This came up through the discussion of How bad Badon is, and what if Ulfius were to die there. I am reposting the answer I made there, so that people specifically interested in the Silchester Rebellion might find it more easily, and also to keep the Badon thread from drifting off-topic.





I thought Ulfius lived until 523. His son, Uffo, is described as "the new Count of Silchester" that year, and Uffo is rebelling over being denied his father's honors, which sounds as though he just came into his inheritance that year. (Ulfius is also such the consummate survivor that it seems appropriate for him to survive the wars and get to die in his bed during a time of relative peace.)


Good point. But see below.



Now if Ulfius does die at Badon that could shake things up quite a bit. Uffo will likely still expect to be granted all of his father's honors, and if he doesn't get them then we might see the Silchester Rebellion break out 5 years earlier. In the immediate aftermath of Badon, with the Irish and Picts attacking in the north and Anglia also rebelling, Arthur may not be able to put a Silchester rebellion down.


Well, this is Arthur we are talking about, wielding the Sword of Victory. But it would make the Silchester Rebellion a more dangerous one, rather than the idiotic suicide that it is in 523.

If Ulfius dies in 518, then his honour reverts to the Crown for a year as the escheator works. So that takes care of 519. Also, Arthur is up North fighting the Picts, so it makes sense he wouldn't hurry this along. In 520, he is back in the South, and while there is the Battle of Fort Guinon, Arthur doesn't participate in that. So there is little reason to think that he would not give Uffo the Silchester inheritance in 520.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that Uffo would explode instantly in rebellion. He could try to be smart about it, and try the legal complaints, first. That would give a bit of build-up to the rebellion, and make the sons of Ulfius seem a bit less idiotic. That would take care of 521. So, that brings us to 522, with Uffo fuming about the insults he has been given, and the denial of his 'rights'. Sounds like a perfect cat's-paw for Morgan Le Fey, right, as we find out in 524. So she works on him during 522, and promises allies and aid, most significantly, getting rid of Merlin.

Now, we know that Merlin disappears in 523, mainly via Nimue. But we could easily believe that Morgan and Nimue would have been working in concert, there, or that Morgan would have nudged Nimue towards that decision to get rid of the love-sick wizard. Arthur sends his knights to look for Merlin, and that would be the time for Uffo to rebel, when most of Arthur's knights are out.

Instead of the relative dud that is the Silchester Rebellion in GPC, with Uffo just closing his borders and switfly besieged, you could have the Silchester Knights even march towards Camelot, an earlier version of what happens during the Grail Quest with the Cornish armies. Salisbury is one of the few counties close enough to do something about it, and with the big Round Table Knights gone, this would be an opportunity for the PKs to shine. That of course means that the fighting spills over into Salisbury as well, forcing the knights to defend their own lands, too.

So something like:
1. Pentecostal Court: Merlin disappears and Arthur sends his knights after him.
2. Summer: Uffo rebels and marches an army towards Camelot. The people defend the city with fierce loyalty towards their king (and also, to keep Uffo's mercenaries away from their loved ones!) whilst the knights of Salisbury (PKs) and Hampshire (Hantonne or whatever that will be called in Arthur's time) gather to relieve the city. A small battle is fought outside Camelot, and Uffo retreats back to Silchester?
3. Late Summer: Uffo skirmishes with knights loyal to Arthur (PKs and others), raids and counter-raids.
4. Autumn: Arthur's RTKs return, as well as armies from other counts. Silchester is placed under siege.
5. Winter: The siege is lifted so that the people won't starve.
6. Early Spring 524: The siege is restored.
7. Late Spring 524: The city surrenders, but the sons of Ulfius have slipped away in Early Spring.

I think that would make the Silchester Rebellion from something that is suicidal by Uffo into something that might actually have managed to kill Arthur and plunge the realm into chaos, had things gone slightly differently. Also, it gives the PKs more of a role in thwarting it.

Oh My!!

I love this, especially as one of my PKs is an RTK with another having recently reached the glory and chivalric levels needed for it.

AND my next game is set for 523.

Thank you very much for some wickedly fun ideas!

Thank you very much for some wickedly fun ideas!


Happy to be of assistance. :)

This is really why I like this Forum. I probably wouldn't have even thought about how Ulfius' death might have impacted on the Silchester Rebellion, if bguy hadn't brought it up. And then it was just a matter of adding the background stuff to make the events unfold, and to make it a bit more of a crisis than it is in the GPC. I have to admit that I like it, as it accomplishes two main goals:
1) Gives the PKs an opportunity to play a major role in the events, always a big bonus.
2) Makes Silchester Rebellion a true threat, one which had a real chance of succeeding.

Granted, they probably would have gotten hammered later on anyway, but perhaps the idea was to capture Arthur (in their mind) and extort lands and titles 'rightfully theirs' and a promise of immunity from royal persecution. Now Morgan Le Fey might have had other ideas should Arthur have fallen into her (lover's) hands, but that is not something that she would publicly explain... Uffo would certainly be claiming that he is a 'rebel with a just cause' and as soon as his grievances are addressed and his rights are 'restored' he is happy to become a faithful vassal again. He probably didn't even expect the commoners living in Camelot to matter, so he is in for a rude surprise when they close the gates on his army, rather than allow him to march straight into the castle. This gives Arthur the manpower to thwart Silchester's initial surprise invasion, defending Camelot long enough for relieving armies to arrive.