My RPG group has just started one of our regular one-off seasons between campaign blocks. After years of D&D and a few months of both Star Trek/Primetime Adventures and DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds, I'd quite like to make Pendragon the next campaign I run.

With the previous campaigns I've ran short "pilot episodes", one or two session games to try and sell the group on the games as well as work out any mechanical/character kinks. However, I'm a little worried about doing this with Pendragon because it seems to me all the charms of Pendragon come out in continued play.

Anyone got any ideas how to handle this kind of situation? I imagine those of you who've done convention games for Pendragon may have some ideas.

I'm toying between either running the introductory session in the 5th Ed rulebook, or running a single session set in the reign of King Arthur. The former is designed to introduce the game but lacks some of the things a casual fan would know about the setting - more dark ages than chivalric - and is arguably a bit dry as plots go. (Seems better as a introduction to RPGs in general to me.) Meanwhile, something set later in the game presents what people expect but if I then start the campaign in 485 then it could be argued as "false advertising" of sorts.

I think you should stay clear of the bland (bot good) instructional scenario, at least if your players are more into high fantasy stuff. Run an adventure set in the year AD 531 or so, when Arthur is undisputed ruler, peace reigns and chivalry, romance and all the rest are established. There are several adventures in the 3rd edition books that are very good and illustrates the game world and system well. (The Adventure of the White horse in the 3rd and 4th ed. rulebook is a very good short adventure that could be used also).

And if your players get hooked, explain to them that part of the fun of Pendragon is to experience the journey from grim and gritty Dark Ages to High Adventure and Romance. Or just start off in AD 531 for a shorter campaign. That was the recommended starting year in 3rd and 4th ed. rulebooks, and I think its a good starting point if your not quite up to running a 80+ gaming sessions campaign.

Have a look here: http://www.rpgarchive.com/index.php?sysid=17&page=adv&sort=Alpha and pick an adventure that suits what you want to emphasise about playing Pendragon. The Adventure of the Good Knight or the Adventure of the Golden Fountain both look like good starter scenarios, but you might find something else more to your tastes.

Let us know how it goes.

Skarpskytten & Elrick, I'm just about to do some digging into your suggestions. I do think that setting it a little ahead might be better - maybe 519 or so, when Arthur is still a young man but the key tropes like the Round Table are in place.

My own reading since I posted took me to the 5th Ed GPC and two adventures which struck me as having legs for a more classically Arthur feel: Knight Of The Wolf (Boy King, Pg 159) and Knight Of The Griffon (Enchantment, Pg 399). The former because it involves Honour to an enemy and single combat with an enemy knight, and the latter because it uses several trait rolls and reinforces the notion that personality matters in Pendragon. With a little editing, you could even stitch them together.

Whichever way I go, I want to make sure that traits get use and that there's some sort of "easy" group combat, just so everyone gets a chance to fight - one-on-one combat is cool and all but I want to make sure that every knights gets to run through bandits or goblins or faerie dogs or whatever. :-) Yes, Pendragon is harsh about injury, but at least if it goes wrong they'll learn it's that kind of game. ;-)

In case anyone cares, yesterday I ran this pilot session and it went quite well. :-) I wrote a little about it on my blog: http://hubcap-reloaded.livejournal.com/365638.html

Short version is I did exactly what I said in my last post - 519, Knight of the Wolf & Knight of the Griffon. I threw in a skirmish with a Saxon uprising in Anglia to give them a taste of the mass combat rules and sent them out. I made up pregens of varying ages and cultures, so we had a 23 year old Jagent Pict, a 23 year old Salisbury Cymric and a 29 year old Clarence Cymric.

Things seemed to go well. I had a smaller group than usual, just 3 of my players, but they all seemed to get into it and particularly enjoyed messing about with the trait system. (Knight of the Griffon offers up a few opportunities for trait rolls to really matter, a good demo for them.) We played through a full game year including Winter Phase to demonstrate how it worked.

The skirmish was their original mission, and they bumped into the Knight of the Wolf on the way and promised to battle the Knight of the Griffon to get his sword back afterwards. The skirmish was a bit of a cakewalk - they were mounted and better armoured, their foes on foot and in leathers. However, when they reached the Faerie Knight they got their butts well and truly handed to them. (Although a couple of crits from the final Knight to face him saw him give it a decent go.)

I definitely think I've won them round to trying it as a campaign in the future, so mission successful! :-)

Glad it went OK. Thanks for letting us know.

Pleased to hear fun was had by all. :)