Chaosium Digest Volume 10, Number 7 Date: Sunday, May 14, 1995 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: The Adventure of The Good Knight (Eric Rowe) PENDRAGON Editor's Note: I've seen a *lot* of stuff of interest to Chaosium gamers in the last two weeks. Thus, I've taken a new tact in this 'Editors Note', and arranged things into a number of sections below. I hope you'll find it of use, and until next time, keep sending submissions for the Digest my way. Shannon RPG RELEASES: * Pendragon - _Beyond the Wall_ (Chaosium, 128 pg., $19.95), contains tons of background on the North of Britain, ideas for campaigns, and also "The Adventure of the Treacherous Pict", which is written by Eric Rowe, a frequent contributor to the Digest. MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS: * Call of Cthulhu - "Smuggler's Run", an 11 page 1930s Whispering Vault scenerio, with a full page of conversion notes for Call of Cthulhu, Adventures Unlimited #2 [Summer, 1995] * Nephilim - "A Tigger by the Tail", a 14 page Nephilim scenerio centering around the Sun Arcanum, Adventures Unlimited #2 [Summer, 1995] RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE: * Call of Cthulhu - _The Second Wish and Other Exhalations_, by Brian Lumley (350 pg., New English Library, UK #4.99, ISBN 0-340-62300-4) is the third collection of Brian Lumley's horror fiction. It contains a number of his out of print Lovecraftian stories including "What Dark God?", "The Second Wish" and "The House of the Temple". _The Howling Man,_ by Charles Beaumont, edited by Roger Anker (Tor, US $4.99, ISBN 0-812-50552-2) is not really a new book, but it was mentioned by IrishSpy@aol.com as an excellent source of CoC material, in response to my notes on other good collections in recent issues (V10.3, V10.4). Charles Beaumont has been a very influential writer of tales of horror in the last 50 years, and this book collects many of his macabre tales. * Nephilim - _Tales of the Knights Templar_, edited by Katherine Kurtz (307 pg., Warner Books, $5.50, ISBN 0-446-60138-1), is a book that will be of interest to most Nephilim players. It is a collection of nine short stories, by Katherine Kurtz, Poul Anderson and others, which lays out a history of the Templars, from 1099 to the present. Historical commentary is interleaved with the fiction, and overall the whole package is very good. * Ringworld - _Flatlander_, by Larry Niven (360 pg., Del Rey, $5.99, ISBN 0-345-39480-1), is a repackaged collection of Known Space stories, consisting of all the Gil Hamilton stories. It contains all three stories from _The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton_, the out-of-print novel _The Patchwork Girl_, and a new short story called "The Girl in Del Rey Crater". If you have the earlier two Gil Hamilton books, this one will net you only 40 pages of new material. As a side note, advertisements inside _Flatlander_ mention that the third Ringworld novel, which I believe will be called _The Ringworld Throne_, is due out in 1996. NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: * Chaosium WWW Page http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/chaosium.html This is the official Chaosium Web page. Not only will you find information on all the in-print and upcoming Chaosium supplements, but also lots of pointers to other cool WWW sites of note. * Necronomicon Press Catalog ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/cthulhu/necropress/catalog95.txt The newest Necronomicon Press catalog contains the usual wide variety of Lovecraftian and Mythos fiction that NecroPress has been publishing for 19 years. You'll also want to check out 'update95-1.txt', also uploaded in the last week, which contains the brand newest, newest stuff. * Pagan Publishing Catalog ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/cthulhu/paganpub/catalog The electronic version of Pagan Publishing's new catalog, The Outsider #3, contains all of the usual PaganPub materials as well as Winged #Cthulhu Dolls, hardcover Fedogan & Bremer books and lots more. * Winhelp Chaosium Digests ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium/archives/windows Winhelp versions of all of the first nine volumes of the Chaosium Digest are now available. These are fully indexed and catalogued archives, that were created by Joab Stieglitz. If you have any comments on the archives, drop a line to stieg@ix.netcom.com. -------------------- From: "Eric Rowe" Subject: The Adventure of the Good Knight System: Pendragon The Adventure of the Good Knight INTRODUCTION The player knights in this adventure come across rumors of an evil knight rampaging about the countyside at night. When the menace is tracked down to his castle, the players find no evil-doer, only a pious and christian knight. Unfortunately for the surrounding countryside, the good knight is under a horrble curse. Each night he rides out and fulfills the evil intentions of a wicked enchantress, but cannot recall any of his foul deeds the next day. When the players learn of this, they must try to stop him, but can they do so without killing him? If the knight is stopped, there still remains the problem of the curse. When the enchantress is sought out, she turns out to be the wife of a powerful local noble. The players must find a way to get her to remove the curse and then mete out the king's justice. BACKGROUND Sir Gwegon the Kind is a notable knight, living the quiet life of an older gentleman. He is just getting used to the ease and tranquility of retirement from a life of adventure and questing. One of his last great acts was the slaying of a terrible dragon that had come to destroy a nearby village. Unbeknownst to him, the dragon had been sent by Lady Meleri, a powerful enchantress, to avenge perceived wrongs done to her by the people of the village. Meleri was incensed at her failure and placed a powerful curse upon Sir Gwegon for spoiling her revenge. Each night, he now takes the place of the dragon and travels the countryside completeing wicked deeds for the enchantress. Each morning, he forgets the horrors done the previous night. This has continued for several weeks and both Sir Gwegon and the local peasants are getting very tired due to the actions of the evil knight. START UP This adventure can be placed near the home region of the player knights, or it can be set as an encounter to be met while off knight erranting. In either case, rumors of an evil knight wreaking havok about the countryside should reach the ears of the player knights. It is said that the evil knight comes out only at night, wearing the blackest armor in which to commit his foul deeds. He has the strength of ten men and fears nothing, not even the wrath of god. Several of his victims have been pious holy men. Let the player knights ask around for more information on the evil knight if they wish. It should become clear to them that the evil knight only travels at night and that he is new to the area; the violence only began a few weeks ago. Whenever you get the chance, reinforce upon the players the great atrocities committed by the evil knight. Make up mutilations, violations, murder, rape, arson, etc. to increase the urgency of the situation. TO CASTLE CORINAETH Simply wandering about looking for the evil black knight, even during his hours of activity, yields no success. The players must track down some of his past victims and then follow the trail back from the scene of the crime. [Hunting. Success = Follow the trail back to the area of castle Corinaeth. Critical = Follow the trail into castle Corinaeth. Fumble = Follow the trail to an innocent's home] If the players have no success in tracking down the evil knight, let a local suggest they ask the Good Knight, Sir Gwegon, for assistance. He is very knowledgable on the local area. [Heraldry: Success = Sir Gwegon has recently retired from a life of chivalric duty. Critical = Sir Gwegon's last victory angered Lady Meleri, the wife of the local Count.] AT THE CASTLE When the player knights finally arrive at castle Corinaeth, they are eagerly greeted by Sir Gwegon's servants. A young serving boy then leads them to meet Sir Gwegon. Due to recent events, Sir Gwegon is now forced to spend most of the day in bed recovering. It is there he greets the player knights, offering them all the hospitality they want. Sir Gwegon's condition is not good, and successful First Aid or Chiurgy rolls reveal Sir Gwegon's body has been greatly overtaxed by all his past adventuring. The gamemaster should play up what a chivalrous knight Sir Gwegon once was, and have the servants comment on what a tremendous master he is. When questioned, Sir Gwegon has little information of use to add beyond what the players already know. All he can do is bemoan the foul condition that weakens him and forces him to bed, or he would be out chasing the scoundrel now. He has had his shining white armor brought into his room in case his strength does return. The players may wish to search the castle, but you should point out that it would not be very hospitable to do so. If they insist, then they should be told it would be best to wait until nightfall, when the servants have gone to bed. THAT NIGHT Once darkness falls, whether the players are asleep or searching the castle, Sir Gwegon falls into a trance, dons a suit of blackened armor hidden in the dungeon and rides off into the night. This is usually done without the knowledge of the servants, but this night is different. A young serving maid having trouble sleeping decided upon a late night stroll. She sees the Black Knight riding off and her screams wake the castle's inhabitants (or alert searching players). When Sir Gwegon is checked, his bed is found empty. TO STOP THE BLACK KNIGHT The trail of the Black Knight is so fresh that it is easy to follow despite the darkness. As the players follow the trail, they soon spot a glow in the distance. The glow comes from a nearby village. Upon entering the village, they view a horrific scene in the glaring light of a burning church. The Black Knight has hauled the priest out of bed and into the village square. Just as the players arrive, he beheads the helpless man. The head is rolled into the center of the village square and then the Black Knight lifts the body of the priest and hurls it into the burning church. Because the church is over fourty feet away from the Black Knight the players should understand that he has immense strength. The Black Knight casually mounts his charger and begins his return to Castle Corinaeth. Unfortunately, the player knights are in the way. They will have to decide what to do at this point. One obvious choice is to do battle with and slay the Black Knight. If this is done, the nearby lands will be given a brief respite, until Meleri's wrath is again roused. Sir Gwegon's servants and castle are taken back by the local count and they live unhappily ever after. If the Black Knight is incapacitated or captured he can safely be brought back to the castle. Iff allowed to pass freely, he returns to the castle and crawls back into bed just before the crowing of the roosters. In either case, he remembers nothing of his actions the previous night. When told what he has done, he becomes almost catatonic with grief, and demands to be killed to stop his actions. Fortunately, he might settle to be tied carefully and guarded at night. When questioned about the cause Sir Gwegon has but one suspect, Meleri. LADY MELERI Lifting the curse from Sir Gwegon can be done by any blessing of strength 120 or more. If no one of sufficient ability is available, or in the event that the players decide to seek justice for the slain villagers, then Meleri must be visited. Lady Meleri is easy to find. Her husband is the local count and he wields great authority and respect in the area. Alas, Meleri has ensorcelled him with love elixers and he tolerates no hostility directed at his wife. This is a major hurdle in bringing her to justice and gamemasters must decide how intractable she is. If she is fairly nice, then well-behaved players may be able to talk her into removing the curse. This requires much sweet-talking and role-playing by the players. If she is average, then she requires something before she removes the curse. This may be a local monster slain, a special flower obtained from a local glade, or even a sleepless night with the most handsome player knight. This can lead to another entire adventure. If she is vengeful, or if the players decide lifting the curse is not enough and she must be brought to justice, then the players must remove her from power. This is the most difficult task, and it may not in fact be possible. The easiest way would be to remove her ensorcelment of the count or to prove it to a higher authority. A more difficult way would be to join the count's court and use intrigue to build up evidence against her. Then, she could be killed without loss of honor, for with her death the count would then listen to reason. If she is just killed then the players lose the 2 honor for killing a noblewoman. Of course, the players will probably think of something else entirely different and succeed that way. RESOLUTION Event Glory Stopping the Black Knight 50 Removing the Curse on Sir Gwegon 75 Killing Meleri honorably 100 NPCS Sir Gwegon the Kind (The Black Knight) Glory 8,525 SIZ 15 Move 3 Major Wound 6 (22) DEX 9 (14) Damage 4d6 (7d6) Unconscious 5 (9) STR 7 (26) Heal Rate 2 (5) Knock Down 15 CON 6 (22) Hit Points 21 (37) Armor 14 +shield APP 10 Attacks: Sword 23 (26), Lance 22 (24) Possessions: Charger Lady Meleri(enchantress) Insight 5,620 SIZ 12 Move 3 Major Wound 10 DEX 15 Damage 4d6 Unconscious 6 STR 11 Heal Rate 2 Knock Down 12 CON 10 Hit Points 22 Armor none APP 15 Attacks: Dagger 16 Significant Skills: Sight 16, Geomantic Lore 14, Celestial Lore 15 Magical Talents: Banish 5, Curse 20*, Healing 17, Travel 15, Weather Control 12. * - Natural Talent Magical Limit: 82 Magical Defense: 82 Personal Life Force: 5d20 -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's Games. 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