I'm running a Pendragon game with just two players at the moment, and have found that the Simplified Modular Battle System (from Beyond the Wall) is better for our use than the normal battle system... now moving to Fifth edition, and looking at the Book of Battle, I think it's over-complicated for the three of us, but I'm wondering what in the "fourth edition" SMBS should change to be more compatible with fifth edition, and if there's anything that I could gain by stealing bits from BoBv2?

I'd be interested in hearing more about Beyond the Wall. The 5th edition BoB specifically states it is not appropriate for battles of less than 200 knights. Kind of a drag, really, since all the GPC Battles are scripted. So the real opportunity to shine is in smaller engagements. The Skirmish rules are a bit thin from the 5th edition book.

It's a very short bit of rules, which boil down to a small set of charts to be modified for individual battles, and the following order:

1. Army Commander Battle Roll
Determines: Follower Fate
Modifier Affects: Unit Encounter Table, Battle Over Roll
2. Unit Encounter Table
Modified By: Army Commander Battle Roll
Modifier Affects: Foe Table
3. Unit Leader Battle Roll
Modified By: nothing
Modifier Affects: Combat Skill Use
4. Player Modifier
Modified By: nothing
Modifier Affects: Foe Table
5. Foe Table
Modified By: Unit Encounter Table, Player Modifier
6. Combat
Use standard combat rules, single roll represents a battle round
Modified By: Unit Leader Battle Roll
7. Battle Over? (if not, return to 1)
Modified By: Army Commander Battle Roll, Total Troop Losses (see table)
8. Funerals and Glory
Glory from Pen5.1 page 213

Kind of a drag, really, since all the GPC Battles are scripted.

The scripting is from the literature, a default suggestion for the gamemaster, in case he needs it.
In most of my games the player knights replace whomever does the great deeds in literature.
If you don't mind ad libbing alot, the battles can be lost too.

The scripting is from the literature, a default suggestion for the gamemaster, in case he needs it.
In most of my games the player knights replace whomever does the great deeds in literature.
If you don't mind ad libbing alot, the battles can be lost too.

Yeah, that's my big dilemma. My group and I are novices to Arthurian literature and Pendragon. So, on the one hand, I want to be faithful to it and give them a great adventure/campaign that follows the genre. How neat would it be to have your first major in-depth treatment be a faithful GPC! On the other hand, I love to tinker and demolish things... so it would be fun to just to let the dice fall. Given that I'm not an expert on the genre though, that ad-libbing could end up ruining the experience for the players.

Which is why I figured the Anarchy period and some chaos/skirmishes/small wars in that period would satisfy that itch without ruining the later periods.

Choices, choices... ;-) (So much awesome, so little time.)

I have 3 Battles within the GPC done with BoB2 so far (all in Uther-period). And in all cases, my little group of three players fell perfectly in the spaces for the decisive deeds, like Greg suggested. In one case, I invented an additional event that influenced the army intensity. And all the Battles fitted very well with the default from the GPC. Only the aquired glory differed to some amount, wich does not bother me.

Maybe, you should just try it. I found the BoB much more suiting and functional than the default battle system (KAP 5.1 p. 205). But to be honest, my group didnt like the complexity of the economics from the Book of the Manor. So i knew the problem from another topic.