Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > Roleplaying in General

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-04-2010, 03:21 PM   #11
Sydney
 
Sydney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Janesville, WI
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Here's kind of what I'm thinking:


Sir Gareth and Bedevere were travelling to a meeting with other former knights of the Round Table when they were beset upon in a dense fog by knights in the service of Sir Garlon, Bedevere was taken prisoner because he was the one who returned Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake...Gareth, meanwhile was left to die. Fortunately for them, a lad who had grown up on tales of the bravery of the knights of the round table was following them and when Garlon's men returned to their castle, he attempted to aid Gareth but doesn't have many skills in healing.

However, the PCs' fortress suddenly appeared in the fog and the lad shouted for their help in the hopes that they might not have sided with Mordred...

Assuming the PCs rush to aid the wounded Gareth, he'll tell them of his captired companion and that it is imperative that they rescue him lest Morgana gets her hands on him...If the PCs opt to get into Garlon's castle, the lad will tell them that he knows of a passge into the castle...A few fights later, perhaps even with Sir Garlon, the PCs learn that Bedevere was already taken to Morgana's castle in the fens so that she can attempt to discern where Excalibur is so that she might present the sword of power to Mordred...

Mordred plans to use Excalibur as proof that he's the rightful king of Britain.

To help the PCs in their fight against Morgana, they'll need to learn how to make a tauthlem (see GURPS Celtic Myth) that could help defeat her if it came to that...Of course, they have two options, seeking out celts who may be either in Ireland or the far north of the island, or seek out a way to communicate with an imprisoned Merlin...
__________________
My Gaming Blog

Last edited by Sydney; 09-04-2010 at 03:38 PM.
Sydney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 07:14 PM   #12
malloyd
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney View Post
Mordred plans to use Excalibur as proof that he's the rightful king of Britain.
Though of course Excalibur isn't the sword of State, and so wouldn't seem to prove anything. That's the Sword in the Stone. Personally I'd recommend against including any famous artifacts in the story. If you do, expect the PCs to conclude the goal of the adventure is to steal it for themselves. After all if the goal is to keep it from Modred, taking it home with us....
__________________
--
MA Lloyd
malloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 07:27 PM   #13
Sydney
 
Sydney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Janesville, WI
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by malloyd View Post
Though of course Excalibur isn't the sword of State, and so wouldn't seem to prove anything. That's the Sword in the Stone. Personally I'd recommend against including any famous artifacts in the story. If you do, expect the PCs to conclude the goal of the adventure is to steal it for themselves. After all if the goal is to keep it from Modred, taking it home with us....
Excalibur itself (or the sword in the stone either) won't make an appearance in this adventure, the PCs just have to rescue Bedevere to keep Mordred and/or Morgana from possibly finding it...
__________________
My Gaming Blog
Sydney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 08:25 PM   #14
Ed the Coastie
 
Ed the Coastie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

The first thing I would do is check GURPS Camelot for a suitable knight to use...

I like the 30 pieces of silver idea, especially if you toss in a bit of Dresden Files lore in which the silver pieces each contain the essence of a demon which attempts to take control or otherwise corrupt the person who has touched the coin.

Mixing it up a bit...each of the silver coins contains a fragment of a powerful demon's essence, and when they are brought together the demon will be able to materialize. Morganna believes that she can control the demon, so she is using her influence over Mordred to have his knights seek out the scattered coins. As more coins are gathered into Morganna's possession, she is able to draw upon more and more of the demon's powers for her own purposes. The knight that the PCs rescue has one of the coins and is en route to a secluded monastery where the coin can be (hopefully) safely hidden.

Edit: Heck...I like that so much I just might use it myself! *grin*
__________________
"It's never to early to start beefing up your obituary." -- The Most Interesting Man in the World

Last edited by Ed the Coastie; 09-04-2010 at 08:29 PM.
Ed the Coastie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 08:46 PM   #15
Sydney
 
Sydney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Janesville, WI
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie View Post
The first thing I would do is check GURPS Camelot for a suitable knight to use...

I like the 30 pieces of silver idea, especially if you toss in a bit of Dresden Files lore in which the silver pieces each contain the essence of a demon which attempts to take control or otherwise corrupt the person who has touched the coin.

Mixing it up a bit...each of the silver coins contains a fragment of a powerful demon's essence, and when they are brought together the demon will be able to materialize. Morganna believes that she can control the demon, so she is using her influence over Mordred to have his knights seek out the scattered coins. As more coins are gathered into Morganna's possession, she is able to draw upon more and more of the demon's powers for her own purposes. The knight that the PCs rescue has one of the coins and is en route to a secluded monastery where the coin can be (hopefully) safely hidden.

Edit: Heck...I like that so much I just might use it myself! *grin*
Haha! Go for it! I'm actually using 2e AD&D for it, but I will consider GURPS Camelot if I decide to do an entire campaign, right now it's just a one-shot that's planned...If I do go campaign, I'm looking at GURPS I think.
__________________
My Gaming Blog
Sydney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 09:21 PM   #16
Not another shrubbery
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney
...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)...

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 was thinking that it might be a relic belonging to TOAFK. ma points out a reason you might not want it to be an item of power... maybe something of symbolic importance, like Arthur's dragon standard.
Not another shrubbery is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2010, 09:24 PM   #17
Rocket Man
Petitioner: Word of IN Filk
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Longmont, CO
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by malloyd View Post
Though of course Excalibur isn't the sword of State, and so wouldn't seem to prove anything.
"You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you." -- Dennis.
__________________
“It's not railroading if you offer the PCs tickets and they stampede to the box office, waving their money. Metaphorically speaking”
--Elizabeth McCoy, In Nomine Line Editor

Author: "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger"
Rocket Man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-05-2010, 12:33 AM   #18
RevBob
 
RevBob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Here on the perimeter, there are no stars
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie View Post
The first thing I would do is check GURPS Camelot for a suitable knight to use...
There are reasons I suggested the Green Knight specifically. Mix the two traditions together, and you get an honorable knight, transformed and corrupted by Morgan le Fay, and redeemed through Gawain into a staunch ally of Arthur. If the story had gone just a little differently - say, by another knight pre-empting Gawain, or Gawain failing one of the tests - it could easily have led to this Dark Camelot, and that in turn plants all kinds of adventure seeds. Maybe Bertilak wants redemption and is playing a double agent. Maybe Gawain or his replacement is seeking atonement.

Appallingly, though, he is almost completely absent from GURPS Camelot, rating only one direct mention (Foes, p. 114, as Bercilak/Bertilak de Hautdesert) and one indirect mention (p. 43, sidebar, "The Chromatic Knights" refers to "the second Green Knight"). Neither narrative even gets mentioned in the bibliography...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie
I like the 30 pieces of silver idea, especially if you toss in a bit of Dresden Files lore in which the silver pieces each contain the essence of a demon which attempts to take control or otherwise corrupt the person who has touched the coin.
Curses! You spotted my inspiration! :)

Nice twist you've put on the idea, though.
__________________
Find me at @RevBobTnJ * Goodreads

Looking for a St. Aosbczkcs medal.

Last edited by RevBob; 09-05-2010 at 12:40 AM.
RevBob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-05-2010, 10:54 AM   #19
robkelk
Untitled
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: between keyboard and chair
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney View Post
Haha! Go for it! I'm actually using 2e AD&D for it, but I will consider GURPS Camelot if I decide to do an entire campaign, right now it's just a one-shot that's planned...If I do go campaign, I'm looking at GURPS I think.
GURPS Camelot is an excellent reference for any Arthurian-style game, no matter what game system you're using... and it's only $7.99 as a PDF.
__________________
Rob Kelk
“Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.”
– Bernard Baruch,
Deming (New Mexico) Headlight, 6 January 1950
No longer reading these forums regularly.
robkelk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-05-2010, 11:43 AM   #20
malloyd
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Default Re: Dark Camelot?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Man View Post
"You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you." -- Dennis.
Right. I mean a system where you obtain supreme executive power by pulling a sword out of a hole it's stuck in is clearly so superior that I can't understand how people can get them confused.
__________________
--
MA Lloyd
malloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:34 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.