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IV. Scenarios
2006, Arthaus.
(For 5th edition.)
It's hard to discuss this without hyperbole. It is a massive book, one of the largest single volumes ever published in the hobby and a singular labor of love by Stafford, pulling in almost every possible thread of Malory and presenting it in playable format for the game.
As presented, this will start the players as 21-year-old knights in AD 485 (10 years before Arthur's birth and 25 years before he pulls the sword from the stone), bring them through the fall of Uther, and the rise, apogee, and finally the tragic fall of Arthur in AD 565. By the end of it the original PCs' grandchildren will be participating in events that their grandfathers had a hand in shaping. Dozens of adventures, battles, romances, high chivalry, faerie, venal betrayals, all that is best and worst in the stories we tell about ourselves will have occurred and be part of living memory in the campaign.
Every year is broken down with notable events, court gossip, and possible adventures. Also noted is when new technology becomes available (reinforced chain, war flails, etc.). Some years are sketchier than others, allowing for more freedom as to how things develop.
The major criticism of it is that it is pretty railroaded. This is true to an extent: Arthur will pull the sword from the stone, create the Round Table, etc. You are playing an Arthurian game after all, and if you plan on totally deviating from the myth cycle then there is little point in picking this up. However there is a surprising amount of freedom towards two ends: First, in how your character contributes and reacts to the march of legend. Second, in your character's fortune and the consequences of his involvement. You may still become glorious (or not), benefit your family (or not), and survive. Or not. And course this is a roleplaying game, so the GM is free to modify things as she sees fit. Want to present a nonstandard view of the myth, such as Steinbeck or Bradley's? Go right ahead -- many of the events can be changed merely as a matter of interpretation.
But even if you play it as written, given the scope, detail, and obvious love for the subject matter, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that this is one of the greatest things ever published for the hobby. It is, I think, essential if you have any interest in the game, the subject, or in collecting artifacts of historical interest to our weird little pastime.
This won the Diana Jones Award for Gaming Excellence in 2007:The Diana Jones Award Committee wrote:In terms of sheer scope alone, Greg Stafford's Great Pendragon Campaign breaks new ground, presenting almost a century’s worth of continuous story with gemlike clarity; in almost fractal fashion, any given year can become its own campaign. Its greatest structural successes are those of Stafford's Pendragon: a superbly compact yet never sketchy adventure format, seamless hard-wiring of characters into setting and continuity, and unprecedented emphasis on epic, generational storytelling. Thematically, it is a triumph of Arthurian art in its own right, the roleplaying form's equivalent of Tennyson's The Idylls of the King or Wagner's Parsifal—a brilliant personal engagement with one of the foundation myths of Western fantasy.
Reviews
Epic, Simon Crowe (2012).
Where to Buy
PDF ($25), softcover ($50).
RPG Item: The Great Pendragon Campaign
[Average Rating:8.78 Overall Rank:8]
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- Edited Thu Mar 8, 2012 2:07 am
Posted Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:34 am
