I am re-reading the GPC after a few years in preparation of a game that I hope to start soon.

During each year it mentions certain things - and I just need to know if PC's are present or just hear about them.

For example - Year 485

Court: Leicester in Lindsey (since the KPs are in Sarum being knighted in the introductory scenario in KAP 5.1 I am going to assume that they are not there nor that they meet the Special Guests.

Gossip: Is this only heard at court or could this be heard anywhere?

News: Since this deleivered by the Special Guest at Court do I assume that this becomes hersay that the KPs hear?

Royal Conversation: Again KPs are not there?

Intrigue: Again KPs are not there.

Events: These I am sure the KPs are involved with.

I find this a tad confusing because in my mind the only way to rectify this is for the KPs to be everywhere and all the time and that is not realistic. For the the 485 Year the KPs are just knighted so I cannot see why they would be hoofing it over to Leicester unless with the Earl. Yet, there is valuable information provided in these categories so it seems a shame for the KPs to miss it.

Then again I maybe making a huge misunderstanding of all this and in desparate need of clarification.

Thanks
Todd

In our campaign, in the early days the players weren't at the King's Court - why should they be, unless for some specific reason the Earl wants them there. However, the Earl and/or his representative will be there and so news from Court does filter through to Salisbury, and so to the players. This way they got to hear the Gossip, News and Conversation. I then asked them to make Intrigue rolls to determine how much of that they get to hear.

As the GPC progresses, the players rise in status and so might expect to be at Court.

The information under the yearly headings in the GPC are a guidance for the GM - "this is the sort of thing that is being discussed in various circles of aristocratic society this year". It is not expected that all of it will reach the ears of the PKs - furthermore if you just hand it all out then you are slighting the players who want to focus their characters on courtly shenanigans

How many hoops you make the PKs jump through in order to get the info is a judgement call on your part. Some of it is pretty much there for the taking - for instance as a GM I generally use the News section as fodder for my introductory spiel for a game (top tip: check out the write ups for the surrounding years as well, this way you can forshadow upcoming events or drop in bits of info that were missed first time around); other bits are context dependant so the players will get the info if they think to ask about that sort of thing (perhaps making a skill or trait roll) or are in the right place to encounter it; other bits are very obscure and won't be available unless the PKs are very lucky, skillful or well placed.

If there's something that you, as a GM, want to share with the table (say to set up an encounter or adventure later in the game) then it's up to you to engineer a situation whereby you can drop the info into the game in a plausible fashion. So if there's a nifty nugget in Royal Conversation then perhaps this is the year that one of the PKs is one of several knights invited to an intimate supper with the King (he does this regularly to check out promising young men) or maybe they hear about it as part of the background gossip at court and their challenge is to decide how much credence to give to their source.

tl/dr: The GPC should be regarded as a pick 'n' mix buffet rather than an all-you-can-eat challenge.

Regards
Luke

The GPC should be regarded as a pick 'n' mix buffet rather than an all-you-can-eat challenge.


Possibly the most important piece of advice for anyone running the GPC!

If you want to showcase the time difference and possibly the problem with word of mouth, unless there are PCs at court, have the info seep down days/weeks/months later, sometimes with wrong info.

Players in my campaign started to clue in on this early, so pumped points into intrigue and folklore to enhance their chances of getting correct and timely information. Once they got opportunities to attend court, they did their best to put their best foot forward to increase the likelihood of the Earl sending them back.

Bob Schroeder