Old Merlin is very well integrated in the Pendragon Great Campaign; you can find out what he does and his whereabouts almost year by year until his disappearance.

But his successor as Archdruid, Taliesin "the Poet" (according to KAP 5.1 page 152) seems to be entirely missing from PGC; he is mentioned on page 299 as a "boy-sage" who has predicted King Maeglyns death but after that - silence.

And I don't know squat about him.

Has anyone used Taliesin in the latter part of their campaigns? Whats the deal with him? Whats he all about? What role is he supposed to have? I'd sure appreciate some thoughts from those more learned in this area.

One way I've seen both Merlin's disappearance and Taliesin's absence explained is that the Ladies Of The Lake and the Archdruids are embroiled in an ongoing battle over who will hold the power behind the throne. Merlin prevails through the reigns of Ambrosius and Uther, despite propaganda leaked by the Ladies concerning Merlin's birth, and it's not until he is trapped by the Ladies that his influence is diminished. Lacking the means to oust the Ladies without considerable risk to himself, Taliesin elects instead to undermine the Ladies indirectly. The idea to disinter Bran's Head may have originated with Taliesin as part of a scheme to discredit the Ladies.

His appearance is primarily through scenario and off-screen events.

I guess I never finished pulling it all together. :-[

His appearance is primarily through scenario and off-screen events.

I guess I never finished pulling it all together. :-[


I think it's quite understandable; the PGC is ... a very impressive effort, and not everything can be included.

Anyways, it seems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin) that there isn't much to know about old Taliesin. I'll see if I'll ignore him or can figure out something interesting to with him.

Anyways, it seems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin) that there isn't much to know about old Taliesin. I'll see if I'll ignore him or can figure out something interesting to with him.


By his time your campaign will have its flavor, and if there is a place for him he is there to be a powerful druid, a court bard, a pagan leader of any sort.
If you can, find the actual poems by the historical Taliesin. Most of those attributed to him are probably not his, but the one that drives him mad, where he is the only survivor of the Battle of Catterick, as he stumbles about lamenting to the severed head of his lord.
(Uriens was it? The historical Uriens was his lord?)

Anyway, a lot of what historical Taliesin was became absorbed into the Merlin persona.