Of late we've had a few pickup games of Pendragon, the one just been my PK raised a Company to go Bandit Hunting, the bandits where striking out from "Unclaimed"/Disputed territory west of Salisbury and raiding lands held by my PK's family and a PL's family, after a few skirmishes in the wilds we finally found the Bandit "Stronghold" (Watch Tower, incomplete & rundown Palisade).

My company numbered 30, My PK (ordinary Knight), Four Mounted Sergeants, a Dozen Men at Arms (Billhooks, assorted hand weapons, Gambeson & Helmets), Dozen Archers (bows, assorted hand weapons, some with various light armor) and my Squire

the Bandits, the Robber Knight (ordinary Knight), two Mounted Henchmen (Sergeants? equipped as poor knights), perhaps half a dozen foot henchmen (light armor, hand weapons & Bows) and a Rabble numbering over a Score (Hand Weapons, some with Bows and or light armor)

end of the Battle my PK needed Chirugery had lost his Mount, Squire, three Sergeants, four Men at Arms and had his battle standard ruined, but his Banner was raised above the enemy watch tower.

The Robber Knight claimed that he bent knee to No Prince or Bishop and the lands we stood upon where his, right before he tried to stick my PK with a hidden knife, an act that saw his head separated from his shoulders by my surviving Sergent.

after some Chirugery and almost a weeks rest we set out after policing up the Bandits loot and put torch to the bandit camp.

now I know the Glory from Vanquishing the Bandits, but if I was to press my claim to the Robber Knights lands (around a manors worth of largely undeveloped land) what would the Glory value be?

If I were running it, I don't think I'd give any glory for the simple act of claiming now undefended land. You get the land, that's the benefit of doing it. The glory in that endeavor came from defeating the previous occupants, future glory for defending it from other invaders.

The only way I would think it would merit glory is if it was so much *developed* land that it elevated your character into a new social rank.

Agreed with Mr.47. Also, just because the ROBBER knight claimed that he does not bend a knee to anyone, doesn't mean that the potential overlords agree. At the very least, the king (if this is not Anarchy) is the liege of everyone. Also, your own liege (The count?) Might expect you to swear for those lands too.

If it is perchance in a "claimed" area, then the land owner (count, baron, king, etc.) may thank you and reclaim the land. Your knight might be able to claim it as his own, if the land-owner accepts it as such. You might have to swear fealty to him as you now own land from him. If in anarchy, you might be able to keep it, but then, you might have to defend it against any and all who come with the idea of owning it themselves.

If on the border of your liege's lands, you might be able to say it was taken in the liege's name, and ask him the boon of keeping it for yourself.

Depends on how the gamemaster wants to set this up.

The lands are Unclaimed under Arthur (we are in the Conquest period), according to the Latin & Bratonic records going back before Uther the lands where under House Stane as an Independent Domain (land covering many manors worth), Utheran records show them as a Freehold or Independent Domain allied to Uther, no records since on the Lands apart from the fact that some have since bean integrated in to Subsidiary and others Somerset, but their is a strip of "Wilds" that serves as a frontier between the two counties, where the bandits my PK has just vanquished claimed. the Robber Knight used the livery of House Stane and was called "Lord Stane" by some of his Henchmen.

House Stane shows that they are almost to the last Outlaw, the others do not recognize their House.

My PK is a Knight Errant, he Squired under his Father who is a Vassal of Lord Robert, as are all the PK's older brothers. my PK is a frequent Guest of Lord Roberts court and has Quested for him in the past. though not a member of the Court he has bean named a Friend of the Court.

Claiming land is one thing. Getting glory for it is second.
First of all others must accept your claim. In this case King Arthur could accept the deal the old family Stane had with Uther, but since you are not of the house Stane yourself he is not obliged to honor it. Also Earl Robert may accept the claim, sibnce you are a friend to his court. Somerset on the other hand would probably see this as a way of expanding Salisbury influence westwards. Not something they would like I think.

If either Salisbury or Somerset do not accept the claim they may send their own men in to either lay claim or destroy whatever remains, so no others can claim it.

In the end there are several options:
1) Be independant. This is the hardest. Both Somerset and Salisbury may see this just as a new robber knight setting up shop.
2) be a vassal. You could claim the land and then swear homage to an overlord. King Arthur is an option, but EarlRobert or the King of Somerset are others.
3) get out with all the loot.

If you succeed in either 1 or 2, I as a GM would reward glory for it.

Cornelius raises good points about consequences.

Both 1 and 2 would make the character at least a landholding knight so worth title glory, since he was just a knight errant until then. Although in option 1, I'd wait until his new title has been accepted. You can't declare yourself as the Emperor and collect glory for it after all. :)

Talking to the old Knights House Stane where always on the fringes of Honor, they "Allied" to Uther so they wouldn't be stepped on and so they could Sell Sword to the clear winner.

Turns out my PK's grandfather spent most of the Intrregim giving the Stanes a good kicking, kept about two manors worth of land for himself and kicked an other two's worth over to Salisbruy, inrteturn he got a token parsel so he could call himself Barronett and get some protection. turns out my family pays Robert some fairly light feudal dues and a hefty Tribute.

PK Gramps got done fore by Saxons at the start of the Boy King era and we've bean giving them a kicking ever since in payback, my PK has gone back to Bandit Hunting since he sucks at Tornie and though not an embarrassment at court doesn't have the raw skills on his CV to apply for a Knight Bachelor job.

what's left of the old Stane lands depending on how you divvy it up could be between 3 & 5 manors worth, I've taken out the biggest and most organized Robber Knight in the area, I don't know if I want to Heal, Recruit and head back out to finish off the others or press myPK's claim on and consolidate what he's already taken, We've not yet hit Midsummer eve this game year.

Got to count my PK's Treasure and sell off the gear from the Robber Knight & Henchmen, returned what was stolen from my PK's family and the PL's family, dropped some Coin on the Church and given Lord Robert a chunk of change, you know since the Bandits where only raiding Salisbury and leaving Somerset alone, with my past savings I'm upwards of 70lb to spend on either an Army or to try and setup a manor. ("Gifts", Construction, Bondsman, Army ect.)

In general I give glory for conquest (beyond that from defeated foes and leadership bonuses) equal to the CR+DV of the lands taken. Bsically you get a year's worth of its annual glory as a bonus that doesn't count against your own CR+DV amount.

pre conquest all they had was a band of bandits, a unprotected Watch Tower (6m open frame, no roof) and a rundown incomplete stockade for their camp that my PK had razed.

the bandits "Domain" has around half a dozen hamlets scattered around the local woodland, one used to be a proper village wit ha Manor house, but even that one is largely depopulated and half in Ruins with the ruin of the Manor House being used as a barn.

I've got a plan if I press my claim, go to the former village, Phase 1) install a Shrine, build a stockade or palisade, Watch tower, Phase 2) build a Public House to serve as a temporary Manor, restore some of the Common housing, Phase 3) build a Mill and perhaps a Church, (perhaps put in a Smith and Carpenter at this point) Phase 4) rebuild the Manor House from scratch Phase 5) install Trades in the "Village" Phase 6) start on Improvements. after each phase go to an other hamlet and repeat phase 1. one or two phases each year.

adjoining where I've bean cleaning out their are three roughly Manor sized plots (all former Stane lands) also needing attention I'll likely fortify Hamlets with access to them the Autumn before to use as a base so as to use them as a base for the next campaign.

Given that they are mostly depopulated, the step 1 ought to be getting more peasants (joined with common housing and stuff, sure). Land that isn't cultivated/worked by the peasants isn't producing income; it is just wasteland until someone uses it for grazing or growing crops on. Your new estate has a lot of growth potential, but until you get the population base to exploit it, it is not going to amount to much.

Given that they are mostly depopulated, the step 1 ought to be getting more peasants (joined with common housing and stuff, sure). Land that isn't cultivated/worked by the peasants isn't producing income; it is just wasteland until someone uses it for grazing or growing crops on. Your new estate has a lot of growth potential, but until you get the population base to exploit it, it is not going to amount to much.

I agree here. and this may get you into trouble. Because these peasants have to come from somewhere. This could be surrounding lands, but then both Somerset and Salisbury will not be pleased with that. Of course refugees and outlaws may try to settle, but again your neighbours may not be willing to accept that foreigners and rifraf settles near their borders.
So I would say step 1 is to get acceptance from a lord that you may try to exploit this new area.

The locals I've meet so far claim to be Freemen, I'm hoping to consolidate some folks from the other hamlets in to the Village and get some folks fleeing the neighboring "Bandit Manors" to boost numbers.

to do the work I'm going to hire in a bunch of itinrate laborous and offer them a place to settle once done, there is a bit of a gender imbalance among the adults, I hope to address that.

in tonights session The PK's Father and the allied PL's family made a "Gift" to me that covered the expenses of my expedition in gratitude for putting down some of the bandits that had bean plaguing their lands and returning some of their lost treasurer.

I think I've struck a deal with Lord Robert, if I can establish myself and put down the other robber knights on his western frontier he may sponsor me to be a lesser baron or kind of Marques (as in the original border count sense).

the land I'm thinking of claiming geographically is around 1 1/2 (perhaps 2) times the size of a normal manor with about 400 people split among the half dozen hamlets, but I expect to lose some of that to encroachment by neighboring robber knights & bandits before I can fully establish myself, if I can take them out and claim their land I think I may be able to subdivide the land in to about 4-5 regular sized manors.

Considering where you are in the timeline, you might also consider importing some peasants from foreign lands. Morien's point is primary (after ensuring your neighbors recognize your claim): land is useless without peasants. There was even an adventure in one of the older supplements where your knight could be granted a fief that was worthless despite its size, because the population was gone (dragon) and the land was uworked--a poison pill that obligated the knight to service of the Baron/Count yet drew zero (0) income.

Salisbury is not far from Jagent, which has/had a substantial Pict subculture. Also, Cornwall is linked to Ireland and you could bring some Irish over. How you might get either of these is left to your own devices. Failing that, the continent (Gaul, Brittany) or Germanic lands could offer some people who would be happy to move to secure, fertile lands if you foot the bill for passage. In earlier phases I'd suggest moving conquered Saxons around, but of course that comes with its own disadvantages.

Be very, very careful as you fortify that you have the king's permission to build anything that even remotely resembles a castle, lest he take your efforts as a form of rebellion and come by to 'slight' your work! Getting such permission is going to cost you. Perhaps cost you as much as building it would, assuming your relationship is even (neither good nor bad).


--Khanwulf

First of all, it is your campaign and Your Pendragon May Vary. As long as you are having fun, you are doing it right! :)

That being said:
Given that the peasants are freemen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serfdom#Class_system), they might not be all that inclined to desert the lands that they have (if thinking of consolidating the hamlets into one larger, previously abandoned village; we assume enough arable land for the population around the village) or accept worse terms (as serfs). Which also means that since serfs generally have to pay larger rents (more onerous terms, including labor) than the freemen, you will need more freemen to reach the same income for the knight that he would have with serfs (the default peasant in KAP). Of course, if the freemen are already being blackmailed by the robber knights and bandits, they might be willing to trade that uncertainty and abuse to a more reliable subjugation... Up to the GM, but if that would happen in my game, the former freemen would probably be a touch surly if they are reduced to serfs, even though they would prefer having protection over being abused by bandits. Then again, if they are calculating that you are bringing law and order anyway, they might cling to their privileges more tenaciously, figuring that they will get to eat their cake and keep it, too. Tricksy peasants. :)

most of the commoners live like Cotters in fear of the bandits & robber knights, this has bean going on for the past 20-30 years since my PK's grandfather and others like him toppled house Stane from real power.

the Stanes where far from noble with acts of barbarity, punitive taxes other forms of oppression being the order of the day.

I would go the shining knight route here since Arthur is king. Ride around to each place and declare your intention to bring the king's law into force then go out and destroy the brigands. Once you've set the facts on the ground appeal to Robert to support your claim and swear fealty to him since its easier to get the king to acknowledge once of his barons than it is to acknowledge you as one of them.

This assumes your aren't that glorious and that the bandits include no glorious enemies. If you can get to Round Table level or defeat an enemy worthy of an RTK then direct appeal to the crown looks much better.

ATM my PK is a Renound Knight, unlanded, unmarried, he has two failed courtships behind him. he is renown for three things, fairing poorly at Tornie but well in real Battle. being the Bane of Bandits, Marauders & Raiders and thirdly always returning successful but near death from Adventure.

Well, Sir Brad, I think that makes you famous enough to slay these bandits and appeal to the Crown. You are a famous lawman (ie hunter of bandits) so the Court surely knows of your stance on these matters and the King commends knights who solve local problems on their own in a gallant and chivalrous manner.

Its just my opinion since I'm not the GM but I'd let you claim the lands as a Banneret and then have Arthur send you on bandit hunting quests from time to time by having your come to court each year and when someone say 'Alas, my king, bandits plague my lands and I can do nothing to stop them!" Arthur would turn to you to go and solve this subject's trouble.

Not Famous yet, just renown, lacking Lands & a Wife cuts in to my PK's Glory.