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GryffonDurime
2007-12-16, 09:23 PM
So...out of curiosity, and as research for a possible campaign I may be running later this year, has anyone ever run an Arthurian campaign? If so, what direction did you take it in? What aspects really translated to exciting campaign moments? Was Excalibur just a Holy Avenger, or something special? Which body of the Arthurian mythos did you draw on?

Likewise, if you were to theoretically run such a campaign, what aspects would you want to play up? How would you reconcile the single-knight quests that comprise a large part of Mallory's text into something more campaign friendly?

Just looking for opinions, ideas, and some fresh input on this.

Lady Tialait
2007-12-16, 09:32 PM
Indeed, I have done one, We had Knights of the Realm, Three of them and a Apprentice of Merlin. They met with the Knights of the Round Table and were asked to assist on finding a clue to finding the ever allusive holy grail, as there were many leads and this wasn't going to be the grail itself they had to go on their own.

It ended really well, there were knights and swords, the magic was not blasting but very slight, E6 made the perfect system.

We got to 2 extra feats after level 6 and they all retired as Wealthy Land Owners.

Sleet
2007-12-17, 09:25 AM
I've played in an Arthurian campaign, but using a system explicitly designed to model Arthurian myth (King Arthur Pendragon). Frankly I wouldn't use D&D to do it.

I don't think that the Mallorian single quest is a major problem, just turn them into multi-character quests. The PCs are part of a fellowship of knights who undertake quests for their lord, their king, or for their own purposes.

I'd play up the notions of feudalism, what it means to be a knight in Arthurian Britain. I'd play up the Saxons as the stock bad guys (assuming your players are playing Celtic/Cymric/Briton knights). The forest is a mysterious place full of magic and danger. Magic = really strange and scary even when wielded by a good guy; none of the PCs have spellcasting classes. Faeries are scary and even the good ones are mischievous and dangerous, the evil ones are really friggin' scary and insanely dangerous. Society is in a state of flux, with the chaos of the collapse of Roman Briton and the Saxon invasion being opposed by Arthur and his Knights, as orchestrated by Merlin.

Mallory is a great source, but don't discount recent, less literary versions for their cinematic potential - the Merlin movie starring Sam Neill is a little hokey but full of rollicking cinematic fun; The Once And Future King is worth a read (even though it's not to my liking, really; a lot of people love it); Of course, John Boorman's Excalibur is a modern masterpiece. Even if you use the D&D system, try very hard to pick up a copy of the game King Arthur Pendragon to use as a sourcebook. If you can find The Boy King campaign, even better.

Mechanics I'd use: Excalibur is a +5 axiomatic bastard sword, maybe even make it an artifact that gains special powers when wielded by the One True King. Don't make it a holy avenger; Arthur was hardly a saintly paladin. Arthur was about as Lawful a character as ever was, Good took a back seat to the Law in his mind. Merlin is well represented as a druid, rather than a wizard, or even a multiclass of both. Avoid too many flashy spells in your spellcasters; subtlety is the way to go, illusion, enchantment, potions, divination. Don't be afraid to make up spell effects on the fly; the sort of magic thrown around in Arthurian stories isn't well represented by D&D (recall that Merlin had to rest for months after casting the illusion to make Uther appear to be Tintagel, Igrayne's husband.

bosssmiley
2007-12-17, 10:37 AM
Ran an overtly Arthurian game in "Fading Suns" (which has a substantial quasi-Arthurian meta-plot anyway). It was fun, but *lots* of work.

Also played various editions of "Pendragon", TSR's old Amazing Engine future Arthurian game "Once & Future King (http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/a/amazingEngine/v5748btpy7mtw)" (really cheesy 'cyberknights on rocket horses and Merlin as an AI' setting), and the CoC "Golden Dawn" 'Arthur revived' campaign (that was weirdly cool).

The "Pendragon" RPG really is your bible for this kind of thing. Buy it. Now! Heck, you might even be able to get one of the earlier editions as a free pdf from RPGdrivethru or wherever.

Sleet
2007-12-17, 10:49 AM
The "Pendragon" RPG really is your bible for this kind of thing. Buy it. Now!

This cannot be stressed enough. Greg Stafford wrote the first and last word on Arthurian RPGing with Pendragon. Get it. It will be invaluable, no matter what system you use.