Lots of nice things happened today--not the least of which was coming home to find an unexpected chicken roasting in the oven--but the icing on the cake was getting my copies of the Pendragon Book of Battle and Book of Armies in the mail.Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!
Anyone who's played Pendragon down through its various editions probably knows that the battle rules are the part of the game that leaves much to be desired. These supplements aim to change that.
I've only had a chance to flip through them cursorily (huh, spell check informs me that's a real word), but it looks like that goal might just have been achieved.
At the very least, the Book of Armies adds page after page of awesome foes to fight. My favorite so far is probably the Bandit Gang, which includes entries such as "Those guys with funny moustaches" and "That guy who flips the coin & his pals". There's also an alternative list called The Brute Squad, which simply consists of a guy named Brute Squad ("You are the Brute Squad!") and another guy named Dashing Fencing Avenger.
There are also battles that get their own special foes tables. Badon Hill has some particularly epic entries, as befits the epic stature of the engagement. The "Day 3" tables, for example, could have you facing a Blind Warlord being led into battle his Wounded, Battered Men, a Swooping Giant Hawk (if it hits, you get picked up and dropped in the next round for 3d6 damage!), or Old Saxon Witches riding Giant Dogs (watch out for their Deadly Eyes attack!).
Oh how I love this game.
I was fortunate enough to play-test the new battle rules at Continuum 20008, with Greg Stafford running the game. The new rules are a massive improvement over previous incarnations and they capture the feeling of leading large numbers of troops into battle. There now seem to be more decisions you can take, as a unit commander, which have a direct effect on your character's experience of a battle.
ReplyDeleteTime to break out the Great Pendragon Campaign, methinks.
Oh, man, I want those new Stafford books real bad, but they're too damned pricey for me. $40 for 88 pages is not a great deal.
ReplyDeleteif only my friends were on the same nerd lvl still,damn career adulthood! i'd be playing this rather using zMUD to get my fix..
ReplyDeleteNo! No! Must not succumb to the siren 'playing house' allure of "The Book of the Manor". That way lies HARN and filthy, filthy simulationism. ;)
ReplyDeleteblizack: Yeah, I know what you mean. If I hadn't pre-ordered the books about 3 months ago when I was a little flush with cash, I certainly wouldn't have them in my greedy little hands right now. But the price is pretty steep, especially considering the print quality of the final product.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, they're worth every penny to any serious Pendragon fan. Definitely one of those deals where it's totally worth it to start a little slush fund, putting in X amount of dollars every month until you've saved up enough.
Chris: Join us! ;)
Seriously though, I have to say that one of the things I liked about Book of the Manor is how simplified and streamlined it is. I've used the system from Lordly Domains...::shudder:: The BotM system aims to be much less intrusive and, well, simulationist.