I just had the PCs coming back from Malahaut when they were ambushed by the Saxons (as per the 493 Envoy to Malahaut adventure). In the course of the battle, Earl John (my players are from Silchester), who was actually in his 60s, was killed by a berserker (this is the first time my players encountered beserkers in battle). The earl's death was actually quite heroic, because the berserker in question would have certainly killed the player knight who had just taken down the other one. So, John sacrificed his life to save the life of one of his vassal knights.

Now, thankfully, John has an heir of age (Owainn is in his 30s, with at least two sons of his own), so the transition of power ran smoothly (and actually will make the death of Owainn more devastating to the county at the end of the Uther period, although Duke Ulfius will survive and give the PCs more stability during the anarchy...I'm still working out the details of how the anarchy period will be different for the PKs).

So, my question is, has anyone faced the early death of Earl Roderick during the GPC, especially from the Saxon ambush at Malahaut? And how have they handled that unexpected event?

Our campaign ran as the book, but I see no problem from it happening earlier. I'd just let the Countess take over as she does in the GPC as written until Robert is old enough. A couple of things I think I'd look for, firstly this gives the players a chance to have more influence maybe earlier on than expected as the Countess will be looking for more advice, and secondly, this may affect the pacing of the gradual ramping up of the threat of the Saxons, bringing it home somewhat earlier than planned and so maybe requiring some thinking as how to keep that momentum building later. These are neither arguments for or against - I suspect a lot of fun could be had here!

You could also have a minor civil war within Salisbury as you get the split between knights who support the countess and another group who now wish to fill the gap.

You could also have some courtly politics as the players try and fend of Uther from trying to get the Countess to remarry one of his loyal lords. Especially if it?s someone they don?t like. This could be even more interesting is the marriage is planned just after the battle fo St Albans and this lord survies. So again it will give the players something to do when this Knight turns up with the intention to marry the unwilling countess, weather she likes it or not!!

Cheers,

BigSteveUK

From the evil GM perspective the death of your Earl could lead to one of your pk's filling that void only to be invited to a certain feast a few years from now...

Ooh, that idea is just pure evil...I like it!

That said, a couple of my PKs may have already secured a place at that certain feast. One slayed Duke Gorlois at Terrabil and that winter named his first-born child Madoc. And, following the death of Earl John, the PKs went on a raid into Malahaut and stole 39 horses to give to Owainn (the new earl) as a gift. They're dangerously close to not surviving to the Anarchy. ;)

Well, we just had our first player knight death in 494, while the knights were hunting with Sir Orcas (I keep thinking of the D&D archdevil Orcus when I read that name ;D). I decided to give the knights a challenge for the hunt (they are all serious combat monsters), so they ended up hunting a manticore (okay, a mated pair, but they didn't know that)...and, perhaps, we should say that there was some dispute as to who was hunting who. :)

So, the knights split into two hunting groups. It turned out that the manticores were stalking the second group, while the first group was tracking the manticores. Luckily, the first group closed in on the manticores before they could attack the second group, but they also had two rounds before the second group could arrive to help.

The first group ends up killing the manticore, though they took some heavy damage. The enraged mate jumps in and starts wailing on the first group as the second group arrives. Sir Flann, the most renowned knight of the party, fell, and was down so far in hit points (with only two wounds) that he had no real chance of surviving the afternoon, let alone the night. When one of the two first aid checks failed, Sir Flann died.

Sir Cynon, the knight renowned for being the "First to Fall," was also taken down. First aid kept him alive, but he deteriorated over the next couple of weeks and it took a magical healing draught to help him survive the ordeal. (Of course, it cost a couple characters an honor point each for making a deal with a pagan witch.) Sir Cynon later figured prominently exposing Sir Orcas (and, it turns out, his wife...who happened to take over as Cynon's chirurgeon during the affair...almost succeeded in poisoning him after Orcas was exposed and killed in combat).

So, Sir Flann's player is actually going to take over his widow for a while (until the sons are old enough). Next week, we're going to conclude 494 with the winter phase and move on to the Battle of St. Albans. If the PCs survive the battle, I think that I'll have Sir Cynon, at least, at the infamous feast (he is a deputy officer of Silchester County). I may or may not have the other PKs be in the great hall. Maybe Sir Neddig, who is now the most renowned knight of the party. Sir Flann's widow will be one of the servers, so she'll get to witness the horror. :o

[color=navy]Well, we just had our first player knight death

Though, surely, not the last.
Nicely played.
-g

So, as one more followup, the Infamous Feast went off with a bang. Two PKs were invited to the Great Hall, but would've been allowed to beg off without any ill will against them. I allowed each character (Sir Cynon and Sir Neddig) to make Awareness rolls; success meant the PK felt generally uneasy while a critical meant the character felt like something bad was going to happen tonight.

Sir Cynon made a critical on his roll, and felt it was his duty to patrol the grounds and keep the soldiers in line. Sir Neddig succeeded on his roll, but felt he should be inside, in case something goes down. And, of course, Lady Glesni (Sir Flann's widow) was one of the servers.

I will say at this point that both PKs thought the "something bad was about to happen" part was going to come from outside the walls (surprise attack on the castle). They had no idea what was coming. Sir Neddig's player had a look of utter shock on his face while I read the events (he succeeded, but did not critical, his Temperance roll). Sir Neddig's death left his three young children with no father or mother (she had died in childbirth the year before, aged 44). In the end, the player was okay with the death and seems enthusiastic about the potential of his next character, who will be a younger brother who is named by the dowager countess as the ward of Neddig's offspring.

Speaking of the countess, Earl Owainn's wife died in childbirth the same year his father died (493), so he had no wife when he died at the feast. So, I had to turn to the late earl's mother, Dowager Countess Nia, widow of Earl John, as the woman of power. It'll be interesting, because Nia will also have a great amount of interest in the goings on of Salisbury, since her eldest child, Ellen, could be seen to be struggling there. It gives me the opportunity to have the PKs assist Salisbury from time-to-time.

Of course, Silchester remains more politically viable, with Ulfius still in power (I haven't determined how many (if any) of his sons survived the feast), so the Anarchy adventures will still be modified somewhat. The dowager countess enjoys the support of the duke.

(One subplot we had been running with Neddig was his squire...named "Bob." Those of you who know Black Adder II would know Bob and all the antics that went with the one-time page. Bob finally revealed "his" undying love for Neddig (and revealed himself to be a woman) as they were on their way back from Malahaut...the night before Earl John was killed....the famously chaste Neddig politely rebuffed Bob's advances, but kept her as his squire anyway.

Fast forward to after the feast, Bob realizes she has to honor her master by helping raise his three children, and decides to give up her masquerade and reveal her true self. She is presented by Neddig's mother at court as Ffraid (her real name) and is given to Sir Aeron (the new PK younger brother) as his wife. So, while she's never able to be Neddig's wife, she gets the opportunity to be a mother to his children.)

Well handled and I love the bob plot.

Of course, Silchester remains more politically viable, with Ulfius still in power (I haven't determined how many (if any) of his sons survived the feast)


According to the GPC timeline, Ulfius has sons who survive him and rebel against Arthur in the 520s.

Of course such sons needn't have been born by 495, but if you wipe out all his existing heirs then Ulfius needs to acquire some new ones reasonably quickly if you want to use that storyline.

Regards
Luke

I had Earl Owainn and his guards captured while the characters were at war at Lincoln. Upon returning from a brutal battle in the players discovered that the Earl had gone missing while hunting.

Turns out that Praetor Syagrius and a group of mercenary knights, assisted by a traitor in Owainn's court (a knight from the continent who didn't approve of Prince Maddoc's handling of the campaign against the Franks), captured Owainn and sought to ransom him.

Rather than pay Syagrius (they did not know it was him) the ransom for their Earl, the player knights staged a rescue mission that they botched... leading to the death of a player knight and the mortal wounding of Owainn (who died of his wounds several weeks later). Since it was only 490 (or thereabouts... I don't have my notes handy), I had the countess act as regent until her infant son came of age. She was aided by a council of her most trusted knights (including 2 of the player knights).

It worked out well for my group and gave them a sense of belonging.

According to the GPC timeline, Ulfius has sons who survive him and rebel against Arthur in the 520s.
<snip>


Thanks for the info, Luke. I guess that means the duke has at least two surviving sons. :) Makes my decision easy. ;D

In the end, the player was okay with the death and seems enthusiastic about the potential of his next character, who will be a younger brother who is named by the dowager countess as the ward of Neddig's offspring.



And a perfect use of the dynastic segment.

--Greg

We had an interesting game session last week (this week was great, too, with the fight with the Knight of the Tusks (and the spectacular and glorious death of a PK in his first action), but last week was truly epic).

So, we're in the Anarchy; much of Logres is still mourning the loss of the king and the many, many fallen nobles less than a year ago. The PKs were dispatched by both the Dowager Countess of Silchester and Duke Ulfius to Sarum to speak with Countess Ellen. (They became the couriers from Ulfius mentioned in 496, and, of course, the dowager countess is Ellen's mother, so she has a significant interest in Salisbury's affairs.)

Anyway, after being drawn into King Cerdic's intrigue, the PKs return to Sichester with Countess Ellen to attend the Collegium; because of their prominence as the dowager countess' advisors and the fact that her castle is hosting the event, the PKs have a prominent role in the logistical side of the gathering.

Many of the "legates" are either new or regents, thanks to the Infamous Feast, and posturing is rampant. Sir Cynon, disgusted by the bickering over seating, begins to solicit and take bribes from some legates to improve their prestige. Then, when the body is seated together for the first time, he publicly shames the whole body in an attempt to bring them together to get some real work done (selecting a new king), spilling dozens of libra as he tells of the bribes and posturing.

He is so successful that he creates a firestorm of accusations across the table, and, just as Ulfius starts to get control of the proceedings, Sir Brastias (who is still feuding with the PKs over the theft of Uther's infant son) accuses Ulfius of undermining the Collegium by putting such a corrupt and "devil-worshiping" knight such as Cynon in such a prominent place in the meetings. That sets the body off again and Ulfius is unable to regain any level of control.

On the floor of the great hall, Brastias storms over to Cynon; they have harsh words, each accusing the other of ruining the proceedings, and the king's former bodyguard challenges him with a slap of his glove and the words, "...where you dare, when you dare and with what you dare!" Sir Cynon chooses right there and then and draws his sword, and Brastias does the same; only the intervention of four swords prevent them from dueling at that moment.

Of course, that silences the hall, and Ulfius, furious at the breach of protocol in his court, orders the two knights to meet on the field of honor at mid-day tomorrow. He adjourns the meeting.

The next day, only a third of the legates show up in the hall and it becomes clear the Collegium is no longer an effective body; however, everyone shows up to watch the duel between the feuding knights, which the duke proclaimed to the first blood (if only to make sure he wouldn't lose two excellent knights who are needed in these dark times). They decide to start with lance first; Brastias runs Cynon through on the first pass, a mortal wound that assures Cynon won't survive the night.

Brastias visits Cynon on his death bed that evening, and swears to protect Cynon's manors and family, and the dying knight pledges his "extra income" (above maintenance of manors and station) to Brastias to use to help hold Logres together. Their feud over, Cynon passes into the long night.

It was a blast to roleplay out the circumstances behind a throwaway line that is heard in Sarum in 497 (a line the PKs will deliver themselves), and it adds to Sir Cynon's legend that he is said to be the one who "single-handedly dismantled the Collegium." His sons will have large shoes to fill when they become knights.