Russell Deneault
04-23-2010, 08:11 AM
Russells Great Pendragon Campaign
490: The Battle of Lindsey
Player Characters
Rhodri is the Eschille leader. He i is new at unit leadership having been disappointed last year when the Saxons refused to meet in the battlefield. Rhodri is known for his intense hatred of Saxons and for being generous to his manor folk. Rhodri's player Lee, representing California
Llywel is a fearless (though some like to call it reckless) knight. He and Rhodri are fast friends. Even as squires they were frequently in heavy competition with one another. He highest ranked of all player-knights in terms of Glory. Llywel's hatred of Saxons eclipses even Rhodri's. Llywel is played by Dennis, representing Virgina.
Morganor was once regarded as a most optimistic youth. That all changed last year when his manors turned belly up. The once lauded landlord was forced to squeeze his peasants to the point of nearly breaking. Then his wife died in childbirth. His son lives, but the old-gods worshipping Morganor agreed to let the infant be taken into the care of the new church. He is torn by the decision to let his son go. He wears all black on the day of the battle; even his mail painted to reflect the inner darkness. Morganor is player is Primo, representing Italy.
Carawine lasted about 5 minutes (both in and out of game). One the day we played round Seven of the battle, I threw our newest player in to set the scene of his introduction and ended up killing the poor lad in one of my few critical success rolls. To his players credit, he gladly rolled up a new character (even when I offered to roll back the kill or allow him to play the same "sheet" with a different name) and he hasn't run away yet. Carawine will hold a place of honor as my first "kill" in Pendragon. Carawine was played by Eric, also representing California.
Our Campaign
This game originated on Google Wave, but we've since migrated to a Wiki/Forum combination. Here are some links if you'd like to have a look-see.
Wiki: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-index.php. There's even a nice timeline for the players to see how their characters fit into the greater events of the story.
Forum: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=1
The Battle of Lindsey
[list][li]Part I: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=562&topics _offset=3&topics_sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
Part II: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=670&topics _offset=1&topics_sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
King Octa: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=793&topics _sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
Battle Tracker: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-index.php?page=Battle+of+Lindsey
Battle Summary
[li] First Charge: Uther successfully leads the first charge. The player unit clashes with Grim Warriors and win the round. Final Battle Intensity is 26.
First Round: The huge battle proves too much for Rhodri's leadership and the unit must Stand vs. Two against chanting warriors, but the manage to win the day. Final Battle Intensity: 29
Second Round: Things look a little mixed up here because I flubbed some rules, but the players legitimately earned a withdraw here. We listed it as an attack against javelineers. The attack was successful with final battle intenstiy of 27.
Third Round: Charge! The unit smashes into a unit of veteran heorthgeneats and end up with a triumph. Final Battle Intensity: 28.
Fourth Round: Withdraw vs. Two. Rhodri's player is making good choices here, consciously withdrawing and charging to maximize bonuses. The battle proves to be too much for Morganor. He took a few minor hits earlier on but is hit with a major wound from a howling warrior that takes him to exactly zero hitpoints. His valiant squire manages, over the next several rounds, to take his knight all the way from the enemy's second rank to safe ground. The round is another win and Final Battle Intensity is 30.
Fifth Round: Another Charge, this time against chanting warriors and the unit gets another Triumph. Morganor's player took over an NPC knight, Sir Boros, so the unit could still try to reduce the battle intensity. Final Battle Intensity: 26. Rhodri's player notes that though the battle seems to be going poorly on the flanks (Battle Events are coming up mostly positive numbers), his unit seems to be holding the center (most moves the unit wins are lowering intensity).
Sixth Round: Push Deeper. The unit has charged enough and they are ready to make for the rear ranks! THis time they attack a unit of Archers and end up with another win. Final Battle Intensity: 26.
Seventh Round: Carawine is introduces as a squire trying valiantly to retrieve his own father's corpse from the battle field. He is promptly cut down. The unit on the previous round broke through to behind enemy lines, just in time to meet the Saxon king Octa and his guard. I wasn't planning on running the scene with Morganor out of the game, but timing was just too perfect to let it go. I ruled that being so near to the guard on a partial Battle roll from Rhodri's unit command forced a Stand vs. Charge. The unit held up and netted another unit result win. Poor sir NPC Boros (as played by Morganor) fumbles a passion roll and disappears from view. Lywel and Rhodri are fresh out of Passions to invoke; the day is wearing long on them just as they run into the enemy battle commander! Final Battle Intensity: 22
Eigth Round: The Saxon army begins a full on route. We shift to a full combat against two royal heorthgeneats guards and Octa himself. As of this moment, Rhodri has taken a wound that tore him from his horse. The bodyguard that did this deed I jokingly named Russell (apparently it's a germanic-ish name), who is now the deadliest NPC in my retinue. The combat isn't over; now that one of the two enemy knights are down, Octa may take the opportunity to run, but survival isn't guaranteed for anyone. I've never been so on the edge of my seat for a game before. I just had to write this up :)
That's a lotta wins and triumphs, but these guys earned every one of them. One round even came down to 3 losses, 2 wins, and a tie.
This battle system is not only fun to run, it's a great vehicle for battlefield drama. Bravo!
490: The Battle of Lindsey
Player Characters
Rhodri is the Eschille leader. He i is new at unit leadership having been disappointed last year when the Saxons refused to meet in the battlefield. Rhodri is known for his intense hatred of Saxons and for being generous to his manor folk. Rhodri's player Lee, representing California
Llywel is a fearless (though some like to call it reckless) knight. He and Rhodri are fast friends. Even as squires they were frequently in heavy competition with one another. He highest ranked of all player-knights in terms of Glory. Llywel's hatred of Saxons eclipses even Rhodri's. Llywel is played by Dennis, representing Virgina.
Morganor was once regarded as a most optimistic youth. That all changed last year when his manors turned belly up. The once lauded landlord was forced to squeeze his peasants to the point of nearly breaking. Then his wife died in childbirth. His son lives, but the old-gods worshipping Morganor agreed to let the infant be taken into the care of the new church. He is torn by the decision to let his son go. He wears all black on the day of the battle; even his mail painted to reflect the inner darkness. Morganor is player is Primo, representing Italy.
Carawine lasted about 5 minutes (both in and out of game). One the day we played round Seven of the battle, I threw our newest player in to set the scene of his introduction and ended up killing the poor lad in one of my few critical success rolls. To his players credit, he gladly rolled up a new character (even when I offered to roll back the kill or allow him to play the same "sheet" with a different name) and he hasn't run away yet. Carawine will hold a place of honor as my first "kill" in Pendragon. Carawine was played by Eric, also representing California.
Our Campaign
This game originated on Google Wave, but we've since migrated to a Wiki/Forum combination. Here are some links if you'd like to have a look-see.
Wiki: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-index.php. There's even a nice timeline for the players to see how their characters fit into the greater events of the story.
Forum: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=1
The Battle of Lindsey
[list][li]Part I: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=562&topics _offset=3&topics_sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
Part II: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=670&topics _offset=1&topics_sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
King Octa: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=793&topics _sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=1
Battle Tracker: http://www.russelldeneault.com/gpc/tiki-index.php?page=Battle+of+Lindsey
Battle Summary
[li] First Charge: Uther successfully leads the first charge. The player unit clashes with Grim Warriors and win the round. Final Battle Intensity is 26.
First Round: The huge battle proves too much for Rhodri's leadership and the unit must Stand vs. Two against chanting warriors, but the manage to win the day. Final Battle Intensity: 29
Second Round: Things look a little mixed up here because I flubbed some rules, but the players legitimately earned a withdraw here. We listed it as an attack against javelineers. The attack was successful with final battle intenstiy of 27.
Third Round: Charge! The unit smashes into a unit of veteran heorthgeneats and end up with a triumph. Final Battle Intensity: 28.
Fourth Round: Withdraw vs. Two. Rhodri's player is making good choices here, consciously withdrawing and charging to maximize bonuses. The battle proves to be too much for Morganor. He took a few minor hits earlier on but is hit with a major wound from a howling warrior that takes him to exactly zero hitpoints. His valiant squire manages, over the next several rounds, to take his knight all the way from the enemy's second rank to safe ground. The round is another win and Final Battle Intensity is 30.
Fifth Round: Another Charge, this time against chanting warriors and the unit gets another Triumph. Morganor's player took over an NPC knight, Sir Boros, so the unit could still try to reduce the battle intensity. Final Battle Intensity: 26. Rhodri's player notes that though the battle seems to be going poorly on the flanks (Battle Events are coming up mostly positive numbers), his unit seems to be holding the center (most moves the unit wins are lowering intensity).
Sixth Round: Push Deeper. The unit has charged enough and they are ready to make for the rear ranks! THis time they attack a unit of Archers and end up with another win. Final Battle Intensity: 26.
Seventh Round: Carawine is introduces as a squire trying valiantly to retrieve his own father's corpse from the battle field. He is promptly cut down. The unit on the previous round broke through to behind enemy lines, just in time to meet the Saxon king Octa and his guard. I wasn't planning on running the scene with Morganor out of the game, but timing was just too perfect to let it go. I ruled that being so near to the guard on a partial Battle roll from Rhodri's unit command forced a Stand vs. Charge. The unit held up and netted another unit result win. Poor sir NPC Boros (as played by Morganor) fumbles a passion roll and disappears from view. Lywel and Rhodri are fresh out of Passions to invoke; the day is wearing long on them just as they run into the enemy battle commander! Final Battle Intensity: 22
Eigth Round: The Saxon army begins a full on route. We shift to a full combat against two royal heorthgeneats guards and Octa himself. As of this moment, Rhodri has taken a wound that tore him from his horse. The bodyguard that did this deed I jokingly named Russell (apparently it's a germanic-ish name), who is now the deadliest NPC in my retinue. The combat isn't over; now that one of the two enemy knights are down, Octa may take the opportunity to run, but survival isn't guaranteed for anyone. I've never been so on the edge of my seat for a game before. I just had to write this up :)
That's a lotta wins and triumphs, but these guys earned every one of them. One round even came down to 3 losses, 2 wins, and a tie.
This battle system is not only fun to run, it's a great vehicle for battlefield drama. Bravo!