OK, I mentioned in a post in this thread (http://www.gspendragon.com/roundtable/index.php?topic=623.0) that I'd worked up a set of moral/ethical challenges that riffed off the RAID/PILLAGE capsule adventure in GPC and was asked to share them with the board, so I'll be posting them here.

Note that the specific context is the Anglish invasion of Caerwent, but this could easily be repurposed for any significant incursion into a neighbouring realm (indeed this implementation is a reworking of something similar I did for my campaign when the saxons of Deira and Nohaut were rampaging around Logres in the run up to St Albans).

In terms of balance and the game economy it's pitched to be broadly comparable to the post-Badon pillaging opportunities (if you focus exclusively on loot and are willing to go all the way you'll be getting 12d6 libra vs 7d6+14 libra for the post-Badon chevauchee) - I figured that this is defensible because these sorts of opportunities to benefit from post-invasion chaos don't come along all that often and in any case if you've gone all out for loot in this adventure then you will have picked up a bunch of negative checks (not to mention put a dent in your Honor) and risked capture and/or death at the hands of the Anglish for your troubles.

Regards
Luke

Setting: A cymric realm (in this case Caer Colun) close to the player knight’s home
Problem: Your neighbouring realm is being attacked by continental invaders
Characters: Cymric refugees fleeing the invaders, one or more Anglish warlords, lots and lots of Anglish warriors
Solutions: The success or otherwise of the invasion is beyond your power, but you can still seek to rescue something from the chaos. Gather together your followers and ride out to challenge the invaders.

Each of the following one paragraph challenges corresponds to approximately one week of skirmishing.

Pressing into the Brecklands you surprise scattered groups of Anglish invaders who are weighed down with their ill-gotten gains
Get a check (not a roll) for Valorous and Hunting
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then Your followers curse quietly at the pace that you set
Get a check (not a roll) for Energetic
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then At the town of Guinon crowds of frightened refugees are packed in to the abbey grounds begging for your protection, who will you assist?
Gentlefolk - take a check (not a roll) in Arbitrary, Courtesy and Honor
Merchants - take a check (not a roll) in Arbitrary and Worldly but lose 1 pt of Honor
Commoners - take a check (not a roll) in Arbitrary and Folklore but lose 1d3 pts of Honor
The Monks - take a check (not a roll) in Arbitrary and Pious
I will assist all of them - take a check (not a roll) in Justice and Merciful; your slow-moving group is overtaken by the Anglish however and you must roll to check your Valorous:
Success = you can choose a heroic death (1000 glory) otherwise you are a prisoner of the Anglish and Out Of The Game until/unless your are ransomed
Failure = you and your followers are able to cut through the press and escape the massacre

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then Speed of horse permits you to elude your pursuers
Get a check (not a roll) for Horsemanship
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then You and your followers FIGHT with Anglish forces - run a skirmish using the ‘Saxons Attacking’ enemies table from the BoB to determine the nature of the opposition (Roll Folklore critical/success = you are alerted to the Anglish presence by local peasants and can elect to apply a +15 Ambush modifier to your Battle skill for determining the first round’s combat modifier)
If you are defeated by your opponent then you must make a successful Squire roll to avoid capture, otherwise you are a prisoner of the Anglish and are Out Of The Game until/unless you are ransomed

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then You return to the fray, heedless of the cost
Get a check (not a roll) for Reckless and Vengeful
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then The Anglish respond by hanging any Icenic nobles that they can catch
Get a check (not a roll) for Selfish and Cruel
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then The sight of the despoliation done by these dogs spurs you on
Generate a new passion of Hate (Anglish) at 3d6
You can choose to either:
Recover booty or
Rescue commoners or
Rescue Icenic nobles

Want more?
If No, then retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’
If Yes, then The Anglish catch up with your column a second time - fight another skirmish using the ‘Saxons Attacking’ table to determine your opponent (Check Reckless, success = you ride right into their trap, apply a +20 Ambush modifier to the enemy leader’s Battle skill)
In addition to the normal consequences of a skirmish roll vs your Battle skill a second time
Critical - you escape the ambush, but an Anglish warlord is your sworn enemy
Success - as critical, but the Anglish warlord also knows where you live
Fail - as success, but you must also make a successful Squire roll to avoid capture otherwise you are a prisoner of the Anglish and are Out Of The Game until/unless you are ransomed
Fumble - as failure, but you also took a major wound in the process

The campaigning season is over. If you made it this far without being captured or killed by the Anglish retire to your manor and go to ‘tallying your gains’

Tallying Your Gains
Count up the number of times during the adventure you elected to recover booty, rescue commoners or rescue Icenic nobles.

If you have a Hate (Anglish) passion then add the ‘rescue Icenic nobles’ count to the score for this passion.

If your rescue commoners count is greater than zero then lose 1 pt of Honor, how could you have favoured rustics and rude mechanicals when there were gentlefolk in need of your help?

Who did you choose to help at Guinon?
The Gentlefolk – double your ‘Rescue Icenic Nobles’ count and gain 50 glory for being so concerned with the needs of your peer group
The Merchants – double your ‘Recover Booty’ count
The Commoners – double your ‘Rescue Commoners’ count
The Churchmen – they will say masses to reduce your time in purgatory
Everyone – no effect

Tally your plunder = roll d6s equal to your ‘Recover Booty’ count, this is the value (in libra) of portable property you recovered from the Anglish

Tally your favours = roll d3s equal to your ‘Rescue Icenic Nobles’ count, the result is a score for a ‘Favours Owed by Icenic Exiles’ skill. This skill can be rolled whenever your knight wishes to call upon the exile community for assistance (eg. to garner additional manpower for a raid)

Tally your commoners = your ‘Rescue Commoners’ count is the number of commoners (in hundreds) that you were able to escort back to your realm. You can settle these on your manors in order to expand the value of your holdings (see BotM p29) or sell them on to other landlords (you will clear £5 per hundred once middlemen have taken their cut).

Glory: Whatever is gained by the various Clashes with the Angles and if you chose to favour the gentlefolk at Guinon

Very interesting, thanks for the ideas. I do think I'll use some of this; but, players in our campaign read this forum so I can't say exactly how....

Excellent work. Consider this stolen.

Very good. I'll adapt this in some way.

Very good. I'll adapt this in some way.
I think you have done very well here. I like the whole premise. I will also use this in my campaign. Might I make one suggestion? There is one area where you have a choice ofn defending commoners ? if u choose this you lose honor 1d3. That seems harsh to me. Might I suggest one point loss , or maybe a different type of penalty alltogether? honsetly , I am just having trouble reconciling defending people that are in need with losing honor. i think it would go better if you were able to come up with some other penalty type. Just an opinion , but overall very nice idea and very good work. :)

honsetly , I am just having trouble reconciling defending people that are in need with losing honor.


It is not that you lose honor for defending people in need... It is losing honor because you are DENYING your help from gentlefolk. Noblewomen and children of your own rank who will fall to the tender mercies of the Angles because you'd rather escort some lowly, smelly peasants. Fie on you!

And of course, should any of those gentlefolk survive/be ransomed, they will certainly spread the word of your unchivalrous behavior.