In my campaign there are still a couple of players with the D&D, 'what's in it for me' mentality. The following situation has come up and I thought I would ask around to see what everyone thinks. (Who knows this may happen in your campaign as well.)

A household knight wants to get married. He could roll on the table (KAP, p. 109) which nets him 80% chance of having one manor, some Librum and glory. If he waits, he can increase it to 100%. Another player, who is a banneret, mentions he has a daughter that he could marry. The household knight knight player says, how much money are you offering?

So, if not using Book of the Manor (players are still somewhat new to the entire system and want to ease into it), just how does a knight set aside a dowry?

I had a player who married off a sister and an aunt, the latter actually tied the knot with a brother of the other player so the value of the dowry was actially negotiated via roleplay.

For the other dowry the system I came up with was rolling on a table derived from the one in the Winter Phase marriage section to determine what quality of knight is the suitor (anything from a squire to a rich vassal) and using the equivalent female dowry rolls (1 Manor + xd6 libra, etc) to determine the minimum that the PC knight had to cough up of he allows his female relative to marry.

I determined that a vassal knight won't marry someone unless they get get at least one manor our of it (i.e. they are really desperate) and only squires or bachelors routinely accept a dowry of 1d6 libra.


So for your player-player family negotiatons its really up to them. The groom can decide to marry the other character's daughter for no dowry at all if he cares to. But from your despcription of the players that does not seem likely. ;D

If it's the eldest daughter, there is a tax on the knight's land that pays for that first dowry. A simple rule of thumb: let it equal the land's normal income (?6 for the typical vassal knight).

For other daughters, that's not really addressed in any supplement, and it has often come up in my games too.

Regarding the bannerette's daughter: this is a great opportunity for cementing alliances within the players.
Here's what the bannerette gets:
* an entire line of knights he and his descendants can call on, using Love Family, for assistance when they need it.
Not only that. but it's a line of knights that are (at this point anyway) his social inferiors, so when they are together on some mission or campaign, they should be deferring to his judgement if he forces the issue.

If the other player wants the bannerrette to marry for mere money, which will be gone in a few years, he should pay what he thinks the player will accept, and be glad he's a short-sighted fool who doesn't realise he should be asking for land.

Alternatively, as a bannerette, he will have many people vying for his daughters hand, especially if he can offer a a vassal manor to go with her. So, the player will only be one of several suitors, and the bannerette has an opportunity to ask what they will offer in return for the daughter, the manor, and a token dowry of ?1-2d6 or so.

Because whoever gets the marriage also gets ties to a bannerette, a locally powerful noble, who they can also call on for help and protection when they need it, through his Love Family and Loyalty Vassals.

It would not be surprising for a bannerrette to actually profit from the behind-the-scenes politicking, even though he is giving away a dowry.

Speaking out of the game, the two players whould both want the marriage, because tying their families together does provide a lot of long-term benefits to both of them.

In my campaign there are still a couple of players with the D&D, 'what's in it for me' mentality.

Oh yes, forgot to mention:

There's nothing wrong with this mentality in Pendragon. Just apply the appropriate personality traits checks and move on.
Often when players see they are getting Selfish or Cruel or whatever checks, that's all it takes for them to realise Pendragon is a different kind of game, and embrace the differences. And of course, there are players who love the fact that 'negative' traits (like Selfish) make a difference within the game system, and seek to 'improve' them. These are all good things.

The book of the manor I believe has the costs for a dowry. It is a good idea to just stick with these. Even if you are marrying another players sister or whatever. Or u dont have to. One thing to remember is that every Libra you spend that you dont have to you get an extra glory point that year, so if you spend 12 when custom says do 6, then you get 6 glory. Doesnt sound like much, but thats the glory per year of a typical manor. Also if you are generous you might get to check generous and/or love family check. So that is an advantage as well... checks, and the last advantage is... the wife. Women now have gifts, gentlewoman bonus', and even special artifacts they have that can be used for the benifit of their knight, such as being a renowned healer. Money is not really suppoed to be the purpose of adventure in GPC, its Glory. D&D fails because it puts too much importance on $$$$$. In this game money should not be hoarded, but spent in ways that increase your prestige. Hire a retinue, throw a feast, or tournament, gift your superiors and lovers, buy a new wardrobe for your wife... that is the purpose. I have had a few knights that were very glorious. Brandegoris of the Hambone died at Bardon with 23,000+ glory... and NO MONEY!!!!!! His manor Tilton was a damned ruin as usual( couldnt run it to save his life). But he had songs sung everywhere about him. Just no $$$$$. SEE?