We are very pleased to announce the The Book of the Warlord is here! (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/140092/Book-of-the-Warlord?term=Book+of+the+Warlord) To say this is a monumental milestone in the illustrious history of the PENDRAGON line may be an understatement. This huge 200-page tome covers every aspect of the life of the greater nobility in the Early Phase, right through Badon Hill and the end of the Boy-King Period. I can't begin to list all the great stuff in this book, but I can publish the final Table of Contents here. (http://www.dropbox.com/s/8yb102nqw4uw4q1/Warlord-TOC.pdf?dl=0)

We at Nocturnal would like to recognize the efforts of many of the members of the community, including some names that will be familiar to you — Morien, Dr. J.M. "Thijs" Krijger, sirlarkins, kilgs, luckythirteen and Nick Tolimieri all made invaluable contributions to the book and we can't thank them enough.

We can't wait to get your feedback on this book, and watch the conversations that spring up around it. There's so much here...

Go get it!


Best,


T.

Downloading now! Any idea of when the POD version will be available?

I'll write a more detailed review soon, but in summary, I feel this is one of the best KAP supplements ever published. I am a new GM that just started the GPC for the first time. The timing of this book was perfect for my group as we were immediately able to use it. The book fleshes out the NPCs, geography, timeline, etc. of the early phases of the GPC. It has a re-worked economy, an NPC generator, a heraldry generator, tons of maps, a mini game for lawsuits, tools to help explain the confusing anarchy phase, and tons of adventure seeds. It is all modular so it's easy for a GM to pick and choose what he or she wants to use. It's like an early phase GM toolkit.

I cannot recommend this book enough. To me it's the first "must have" resource published since the GPC.

Downloading now! Any idea of when the POD version will be available?


Soon. I'm surprised it's not up there now. If it's not there by Sunday I'll be very surprised indeed. Everything has been submitted for the POD versions, so it should be any time now.


Best,


T.

Woohoo! Just purchased mine and downloading it now! Cannot wait to review and provide feedback!

We at Nocturnal would like to recognize the efforts of many of the members of the community, including some names that will be familiar to you — Morien, Dr. J.M. "Thijs" Krijger, sirlarkins, kilgs, luckythirteen and Nick Tolimieri all made invaluable contributions to the book and we can't thank them enough.




One more- Scott R Hall here :)

Looking forward to seeing how this all turned out.

Great news - downloading right now!

Delighted it's available.

Sales might be helped if the downloadable preview was working, but it's not for me.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/pdf_preview_handler.php?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwatermark .drivethrustuff.com%2Fpdf_previews%2F140092-sample.pdf

gives an empty .pdf of 0K size.

I've told DriveThruRPG so hopefully they'll get on it.

Mark

Thanks for reporting that, Mark. Not sure what's up with that -- it was working fine yesterday...

Grrr... Stupid computers.

Best,


T.

Fantastic so far! Very detailed and has a great layout. The art selection was very well done and the maps are superb! I'm really looking forward to incorporating it into my own Pendragon-inspired campaign setting. My players left off in the middle of a civil war they started.

Just bought it and downloading. Very excited for this!

Thanks, all. PLEASE consider posting nice reviews like this to DTRPG, it really helps us recruit people to the game. Send bad reviews in a PM to me ;)


Best,


T.

Several members of our group, myself included, have downloaded The Book of the Warlord, and all I can say is "Thank You" for such a great and useful supplement to KAP. In our campaign, it's 491 and the group is feeling good about itself after Terrabil. I look forward to using Warlord to introduce them to a few of the finer points of what it really means to be a Baron!

That's great news, Attila. We just uploaded v.1.1 today. Go get it!

For those of you considering a POD version, or the PDF/POD combination, keep your eyes on DTRPG. They should be available at some point this week.


T.

Downloading now! Any idea of when the POD version will be available?
Soon. I'm surprised it's not up there now. If it's not there by Sunday I'll be very surprised indeed. Everything has been submitted for the POD versions, so it should be any time now.
Best,
T.
As of 10am Central today (11 Dec), DTRP still does not have a POD option available.

We delayed the release of the PODs because we saw some errata coming in and wanted to make those corrections beef people started ordering PODs. The corrected files were submitted yesterday morning and they just need to go through a production check on DTRPG's end. They should be showing up any time now...


Thanks,


T.

We delayed the release of the PODs because we saw some errata coming in and wanted to make those corrections beef people started ordering PODs. The corrected files were submitted yesterday morning and they just need to go through a production check on DTRPG's end. They should be showing up any time now...
Thanks,
T.
Thanks muchly!

Really excited about this book, but still no sign of the PODs on DriveThru. Is there any update as to when we can expect the POD to be available?

Really excited about this book, but still no sign of the PODs on DriveThru. Is there any update as to when we can expect the POD to be available?


All I can say is it's all up to DTRPG now. It's in their hands. I'm surprised to see its not available yet myself. Stay tuned; will try to learn more...


T.

Perhaps they could fix the preview as well, while they’re at it …

I hate to do this, but I'm going to make a widely unpopular post (to go with my Saxon username no doubt)...

I'm a little disappointed with Book of the Warlord. One thing I was really looking forward to in this book was background and information about how a baronial court operates. Material which I could use to run noncombat adventures in a court setting. Maybe I'm missing it, but having read through Book of the Warlord I don't see that "...better picture of the larger social realm which their knights inhabit."

Don't get me wrong. Book of the Warlord is a marvelous product full of rich material and solid rules, but I was really hoping for some content to go with the Court: The Living Environment section of the introduction.

Hey, if expressing negative feedback for the products would be a hanging offense, I would have been drawn and quartered soon after the Book of the Estate! :P (Work is being done to revise Estate, like Greg has stated, and hopefully I can start singing Estate's praises afterwards, instead.)

The Book of the Warlord is already a huge tome, and like you pointed out, filled with all sorts of goodies. It is focused on the Warlords, Barons, and their officers and so forth. The Baronial Officers, who are at the Baron's Court, now have their duties and bonuses defined much better, as well as opportunities for corruption and what might result from that. I now have a much better idea what being an Officer of the Count actually entails, and what pitfalls jealous competitors might arrange. So I think, personally, that the Book of the Warlord does enliven the BARONIAL Court, such as the Court of Salisbury.

I think the KING'S Court stuff will be in the Book of the Uther, if that is what you were looking for?

Hey, if expressing negative feedback for the products would be a hanging offense, I would have been drawn and quartered soon after the Book of the Estate! :P (Work is being done to revise Estate, like Greg has stated, and hopefully I can start singing Estate's praises afterwards, instead.)

The Book of the Warlord is already a huge tome, and like you pointed out, filled with all sorts of goodies. It is focused on the Warlords, Barons, and their officers and so forth. The Baronial Officers, who are at the Baron's Court, now have their duties and bonuses defined much better, as well as opportunities for corruption and what might result from that. I now have a much better idea what being an Officer of the Count actually entails, and what pitfalls jealous competitors might arrange. So I think, personally, that the Book of the Warlord does enliven the BARONIAL Court, such as the Court of Salisbury.

I think the KING'S Court stuff will be in the Book of the Uther, if that is what you were looking for?


?? I confess I'm puzzled. I don't feel I have a better idea of what the officers do than I did before and, apart from the broad strokes of "raise armies, defend land, administer justice" which I also knew before, I really don't have a good sense of what a baron/warlord does. I would have liked a better sense of what the baron does on a regular basis. Is it all hunting, hawking and wenching or is his time spent constantly hearing petitioners and holding courts? Does the baron train with his knights? How many of his knights are his personal bodyguard and not merely members of his army? Do barons still make progresses through their manors, or do they spend all their time at the caput? If they do go on them, how are progresses handled and what's a good guideline for figuring out where and when the baron and his court are? In short, what is ordinary life like for the baron and the members of his household, what sort of noncombat stories (and combat stories related to the baron's martial duties) can spring from these seeds and how do the grand adventures of questing knights interact with this courtly life?

These are the things I had hoped and expected to find in the Book of the Warlord. Which is not to say that I didn't find great stuff there, but a lot of what I was really interested in seems to either be a rehash of what I have found i earlier books or simply not be there.

IMHO and IANG (I Am Not Greg) and all that. This is how I handle it in my campaign, my gut-feeling if you will.



I would have liked a better sense of what the baron does on a regular basis. Is it all hunting, hawking and wenching or is his time spent constantly hearing petitioners and holding courts?


Neither. It is both and the exact proportion of what the Baron is doing depends on his traits, too. A Lazy and/or Arbitrary Lord naturally spends much less time on administration and justice than an Energetic and/or Just one. Indulgent spends more time partying and a Lustful one wenching.

Also, I'd expect a goodly chunk of the time to be spent in the King's Court as well (attending it at least once per year), as well as in the King's army when Uther calls for muster, which he often does during the GPC.

If I were to think about a 'normal' day of a Baron, it would look something like this:
Morning: Have a practice bout with the lads to wake up (see below about training).
Noonish: Hold court, check with your Wife & Officers if there is anything that requires your personal attention, and if so, deal with it.
Afternoon: Personal stuff. Perhaps more practice. Or if you need to go and deal with something in person.
Evening: Big dinner.

Some other days would be reserved for full-on Hunting Trips (chases tend to take time), or travelling from place to place.


Does the baron train with his knights?

Oh most definitely yes. That is the big part what makes the eschille or the conroi so effective is the fact that the Baron and his knights train together as a unit. This is in particular the knights in attendance (his bodyguards if you will), but I could see the Baron making sure that each eschille trains often and that the whole Baronial army musters from time to time to train together, too. Definitely if there is a war in the offing, just to get the rust out, too.

In my campaign, the heirs of the vassal knights are almost invariably included as household knights (or at least as squires) in the liege lord's army. This gives the liege lord plenty of time to get familiar with his vassals, and for the vassals to train with the liege lord. By the time the heirs inherit, they hopefully have already had something like 10 years of personal training and interaction with their liege, making it easier to incorporate them to the baronial army.


How many of his knights are his personal bodyguard and not merely members of his army?

Technically all the household knights are at the Baron's beck and call 24/7. In practice, it depends how the Baron's lands are distributed: some of his knights are in the outliers & other towns and castles to protect them, too. My personal rule of thumb is that a Weak Baron of £100 would have something like half a dozen knight with him, a £300 honour Baron would have something like 10 knights, a Rich Baron something like 15 and a Great Baron something like 20-25.


Do barons still make progresses through their manors, or do they spend all their time at the caput?

They do the Lord's Progress, although how exactly they do it again depends on the details of their possessions and their other plans of the year. It probably makes no sense to travel yearly a couple of weeks each way just to visit some outflung manor in the middle of no where, but if that happens to be close where Uther is holding court, might be a good idea to peek in. Within their home county or neighboring counties, I'd expect them to move around more.

KAP 5.1, p. 60-61 has the example for the Count of Salisbury, where he spends about 18 weeks (roughly a third of the year, mainly late autumn to early spring) at Sarum, and the rest of the time travelling around Salisbury. But then again, most of his lands are in an easily accessible solid chunk. Naturally, in practice such a progress would likely be disturbed by attending the King's Court and campaigning.

In my campaign, as a rule of thumb, I'd expect the £300 Baron to spend his time roughly like this:
1/3rd in his caput major (mainly late autumn to early spring)
1/3rd touring his other possessions (mid-spring, autumn)
1/3rd attending the King's Court and campaigning (mainly during late spring and summer) including travelling to those places


If they do go on them, how are progresses handled and what's a good guideline for figuring out where and when the baron and his court are?

See above. This depends so much on the details of the year (is there war, where is the King) and the geography of the honour, that coming up with firm numbers that would fit all cases is rather hard.


In short, what is ordinary life like for the baron and the members of his household, what sort of noncombat stories (and combat stories related to the baron's martial duties) can spring from these seeds and how do the grand adventures of questing knights interact with this courtly life?

These are the things I had hoped and expected to find in the Book of the Warlord. Which is not to say that I didn't find great stuff there, but a lot of what I was really interested in seems to either be a rehash of what I have found i earlier books or simply not be there.


I admit that part could and maybe should have been expanded (and other stuff cut to make room for it), but it is what it is. I know Greg has plans for the Book of Uther and the Book of Salisbury, the first one should have more on the King's Court, and I think, especially considering your feedback, it would be a good idea to see about having more detail on the Court & every day life of Salisbury, using that as an example of a (Big) Baronial Court.

Litigation and Graft provide some hooks. I particularly like the idea of a jealous rival trying to frame an officer for Graft. The PK can be the Baron or the Officer in this. Another interesting twist might be a deputy, possibly a protage of the PK, engaging in Graft and getting caught on it by the PK officer. Will the PK turn the deputy in? Why not? What happens if the Baron hears about it anyway (via, say, that rival's intrigue)? Maybe the PKs are the ones who are sent to an outlier holding to find evidence for/against a corrupt outlier steward, and haul the rascal back to the Baron's court for a trial if necessary (something I actually did in our campaign). Litigation and land disputes are pretty much designed to give an excuse for a bit of feuding.

As for Grand Adventuring, my personal feeling is that there is much less of that during the Early Phases than after the Enhancement of Britain and the heyday of the Round Table after the Battle of Badon. But those officer slots might be good ones to reward the PKs with, if they do something extraordinary, although there is the fact that the officer slots are full-time occupations, too, hampering further questing. And definitely, I see using those for the Anarchy, when the PKs need to take more responsibility in directing Salisbury's fortunes.

One thing to keep in mind is that Greg's rule of thumb with regards to pacing is a year per game session. Personally, I find that too little time to focus on pretty much anything else than the adventure at hand and the Big Plot. Details such as every day interaction and the Lord's Progress fade pretty quickly to the background at that point. The Lord is where the Plot needs him to be! :)

In the campaigns I GM, I tend to use 2-5 sessions per year, depending on the amount of adventuring (or other stuff, but mainly adventuring) that happens during the year. That gives some more time to flesh out what is happening, but even then, the focus is more on the PKs and what they are doing, rather than the Baron's everyday life. Granted, they are not Barons themselves, and I do see your point on having more information on that in the book detailing Barons.

I admit that part could and maybe should have been expanded (and other stuff cut to make room for it), but it is what it is. I know Greg has plans for the Book of Uther and the Book of Salisbury, the first one should have more on the King's Court, and I think, especially considering your feedback, it would be a good idea to see about having more detail on the Court & every day life of Salisbury, using that as an example of a (Big) Baronial Court.

Actually, I do not have plans to put that into the BoSalisbury. That is a detailed example of a large holding, assigning every piece of land to knights, messengers, the countess, and so on and on and on. There will be more, but I'm not planning for scenarios.
I am waiting for someone to deliver that manuscript. It's not been assigned or even rumored, but I have only so much time, so I am inviting someone to dive in here!

As for Grand Adventuring, my personal feeling is that there is much less of that during the Early Phases than after the Enhancement

cut slip there! Enchantment, I believe you mean


of Britain and the heyday of the Round Table after the Battle of Badon. But those officer slots might be good ones to reward the PKs with, if they do something extraordinary, although there is the fact that the officer slots are full-time occupations, too, hampering further questing. And definitely, I see using those for the Anarchy, when the PKs need to take more responsibility in directing Salisbury's fortunes.

One thing to keep in mind is that Greg's rule of thumb with regards to pacing is a year per game session. Personally, I find that too little time to focus on pretty much anything else than the adventure at hand and the Big Plot. Details such as every day interaction and the Lord's Progress fade pretty quickly to the background at that point. The Lord is where the Plot needs him to be! :)

Exactly

Just ordered this puppy in hardcover. If it looks good I'll pay Morien a dinner. ;D

Just ordered this puppy in hardcover. If it looks good I'll pay Morien a dinner. ;D


I have to admit that I do think I deserve a dinner. I shall be waiting for your email, sir. :)

Really, Morien just the held the coattails of the rest of us... :-*

"Mush, Kilgs!" *crack of the whip* :)

The book hasn't even arrived yet, so I hope you've been feeding yourself properly and not waiting for me to pay you the promised dinner ;D

The book hasn't even arrived yet, so I hope you've been feeding yourself properly and not waiting for me to pay you the promised dinner ;D



"Mush, Kilgs!" *crack of the whip* :)

Going…as fast… as I can… stop with the whip. Heavy book. Feet hurt.

Got my book and OMG I am lovin'g it!

Great job guys!

Got my book and OMG I am lovin'g it!

Great job guys!


Indeed. And it's beautiful next to Book of Battle 2 and Book of Estate.

Thanks, fellas! We're in the editing stage of The Book of Uther. Hope to start production in March and have it available in the summer. It's shaping up very nicely!


Best,


T.

Great news !

Thanks, fellas! We're in the editing stage of The Book of Uther. Hope to start production in March and have it available in the summer. It's shaping up very nicely!


Best,


T.


I can't wait to tell my group. Of course, in our campaign it's 495 and we've just ridden to St. Alban's. But I'm looking forward to The Book of Uther nonetheless.

Paul

Looking forward to the Book of Uther very much!!!

The book hasn't even arrived yet, so I hope you've been feeding yourself properly and not waiting for me to pay you the promised dinner ;D


As a matter of record, I did get my dinner. Thanks, Gorgon. :)

The book hasn't even arrived yet, so I hope you've been feeding yourself properly and not waiting for me to pay you the promised dinner ;D


As a matter of record, I did get my dinner. Thanks, Gorgon. :)


You're welcome, my friend :) Hope you've enjoyed yourselves.