Hello all!

In have just finished the year 485, and have some questions about what to do regarding some of my PK's actions.

Sir Dallin has spent the year rather recklessly. I'm sure it will bite him eventually, but so far, he has been riding high on some very good rolls. I have pretty good ideas on how to handle some of his impulsive actions, but am a little lost at the possible impact of some other ones.

Firstly, he performed exceedingly well at Mearcred Creek, with a critted battle roll by Elad sending them into a special melee with a Saxon Warchief holding the enemy's center. It probably wasn't a good idea, and started to go rather poorly. But just when Elad seemed ready to withdraw, the PKs rallied, slew the Warchief, and captured the banner. The following battle rolls, now with modifiers, resulted in the center sounding a hasty retreat, which the British army took advantage of. A bloodied Elad withdrew his unit, but Dallin decided he would stay and try to rally a unit of his own. He succeeded, and made his way to Roderick's side, where he critted his way through the rest of the battle, which ended up being changed from an indecisive to a decisive victory, and leaving the young knight covered in glory from his first battle. My question is, what, if anything, would changing a standoff to a victory do to resulting game years?

Secondly, he gained the attention of Lady Elaine rather early (critted some flirting rolls), and in doing so, earned the ire of a bannerett knight, Sir Gareth, who was courting her. The man may not have held it against him to start, but Dallin's entitled attitude, combined with a failed recognize and heraldry roll, saw him insulting Sir Gareth and telling him to move along. What Dallin does not know is that Sir Gareth has been presenting his marriage proposal to the earl for some time, and Sir Roderick was about to close the deal. But before that could happen, things came to a head between the two knights. A drunken Sir Gareth challenged Dallin to a duel for the right to court Elaine, and subsequently lost. Gareth is, of course, infuriated, and holds a deep grudge against Dallin. Yet, he is honorable, so he has stopped pursuing Elaine. Sir Dallin proceeded rub it in by bedding her during a feast, unwittingly letting everyone in the hall see them leave together (failed an awareness roll.) And to boot, Dallin has knocked her up, and she has birthed an illegitimate son. He is not above marrying her (she is an heiress, after all, however promiscuous,) but my question is, how does Roderick react to all this? He was rather keen on marrying her off to Sir Gareth, but now this young upstart has come along and ruined all of his planning. He is, however, thankful for Dallin's actions at Mearcred, which have brought much attention to Salisbury from the king. Plus, he also helped stop a raid from Silchester earlier that year, even capturing a Silchester knight for ransom.

Thoughts are appreciated! :)

My 2cents on this.

Mearcred Creek.
The impact is probably small. In my vision this is not a battle that will change the fate of the world. There are others that will have a bigger impact. It may give the Saxons a bloody nose and may even keep them at bay a while longer, but remember it is still 10 years to the anarchy so they have time enough to recover from it. You could use it as a reason why Aelle is relatively quiet during most of those years. (Essex, Wessex and later Anglia are far more active than Sussex).

Lady Elaine.
Getting a lady pregnant and an heiress to boot is a grave insult to your lord. A win at Mearcred creek has only a small impact on this. If I was Roderick I would not be pleased at all. Both knights Dallin and Gareth have behaved poorly in my eyes. The fact that they think that they can decide among themselves who may court Elaine is a grave mistake. It is I, as lord and warden of the lady, who decides who is the best husband for her. And then so openly leave a feast wit hthe lady and then she is pregnant. This is another slap in my face. I may like you for what you have done in the field, but this cannot go unpunished. So to spite both I would marry her to a third knight and let both men stew in their own fat. And to boot I would like a fine of sir Dallin for this insult. If the knight does not repent his sins I will suggest he marries a lady of my choosing, probably a lady that is more a burden than a joy.
(Remember marriage for love is something of the future. Marriages are arranged and love does not take a part in it).

Good answer, Cornelius. Especially the point about the Count, as the warden of the heiress being pissed.

Also, hit 'im ('them, maybe, if you've detailed stats for the NPC) in the Honor. And the "Loyalty (Lord)". And bump 'em in the the Lustful/Indulgent/Proud and maybe Reckless...

And take note that the easy winning of heiresses has been strongly recommended against by the game's creator and experienced GMs...

If it were me, I would say the lady is now "damaged goods" - off to the nunnery for her.

As for Sir Dallin, he has lost whatever of the lord's favor he gained in battle, would be shamed and humiliated before the whole court, suffer massive fines (at least on par with the lost income of the lady's lands) and above all... sent on a quest to regain his honor and learn proper knightly behavior. Naturally, his close friends and companions would choose to accompany him in his exile. I could turn this into a series of Lustful/Chaste, Loyal and Honorable themed, knight-errant adventures while Sir Dallin tries to build up appropriate Traits with the help of the other PKs.

Given that sending an heiress off to the Nunnery means the Count gets to keep her land (and he won't be sending Elaine to a cloistered life if it means he loses all her land...), I wouldn't expect any fines. Dallin has done him at least that much of a favour underneath all his transgressions.

Sorry to be so late to this party
It is always hard to retroactively chang ea campaign, but ther eis a suggestion berlow


Hello all!
My question is, what, if anything, would changing a standoff to a victory do to resulting game years?

Nothing important
Even a decisive victory can be bushed under the rug by a GM--another batch of volunteers have arrived to marry the widows and the King of Sussex has a new army


Sir Dallin proceeded rub it in by bedding her during a feast,

Strumpet! This is her doom.


Dallin has knocked her up, and she has birthed an illegitimate son.

Entirely unacceptable
Roderick simply needs to say after whatever time has passed, "Enough is enough."


He is not above marrying her (she is an heiress, after all, however promiscuous,) but my question is, how does Roderick react to all this?

Even after this much time he ought to perform his responsibility and send that whore off to a nunnery. That is not how noble women act. Her father must have been some lowlife who had sex with her mother.
Send her kid with her.
Send her to a cheap and sleezy nunnery as well, so that the count can keep most of her lands (It is customary to give a woman's dowry to the nunnery to support her.)
As for the knight: it takes more than homage and skill at arms to be a good knight.
I'd have Roderick warn him--one more thing like this and you sit with the laborers for dinner (a terrible insult, but well in line with the horrible abuse that has been delivered to Roderick's good name--yes, Roderick's.
He needs to act correctly or he will lose Honor
Oh yea, the knight should have lost Honor for bedding her down and knocking her up. Say, oh, 3 points.

Thanks for the responses everyone! Sorry I've taken so long to respond. The holidays have really swept me away.

Great advice. To the nunnery with that adulterous harlot! I hadn't planned on letting him marry her just bc he knocked her up, but I didn't know what Roderick would do about it considering she was now "damaged goods."

As for Dallin, what type of public shaming would he be looking at? And what type of fine? He is a pagan, and his famous trait is Lustful, so I don't think what he did would go against his personal or religious beliefs. Definitely a major insult to Roderick though, so I can see why Dallin's honor would suffer for it. I will probably threaten him with sitting with the workers in front of everyone. And I think Roderick will send both knights on garrison duty together in 486. Should make the adventure of Sword lake pretty interesting. Will they decide to work together? Time will tell.

That brings another question to mind. How will Roderick look at Dallin after he brings back Excalibur, and Merlin tells him to "give him reign to guard Britain?" I feel like that's a pretty big deal. Would it change anything?

The fine: This depends a bit on the forgiveness of the Earl, but I would say at least at large as the dowry (for the manors I would use their income for 1 year). Also one or more visits from the lord's progress to the knights manors may be in order (running up the costs. Not sure in the current system, but in Lordly Domains this costs money).
Also it would not be the act of seducing a lady that is the problem here, but the fact that he did it so openly and he let her get pregnant.

Merlin's quote: This also depends on how Earl Roderick views Merlin. He may be a close advisor of the king, but he is still a pagan druid and not a knight. He surely cannot understand the implications of these actions. The boy may have potential, but still needs to learn much about how to behave as a true knight.

That brings another question to mind. How will Roderick look at Dallin after he brings back Excalibur, and Merlin tells him to "give him reign to guard Britain?" I feel like that's a pretty big deal. Would it change anything?

If it were me, I would have Merlin say something else. After all, Merlin is all about heralding and ensuring the rise of Arthur and Camelot, and bringing about the ideal of chivalry. Sir Dallin is clearly not, at the moment, a knight who lives up to those ideals. So, if it were me, I would have Merlin say something else more along the lines of giving Sir Dallin a chance to regain his honor and prove he has it in him to guard Britain.