Interest Check - Pendragon

I’d like to be a knight too.

I am interested as well. Pendragon is one of the few perfect roleplaying games out there, and I will take all chances I get to play it.

I hope you were aiming for a large party...

One trick I used for an Amber Diceless/Pendragon game, anyone with magic had to set up and run an initial quest for a knight or knights as that seems to be a mechanic in the Malory version of the tales. Then you can read it and give reputation bonuses, etc. when they come back to the court and tell their tale. :-)

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Was a bit rough of my end but I'm pleased to see a lot of interest in a game I love!
I believe there is a free 6e quick-start floating around, but I don't know how much depth it goes into or if things stayed consistent, since there was quite a bit of time between the starter set and the 'Core Rulebook'(Which should really have been called the Player's Book...) releasing.

Basically, in addition to skills and attributes, characters also have a series of paired traits on a scale of 0-20 which help to inform and even dictate play such as Chaste/Lustful, Energetic/Lazy, Forgiving/Vengeful, etc. Traits both serve as a guide to roleplaying the character and give the character a life of their own as players must refer to them and act accordingly depending on their trait scores and roles. As traits reach higher numbers and the knight becomes known for particular behaviors, it becomes increasingly hard, though not impossible, to go against them. For example, a character with an Honest/Deceitful score of 17/3 is going to have a very difficult time lying. Players can guide these traits up and down through play, but there's always the possibility of something unexpected happening.

I find the traits in Pendragon to generate especially interesting and satisfying play for two reasons:
1) It keeps characters consistent and players honest. There's no, 'Well, yeah, my guy is Lawful Good, but I'm just going to ignore that and do what I want in this particular situation.'
2) No one can fully predict what characters will do, which to me gives them a life of their own and makes them feel more real. The GM and players are playing together to find out what happens in the story. The game becomes 'What does my character do?' instead of 'What do I want my character to do?' Among other things, this means I'm no longer watching Steve play someone who is exactly like Steve only wearing a hat.

To be clear, some people hate this because it ruins their immersion or desire to be able to control their character however they like at any time. Pendragon is not a good game for those people.

Within play, directed traits can also be generated towards specific groups or individuals that alter a character's general attitude. For example, my knight may normally lean towards being forgiving(Forgiving/Vengeful 12/8), but he has a +6 to his Vengeful when dealing with his hated enemy Sir Roger after a series of events, making his Forgiving/Vengeful score 6/14 when dealing with him. As a result, he'll be much more likely to seek revenge against Sir Roger if given the opportunity.

Passions represent a characters strong convictions and emotions. They can be love, loyalty, hate, etc., and grant modifiers to skills and traits. You're much more likely to be valorous when riding to the aid of a beloved lord, and your sword will strike harder when used against the hated Saxons encroaching upon your lands.

Pendragon revolves around a pretty singular gaming experience. You can try to expand upon that(and they've tried), but I think you start to lose some of what makes the game work so well. Of course, you could take the basic rules and use them to do something else, but that's not the experience I'm after. After playing many other games, I can appreciate a curated experience where your options are limited in many respects but you have a good deal of freedom within those limitations.

Comparing it to Legend of the Five Rings, another game I have a lot of experience with, play in L5R can sometimes suffer from the kitchen-sink nature of Rokugan where in addition to samurai warriors, you have scheming courtiers, magic-using priests, monks, and ninja(to say nothing of the snake-men, rat-men, and other weirder bits). In Pendragon, you can play whatever kind of knight you like, but you will play a knight, and said knight will have certain responsibilities and expectations placed upon them. That's not for everyone.

I think I'm good material for a knight at this point of my life... :)

My most noble and honoured Lord,

With all due reverence and humility, I lay myself before you and entreat that you might deign to receive me into your noble company. For I am a knight sworn to the high calling of arms, yet I seek not glory for its own sake, but rather a worthy lord under whom my service may find its truest purpose.

I offer unto you my sword, forged in loyalty and tempered by faith, that it may be wielded in your name and in the service of Almighty God. Where you command, I shall go; where you stand, I shall not falter. In battle I shall be steadfast, in counsel discreet, and in all things guided by honour, that sacred bond which binds a knight to his lord and to the divine order.

I pledge to uphold the virtues of chivalry—courage in the face of darkness, mercy toward the fallen, and fidelity beyond reproach. Let my strength be your shield, my oath your assurance, and my life a testament to the noble cause you serve.

Should it please you, my Lord, to accept this humble knight into your retinue, I shall hold it as the greatest of honours, and strive each day to prove myself worthy of your trust.

By my hand and my solemn vow,
I remain your faithful servant in all things,

Sir Tatham

Ok, one accepted!

Woo, thanks for the detailed description! It does sound like a pretty interesting system, and the dual traits are not something I've seen often.
There is probably no way I can get the book to actually play, but I'd love to observe a game of it! Or at least hear of how it will go. :3

I'm always interested on trying what, to me, are new systems.

Is there a follow up to this? Did I miss something?

If there are still spaces open I'd like to play as well.

No, nothing yet. I'm slowly doing prep while I wait for the Noble's Book to drop in May since it will include some systems for the sixth edition that I find core to the game experience and I don't want to do things piecemeal or mix and match editions if I can help it(something a lot of folks have been doing for the last three years or so as we wait for them to dole out more). It's supposed to drop late May, so expect to hear more closer to that time if you're still interested.

Thank you for the update.

UPADATE: The Noble's Handbook that was supposed to release end of May has been delayed to late June. Dream deferred, but I'm not going anywhere.

I might be running a pendragon one shot soon if that keeps the appetite up

I would be up for it.

Count me in!

I got my copy at UKGE last Friday and the PDF as part of the deal. Would it be wrong to share that???

it might