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Old 09-03-2010, 11:55 PM   #1
Sydney
 
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Default Dark Camelot?

I'm in a round-robin AD&D (1e/2e mixture) game that's set in the Forgotten Realms nearish Waterdeep...

I'm supposed to be running a game in October, they generally last all weekend long, from late friday night until Sunday afternoon...And I'm thinking of having the PCs' small fortress being enveloped by fog, only to have them find themselves in similar, yet different terrain, and being begged for help by a squire whose knight was attacked by brigands that he claims was in the employ of the king (there aren't really any kings in the area where the PCs are based out of)...

long story short, I'm thinking of transporting them to another world, one where Mordred was successful in usurping Arthur's throne, though it's rumored that Arthur is yet alive somewhere...It would be a dark Britain, one where Mordred rules with an iron fist and his mother, Morganna works dark magics to help keep him on the throne, one where the knights of the round table are seen as murdering thugs (the ones who were loyal to Arthur are either dead, in hiding, or scattered to the winds looking for Arthur, Launcelot, and Guinevere...)

However, I'm drawing short of a decent enough adventure...perhaps the knight who was attacked was transporting something of import and it was stolen, requiring the PCs to bust into the castle of a knight of the Round Table to retrieve said item...But, what to make the maguffin?

I'm not looking at deposing Mordred at this time, I think I'd like to make this something the PCs return to from time to time...
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Old 09-04-2010, 12:18 AM   #2
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

As Arthur's legendary quest was for the Grail, perhaps Mordred's quest is for a twisted reflection of it. Say, Judas's thirty pieces of silver or HIS cup from the Last Supper? The thirty pieces would probably make for an easier string of adventures, and you can work in quite a bit of variety as well.
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Old 09-04-2010, 12:27 AM   #3
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

On second thought, let's not go to Dark Camelot. ;)

Oh alright, GO THERE!
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Old 09-04-2010, 01:23 AM   #4
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

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Originally Posted by Captain-Captain View Post
On second thought, let's not go to Dark Camelot. ;)

Oh alright, GO THERE!
It's actually quite nice nowadays, since the current owners turned it into multiple nightly-rental rooms for travelers.

That's right - it's only a motel.
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Old 09-04-2010, 07:06 AM   #5
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Perhaps the knight himself is the MacGuffin. He could be one of the Round Table, and Mordred was simply trying to assassinate him. Odds are the PCs would recognize the name. That all by itself would help convey the setting quickly. But you probably want to start with a relatively obscure one. Maybe Lamorak? (He was killed by treachery of Mordred, at least in some versions. On the other hand, his legend includes fighting thirty knights by himself, so there's best have been a lot of bandits...) The PCs rescue Lamorak and help him rejoin the opposition, which gives them an in with the rebellious remnants of Camelot.
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Old 09-04-2010, 10:01 AM   #6
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

All good ideas so far, I have been thinking that the knight is a lesser known one, I'm pretty sure that none of my group, save for me, have actually read Le Morte D'Arthur...So, I should be able to find someone to use...Lamorak though, is a good idea and I might use him, and I do like Judas' 30 silver pieces for a latter quest if people like the setting and want to go back...

I just need something that will make the PCs want to attack the castle of the knight who had Lamorak attacked by the bandits...
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Old 09-04-2010, 10:19 AM   #7
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

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Originally Posted by Sydney View Post
I have been thinking that the knight is a lesser known one, I'm pretty sure that none of my group, save for me, have actually read Le Morte D'Arthur...So, I should be able to find someone to use...
Might I suggest that the Green Knight could prove useful?
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Old 09-04-2010, 10:31 AM   #8
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

One obvious candidate would be Sir Bedivere, the knight Arthur gave Excalibur to before expiring in the original cycle of legends. If something similar happened here and King Mordred discovered the secret, his Majesty would be very interested in the knight and his weapon.
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Old 09-04-2010, 02:42 PM   #9
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

You might want to work the Siege Perilous into it too. Not sure exactly how, but it's too weird a plot device not to. The Siege Perilous was an empty seat at the Round Table. Merlin prophesied that it was reserved for the knight destined to find the Holy Grail and all other knights who tried sitting in it died instantly.

Perhaps the seat was smuggled out of Camelot by knights loyal to Arthur before Mordred moved in and has some plot-device power to help find the person needed?
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Old 09-04-2010, 02:46 PM   #10
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Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Perhaps the seat was taken by Mordred, and it's in his castle now. Knights that he captured are forced to sit in the Siege (or tricked into it -- false hospitality).

And should he ever happen to find a knight that doesn't die instantly, why, that one will die slowly.
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