Unfortunately Greg's own Pendragon books came out before I'd found out how to make this interweb malarkey work and I missed out on them. I recently picked up the Book of Knights and Ladies from drive thru.

I'm looking forward to Book of the Manor.

I notice prices for peasant houses, bridges etc are included for repairing Manors that have been raided. I'm particularly interested in whether rules for what damage a manor takes during a raid are also included?

(PS Greg any hints about when BoM will be out would be gratefully seized upon ;) ;D)

GR

I'm looking forward to Book of the Manor.

I notice prices for peasant houses, bridges etc are included for repairing Manors that have been raided. I'm particularly interested in whether rules for what damage a manor takes during a raid are also included?

(PS Greg any hints about when BoM will be out would be gratefully seized upon ;) ;D)

GR


BoM is BY FAR the single best RPG supplement for running a manor.

In answer to your question: BoM includes information that lists random unfortunate events, such as "the mill burnt down this year" as well as repair costs so you'll know "how much will it cost to replace the mill." These can be the result of raids by dragons, mundane raiders, or just random events.

Thanks Rob, that's just what I was hoping for.

GR

Just so you know - getting raided can be brutal.

It's quite feasible for a manor to get wrecked beyond repair by a couple of unlucky rolls in a bad year.

Regards
Luke

Thanks for the info Luke,

Brutal is okay. Brutal and detailed is best! ;D I've had the Book of Nobles and used it for all my campaigns in the past. I have planted a couple of slighted manors in my current game and I was looking for some detailed method of documenting what stuff different types of manor comprise, where the income is generated etc. I'm hoping the PKs (who are currently household knights of the local king) might win some land and the need to build them back up to the level needed to generate standard income will provide an incentive for adventure. Go thou and seek out the lost quarry/mine (that's now infested by Knockers), re-open a trade rout etc, or even just acquire the spare cash to build a bridge! Sounds like BoM is what I was looking for! :) 8)

Thanks for all the help,

GR

Thanks for the info Luke,

Brutal is okay. Brutal and detailed is best! ;D I've had the Book of Nobles and used it for all my campaigns in the past. I have planted a couple of slighted manors in my current game and I was looking for some detailed method of documenting what stuff different types of manor comprise, where the income is generated etc. I'm hoping the PKs (who are currently household knights of the local king) might win some land and the need to build them back up to the level needed to generate standard income will provide an incentive for adventure. Go thou and seek out the lost quarry/mine (that's now infested by Knockers), re-open a trade rout etc, or even just acquire the spare cash to build a bridge! Sounds like BoM is what I was looking for! :) 8)

Thanks for all the help,

GR


The BoM is great for making manor's more than just income generators. There are rules for fortifying it (to thwart raiders), expanding it (due to population growth), building specific improvements to generate extra income(one manor has an apiary and a fishpond... a neighbor's has a salt evaporator etc.) and all sorts of other goodness.

You need to buy this book, even if it means buying a hardcopy in lieu of a pdf.

As an aside BoM is one of several books on the subject available for RPGs. It is VASTLY better than any other. For example the old AD&D castle guide was vague and fanciful when it came to creating a landholding (which seems to only provide massive manors that generate far too much to seem at all reasonale), while the FAR TOO REALISTIC Hârnmanor was too detailed and fidgety (who wants to figure out the ratio of oats to wheat to barley that's grown in your fields?).

BoM is where it's at.

Let me know if this should be a separate thread.

We've been using the Book of the Manor and many of us have fortified manors. However it's not fully clear to me what the rules are for defending or protecting the manor from raids.

From BoM page 42

Fortified Manors: If the knight has a fortified manor it helps whether he is present or not. If a manor has DV, then roll the Siege skill of the knight (or, if he is absent, his Steward), with these results:
• Success, Critical Success: Reduce the Property Destruction and Conflict rolls by the value of the DV.
• Failure: no modifier. Damage as rolled.
• Fumble: Damage as rolled, and lose DV value equal to the Conflict roll.

The Siege skill is not featured in the rules of Pendragon 5.1, but is in the Great Pendragon Campaign.

According to the BOM, the defender rolls his siege skill vs. what? (I'm assuming the siege skill of the attacker). Critical success provides no bonus over regular success.

According to the GPC, pg. 17 the defender rolls his siege skill + DV as a bonus, vs. the attackers siege skill + siege equipment. Siege equipment from the defender subtracts from siege equipment of the attacker. If the attacker still has a surplus in siege equipment, that subtracts from the DV of the defenders castle. There is a matrix of successes that accounts for critical success and fumbles.

Questions:

Which is the most up to date and current rule, BoM or GPC? I think the GPC matrix is clearer.

What's the starting siege skill for a Knight or for a Steward? From the 5.1 book, I assume 0 and the knight would have to raise it over the years.

Would a bandit/raider have a siege skill? Would a saxon? What would those skills be?

Does having a garrison or mercenaries on your manor contribute to the defense during a raid or siege?

This probably should go in a separate thread - if you're lucky the board admin will oblige. Meanwhile, some answers.



Which is the most up to date and current rule, BoM or GPC? I think the GPC matrix is clearer.

BoM is more recently published, but the two rules do not contradict each other - they are about different situations:

The GPC rule is for when someone is besieging you ie they are camped outside your walls (with sappers digging mines, working catapaults etc) and they are making a sincere attempt to winkle you out of your shell.

The BoM rule is for when someone is raiding you ie. roaming around the neighbourhood trying to locate and steal all the portable property, but generally avoiding any fortified places that they encounter.


What's the starting siege skill for a Knight or for a Steward? From the 5.1 book, I assume 0 and the knight would have to raise it over the years.
Starting siege skills for knights can be found in BoK&L and the value depends upon culture - it is 5 (Roman), 2 (Cymric, Irish, Aquitainian) or 0 (Pict, Saxon). This assumes you are in the pre-Romance phases of the GPC.

A steward employed as part of your retinue has Stewardship as their key skill, so they will have a Siege skill of 0. If it is your wife stewarding the manor then she will have a Siege skill of 5 (if Cymric) 4 (if Roman), 2 (if Irish or Aquitanian) or 0 (if Saxon or Pict). Again BoK&L, early phases.


Would a bandit/raider have a siege skill? Would a saxon? What would those skills be?
No and (already answered) no. Of course there are always exceptional bandits or saxons, but sieging isn't typically what they are about.


Does having a garrison or mercenaries on your manor contribute to the defense during a raid or siege?
If the manor has a ditch and rampart and/or a palisade, then you need '5 professional soldiers to lead the commoners in a defense sufficient to get advantage of the DV' (BoM p20). Other than that having soldiery on the manor does not grant any further bonus to resisting a 'manorial event' raid if you resolve it with a couple of rolls per the book. If you choose to turn the raid into something more substantial (the year's adventure say), then having some garrison troops on hand would probably prove to be quite useful.

You also asked

According to the BOM, the defender rolls his siege skill vs. what?
You don't roll vs anything. It's a simple skill check - you either get the benefit (crit/success), don't get the benefit (fail) or totally screw it up and get your fortifications trashed (fumble). Note that the benefit for fortifications is distinct from (but can be added to) the benefit you get from knightly presence.

Regards
Luke

Thanks for your responses, Luke.