The Pendragon Tabletop RPG by Greg Stafford is probably one of my most favourite RPGs that I have played. For those who have not heard of it, in Pendragon, you play as Knights of Arthurian Legends. The exact nature of the campaign is up to your GM, but if you have heard the tales of King Arthur and his Round Table, and wished that you could have been there to follow him and take part in his adventures, then this Tabletop RPG is for you. In this post, I will give you 3 good things about the Pendragon RPG
1) You Will Fall In Love With The World And Its Legends
Before I played Pendragon, I was aware of the legends of King Arthur, but I couldn’t class myself as an avid follower. I knew about Merlin, of course, I knew about Excalibur, I knew about Lancelot. (And I still find Lancelot quite a funny name choice because it is a name that I would think a GM would give an NPC on the spot)
Pendragon with its campaign books covers over 90 years of the King Arthur Legend. You can follow the period of Anarchy in Britain after the death of King Uther (who I also knew nothing about when I first played it) and go all the way through the reign of King Arthur. Playing through the events of this book, getting to know the NPC’s in it and creating a legend of my own in that rich tapestry was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. So much so that I have spent a week just looking for King Arthur films that I can enjoy.
Pendragon is an excellent way to start your journey exploring these tales.
2) You Create A Family, Not Just A Character
Pendragon is an incredibly lethal system. There is a very high chance of dying in combat or dying of old age. No knight can live for the entire 90 years of the campaign.
Have you ever watched Game of Thrones or some other Fantasy or Historical Drama and wished you had your own Noble House? Well, in Pendragon, your character will marry and have children, and eventually brothers and cousins you will take control of when your current character dies.
Very few Tabletop Systems out there allow you to not only play a character but also play a dynasty. You can explore how your family changes over the years, whether they can survive the perils of the world and watch as your characters paint their house words throughout the canvas of History.
3) The System Encourages Character Development And Conflict
Knights of the Arthurian Legend often struggled with their personalities and desires, the realities of their situation, and the various oaths and duties of Knighthood.
Pendragon successfully replicates this feeling through the use of the Traits and Passions systems. As your character behaves, they accumulate points in traits such as Chaste or Lustful, or Energetic or Lazy. The more points you accumulate, the more likely it is your character will behave in that way as the game system itself encourages you strongly to act on those character traits.
The fun part begins once your character has lived a few in-game years and you have accumulated points in different traits, forcing you to pick your battles in your own internal conflict as your character is torn in different directions, all while trying to hold to their oaths.
As someone who liked Brienne of Tarth and Ser Jaime Lannister in A Song of Ice and Fire, a roleplaying system where I could play out character conflicts similar to theirs was right up my alley.
