Hello all,

I've played since '85 and I thought that I would share this as a rule of thumb for PC's and GM's. Assuming that the GM will not fudge die rolls (and I don't say that condemning fudging--we've all been there, but I find it healthier, following Greg's wisdom as GM to roll in the open and then to give leniency where necessary--a healer is on the battlefield' etc.) and that rule is, what I call, the Gryphon rule (traditional spelling, not Peter):

-When a PC falls below half hit points in a battle or sometimes other situation, he may quit the field without shame. This rule stems from the Pendragon mechanics, which we must assume the knights would know as a reality. When you are at half HP and a crit hits yu, you die.

-the math is simple. You are a knight with 33 HP. You take enough damage that you are down to 12. Your opponent rolls 5d6 for damage and crits. That's 35 damage on average, putting you at -7. If you have standard armor (16pts.) and no chivalry bonus you are in big trouble unless you got enough little hits to let Fiirst Aid get you up.

You will say to me, Matt, I have the Chivalry Bonus. Yes. You must account the math though. The Chivalry Bonus is the only friend to life, along with staying horsed, a Pendragon character has. Your DM could roll well, or you could be facing a 6d6 opponent, which is not unlikely at all. At that rate 6d6 turns (on a crit) to 42. So the Gryphon rule is variable in your point of view but probably not to your friends, who see you beat to he'll coming for help.

So why the Gryphon rule? Well, it happened to me, hunting a Gryphon, and to players I have GM'd doing the same.

We all died.

Why?

Because we are poisoned by D&D, where healing is everywhere, mechanically.

In Pendragon, healing is First Aid.

I believe in being pro player, but I only save a player if it was in my head that someone was nearby to help to begin with. Otherwise. . .nope. Sorry. Hope you had a son.

This is not a rule, I know, but it has direct bearing on the rules. Withdrawing when hurt is not cowardice. Just my observation. Play how you choose of course.

Husband it.

We have not codified any particular rule, but yes, a knight may retreat from the battlefield if he is badly injured without loss of honor or getting a Cowardice check. However, the 'badly injured' depends a bit on the circumstances. You wouldn't desert your lord to the thick of fighting, simply because you have only 16 hit points left and you might die if someone gets a particularly good hit (i.e. a crit) against you. However, if you were already bleeding like a stuck pig and about to faint (Major Wound), that might be different. Generally, the players themselves are able to judge if the situation is desperate enough to warrant death-defying heroics. There was one siege, where the PKs were trying to get storm the walls. One PK retreated with a Major Wound. Another continued even though he was 1 hit point above unconscious threshold, barely able to stay upright. I sure hope I gave that second PK a valorous check. (Not that it matters, he died a couple of game years later in a duel.)

Another thing that helps with the PK survival is intelligent enemies interested in ransom & hostages than cutting throats. That is a big reason why I actually prefer human opponents, rather than monsters and such. Besides, a dead character cuts the story arc, while a captured and then ransomed character is richer by the experience (and poorer by the ransom, which means more struggle and hence more drama!).