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GK 2723

Adventure ot the Tournament of Drea

“I accept the challenge in the name of my King ail

his name forever of this vile accusation!’ good Uncle, Arthur Pendragon. Let my sword cle

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What is “Pendragon”? King Arthur Pendragon, o mdragon for short, is a roleplaying game wherein you ar

or holy person, or someone from the Dark Ages cultures of Britain: Saxon, Irish, French, Roman or Pict. Thes

your friends participate in heroic adventures set in King Arthur’s Britain. One player, the gamemaster, presents th story. Everyone else creates and plays a single character: a chivalric knight or lady from Arthur’s realm, a magicia

become the heroes of your own tales of adventure. The gamemaster describes the setting, plot and other charal ters the players encounter. Players respond with their own ideas, and resolve tests of their character’s skill and pe sonality using dice. With Pendragon, you can face the same adventures and perils that Arthur and Lancelot encoud

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MEMBER OF -or a FREE CATALOG of Green Knight books and games, write to: Green Knight Publishing 900 Murmansk Street, Suite 5 Oakland, CA 94607 Visit our web site at

I IFACTURRIS SOCIATION

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on Green Knight Publishing’s roleplaying gal

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0699-GK2723 $20.95 ISBN 1-928999-1 0-’ the legends of King Arthur.

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Ta les of mystic oumaments

THE GREY KNIGHT, THE TOURNAMENT OF DREAMS,

AND THE CIRCLE OF GOLD

Larry DiTiIlio, Les Brooks, Sam Shirley, Greg Stafford, and Matt DeForrest

Editing: Matthew DeForrest. Janice Sellers Cover Artwork: Randy Asplund

Interior Artwork: Tina Druce-Hoffman, Drew Baker, Heather Bruton Proofreading: Ellen Robertson

Production: Roderick Robertson

GREEN KNIGHT

0 2000. Green Knight Publishing

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Talee of Elyet ic Tournamente

Credits: “Life at Court: Arrivals and Feasting” was originally written by Greg Stafford and appeared in the Knights Adventurous supplement for the third edition King Arthur Pendragon rules. It has been edited and amended by Matthew DeForrest. “The Adventure of the Grey Knight” was originally written by Larry DiTillio and and has been edited and amended by Matthew DeForrest. “Dreaming” was written by Matthew DeForrest. “The Adventure of the Tournament of Dreams” was originally written by Les Brooks and Sam Shirley. It has been edited and expanded by Matthew DeForrest “The Adventure of the Circle of Gold” was originally written by Greg Stafford and has been edited and amended by Matthew DeForrest. “Life at Court” and “Circle of Gold” artwork by Tina Druce-Hoffman “Grey Knight” artwork by Heather Bruton “Dreaming” and “Tournament of Dreams” artwork by Drew Baker

Matthew DeForrest’s Acknowledgments: I would like to take a moment to offer special thanks to some indi- viduals who helped to speed this project along its way. I thank Peter Corless for allowing me to participate in bringing these adventures back into print and Roderick Robertson for his editorial work. Thanks to Charlie Krank and Eric Rowe at Chaosium for their patience in answering questions. To the members of the Pendragon e-mail list, especially Florian Edlbauer, Jeff Erwin, Marco Fabiani, Alex Ferguson, Timothy Ferguson, Todd Jensen, Elton Robb, and Michael Trout, I am grateful for your help and knowledge. Finally, I would like to thank Taura Napier, my fiancee, for her patience with me while I completed this project.

Tales of Mystic Tournaments is published by Green Knight Publishing. Tales of Mystic Tournaments is 0 2000 by Green Knight Publishing; all rights reserved.

Similarities between characters in Tales of Mystic Tournaments and persons living or dead are strictly coincidental.

The cover painting is 0 2000 by Randy Faith.

Except in this publication and related advertising, or unless otherwise agreed to, art work original to Tales of Mystic Tournaments remains the property of the artists, and is copyright by them under their separate copyrights.

The reproduction of material from this book for the purposes of personal or corporate profit, by photographic, electronic or other methods of storage and retrieval, is prohibited.

Address questions or comments concerning this book, as well as requests for notices of new publications by mail to Green Knight Publishing, 900 Murmansk St., Suite 5, Oakland, CA 94607.

Green Knight Publishing products are distributed exclusively worldwide through Wizard’s Attic. For a free catalog of all Green Knight Publishing products, please write to Wizard’s Attic, 900 Murmansk St., Suite 7, Oakland, CA 94607 or call 1-800-213-1493.

Visit our web sites at http://www.greenknight.com for information about Green Knight Publishing, and http://www.wizards- attic.com for the Wizard’s Attic online catalog.

You can reach green Knight Publishing via email at Gawaine@Greenknight.com.

Published May 2000. Green Knight Publishing publication GK2723

Printed in Canada. ISBN 1-928999-10-7 Sam

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Content6 Introductory Notes 4 Life at Court: Arrivals and Feasting

Dreaming and Dream Magic 59

5 13

63 92

The Adventure of the Grey Knight

The Adventure of the Tournament of Dreams The Adventure of the Circle of Gold

I List of Shields and Characters

Sir Aalar Sir Agravaine Queen Arawn Lady Ariette Sir Bedivere King Belinans Sir Bercilak King Billis Sir Blamore Sir Cynwal Sir Dodinas Sir Dordracole Sir Dorgane Lady Elavane Queen Elidia King Farion Sir Fitzroy

108 13 44 22.55 17 70 42 44 95 21 82 113 101 42 73 120 106

Sir Caheris Sir Cawaine Sir Craid The Grey Knight Sir Criflet Sir Cwaid Sir Kay The Lady of the Rock The Lion Knight Sir Maristone Sir Marsden Sir Patrides Brother Tanicus Sir Tor Sir Vardilain Baron Varnangis

20 18 21 53 22 77 17 67 37 117 71 111 69 22 35 116

I L List of Monsters and Creatures

Barguest 51 Neim Marbtac, greater hippogriff 83 Fachan 110 Panther 34 Fiends 102 Selemine, Fairy Horse 47 Cilegra the Raven Witch 50 Serpent 37 Goblin 102 Sluagh na Marbh 39

Kelpie 99 Succubus 34 The Hag of the Cave 104 5 prigg ans 115

Lion 37

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T h e adventures in this book take place early in Arthur’s reign. The player knights will have the opportunity t o meet and interact with many of the “stars” of the Arthurian stories while they are still young. In “The Adventure of the Grey Knight” the characters will meet the young nephews of Arthur (Gawaine, Agravaine and Gaheris), foil a plot by Morgan le Faye, and aid Merlin. The Gamemaster can build on the initial impressions of the Orkney clan so that when, in 525, Lancelot comes t o court, the players may look on him as an interlop- er, or as a needed counterbalance t o the wildness of Gawaine and his brothers.

In “The Adventure of the Tournament of Dreams” the knights will make friends - or enemies - with King Belinan of Powys, a powerful king in the hills of Cambria.

Finally, in “The Adventure of the Circle of Gold” the knights have the opportunity t o win a king- dom - but the way is hard and fraught with peril.

Additional Material In addition t o the King Arthur Pendragon rules, the following supplements can aid the Gamemaster in running these adventures, though none is required: The Boy King Blood and Lust Savage Mountains Perilous Forest

New Rules A number of new rules are introduced in this sup- plement. They are the rules for hospitality and feasts (starting on page 7). dreams and dream magic (starting on page 59), damage from thrown rocks (page 46). exceptional beauty (page 72), and two-weapon fighting (page 120).

Faerie These adventures all have an element of the Other Side in them and can easily be played as adven- tures in fairyland. The ferryman in the Tournament of Dreams was called the “fairyman” in one playtest game, and crossing rivers is, indeed, a method of crossing t o Faerie in British folklore. Likewise, the Enchanted Forest in the Circle of Gold could also be a borderland with Faerie. The Gamemaster should determine ahead of time whether these adventures do in fact take place on the Other Side.

Bib I iogra p hy Black, Maggie, Food and Cooking in Medieval Britain: History and Recipes. Birmingham, UK: English Heritage, 1985.

Edwards, John (tr.), The Roman Cookery of Apicius. London: Rider Books, 1984.

Welcome, friends, to adventure!

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Kife at Court

Kife at Court: %Wvat~ an6 5feaeting

T h e feast, whether it be for a lord’s vassals, a vas- sal’s lord, or a visiting knight, is an integral part of the Arthurian world. All feasts, however, are not equal. Major feasts of many courses take time to plan and cook. Only in the major capitals of the world - fabled and famous places like Camelot: Byzantium, capitol of the Roman Empire: Alexandria, o n the Nile Delta: Ctesiphon, capitol of the far-off Persian Empire: and the rumored city of Chang’an in the Far East - can an elaborate or major feast be planned and prepared in a single day. All other locations require the time t o bring in special foods and spices, as well as drink. The sud- den arrival of a famous knight or powerful lord is a cause for great distress in the kitchen. For this rea- son, word is sent ahead of a lord’s arrival when- ever possible. This is not expected of a traveling knight, of course.

Not all feasts are elaborate affairs, however, and the best cooks have learned how t o use local ingre- dients to their advantage. The most sought-after cooks have copies of Roman cookbooks to consult - or have consulted for them, should they be illit- erate - for recipes. The Roman Cookery of Apicius [De Re Coquinaria] is an example of such a book. For this reason, even surprise guests will usually be treated t o good, hearty food.

Some of the information in this section duplicates material found in both the King Arthur Pendragon rulebook and the Lordly Domains supplement. The inclusion of this material is for your conven- ience.

Hospitality A knight can expect t o be well fed and housed because of the importance of hospitality. Hospitality is what held society in Britain and the rest of Europe together in the dark times before the coming of Arthur. In Celtic countries, hospital- ity is ensured by the Druidic classes. Those who d o not behave properly and generously toward their guests are satirized or, worse, subjected to hunger

Hunger Strike

A hunger strike is when, in protest of an action o r of inaction, an individual sits at the doorway of the ruler and refuses to eat. This is a direct challenge t o the ruler’s generosity and hospitali- ty. The gravity of the challenge - and the shame it brings t o a ruler - means that it is used only in extreme cases.

lved h that lasts until the Winter Phase will prevent the lord from getting Glory for holding land in the Winter Phase. If the hunger striker actually dies of starvation, the lord loses not only the Glory for holding land that year, h e also loses a point each in Hospitality, Generous and Honor.

strikes. Similar rules exist in Germanic and Nordic cultures (see The Land of Giants, page 34).

Any knight or lord who holds a manor or castle is judged not only o n its defenses and income, but also by how well he provides for his guests. Some consideration is made for the relative wealth of the individual provider of the hospitality - no one will condemn a poor knight for being unable t o provide rich food, whereas all will look down upon a rich lord providing meager fare - and for the amount of time given for preparation. Indeed, it is incumbent upon the guest t o consider these matters when faced with an invitation.

To look down upon a less-than-opulent feast pro- vided by a less-than-rich individual is considered as great a breach of hospitality as if a knight were not offered food or shelter when he arrived at a castle. An example of this can be seen in the story of the death of Ckhulainn. in which three witches who plot his death offer him cooked hound for a meal. Clichulainn begs off, citing his geis, which forbids him from eating dog. The witches chide him for breaking the rules of hospitality, claiming he would

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eat it if it were fancier fare prepared by a rich man. This does not mean a lord must accept any and all invitations he receives. He should, however, have a good reason for declining such an invitation.

When a formal feast is prepared, the host is expected t o provide both food and shelter for his guests, their retinues, and their animals. While expensive, these are part of the normal costs of being a member of the nobility. Yet this investment does not come without some possibility of reward, as the idea of reciprocity is also important. While a strict accounting is never conducted - especially of those knights who are traveling and seek shelter - a host can reasonably expect to be feasted by his guests at some point in the future.

This does not mean that there is n o reference made to social rank or an individual’s personal worth. Knights are both received and seated by the lord in order of precedence and importance. While personal glory is a good rule of thumb when determining how quickly a lord will receive a visiting knight and where he will seat him at din- ner, there are other considerations.

The Interview Custom dictates that visitors be introduced to their host before anything else occur. Sometimes, the visitors are allowed to clean up beforehand - espe- cially if they have been expected.

Traveling knights frequently stop at a castle or holding unannounced. They are then just one among the throng and probably unrecognized by the petty court dignitaries of distant cities or estates. In such circumstances, the interview system provided below can help you determine how long it takes for the knights to be introduced to their host and what is going o n at court - the framework upon which you can begin your creation of the setting.

Roll 3d6 to determine the initial wait period. This number is used t o determine how busy the lord is. A high number is good for your players, as it will determine the number against which you will roll ld20, as if it were a skill test.

Introduction Modifiers

if you outrank him in the

Temple, the Order of the Golden Appl etc.) if yo

ou are a Knight of the Round Table Iture, kingdom, etc) by

if the court is crowded with ri

if a lot of other knights are already

if it is the middle of the night Sample

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