Rules Breakdown: Pendragon

[@scottmarsh2991]

@5:20, Rules say, “If a critical result is lower than an opponent’s simple success roll, then the critical result fails.” Newer rules are different! Edition 5.2 on page 115 says a crit gets treated like a successful 20 (and also any modified roll over 20 gets treated like a successful 20). As such, crits always win or at least tie (in the event that both combatants roll a crit).

[@RPGGamer]

Brilliant, thanks for letting me know. Gonna pin this to the top for anyone else who might find it useful. Many thanks.

[@rotwang2000]

Pendragon is the best game design had to offer. There are a few things more modern gaming concepts could do even better, but it is a stunning game. Somebody even tried a Middle Earth adaptation that really blew my mind because it used the passions as such an elegant game mechanic to explain moments like Boromir carving a blood canyon through orcs to save Merry and Pippin because he crits his love role for them and gets so many bonuses in combat he can kill many orcs before he can be brought down. Love the game, one of the best, play it, you won't regret it.

[@RPGGamer]

A fantastic game, and although I've never played it, I've heavily lifted ideas from it over the years.

[@fatanimetiddies9760]

I love the cover art for the first edition. It's beautiful. While other cover arts are nice I don't think any of them get as good as this one. There's just a great sense of grandeur and romance to it. Enjoyed your break down of the 1e rules.

[@RPGGamer]

It really suits the design aesthetic they used at the time, and it's just one great thing about so much to love about this game. Many thanks for the kind comment.

[@griselame]

the bestest game there's ever been and that will ever be :) Love Pendragon. The rules, the storytelling, the dynasty play, traits & passions... It's all unique & well worth a try at least once by every gamer out there

[@RPGGamer]

I wouldn't go that far, but it is without doubt one of the best RPG's out there, the Dynasty play itself is just such an astounding feature that I'm surprised no-one else has ripped it off.

[@scottmarsh2991]

I love, love, love King Arthur Pendragon!Glory, not gold, is the goal, so there’s no real incentive-and a great many disincentives-to play as a murder hobo. Instead of playing a monster-mugging nobody, you play a noble knight, who is rich with land (fully staffed and productive), decorated with status and renown, and rife with privileges (on which you can practically live, even if you run short on money)!

[@RPGGamer]

I feel that the Murder Hobo has really become a thing in D&D since 3rd Edition when they dropped the rules for followers, etc. Before that, you'd become a ruler, and have to run your estate and manage your followers (although it mainly just came down to being a sponge for all that gold you now had lay around). But yes, love what Pendragon was doing in baking that into the core of the game.

[@MrDidz]

This was very helpful as I'm looking for ideas to manage a sort of Time Warp Event to swallow five years of game time in my WFRP game. So, something like this which uses one-year increments would be perfect. What you didn't mention though was how the game handles the events that happen in every year. I've been told there is some sort of random event tables that determine what happens but is that in the other booklet?

[@RPGGamer]

Glad it helped! The book lays out events which happen each year, for example the banquets where you get to romance the nobility from neighbouring territories, the tournaments where you get to joust and duel for status, but doesn't really lay out any rules for them, just detailing that most of them happen over the winter, as summer is adventuring time. The only random table for "Annual time" is that for aging, otherwise it kind of just puts it all to a few dice rolls, (for experience learning, horse injuries & deaths, Glory, Romantic deeds, & Annual Stipend from your lands.

[@Dasharr]

I'm not generally a fan of random character advancement for the same reasons I'm not a fan of random character creation, but it seems fine in a game where a single PC is only temporary anyway before you move on to the next generation.

[@RPGGamer]

Compared to so many games of the era, Pendragon was a joy to read. Obviously a number of the ideas it uses are outdated and fairly clunky in implementation, but compared to the layout and examples provided by games of the time such as D&D, Cthulhu and Bushido, Pendragon is so easy to locate what you're looking for and actually learn how to run the game.

[@juzzbuzz1]

i have this on pdf should give it another read, also would you every give runequest a rules breakdown and review ??

[@RPGGamer]

Definitely, I've got Runequest around somewhere, I'll have a hunt for it and freshen up my memory and give it a review and rules breakdown. And 100%, Pendragon is definitely worth a read, it's one of the best presented and thought out of the Retro games I've gone over, and I think stands up pretty well to modern games.

[@juzzbuzz1]

@@RPGGamer i really like RQ2 i think it and cyberpunk2020 hold up but i do like some of the rules for Pendragon. so i might intergrate them into my RQ2 solo play.