traits are opposed personality stats, linked up in pairs, and bearing a distinct resemblance to those used in 21PF psychology tests. The chosen religion of the character helps to define which traits are most important to their values (for example Roman Christian Virtues would be Chaste, Forgiving, Merciful, Modest and Temperate). You assign your traits in accordance to the type of character you want to play, with stronger traits represented by higher scores, and each opposed pair adding up to a total of 20. Passions are strong emotions or attachments that a character might have (Love, Hate, Loyalty, etc) and are mechanically tested to gain statistical bonuses (“Inspiration” ) or penalties (“Disheartened” or “Maddened”) when certain circumstances arise. Again, some of these are chosen in accordance with being a Knight, while others are there to define the individual. Characters are also required to design or select a Coat of Arms, whilst a whole family-history generating system is given a chapter on its own. Once these things are completed (along with noting down equipment, etc) each character is a well defined and generally very interesting individual. The various very extensive and well researched essays upon religious beliefs and chivalry, etc, all allow players to get a very good feel for playing a truly authentic-feeling medieval Knight.
Combat
As discussed before, violent conflict is a very key element of Pendragon. The general system is to roll high on a d20, but below the Attribute/Trait/Passion/Skill score being tested. It can be a contested roll, with the highest successful roll being the winner, and a critical success is earned if the number on the die is exactly the same as the Skill score. This applies to all rolls (and there are lots of non-combat uses detailed), but in combat, it allows for the usual initiative and attack rolls, found in other games, to be combined. The order of operations in a combat round is this:
1) Determination phase – characters declare their actions. 2) Resolution phase – A contested roll, based upon applicable stats, to determine the winner and loser. 3) Winner’s phase – Winner rolls for damage, based upon a calculated D6 dice-pool. 4) Loser’s Phase – Loser takes damage (reduced by armour score), and checks against various tests (Knockdown, Unconscious, Wounds) based upon the secondary stats, to see the effect. 5) Movement Phase – Any declared movement takes place up to a calculated Movement Rate.
It’s a system that is simple and detailed, elegant and brutal, swift and dramatic, all at one and the same time! There are additional modifiers (fatigue, etc), and special rules (dodging, multiple opponents, etc) to develop from this point, but the core system accounts for pretty much every engagement you can make and works very smoothly. It must also be noted that Knightly combat disdains the use of missile weapons on the whole, and unarmed brawling is downright unchivalrous, but rules are provided for both, as are grappling and mounted combat. The wounds a character takes can frequently be fatal, and there is no easy healing in this game, but it is nevertheless dealt with in logical detail. Beyond this, there are also built-on systems for small scale skirmishes, large scale battles, and tournament jousting. In all, it is an outstanding, multi-layered system that irons out all the quirks and mechanical complications that you would sometimes hear in criticisms of the Basic game system it has evolved from.
Romance, and other matters.
As stated before, romance is also a very key element of Pendragon, and, true to form, this book doesn’t disappoint. In terms of mechanics, romance is driven by the characters Passions, but again this is developed further by rules for solo quests (including the Lover’s Quest). There are extensive essays about the nature and customs of romance and chivalry in the medieval world which are designed to change through time as the campaign progresses.
The role-playing of Nobles is given an overview, along with the geography of the world and a timeline of important Arthurian events. The religious beliefs of both the Christian and Pagan faiths are given gentle, but thought-provoking introductions to their key philosophical points and controversies. So too is magic - in atmospheric detail – although the player characters themselves will never use it. Extensive rules for charting economics and wealth are provided, as well as the accumulation of Glory. There are also various organisations (Orders) to join too, as well as a plentiful bestiary, a very accessible introductory adventure, and a useful bibliography. Overall, the level of detail and extent of research that can be found in this book, in every perceivable direction, is breathtaking – and yet it’s all so well written and concisely easy to digest! There’s a strong index at the back.
Permutations
There are no prizes for guessing where I am heading, in conclusion. This is a landmark RPG in ambition and design. It’s at the conceptual pinnacle for “Narrativist”, “Simulationist” AND “Gamist” play! It’s a total masterpiece or absolutely nothing at all (because nothing is perfect!). You can take your pick of the superlatives, and they’d all be true.
I guess you could criticise/argue that the core mechanic could have been standardised to using 3D6 rather than a d20, rather than having the split with the D6-pool based damage, to reduce dice-type proliferation. However, this would require changing some of the values accordingly, and a D20 roll is much swifter to interpret in practice.
It’s also a very specific system, which is simply not going to simulate the high-powered, effects-driven fantasies that you would expect in other games, like D&D or Exalted. Some fans have, however, tried to adapt it to other feudal or historical societies (like Japan or the Vikings) with some success. It’s not really a game for one-shots either, and some could argue that, despite the extensive advise given to counter it, it's a pretty sexist gameworld to play in.
You would also need to take note about the supplemental support, including the excellent Great Pendragon Campaign, an entire back-catalogue which it is entirely compatible with, and of course the whopping great volume of literary resources that pertain to the legend of King Arthur, as well as the gorgeous Excalibur movie to watch. You may simply even decide that no other game can live up to it, and give up on the lot of them! Yes, it is that sexy (and violent)! Recommended.
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