First of all, this post is just speculation and a call for help and ideas, not a set of house rules.

I've been thinking about lineage. As far as I am aware, when you create a son of your character, his character sheet has nothing to do with your old knight character sheet, except for a couple of inherited traits at most, a family skill, and his family name and lands. You then can chose the same starting statistics and skills you used on your old knight, or you could create someone completely different, right?

But what if the sons of a knight could inherit some of his famous (16+) qualities? What if the son of a Strong knight could inherit his strength? Or could inherit his mother's beauty? What if a son of a knight famous for his sword skill was born with some of his father talent in fencing? The same could be used for infamous values (6- or so) in statistics.

In my basic idea, every statistic or skill at 16+ the parents had should give their children a chance to get a free +1 bonus on it during character generation. Every 5 points above 16 should give an extra +1. Each statistic at 6- should impose a -1 on it.

Since you will rarely have more than 2 or 3 generations in most games and mostly will have more than a few legendary values, those adjustments are not major most of the time. If you think it's just too prone to min-maxing, maybe you should roll a d2 for each +-1 modifier during character creation in order to see if the son inherited that characteristic from the parents.

I need some input here, am I doing it wrong? Is it totally unbalanced?

We use a system where the players get to divide 50 points to their SIZ/DEX/STR/CON and roll 3d6 for APP (and they may raise their app with the 50 points, if they so choose, but not lower APP for more points in other statistics). In addition they get the culture modifier (+3 CON, since all are Cymric). This allows them to continue on the same 'family tradition' is they feel like it.

We are very generous with Traits and Passions. In short, for passions we use that if the Father (rarely mother, since they tend to be NPCs usually, with one exception) has Famous Passions (16+), then the child gets +2 while rolling those passions, up to the Father's value. So Father having Loyalty Lord 17, the child might roll 3d6+1d3 and then adds 2 as long as that +2 doesn't bring his total above 17. So a roll of 16 would raise the total to 17, while a roll of 18 would keep the total at 18.

For Traits, we may be even too generous, I am starting to think. You see, we give Valorous 15, one trait at 16, and Religious traits at 13. What's the problem with that, you may ask? Nothing, but then we give 6 points more to be divided into the Traits, AND if the Father had a famous trait, raising that by one point costs only half a point. So, a son of a Christian Knight might end up with all Christian Traits at 16 from the chargen, which is perhaps a bit too much. But anyway.

I like the system as-is. You can already choose to just go with the same attribute buy using points allocation, so that's a non-issue. The family skills and passions makes sense. However bonuses on traits IMHO is going too far.

Taken to it's logical conclusion, surely freshly generated characetrs should gte such bonuses from their parents? You'd get into a positive feedback loop from generation to generation, escalating trait values.

The system already builds in the ability for the player to customies the character's attributes, passions, traits and skills, and generate the character in similar ways to the father if that's what the player wants to do. The current system strikes a good balance between maintaining a degree of familial continuity, while giving players the tools to interpret a character's family heritage in ways they see fit, instead of how the game mechanics mandate it.

Yes it is totally unbalanced. But as long as its story driven RPG such things rarely matter.

Why I say this is because we have something similar to this.
In our rules the son gets the stats of the father minus 1d6 when he comes to court (usually as a page or similar). Then when he becomes a squire he gets plus 1d6.
So in effect, sons gets the father's basic statistics -1d6 +1d6, so it can differ -5 to +5 with an average of 0. Thus we also make a difference of basic stats which are inherited and what you do with glory etc. They also started with 3d6 rolls for all stats...

Why this is completely unbalanced is because players will have bad or good luck and thus be affected through generations with a rather slim chance of change.
For us it works marvelously because our focus is story driven RPG so inheriting the strengths and weaknesses of the father will do wonders for family perceptions etc.
However if you are doing a more wargame like RPG then a player who have bad luck will be at a great disadvantage vs a player with good luck. This is the reason for not having random stats at all.

Also any mixed system of chosen and hereditary stats is very much open to abuse by munchkins.

Then most such hereditary systems is pro-player as in too nice, so that they accumulate over generations with each being better than the last. If you look at Moriens +2 for instance that will make it more and more likely that you have higher and higher starting passions. So give it three gens and most should get the +2 in all relevant passions.

To be honest I do not think the system needs a rule for these kind of things. We use a point based system (I use 65 not 60). this gives the player the option to create what he wants. If he wants to a son totally different it is fine by me. As spoonist says, it should be story driven and not rules driven imho. So I leave it up to the player to do as he wills.

Hello all,

I was thinking on a system for inheritance. I use random stats on my campaign, and I thought it would be kind silly if the son of the saxon giant, with Siz 20 and Str 18 be a puny little guy with Siz 9 and Str 5! Also, it would be fun if the accomplishments of one generation passed on to the next.

I think that what calliban said would be nice: famous attributes, skills, traits and passions give a small bonus (or penalty) to children. Something in the order of 16+ = +1 bonus and 21+ = +2 bonus would be nice.

Please see my post above.

Such a system would make your players, better and better and better and better over generations. And still wouldn't correct the behavior you want to adress, the saxon giant would instead have a puny little son with siz 10 and str 6, which is still puny.
Then the -1d6 +1d6 works much better.

Hi Spoonist,

>>So in effect, sons gets the father's basic statistics -1d6 +1d6,

What do you mean by "father's basic statistics"? The statistics they started the game with?

I was thinking on a system for inheritance. I use random stats on my campaign, and I thought it would be kind silly if the son of the saxon giant, with Siz 20 and Str 18 be a puny little guy with Siz 9 and Str 5!

Happens allt he time, though, silly or not


Also, it would be fun if the accomplishments of one generation passed on to the next.

that is what Glory is for

Hi Spoonist,

>>So in effect, sons gets the father's basic statistics -1d6 +1d6,

What do you mean by "father's basic statistics"? The statistics they started the game with?
Yes, that is unadjusted by glory & training etc.

Tis true Glory passed on 10% already covers this. Perhaps allow 20% Glory

or for each Glory Status achieved by the Father

Notable at 2000, Famous at 4000, 8000 etc.. one skill, was passed Father to son, giving a 10% bonus during creation. So if a Father of Famous status was known for his inspiring Oratory 23 and Swordsmanship 25, he would pass down a +3 sword skill and +2 Oratory to his son.

Stats change all the time in Pendragon do to injuries, use of glory, adjustments during the winter phase, etc. If stats are passed on, which values do you use from the father?

Stats change all the time in Pendragon do to injuries, use of glory, adjustments during the winter phase, etc. If stats are passed on, which values do you use from the father?


Hi Rob, id suggest you use that stats modifers of the father when the son becomes a PK, at 15 if intended to play as a squire, indicating the Father passed his skills to the child as soon as he was able to walk, hold a sword or moust a pony etc.. or when they become a knight, but no later than 21. If the Father died before he could pass his skill nothing wold be gained, but a generous GM might allow half the normal bonus if the son wasnt to young, also the mother could pass skills along in the same manner as well.