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:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: : Earth's Dreamlands : Info on: RPG's, :(313)558-5024 : area code : :RPGNet World HQ & Archive: Drugs, Industrial :(313)558-5517 : changes to : : 1000's of text files : music, Fiction, :InterNet : (810) after : : No Elite / No porn : HomeBrew Beer. :rpgnet@aol.com: Dec 1,1993 : :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: Chaosium Digest Volume 1, Number 5 Date: Sunday, February 21, 1993 Number: 2 of 2 Contents: The Adventure of the Holy Sword (Shannon Appel) PENDRAGON Pendragon Character List (Eric Rowe) PENDRAGON -------------------- From: Shannon Appel <appel@erzo.berkely.edu> Subject: The Adventure of the Holy Sword System: Pendragon What follows is an adventure that I ran in my last Pendragon campaign. It was originally set right around the start of the Pendragon saga, in 490 or 491. The story centered around a young Roman Christian knight whose father had "been missing for 2d6 years" as per result 20 of the Father's Survival Table. INTRODUCTION This story concentrates on the quest of a young Roman Christian knight. His father had been a great knight, renowned for all of the virtues of Christianity. Unfortunately he disappeared several years ago while erranting about the countryside. Two companions disappeared with him. To this day, no one has actively searched for the player's missing father. Thus, when the player becomes a knight, it will surely be one of his first priorities. However, the adventure will not simply be a quest for a player's father, but also a search for a family heirloom. The player's father disappeared carrying Sanctgladius, a holy sword which had been in the family for many generations. It is said to be a holy weapon which could only be wielded by the best of God's knights. The player knight will probably want to recover the family heirloom even if he learns that his father is dead. THE SEARCH BEGINS The player's father was last seen riding North from Cirenchester on the King's Road. The trail is many years old, but the player's father was sufficiently glorious that even after all these years, the visit of him and his companions will be remembered by some. As the players ride North, they will probably be stopping in the many villages and cities along the King's Road, seeking information. A selection of Mundane encounters are included before, representing some of the meetings with the many denizens along the King's Road. They are meant to provide a good introduction to some of the varied encounters that Pendragon knights may expect to meet. CIRENCESTER Within the city of Cirencester lies the luxurious home of the Duke of Clarence. Years ago, the player's father began his quest here, and thus the players will be likely to begin their own quest by speaking with the duke. Unfortunately, the duke is a PROUD man, and the knights, being his lessers, will have troubles getting in to see him. An appointment with the duke may be had by speaking with the Duke's Castellan, Amig of Cricklade. In order to get an appointment, the knight speaking with Amig should make a Courtesy roll. This skill may be modified by player's glory / 1000. Additionally, the roll should be modified based upon the way that Amig is treated. Amig is COWARDLY, and thus very susceptible to threats. If he were threatened, however, the knight in question would be challenged within a day to a joust by an ORDINARY KNIGHT. Even if tge Courtesy roll is successful, the players will still find themself in for a bit of a wait before the Duke sees them. An ordinary sucess will mean that they will be given an appointment to speak with the Duke in one week's time, while a failure means that they will have to wait for several weeks. Only if the Courtesy roll is a critical success shall the player's be able to see the Duke quickly. If the players are willing to wait until their appointed time, this is a sign of their MODESTY. They should receive a check in that personality trait. However, the Duke will think less of them, for they will have confirmed his initial assessment of their status. The Duke will be abrupt and perfunctory in his meeting with the players. On the other hand, if the players are angered by the time that they must wait, and agitate constantly over it, they will receive an earlier appointment within a day or two. However, the will also receive PROUD checks. When the players meet with the Duke, he will have considerably more respect for them. Beyond simply supplying information, he may even help out any poorly equipped knights, by providing them with adequate horses or armor. If any knights are extremely poorly dressed, he will also be willing to buy them a Librum worth of clothing. If the players do decide to wait at the Duke's court, they will have the opportunity to involve themselves in a variety of activities. They may GAME, look for eligible women, challenge the Duke's knights or do any number of other things. How the knights comport themselves at the court may affect what the Duke thinks of the characters when he finally meets them. Again, it should be rembered that the Duke respects PRIDE and derides MODESTY. WHAT THE DUKE KNOWS The Duke will remember the player's father fairly clearly. Several years ago, some ferocious beast was rampaging across the Duke's lands. The player's father answered the Duke's call for help, taking two boon companions with him to aid against the monster. The three knights set out North, heading for Bourton, where the creature had killed several villagers just a few days before. The three knights never returned, but within a few weeks, the attacks upon the Duke's lands stopped. BOURTON The town of Bourton is held by the Duke of Clarence. It lies along side a river, just off of the King's Road. The town is uniformly SUSPICIOUS of the knights when they arrive. The villagers will hide within their filthy shelters when the knights arrive, and do whatever they can to avoid notice. Depending on how the knights treat this abject terror, personality trait checks may be appropriate. If the knights are able to gain the trust of the peasants of Bourton, they will learn that the land is the fief of a knight named Sir Cervidus, a NOTABLE Roman KNIGHT. He is renowned for his CRUELTY, and the lands that he has gained from the Duke of Clarence bear the mark of his iron fist. Sir Cervidus works his peasants terribly, so much that some of the older men have died early deaths. Worse, he has had several young men executed, claiming that they were conspiring against him. Clearly, Sir Cervidus is not acting MERCIFULLY, yet, what he does is well within his rights as a knight and the fiefed Lord of Bourton. Thus, JUSTICE is upon his side. If the players do decide to do something about Sir Cervidus, they will be ARBITRARY, yet MERCIFUL. If they ignore the plight of the peasants, they shall be CRUEL, yet JUST. Sir Cervidus lives in a manor house several miles East of Bourton. Given sufficient time, he could raise eight knights to help defend his lands. This would take several weeks to accomplish, however. WHAT THE PEASANTS KNOW Even if the player knights ignore the plight of Sir Cervidus' peasants, it is likely that they will still be able to gain the information they seek from the peasants. The peasants will claim that several years ago, there was a huge dragon threatening their lands. The player's father, with his two companions, investigated the area for awhile, and then travelled North, still following the beast. They thought that its lair was near Brandon, a town considerably North along the King's Road. BRANDON The players last stop along the King's Road will likely be the city of Brandon. During Phase 1, Brandon is a free town, for the Baron of Lambor, Blamore de Ganis, has not yet come to Britain. The peasants of Brandon will go to great extents to hide this dark secret. Usually, they will claim that their Lord is a Sir Antonio, a reclusive knight who lives to the West. Externally, the peasants of Brandon will be constantly polite, doing whatever they can to please or appease the knights. They will provide everything they know about the knight's father. If, however, they believe that the knights might have learned their secret (and, they are relatively suspicious in this regard), they will extend their fullest hospitality to the knights, and then try and slay them while they sleep. WHAT THE BRANDONIANS KNOW The player's father and his two companions came to Brandon several years ago, seeking a snake as big as a horse. The people of Brandon had several times seen such a creature in the Forest Sauvage, a deep, primeval place that lies to the East of Brandon. The three knights went into the Forest Sauvage, leaving extra horses and equipment with the people of Brandon. They never returned for it. (If the players ask, the people of Brandon will say that they carefully kept the equipment and horses until a year ago, when it was stolen in the night. This is a lie. In truth, when they decided that the knights would not return, they sold the items for their own profit. This is yet another sign of the incorrect independence of these people.) WHAT HAPPENED TO THE THREE KNIGHTS When the Three Knights went into the woods, they knew that they were seeking a creature which they had dubbed the Three Colored Serpent. They were certain that together they could overcome it. Unfortunately, each of the three knights had a fatal flaw which was his downfall. Sir Gwyn, the first of the companions was SELFISH. Thus, on the first night, when he killed a great black bear, and found a valuable gem within its skull, he abandonded his two friends, afraid that they would try and take his treasure from him. Today, he lives in Logres, a very rich man. Both Eleri and the Forgetful Knight know Sir Gwyn's dark secret, and might be willing to tell it to the player knights. Sir Gaidon, the second of the companions was COWARDLY. When he and the player's father finally met the three colored serpent, Gaidon turned and fled, leaving his friend to the serpents mercies. He watched the battle from afar, and went mad when it ended. Since, he has wandered the woods, now the forgetful knight. The player's father was RECKLESS. Together with Sir Gaidon, he had a fair chance against the serpent. To fight it would have been quite VALOROUS. To fight it alone was RECKLESS, however, and he payed the final price. The three colored serpent defeated the player's father and ate him. However, in the battle, the serpent was badly wounded, and thus is stopped its attacks upon civilized lands for a time. ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST SAUVAGE The final search for the player's father, and the Holy Sword Sanctgladius depends heavily upon the material on the Forest Sauvage that is presented in the Boy King. Following is a list of meetings which might occur in the Forest. Boy King scenerios are referred to several times. THE RED FEATHERED KNIGHT (The Boy King, pg.25): The Red Feathered Knight is one that wanders the forest, never able to escape it due to an ancient curse. However, the nature of Red Feather's curse is slightly varied from the one presented in the Boy King. This Red Feathered Knight hunted the White Stag of the Forest Sauvage. Such creatures are said to be very mystical, and in certain way each the heart of the wood they live in. The Red Feathered Knight found and slew the White Stag of the Forest Sauvage, and so he greatly hurt the woods. Thus, the druidess Eleri cursed Red Feather, so he would never be able to leave the woods. Red Feather is good and chivalrous, but he is also PROUD. THE DRUIDESS ELERI: In a small, tidy house, nearby a pleasant stream lives the druidess Eleri. Eleri considers herself the protectress of the Forest Sauvage and will always do what she can to preserve the woods and punish those that harm it. She understands the cycle of life, and that some things must die so that others may live, but wanton slaughter for its own sake is something that she will never accept. Eleri would be willing to forgive Red Feather and release him from his curse if he was remorseful, and willing to try and undo the damage he had done. Unfortunately Red Feather's PRIDE will make it hard for the player's to convince him to accept this. If Red Feather does apologize and spend a year planting trees and helping to defend the forest, Eleri will release him from his curse. Eleri knows precisely what happened to the player's father. Perhaps she will tell the players if they do her some favor (see THE RAVEN WITCHES below). Eleri could take the players straight to the serpent, but would do so only if the knights could convince her that they meant it no harm. If Eleri were for some reason attacked, she has magical powers including personal transformation powers (to nearly any woodland beast), and powers of control over beasts of the wild. SIR BALIN (The Boy King, pg.25): Balin knows the Forest well, and he might be able to provide many bits of useful information. He probably knows of Eleri, as well as The Forgetful Knight. Perhaps he might even know the general direction in which the Three Colored Serpent lives. Balin will probably impress the knights as a good person. He might be the player's first introduction to the true knights of the Arthurian legends. This encounter should only happen in Phase 1. THE GALLOPING DEVIL (The Boy King, pg.30-31): The adventure of the Galloping Devil and his Dandy Dogs may be used almost exactly as it is written in the Boy King. One night, while the knights are within the woods, he will attack. The Devil's specific reason for attacking will be that he hopes to scare off the Knights, ending their quest for Sanctgladius. If the player's seem unable to drive the Devil off, the Red Feathered Knight might come to their aid and do so. This would put the players deeply in Red Feathers debt, and make them much more likely to aid him in becoming free of his curse. THE RAVEN WITCHES: Within the Forest Sauvage is a coven of three Raven Witches (see stats on PENDRAGON, pg. 189). They will have an appropriately sized band of warriors and thieves, of similar types to the Warriors of the Raven Witches in Pendragon. These witches have no great tower, but simply meet nightly in a certain glen, plotting evil. Although the knights could randomly stumble upon these witches, it is most likely that Eleri will send the knights to deal with them (for they do her forest evil), in return for some knowledge or favor. Eleri simply wishes the witches gone from her forest, although the players may yet decide to slay them, for if they left, they would clearly do evil elsewhere. The players will face somewhat of a dilemma, however, for the Raven Witches know of the quest that the players are upon, and their magical power is great enough that they could successfully scry the location of the player's father (or more correctly, his bones). THE FORGETFUL KNIGHT: The forgetful knight is a madman. He remembers very little of his past, before the battle that he fled. With some work, however, the knights might be able to make some sense out of his ramblings. Eventually, the Forgetful Knight could tell the players almost everything that happened upon that last trip into the Forest Sauvage. In addition, he can take the players straight to the lair of the Three Colored Serpent. CONFRONTING THE SERPENT Fighting the three colored serpent would be a very dangerous task which might result in the death of several knights (see his stats in THE BOY KING, pg. 25). If the serpent is attacked in his lair (which either Eleri of the Forgetful Knight could lead the players to), he will fight to the death. Another option might be to ask Eleri to pacify the serpent. She can do so easily, allowing the players to search his lair. If the players tried to attack the serpent at this point, however, they would have both Eleri and the serpent to contend with. The serpent's lair is a cave, fairly large in size. Bones and rubbish are scattered about. When searching the rear of the cave, two things of great import will be found, namely a shield bearing the marks of the player's father and the sword, Sanctgladius. In addition, twenty Librums of various valuable treasure may be looted [not the two hundred Librums mentioned in the Boy King]. SANCTGLADIUS Sanctgladius is a Holy Sword, which bears the personal blessing of the Lord. It can only be wielded by a CHRISTIAN KNIGHT, however (any other can not pull it from scabbard). When a good Christian wields Sanctgladius, it will do normal sword damage plus 1D6. If Sanctgladius is wielded by one who has 20s in all of the Christian traits, it will do +2D6. QUEST'S END Although the final fate of the character's father has been discovered, there are several more possible adventures.