 Goto [ Index ] |
First of all, I want to address Chainmail, the precursor to Dungeons and Dragons, to lay a base for my argument. This ORIGINAL version (not the current version) was a set of table top battle rules for historical medieval gaming. Much mail was received by the producers of Chainmail asking for rules about magic and religion. The eventual reply to this request was Dungeons and Dragons. Dungeons and Dragons was not originally meant to be dominated by dungeon crawls and monster slaying…but the idea of monster slaying came from many of the legends that Pendragon is based on. IMHO Dungeons and Dragons took this over the top in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and the idea of a realistic medieval world was lost.
For those who are interested in semi-fantasy historical play can experience the “original” flavor of Dungeons and Dragons with a simple d20 dice rolling system in Pendragon. Gregg Stafford mentioned in an interview ( I can’t remember the web reference) that Pendragon was the best work he had ever done, and he has done some very good work. While much of what he has done has interest for fans of Arthurian Lore and medieval history buffs, the game has much value for Fantasy genre enthusiasts as well.
Basic Mechanics
Character attributes and values: Attributes have numerical values ranging from 5 to 25 for most characters with 10 being mediocre, 15 superior, and values over 20 being heroic.
Task resolution: To determine success or failure roll d20 and compare the result with the character’s attribute. If the die result is equal to or less than the number indicated, then the character succeeded in what he intended to do. Note: Pendragon does not really have a system of varying degrees of success which many GM’s like in games today. This can be solved by making the attribute a target number to try to get as close to as possible. If you roll the target number on an unmodified roll is is the best you can possibly do ( rather than 20 which is what the rules state are a critical ). The number you roll on the dice, if the roll is successful, is the number of successes you got. This can be used for a variety of interesting effects.
Unopposed task resolution is made against your character’s attribute. Opposed resolution is made against your opponent’s rolled number.
Modifiers are sometimes reflexive (makes sense). This means that both participants are affected, but in opposite ways. The rules give the example of a mounted man attacking a man on foot with a +5 modifier. The man on foot also receives a -5 modifier for the situation.
Time scale: Time scale is different in Pendragon than in most games. It works on the principle that not much was done during the winter months of Northern Europe. This is called the Winter Phase, and is used as down time between adventures. In many rpg’s, detailed rules are given for aging, but a gaming group may desolve after 5 years of game setting time have passed. In Pendragon one year passes for each scenario. Aging may have more effect on game play. In fact, a character can actually die of old age. The potential for playing epic adventures that span one or two lifetimes is completely reasonable. Between scenarios is the Winter Phase which allows more of a reasonable amount of downtime than a day or two between adventures during which characters frantically scramble to get armor made (completely unrealistic) or during which to pour over old tomes to memorize a spell (also unrealistic). Healing is less of a problem than it is in other games, and is allowed to be handled more realistically. Instead of “I go to the local temple and pay for a healing spell…okay now I’m healed,” the player has months of time to heal. This is not without adverse effects... you can do more during a Winter Phase if you don’t have to spend half of the time healing. Several rolls are made during the Winter Phase to add to the flavor of the epic. During Winter Phase the players make Experience checks, Aging checks, Economic Checks (includes maintenance and wear and tear on equipment and clothing), Family and Children checks, Training and Practice, and Computing the Glory (Honor) gained by the character during the year. Winter Phase also gives the opportunity for the GM to run a solo adventure with a character without interrupting game play for the other players.
Experience: If characters use a skill successfully, they put a check in the box next to the skill. This skill is checked during the Winter Phase to see if any learning occurred. Experience is not automatically gained whenever a success is achieved. This is explained in more detail in the rules. Aside from the guidelines given in the rules, suffice it to say that a player must be “invited” by the GM to make an experience check. To gain experience roll d20. If the result is equal to or greater than your skill, you get to add one point to it.
Character Creation
Character creation is very detailed, including geographic specific names, specific manor and homeland, culture, and religion. For GM’s running fantasy campaigns, you can use the material presented as excellent ideas for making your own world…or you can use the geographic places provided and change the names. Many worlds already have strong connections to European cultures. In Warhammer Fantasy, Brettonia is closely connected with medieval France, and in Gloranatha, there are strong connections between medieval France and Ralios.
Although character creation is detailed, it is not terribly difficult or even time consuming. It depends on how organized the GM and players are.
The characteristics for Pendragon are Size, Dexterity, Strength, Constitution, and Appearance. Players distribute a total of 60 points between these. Each culture has a minimum and a maximum for statistics. This system can be used to create metahuman cultures such as Dwarves. Each statistic has a use in the game, but they are not tied to skills as in many other games. For the most part they are used to derive secondary statistics such as Damage and Total Hit Points. This still seems to be a point of controversy among many gamers. In Pendragon skills represent applied characteristics. If you have a good orate skill it implies that you have a fairly good intelligence and charisma. It does not necessarily mean that you know how to read or that you are skilled at seducing the opposite sex. But, obviously, you could not be good in Orate if you did not have the basic skills to be an influential speaker. DEX rolls can be used to test general athletic skills such as throwing, dodging, etc. In the same way if you replace the Appearance attribute with Charisma or Presence, you could use CHA rolls to determine if you made a good impression.
There is no Wisdom attribute in Pendragon. Instead you have a 13 pairs of opposed characteristics called Personality Traits that apply to Wisdom such as Chaste/Lustful, or Valorous/Cowardly, or Temperate/Indulgent. The total of both sides must always equal 20 such as Valorous 15/ Cowardly 5. Traits begin at 10 on each side unless the culture dictates otherwise. Since players are always considered to be knights by default, they get Valorous at 15 and they get one other trait of their choice at 16. The GM may work out many other ways of distributing these such as having each trait start at 10. Go through all of the traits and roll d6. 1= -2, 2=-1, 3 = 0, 4 = +1, 5 = +2, 6 = +3.
Characters can slowly increase their statistics as the years go by. Failed aging rolls, of course, cause statistics to go down.
Father’s class tables are given for Squire, Mercenary Knight, Warrior, Family Chieftan, Clan Chieftan, Bachelor (unlanded) Knight, Vassal Knight Banneret Knight, Officer, Lord, Churchman, or Enchanter. Rules are given for determining son number, father’s name, passions, etc. Starting skills are based on cultural values and father’s class. His beginning skills are shaped by his culture which are listed for each culture at age 15. Father’s occupation usually gives bonuses to these basic skills. Starting equipment is also determined by Father’s class and culture.
There are not many skills, but they cover a broad range of possible actions. Some GM’s may want to add a few more, which may be a bit complex in that the skills must have default for each culture. The best thing to do is use the Personality Traits appropriately for task resolution whenever possible. I would add a Devise skill for picking locks, disarming traps, and solving puzzle boxes. Alternatively you could add Locklore and Traplore.
Combat
A melee round consists of determination phase, resolution phase, winner’s phase, loser’s phase, and movement phase. The melee round in Pendragon has the same concept as the melee round Dungeons and Dragons used to have. It assumes that a variety of blows and actions are taking place and the ones that are described are the KEY ones or the ones that might be put in a description of the battle if it were written into a story.
In the determination phase, all combatants state what they intend to do for the round including the weapon they will use. It should always be determined if the characters take time to unshoulder their packs, because fighting with a pack on is considerably more difficult than fighting with it off. Also, I think a lot of GM’s forget that some characters are wearing their packs when they get hit in the back. This should count for some protection, as well as potentially damaging items in the pack. To make it simple, characters can either fight or perform some other action. The limit of one action per round is a deliberately loose one, to avoid complex and awkward rules which try to dictate how much time each specific action takes. A list is given of standard combined actions that are considered “one action” and a list of optional guidelines for combined actions (such as “scrutinize surrounding with an Awareness roll while dodging: -5 modifiers to DEX and Awareness…”)
Initiative is determined by the move score. If two characters have the same move score, the one with the highest DEX goes first. Rules are given for mounted combat, attack trained horses, horse armor, blunt weapons and withheld blows, broken or dropped weapons, combat against creatures, fighting without armor, jousting, multiple opponents, shields, two-handed weapons, defense, berserker attack, evasion, and double feints. These are simple and easy rules with modifiers being multiples of 5 for easy calculation.
Each weapon skill is different in Pendragon, and the skills for particular weapons not only allow you to use the weapon, but in some instances, have interesting effects. Flails for instance, are not just clubs. The chain allows them to wrap around shields and thus ignore shield protection.
Magic
The magic system is not well designed for player characters. The good news is that it can be tweaked in many different ways to give you the magic system you want. There are four basic concepts to keep for the successful use of magic: Life Force, Magic Limit, Time, and Talent.
Life force
The way it is:
Life Force is the sum of the magician’s personal life force and the life force of his surroundings (ambient life force) a magician’s Life Force is terribly low…only about 3 to 6 points. Life Force is determined by adding up 5 traits that average between about 10 and 20 and then dividing by 20. Life force of surroundings is given by a table in the rules. For instance, you may roll 3d20 for the scrub or fields, but only 1d20 for the city. Life Force is required to power magical workings. In the same way energy is required to perform a chemical reaction, Life Force is required to perform magic.
How you can tweak it:
If you were only to divide by 5 (instead of 20) you get a number somewhere in the range of an ordinary attribute. At this point you could ignore the Life Force rules in Pendragon and just assign a cost from 1 to 4 for different magic spells. You could use the spells from practically any system. When a magic user is out of magic points he has to rest for 8 hours to replenish them. If you want to keep the complex and interesting rules for Life Force in the game, all you have to do is decrease the costs of magic or increase the d6’s that are rolled for amibient life force in an area. Another option, if you have the Ars Magica rules, is to use the level of the suggested spell as the total amount of life force cost. Keep all the other rules concerning Life Force the same. Roll the proper number of d6’s for your surroundings to determine the ambient life force. Add it to the magician’s life force to determine the available amount of Life Force. Use the Pendragon rules for sacrifices, time used in preparation, etc. Use the normal amount of points (150) allowed in Ars Magica to distribute among Techniques and Forms. However Art score costs should be cut down to a scale of 10. This means that only the Even desired art score costs would be available. A score of 10 which normally costs 55 points would now cost 210 points. A score of 6 which normally costs 21 points would now cost 78 points. This would allow less powerful magicians than Ars Magica because of the point costs of the spells, but the mages would be much more powerful than the ones for Pendragon. Another option if you want fantasy magic that is more powerful than Pendragon but less powerful than Ars Magica is to use the HarnMaster magic system. There is no need to buy HarnMaster…just get the magic system. Use the Deceitful score for Lyahvi magic convocation mastery level (CML); the Indulgent (or Cruel) score for Peleahn magic CML; the Worldly score for Jmorvi CML; the Merciful score for Fyvria magic CML; the Suspicious score for Odivshe CML; the Prudent score for Savorya CML. Divide all bonuses and bonus effects by 5. Use the Constitution score for Fatigue Points. Everything else just falls into place. Faerie Lore or Read Runes should be used for magical research checks. CSI should be equal to CML divided by 2.
Magic Limit:
The way it is:
Magic Limit is the maximum amount of power which a magic user can work. It is equal to the sum of the five religious traits because magical disciplines require religious virtues. Magic limit is used in a similar way to levels of magic in other systems. The higher level your are of a magician, the more powerful your spells can be when you cast them. This level is used to imply experience, and a player can increased to alter behavior to match religious expectations. This means that if you roleplay your character to match the 5 Personality Traits tied to his type of magic, those traits will gradually rise, giving the magician a higher magic limit.
How you can tweak it:
Magic Limits are common in most game systems. They are used to make sure characters don’t get too powerful, too fast, and overbalance game play so that it isn’t fun or challenging for the players anymore. This depends a great deal, then, on both the players and the GM. The Ars Magica and HarnMaster Magic systems have their own “magic limit” rules already in place. In Ars Magica formulaic spells are divided into levels. Characters begin with 150 levels of which they can distribute among formulaic spells as they wish. In HarnMaster, beginning mages have spell option points equal to their Aura. If you are using HarnMaster with Pendragon you could use the CML of the convocation as being equal to spell option points. Rules are given in HarnMaster for spending these points…basically, one option point is can buy one level (circle). If you are using some other spell list system like RuneQuest, D&D, or Tunnels and Trolls, and you are subtracting 1 – 4 points for every spell used from a power point pool equal to Hit Points, you don’t really need to be concerned about magic limits.
Time
How it is:
Time is an important element in Pendragon magic. Magic is rarely quick. Getting into contact with magical energies and shaping them can sometimes be done in minutes or hours, and other times it can take years. Sometimes Pendragon magicians wait for the right date in order to cast their magic because there is more power available. This time element can be handled in a few different ways. It can be left as it is and allow characters to make wands or staffs that they can charge. If you want a D&D style game you can have the characters charge their staffs with spells during the winter months for use on the next adventure. The staff should only be allowed to handle a limited amount of spells.
How you can tweak it:
Time depends on the genre you are using. If you are using a low fantasy campaign you may wish to use the Pendragon rules for spell casting times. If you are using a Swords and Sorcery genre, a swordsman can sometimes get to the magic user before he finishes casting a spell. Time is important in this case. If you are making your own system from a spell list from some other game, subtract the cost of the spell (1 – 4) from the Move score of the mage for purposes of initiative. The mage always can cast the spell at the end of the round if there is no other option. If you are using a High Fantasy genre, time to cast a spell may not be important…you can set spells to go off at the end of the round or at the moment they are cast. Ars Magica and HarnMaster have their own rules for spellcasting times.
Talents
How it is:
Talents are magical skills in Pendragon. Each talent is separated into low, common, high and grandiose effects. A Life Force cost is given for each level of effect. Example: Low effects require 1 – 40 points of Life Force. Specific examples in the book (of which there are quite a few) list the exact Life Force cost. Bless village, for instance, costs 60 Life Force points.
How you can tweak it:
I have already made the suggestion that you can take practically any existing spell list and divide it into power levels of 1 to 4. Where such lists include “colleges” of spells you could make a college equivalent to a talent. For instance in D&D, Abjuration may be a talent. Different levels of spells that are within the school of Abjuration would equate to levels of effects of a Talent in the Pendragon system. If you are using Ars Magica, the forms combined with technique are Talents. If you are using HarnMaster, each convocation is a separate talent with different levels (circles) of effect.
Religion
The basic concept behind each religion is explained well. Quite a bit of history is given and each have special places of interest which are good for future GM scenarios. The religion section discusses deities, druids, witches, priests, sorcerers, and necromancers. It discusses Christianity, Paganism, Wotanism, and Judaism. This has great value for those who are trying to get the “feel” of medieval Europe without actually using Europe as a setting.
I would recommend that priests not be able to do a lot of magic types of spells. We have bureaucracies that perform the functions that the church used to. Priests should be good at reading and writing, orate, fast talk, physician, diplomacy, law, lore, etc.
If you want to include the supernatural, you would do best to give priests piety points for religious services rendered. Daily mass would have a 25% chance of yielding Piety Points (PPs) and if the GM rolls 5 or below the cleric gets 2 PP. If a priest fasts, he has a 50% chance of getting PPs. If the GM rolls 10 or below, the priest gets 2PPs for fasting. If the GM rolls 18 or below a donation or sacrifice yields a variable amount of PP’s to the cleric. Each diety should have a base percentage chance for answering a call for divine intervention. This should be a 1, 2, 3, or 4. Every 5 piety points increases his chances by 1, that the call will be answered (not to exceed at total of 15). This idea gives you a flexible system that allows the priest to perform miracles of faith once in a while based on his service to the deity. If you like this idea and want a more expanded version of it with much more detail, get Harn Religion. Harn Religion also includes Rituals (spells) that are appropriate for the deities of HarnWorld. If you want to use the D&D spells, just decide which personality traits best represent your deities, add them up and divide them by the number of traits for a skill score. If the priest has been roleplaying his character well, he will have a high score and will be able to do more than a non-committed priest.
Appearance
I usually am not concerned too much about the appearance of a product, but I have consistently found that gaming products that are “quality” products usually have an attractive style and good binding (This is not always an indication of their quality, however.) This is my favorite book to just pick up and look at. I love the cover, the illustrations, and the general visual presentation of the material. The binding is solid, which I have to say is unusual these days. I have had my book for years and it is still in good serviceable condition, with no problems with binding, loose pages, etc.
Unfortunately, the way the material was edited is only fair. It can be hard to find the rule or description you want, even when using the index. After time you come to memorize these things, but when I first picked up the book and started using it, I had, had very little time to look through it before I ran my first adventure. It was a nightmare trying to find things, and I was flying by the seat of my pants throughout the whole session, even though the session went well. A word of warning to GM’s… get to know the rulebook before you play and put tabs or book marks on important pages. Definitely write reference notes connecting rule “threads” the first time, so you won’t have to waste time looking things up again. You gotta love the devotion Gregg put into this work, but you gotta hate the disorganization with which it’s put together. Don’t get the impression that its really bad…for the most part the material is laid out logically and in order, but no really good effort has been made to cross reference material or to break down material into short outlines that can be seen at a glance for GM’s “on the go.”
Altogether, I think Pendragon is very well designed for fantasy play if you are willing to tweak the magic system a little. The system is simple, elegant, and well designed. The elements of historical Europe that have been included would enrich most medieval fantasy settings. I have used Pendragon with HarnWorld and the Forgotten Realms setting, but I think it would be very good for the Warhammer Fantasy setting, or Gloranatha (Why didn’t they use these rules as a basis for Hero Wars??!!) I think it would be difficult for some GMs to tweak the system enough for ShadowWorld, although I have used the Pendragon system for roleplaying in ShadowWorld.
I am rating this system for fantasy roleplay. I give it a 4 for style (because some things are hard to find) and a 3 - 4 for substance depending on how much work you need to do to the setting and magic system to make it playable for your fantasy setting.
Warning: fopen(Pendragon1-928999-00-X) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/rpgnet/slib/rpgshoplib.php on line 67
Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
