Pendragon: The Once and Future RPG?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I've adored the Pendragon RPG for a long time now, and I just managed to get my hands on a copy of the out-of-print 5th Edition yesterday. My understanding is that apart from the 5e Corebook, the only other book for this game that was released before the game went out-of-print was The Great Pendragon Campaign. Is this correct?

I have heard rumors that further supplements for Pendragon are now available independently in PDF form, similar to how Cubicle7 has made PDFs of the first and second editions of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and I was wondering if someone could confirm the accuracy of those rumors as well. I'd also heard these supplements restored some of the game elements in Pendragon 3rd edition that had gotten dropped, like magician player characters and alternative starting nationalities like French, Saxon and Roman.

I find it kind of poetic that the RPG about King Arthur is not truly dead, but resting in Avalon (i.e. the internet), the Once and Future game!

[JustIgnoreMe]

In addition to the Grand Pendragon Campaign, there were some other books for 5th Ed, available from Greg Stafford's website and maybe some other places like DriveThruRPG. I don't remember all the titles, but Book of the Manor, Book of Knights and Ladies and Book of War were, I think, the first three.

Older books (4th Ed and earlier) might be available as pdfs. I used 4th Ed books for my 5th Ed game; they're pretty much fully compatable. The rules change, but the stats are still useable.

[2D8HP]

I've adored the Pendragon RPG.....


You have good taste.

Try these links:

https://www.nocturnal-media.com/pendragon-1-2/


http://nocturnalmediaforum.com/iecarus/forum/forumdisplay.php?4-King-Arthur-Pendragon


http://www.gspendragon.com/


http://www.staffordcodex.com/about-pendragon/


http://www.gspendragon.com/1links.html

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Oh, wow, thank you for all those links! :smallsmile:

How different are the 5.1 and 5.2 corebooks from the original 5e book I picked up? I'm wondering if I should just pick up the PDFs or spring for a physical copy...

[ParaNinja]

Just pick up the PDFs. In fact, I’m not even sure 5.2 comes in hard copy yet. BTW, you have great taste in RPGs. I’ve played a lot of systems and KAP is the best IMO.

[knag]

I've adored the Pendragon RPG for a long time now

I've been looking at Pendragon recently, as I had it in mind to do an Arthurian-themed campaign. What is it that you like so much about it? Why is it better than doing a campaign with AD&D or GURPS?

[Anonymouswizard]

I’ve played a lot of systems and KAP is the best IMO.

As I've gained experience with games I think I have to agree that KAP is probably the best fantasy game I've come across. It knows what it wants to do (high fantasy Arthurian Myths) and it does it very well. I own another King Arthur game which instead goes for a Celtic feel, and I'd much rather have the Celtic feeling with the KAP rules.

I really like the 1d20 roll under system, it's easy for people to get, and character generation is simple enough for people to get. The restriction to male knights as the default is annoying, and IIRC ladies are all around worse, but all it takes is the group going 'okay' and players can make female knights. It's my fantasy I can do what I want. The personality traits and similar non-skill stats are also nice, and I really like how every trait is a number you can roll against. The system models no more than it wants to, which is knights going on quests and competing in tournaments, we don't need time for your silly spells!

(In all seriousness, I have considered using the Pendragon version of BRP for my own homebrew games. I really like it, and as it's still essentially BRP it can slot into almost any genre. It will need serious changing if I ever want to sell a game, but I can deal with that.)

[JustIgnoreMe]

I've been looking at Pendragon recently, as I had it in mind to do an Arthurian-themed campaign. What is it that you like so much about it? Why is it better than doing a campaign with AD&D or GURPS?
Because the Pendragon RPG is designed to run Arthurian games. It'd be terrible for running almost everything else (you could use if for Ancient Greece, or Norse Myth, or similar settings, but you couldn't do Robin Hood or the Three Musketeers even though they too are bound by strict honour codes). GURPS is truly generic, and AD&D can be used to replicate a wide range of generic fantasy: they are much more versatile than Pendragon. It's like... GURPS is a toolkit, Pendragon is the tiny screwdriver for tightening your glasses. GURPS can do lots of things Pendragon can't do, but Pendragon does what it does better than GURPS could.

[2D8HP]

I've been looking at Pendragon recently, as I had it in mind to do an Arthurian-themed campaign. What is it that you like so much about it? Why is it better than doing a campaign with AD&D or GURPS?


...GURPS can do lots of things Pendragon can't do, but Pendragon does what it does better than GURPS could.


I adore Pendragon, PM me and you'll get some info on the rules (which are AWESOME!).

That said, you're just not going to be playing, Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser type characters, even Robin Hood would be a stretch.

Instead you may play a PK (player Knight) who faces temptations like Sir Percival in the film Excalibur:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i3B4oLj5fQMDespite her being played by Helen freakin' Mirren, Sir Percival resists Morgana, achieves the Grail, brings it to King Arthur, and heals him (and the land with him).
I know of no other RPG that models thar.

[RazorChain]

I've been looking at Pendragon recently, as I had it in mind to do an Arthurian-themed campaign. What is it that you like so much about it? Why is it better than doing a campaign with AD&D or GURPS?


You can run an Arthurian Campaign just fine with Gurps, you just pick up Gurps Camelot

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Camelot/


That being said Pendragon and Gurps Camelot will be vastly different games because the subsystems in Pendragon are vastly different and the structure is different from many RPG's as you might go on one quest per year and there is a lot on weight on your domistic relationships, your honor, life events and what you do while not on a quest.

[Florian]

I've been looking at Pendragon recently, as I had it in mind to do an Arthurian-themed campaign. What is it that you like so much about it? Why is it better than doing a campaign with AD&D or GURPS?

Pendragon is very, very much about the "character" of your character. When it comes to knightly deeds and heroics, the "how" and "outcome" doesn't count as much as the basic "why", when we talk about Mallory and Romanticism, something that the arthurian saga is heavily anchored to.

AD&D and GURPS care about the concrete abilities of a character, while Pendragon receives narrative strength from virtues, sins, love and hatred.