Let’s Talk About King Arthur Pendragon RPG (Part 1)

In this video I talk about one the greatest tabletop rpgs ever made: King Arthur Pendragon! In what looks like will be a multi-part series, this first video covers the premise and publication history of this amazing game.
P.S. Just to clarify it looks like the 6th edition of King Arthur Pendragon will be out some time in 2023 (no specific date is available at this time due to ongoing supply chain problems).

[@ProudfootUnderhill]

What a great talk, I am checking Pendragon RPG!

[@DocFlamingo]

Just bought this game and very hopeful to find a group. Just found your channel, new sub.

[@richardmarriott-smith9517]

Very interesting, thanks. I have now bought a copy of Pendragon and am looking forward to playing it with my D&D group.

[@Bryon1187]

Knights of the Round Table with Robert Taylor! Loved that movie!

[@theroguegeneralhunter2206]

This is a fantastic video. My first experience with Pendragon was also in 1989. I was a teenager in a group of "adult" players (actually 20-25 year olds) that treated like one of their own from the start. It was amazing. The adventures felt mythic and I fell in love with the concepts of "Winter Phase" and generational campaigns. I have never had an experience like that with any other RPG. In the intervening 30+ years I have acquired a sizeable collection of Pendragon books (PDF and physical), but have never tried to run a campaign myself. In the back of my mind I am afraid it would crash and burn and take all the good memories with it leaving nothing but ash.

[@nicholasbielik7156]

I understand wanting to preserve those memories, but I will say that the game is a robust one that really delivers if you're players are up for it.

[@TheJDough1]

Love the video man!!! Your passion for the game and mythos is tangible. Please post pt 2 and 3,4,5,6, ect ect

[@nicholasbielik7156]

Thank you so much for the kind comment! It’s something I’ve been meaning to get back to-hopefully soon. I have a ton more to say about the game!

[@DjigitDaniel]

Outstanding video, sir. I've been revisiting Pendragon recently and wanted to find a smart and concise summary on KZbin. This video is exactly that. Thank you again. Your time is much appreciated.

[@nicholasbielik7156]

Thanks for the kind comment! Part two will hopefully get posted soon!

[@DjigitDaniel]

@@nicholasbielik7156 , the pleasure is all mine. I look forward to the next installment.

[@Bryon1187]

The 6th edition has some fantastic artwork. I picked up the quick start scenario at GenCon

[@jcrass2361]

I’m about to get into Pen 6th Ed. I’m really liking your perspective on this game, from someone who knows zero about it. The game sounds like a good challenge but also really cool for a co op game.

[@jasonGamesMaster]

Pendragon has always been interesting to me, but my favorite version of Arthur is the more gritty historic stuff that leans into chainmail and pagan themes, and I was never sure how it would fit that Also, the generational play reminds me a lot of The One Ring (although I am sure there is a line of influence from Pendragon in there somewhere) but if you like Tolkien its probably the best Middle-earth rpg ever made because it goes in hard on the themes

[@nicholasbielik7156]

The GM and players have a lot of ability to set the dial toward your taste in terms of the material. The default approach is "classic Malory" but the game could encompass grittier approaches as well. The Uther period certainly has more of a gritty "dark ages" tone in order to contrast with the later Arthur period, but you could dial down the fantasy Arthur if you liked very easily.

[@redrum3405]

I played this twice in the mid 80s. Fun stuff but our GM quickly moved on to other systems

[@nicholasbielik7156]

The game really pays off in long term play. It’s neat to see the characters evolve and die as the timeline moves on. It’s also really interesting to see a son or daughter of a previous character suddenly become the new active player character! Great stuff.

[@Bryon1187]

My buddy had 3rd edition which we played a couple of times. I picked up 4th edition on my way overseas. Even stopped by the house / company office 48:45 and got Gregg to sign it for me. Unfortunately it got lost in shipment 😭! I thought I picked up 5th edition or Paladin as a GM benny from GenCon or last years ChaosiumCon but I’m not seeing either on my shelves/ files.

[@nicholasbielik7156]

I forgot to mention 5.2 which is beautifully redesigned, but basically the same game at the Arthaus and Nocturnal Media versions.

[@Bryon1187]

@@nicholasbielik7156 I'm going to have to check out those other publishers!

[@nicholasbielik7156]

@@Bryon1187 All of the Pendragon material from all of the various publishers is available from Chaosium in pdf. You get them directly from Chaosium or from their storefront at Drivethrurpg. Most of the Nocturnal Media supplements are also available there as PODs (including the GPC and the 5th ed. rules).

[@Bryon1187]

Hey, who is that a picture of on the wall behind you?

[@nicholasbielik7156]

Henry David Thoreau. :)

[@kredonystus7768]

Critiquing Pendragon from the context of D&D is like critiquing Burning Wheel from the context of D&D. They are very different beasts trying to do very different things. "Burning Wheel is so much more complicated than D&D", only if you try and use every rule at once. D&D you have to, BW it's actively discouraged and the whole game is compartmentalised into different systems for a reason. D&D combat is way more complicated than any single system in Burning Wheel.

[@nicholasbielik7156]

I’ve never been able to figure out BW’s Fight or Range and Cover systems whereas I’ve run D&D combat in multiple different editions, so, from my opinion, D&D is easier to understand than those subsystems.

[@kredonystus7768]

​@@nicholasbielik7156it's easiest to think of Range and Cover as a chase system and Fight! as a duel system. They aren't meant to be used every time you fight, Fight! is generally for 1v1, and they're only for when an engagement involves character beliefs. So the big fight against Vader and Luke is a Fight! but the various fights against Storm Troopers are either Bloody Versus or just single rolls. Range and Cover is the same. Imagine if your campaign is a novel. If the fight is going to be just a few lines you use just a single roll, if it's a paragraph to a page use a bloody versus, if it's an important full chapter then use Fight!

[@nicholasbielik7156]

I get the different uses for the systems, and I quite like core mechanics of BW, and the idea of the game and how all these systems are supposed to interact. However, I can’t imagine actually using Fight or Range and Cover to play out a combat at the table. I know lots of folks have done so, but it just doesn’t work for me. Anyway. . .hope you enjoyed my discussion of Pendragon.

[@user-cf1ur3vr1k]

Interesting talk , but unfortunately unwatchable, because during first 15 mins I got 5 advertisement interruptions.

[@nicholasbielik7156]

Yeah, that’s KZbin. It’s massively ticked up in the last year or so. I’ve not monetized the channel, but it seems they show them anyway.