Hi Guys,

As I said fate is a fickle thing and it reared its head again during our game last night.

As I said in my original post (Help with an Omen)

http://www.weareallus.com/theroundtable/index.php?topic=252.0

I was thinking of giving the players a hint about what is going to happen at St Albans.

Last night one of my players was to fight a Saxon in a duel and he fumbled his passion roll and fled the field out of his mind, much to the disgust of my player (who stated his knight would never do such a thing and he would rather die!!!).

Anyhow I got his knight to roll on the maddened table out of the GPC and he got the one where you?re found by friars and as irony would have it, get 1d3 prophecies.

I am changing the prophets for a fey or pagan spirit, but I am pondering have him return to the field Just before the battle of St Albans. Probably in some new dapper gear and a new symbol of a dove on his shield. The Earl will be fuming but will allow him to fight as he needs all the men he can get. I have a couple of ideas

1. Die but save friends
She will tell him he can die and save his friends, this will entail him meeting the same Saxon on the field again and probably beating him, but he?s going to die either during or at the end of the battle. He has told his squire he wishes to have a funeral pyre that night on the sport where he fell. So they will attend the feast for a bit and those that wish will leave to honour him thus saving them.

2. Save everyone (who listens)
She will tell them that his friends will die the night of the feast, but she can save them. When he sees the sign of the crow he must bring them to the ring of stones and she will save them. He cannot tell them about the prophecy or her. So he has to try and convince them to leave without telling them why. When they get to the stones nobody is there, but she has saved them.

3. The choice save yourself or your friends.
He is given the choice he can save himself or sacrifice himself for his friends.

4. Bring him back in the anarchy period maybe in the Savage Forest

Any input, ideas or comments would be cool.

Regards,

BigSteveUK

As prophecy is imperfect.... You can have the players TOLD STRAIGHT AWAY by the prophet that all the noble rulers at the High feast are in danger and wil all die. Just muddle up the wording so that it sounds like the High Lords will be attacked, not poisoned, and then the player knights can say they are not partaking of the feast but have slipped away, outside, to the courtyard, wherever, looking for signs of trachery, and so are of course not present at the High feast to be poisoned. Anyway I bet if the knights told Uther of the prophecy he would shrug it off and say...' No.. the saxons are defeated, they can be no danger to us now". After all, just because 1-4 ( a handful) of knights prophesize doom, doesnt mean he will postpone the greatest victory feast in history. After all, Merlin would have sent him a vision or something if it were all so.. The poor brave knights are just maddened and exhausted because of all the years fighting the saxons.... Thats ok. Paranoia doesnt dissapear overnight. It will take a while to get use to the fact that you all have finally crushed the saxons. Also the King might not like a few of the Players depending on if they aided Merlin in stealing Arthur. So while the players might know exactly what is happening, the king might simply ignore them. After all, he is not going to let them ruin the sweetest victory feast in all christendom and steal his thunder as the greatest warrior king on earth ...is he? So players could be among the only ones that truly know. Just because they know SOMETHING is going to happen, it doesnt mean anyone gives them a minute of consideration. Oh... are they pagan? Because at this feast at which they are all celebrating CHRIST'S victory over the saxons, they will probably be even less likely to listen to pagan knihghts spewing forth pagan prophecy. AND BEWARE if the players say something and cause a scene , because when every high lord does die...... Many will remember the players and wonder HOW DID THETY KNOW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AFTER ALL? were they traitors? hhmmmm The christian churchmen think so..... hmmmmm.... so many ways to still run the feast , ave the players live, AND ruin their reputations all in one go!!!!! Cheers! Hope this gave u some ideas. :)

Just muddle up the wording so that it sounds like the High Lords will be attacked, not poisoned
This is a brilliant idea.

Yeah, what the Saracen wrote is great!!! Ala Macbeth, I've always got had the impression that it is rare that a prophecy of danger/disaster is listened to and/or actually changes anything. As a GM, given players want to figure it out verses literary characters, the challenge is comming up with a prophecy that the players ponder, but fail to understand; so when the prophecy comes true they have an enjoyable aha moment. Which is easier said then done; and that is why I am a simple poor Knight...

This my first draft for his vision:-

?You are like a bird in the sky and below you is your country, you feel drawn to coast and looking down you see a large black wolf swim out from the sea. As it pads up the beach you see it spy several men, it lopes over and eats them, it moves on to find a hovel eating that, then a village, then a city and each time it feasts it grows. No matter how much it eats it seems never satisfied, so it continues to grow and devour. Then in the south something stirs a great red dragon, it rises and attacks, the two wrestle both trying to find the advantage. The struggle is epic and both creatures suffer grievous wounds, but the dragon finally drives of the Wolf, who limps away injured and mauled. As it does the dragon looks on victorious, but then it falters and falls. Letting out one last roar?

Very good. Very good. May i make a small suggestion? So that the players might know that treachery will make the dragon falter..... perhaps you could have the dragon turn to watch the wounded wolf loping back to sea, and as it is doing so several other Wolves of the " Pack" come and sneak up behind the dragon and tear it down. Ambushing/surprising it. This may drop more of a clue. And what if the players later recognize some landmark around saint albans as the area in which the rest of the pack brought down the dragon, so that they know it is about to happen? Just thoughts. :P

Cheers for the feeback.

Some good ideas, there is a second one that will be handed to a player taking into account some advice from you gents.

This is from Donnachts wife.

My love be careful I have seen ill omens, the goddess spoke to me last night, I saw a soldier of old become a priest, men then captured him and took him to a hill top where he was then tortured and killed. Then I heard a cry and there I saw great red boar bought down by several injured and mangy wolves.

These are ill omens indeed take care.