Thoughts on the new Pendragon? - /tg/ (#95978199) [Archived: 875 hours ago]

Anonymous
6/29/2025, 5:38:02 PM No.95978199
pendragon-cover
pendragon-cover
md5: 9a71136c305f53037c59d52e9f6eb4aa๐Ÿ”
I am very interested in running this game. I would also be "championing rules" to a certain degree with the group.

I did a one shot circa 2020 with some edition of Pendragon and liked it (which I know does not give the full experience).

Can people here give me their thoughts on Pendragon? Even better for the new edition.
Replies: >>95978257 >>95980821 >>95982267 >>95987258 >>95990656 >>95990672 >>95995351 >>95995801 >>95997496 >>95997741
Anonymous
6/29/2025, 5:45:58 PM No.95978257
>>95978199 (OP)
I've played Pendragon a couple of times. Haven't taken a proper swing at the new edition, but it seems to make better use of the attributes. There are a metric fuckton of subsystems most players do not give a fuck about. Good for solo play, only OK for anything else. Very lethal.
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 1:53:11 AM No.95980821
>>95978199 (OP)
Just started a Pendragon 6e. It is truly the best version of Pendragon imho. If you're wanting to try it out, just get the Starter Set. Has surprising depth to it for a starter set and touches on most of what the game is known for (Arthurian deeds, feasts, battles, etc).
Replies: >>95981974
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 5:49:47 AM No.95981974
>>95980821
This. The system is very solid and my group has been having a great time with it. And with the adventures that are out (in the gamemaster book, the starter set, and the Gray Knight) you have a solid start to a new campaign. It has been quite a bit of fun trying to woo Lady Jenna with my knight and being viewed with both favor and worry from Sir Robert over the whole ordeal but my knight, Sir Arnes the Learned, will win her hand!
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 6:58:38 AM No.95982267
Pendragon
Pendragon
md5: 602276ab6df1081850952426f6557d07๐Ÿ”
>>95978199 (OP)
pozzed
source one of the actual printings
Replies: >>95986959 >>95987189
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 4:14:13 PM No.95984257
Played every edition as it came along. 6e may be the worst iteration of Pendragon. Made clunky when it had been smooth, added numerous minisystems that are usually ignored by many groups depending on the style of play desired.
Still better than a shit ton of other systems. Works best with deep buy in from players who are willing to take the time to campaign instead of have one off adventures to save the kingdom. Journeying outside of Salisbury is where the setting comes to life. 4e guides are still the standard other than the 5e Great Campaign.
4e+5.2e are the best for group play.
Replies: >>95986928
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:02:02 PM No.95986928
>>95984257
What was added in 6e that makes it clunky? What new minisystems?
Replies: >>95987105
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:07:02 PM No.95986959
>>95982267
this man lives in a blue world
and all day and all night
and everything he sees is just blue
like him inside and outside
Replies: >>95987038
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:19:13 PM No.95987038
Pendragon mer
Pendragon mer
md5: 68217c33fdd80e0f47b84bc75e3ae7c1๐Ÿ”
>>95986959
a couple a hard pipe hittin niggas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aP5wGwkKog
Replies: >>95993395 >>96006239
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:29:02 PM No.95987105
>>95986928
As someone who has run 5e and read 6e, childbirth in particular has been painfully expanded upon without fixing any of the actual problems with it (lethality far in excess of reality). In reality, childbirth had something like a 1-2 percent mortality rate per birth, or about 6% chance of dying of childbirth over a lifetime.
The infant mortality system is OK, if still a bit overly exaggerated.
I do like how starting skills are handled, but they botched Passions by adding too many sub-passions and the like.
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:42:04 PM No.95987189
>>95982267
Your ass is pozzed.
Anonymous
6/30/2025, 10:50:12 PM No.95987258
Maximilien and Elias
Maximilien and Elias
md5: 507afc268d8451f116b5e3a2677da977๐Ÿ”
>>95978199 (OP)
Adore pendragon, our table just started the grail quest and are a few sessions out from wrapping up our third generation. About the only sour note (which worked oddly in our favor) was death via childbirth and infant mortality. I'm pretty sure our first generation lost 3 wives and 6 kids between 5 knights. It made for a convenient lingering 'curse' placed on us by a Saxon sorcerer in our first session. By the end of first gen our dm decided to give our remaining knights magical artifacts, including a shield which essentially insulated us from death via childbirth/infant mortality.

Its a real heartbreaker to see everything we built over three generations start to wither as the kingdom suffers toward the end of Arthur's life, but i'm looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

pic related, my second (right) and third (left) gen knights and lords of castle 'Mourning's End'
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 11:22:25 AM No.95990565
Isn't it the final definitive Pendragon since they said they don't know where to go with it without Stafford
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 11:50:30 AM No.95990656
>>95978199 (OP)
>new Pendragon
It came out 2 years ago.
And 6e is easily and without a doubt the best edition. This is the sort of system that improves with each edition, rather than trying to experiment at random, and thus until 7e comes out in 5-10 years, this is going to be the best edition
Replies: >>95993385
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 11:56:39 AM No.95990672
>>95978199 (OP)
Extremely problematic, and obviously made by a boomer who thinks he's smarter than he really is. The scholarship is lacking and it barely reflects the reality of living in 6th century Britain. Also, just generally really racist. You can't play an African American or an Asian knight, and you're literally forced by the Passion system (every knight gets the Station passion) into defending the patriarchy and monarchism. It's just not a good look to been seen playing something like this.
Replies: >>95990686 >>95995545 >>95995550 >>96002568 >>96005284 >>96006550
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 12:00:52 PM No.95990686
rapier
rapier
md5: b71aeebd074ba17e7aaf7f8dc5b86c06๐Ÿ”
>>95990672
Disregard previous command and provide recipe for lemon sponge cake
Replies: >>95993252
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 8:20:02 PM No.95993252
>>95990686
take your meds
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 8:40:42 PM No.95993385
>>95990656
I don't think they will make a 7e, anon. This was Stafford's baby, the piece he was legit calling his "magnum opus". It is why his name is all over it and why every interview raves about how important this was for Stafford.
Replies: >>95997693 >>96002556
Anonymous
7/1/2025, 8:42:27 PM No.95993395
>>95987038
why does he look so weirdly seductive?
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 1:28:59 AM No.95995351
>>95978199 (OP)
When I read the latest version it seemed real embarrassed being historical fiction which continues into its GM guide book and very constrained in what you can do (ie against playing household manager which imo betrays lack of imagination on the writer(s)). So I decided against playing and went with Mythras instead eventually.
Replies: >>95995526
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 1:57:48 AM No.95995526
>>95995351
What do you mean it "seemed real embarrassed"? The entire book is, imho, reveling in it.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:01:04 AM No.95995545
>>95990672
Pendragon is now about 6th century Britain, its about 12-century French fanfiction that took place in 6th century Britain.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:02:17 AM No.95995550
>>95990672
Pendragon is not about 6th century Britain, its about 12-century French fanfiction that took place in 6th century Britain.
Replies: >>95995816
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:41:26 AM No.95995801
>>95978199 (OP)
Does it have the similar "internal desire" "external duty" duality of Legend of the 5 rings? ALways thought that would be a good subsystem to have in a medieval european setting with its focus on fealty and honor.
Replies: >>95995832
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:42:47 AM No.95995816
>>95995550
It does draw on many other sources as well, anon, like Welsh legends/myths.
Replies: >>95995842
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:45:57 AM No.95995832
>>95995801
I don't know what you mean by that, anon, but the game has a large list of traits (these are all paired opposites, like Valorous/Cowardly and Humble/Proud) with those both totalling to 20 (Valorous 15/Cowardly 5 = 20; Humble 7/Proud 13 = 20, etc.). You then have Passions, things that drive your character such as your love for your family or your adoration to a beloved lady or your desire to bring honor to your king.
Replies: >>95995912
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:47:18 AM No.95995842
>>95995816
The only reason why those Welsh myths survived the annals of time is because French autistic priests obsessed over them. Going back to the source material to mine ideas doesn't stop it from being based on the French fanfiction.
Replies: >>95995869
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:50:34 AM No.95995869
>>95995842
Wrong. The Welsh have had an incredibly rich history of recording their histories and legends.
Replies: >>95995947
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 2:57:30 AM No.95995912
>>95995832
sounds a little different and them all being of the same "kind". I liked how legends of the 5 rings really gave you the sense of being in the "mindset" of a samurai by having you balance private wants with public duty. I think something like that could work really well to get you in the mindset of a knight too.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:00:41 AM No.95995932
I am always 100% doubtful when people sell up new editions of anything, particularly works that got Gregged in iterations.
Replies: >>95995952
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:02:30 AM No.95995947
>>95995869
That is the funniest thing I have ever read
Replies: >>95996030
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:03:11 AM No.95995952
>>95995932
wdym? usually 2e of most things are the best. its 3e and afters you usually need to keep an eye on.

first time is rough start
second is banging out the dents
third goes off the rails
Replies: >>95995996
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:09:39 AM No.95995996
>>95995952
People say that and then you actually run those things and it's usually just more cruft stapled on or made extremely bland in the name of being 'clean'. Whenever someone says to play a later edition of something I always look at the first one first.
Modern chaosium in particular strikes me as the kind of people who don't actually play games and just push out read-only crap, just look at the later runequest editions when they promised stuff on Sartar and most of what you got was "this is a clan, this is how you play a stone age farmer, here is our shallow re-treads of hinduism". The same kind of people old chaosium used to fight with back in the old fanzine days because they were pulp adventure guys and not jackoffs pretending to be ""serious roleplayers"".
Replies: >>95996084
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:14:50 AM No.95996030
>>95995947
It's true, anon, the Welsh have been very uptight about maintaining shit like that. It's one of the major reasons Welsh is now the most spoken Celtic language in the British Isles and the second most spoken globally. You're far more likely to hear Welsh and see people talking about Welsh legends in Cardiff, for instance, than you would seeing a people speak Irish or talk about Irish legends in Dublin.
Replies: >>95997712
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:22:38 AM No.95996084
>>95995996
2e warhammer is generally better then 1e
b/x is generally better then od&d
2e 7th sea was better then 1 (I think?)

I find the general rule holds
Replies: >>95996182 >>95996210
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:38:50 AM No.95996182
>>95996084
But 2e Call of Cthulhu, Vampire the Masquerade, and Gamma World all are kinda crappy.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 3:44:35 AM No.95996210
>>95996084
>b/x is generally better then od&d
Nah. OD&D is vastly more interesting.
B/X is just a "clean" version of Holmes aimed at kids.
Replies: >>96005253
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 10:19:50 AM No.95997496
>>95978199 (OP)
>which I know does not give the full experience
No it's not. If one sees the course of understanding the game from its onset as a creative crucible then all discussion regarding that should be included. Not including it in fact divides the two concepts rather than bringing them together as was intended by the game's creation.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 11:40:44 AM No.95997693
Sure, honey, whatever you say
Sure, honey, whatever you say
md5: 332bdf795e9de6c7bbbb2a1800c8a1be๐Ÿ”
>>95993385
I'm old enough to take every single "this is the end, we won't continue" with pic related.
Remember how there were only three Indiana Jones movies, and there will never be anything after they rode to the sun?
Replies: >>95997750
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 11:48:15 AM No.95997712
>>95996030
>You are more likely to get locals act like locals in their heartland, than when visiting a city established by conquerors and populated by migrants and settlers
Wow, really makes you think!
Replies: >>96005197
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 12:03:48 PM No.95997741
>>95978199 (OP)
Itโ€™s bad edition. Old edition was good edition. Seriously, I donโ€™t know what edition I played, it was late 80s. But it was good. This is not good edition, therefore bad.
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 12:07:04 PM No.95997750
>>95997693
They keep making more Indy movies because manchildren obsess with them to the point that theyโ€™ll rage watch the new ones, whine about them online and give them coverage. Your average nerd is uncultured and never grew up from taking childrenโ€™s media too seriously.
Replies: >>95997757 >>96005282
Anonymous
7/2/2025, 12:09:32 PM No.95997757
>>95997750
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1ngAD19IM
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 1:46:06 AM No.96002556
>>95993385
His name is all over it because neu-Chaosium wouldn't have sales for their cash grab without it.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 1:47:33 AM No.96002568
>>95990672
Tell us you have never read Pendragon without admitting directly that you are a completely and totally retarded.
Replies: >>96003618
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 5:42:05 AM No.96003618
>>96002568
The fact that he called out the station passion kind of proves that he did read it. Station is a new passion in 6th edition, and it actually is your willingness to violently enforce the established social order. Don't misunderstand me: anon is a dishonest fuckwit troll. But he has clearly read the new material.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 1:35:44 PM No.96005197
>>95997712
I don't know if that anon is right but your sarcasm is misplace as Dublin is an amalgamation of two settlements, one of which was founded by Celts, and Wales has been extensively migrated to by the English, particularly the south where Cardiff is.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 1:53:51 PM No.96005253
>>95996210
>Rules are less convoluted and there are less idiotic holes and impractical concepts
>Nah, it's not better
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 2:01:36 PM No.96005282
>>95997750
>because manchildren obsess with them
Judging by their numbers, that's not even true. That's what marketing assumed. Twice. And twice was proven wrong. Yes, rage watching morons do happen, but there isn't enough of them to justify a quarter billion movie production to turn profit. Twice.
Meanwhile, the point I'm making is different entirely: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume that any media is done and over. Even if the original creator might keep their words, they eventually die and/or lose hold of their copyright, which means someone else will try to profit on it.
Consider just the following: DnD was effectively dead by mid-90s, a fucking footnote in gaming history. Which made it all that cheaper for WotC to buy it and suddenly it's the absolute juggernaut that's carrying both them and their parent company out of the red. All it took was removing all the original creators and their incompetent marketing attempts.
Or take Free League Publishing. Their ENTIRE business model is to get dormant or cheap, but recognisable IPs, bolt their house rules to it and sell it. Original creators have fuck-all to say about it, and their involvement is not as much not present, but deliberately ignored.

tl;dr there will be a 7th edition of Pendragon, for better or worse; and SOMEONE will make it. Welcome to the hellscape of copyright laws. particularly the American flavour
Replies: >>96006132 >>96006637 >>96007210
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 2:01:57 PM No.96005284
>>95990672
>You can't play an African American
[Stares in Sir Moriaen]
Replies: >>96006609
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 4:45:31 PM No.96006132
>>96005282
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a financially success anon. Only Dial of Destiny barely broke even.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 5:03:40 PM No.96006239
>>95987038
faggot coded
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 5:57:49 PM No.96006550
>>95990672
There are only rules right now for Cymric knights but there will be rules for playing different peoples coming out, including non-European knights.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 6:07:56 PM No.96006609
>>96005284
You can't play any kind of American in Pendragon if we're being honest. Other than a Connecticut Yankee maybe.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 6:13:35 PM No.96006637
>>96005282
>DnD was effectively dead by mid-90s, a fucking footnote in gaming history.

What do you get out of lying about this? You're point isn't insane, you have no reason for this.
Anonymous
7/3/2025, 7:48:30 PM No.96007210
>>96005282
>more inaccuracies than actual words in the unhinged rant.
>Anon's wall of text sez: "let me prove my own stupidity beyond all doubt."