Pendragon: The Adventure of the Sword Tournament

Londinium, 510 AD

Knights from all across the land are gathering for a great tournament to determine who will be the High King of the Britons. There is also a prophecy about the king being the one who can pull the Sword of Peace out of a rock.

Amongst those travelling to the capital are Sir Evrain, who fights for the love of Lady Morcades of the White Tower. There is also Sir Avalloc, a silver-tongued militia-man from Carlion. From farther afield is Sir Asterius, sent to Britain by the Emperor of Rome in Constantinople to see the election of the new High King. Not all the participants of the tournament have travelled far. Dame Cwenhild serves the Sheriff of Londinium and knows the place well.

On the day before the tournament, on his way through Londinium, Sir Avalloc spots a haggard old man with a strange twinkle in his eyes. He recognises him as the druid Merlin who some accuse of being the spawn of the devil and others believe has the best interests of Britain at heart. Sir Avalloc introduces himself and is offered a sweet apple by the old man who questions his motivation for the tournament. He responds that personal honour is at stake. Merlin questions him further on what kind of High King he would like for Britain. Sir Avalloc does not hesitate. “One who is strong and valarous.”

Merlin considers his response but before they can speak further there is a disturbance behind the knight. Another knight on horseback has cruelly destroyed a peasant’s cart of cabbages and is throwing insults at the poor fellow. Sir Avalloc intervenes and drives this knight of Lothian away. But turning around he finds Merlin gone.

Elsewhere in Londonium, Dame Cwenhild is waiting for the Sheriff to finish some business when a gaggle of men playing with a stuffed pig’s stomach stream past. Not to be left idle, she joins in, frolicking in the mud and fighting for the ball. Nearby a dreaming Sir Evrain thinks of his lady love, not noticing the men rushing past nor the stray dogs that follow them. He finds himself under attack by the dogs and whilst he bats them away with the help of his squire, his fineries are ruined.

Meanwhile, Sir Asterious is welcomed into London with the rain of some household’s chamber pot. As he continues his journey, now covered in shit and piss, he comes across the brawling Cwenhild and Sir Evrain. The three introduce themselves and Cwenhild offers the foreign knight directions to St Paul’s. Sir Evrain agrees to accompany Sir Asterius but becomes distracted by the lusty wenches of a brothel and thus they are much delayed.

Eventually, they get to St Paul’s where Sir Avalloc is already in the courtyard, pacing about and stealing looks at the sword stuck in the anvil on top of a rock. The prophecy of the sword is recalled by the Britons to the visiting Greek knight. Sir Asterius enters the cathedral and shares his mission with the Archbishop who blesses him and tasks him with a mission from God to bear witness to the proclamation of the new High King and to share the news with the Emperor.

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The next day is the tournament and the four knights have all been placed in the team of King Leodegrance. Mounted on horseback Sir Evrain draws on his passion for his lady to motivate him whilst Dame Cwenhild elects to fight on foot and sing a jaunty song to spur her fellows on.

Sir Asterius initially impresses the crowd with his Greek two-handed lance but overconfidence on the second round gets him unstuck and on his ass on the ground.

Sir Avalloc too shows initial promise handsomely winning the first round but dishonours himself in the second by charging with his lance down at an unarmed knight. This puts him in a melancholic mood for the rest of the day.

Sir Evrain distinguishes himself in both rounds, unseating his opponent and shaming him by withholding the blow. Dame Cwenhild unseats the mounted knight who she faced, after suffering a glancing blow from his lance. Both have the upper hand when there is a commotion in the crowd.

The tournament is cut short when there is news that someone has pulled the sword from the stone. The knights all rush to St Paul’s, pushing past the peasants who stand in their way. There they find that a squire of Sir Ector has drawn the sword out. He demonstrates his ability to easily draw the sword out and put it back in the anvil. King Lot and other knights try to do the same but fail.The four knights are first to hail the boy as the rightful High King of Britain.

The four knights are quick to defend the young squire from King Lot whose murderous intent is made manifest as he declares he will never have a beardless boy as his king. Blows are avoided and those who deny the young man’s right to be king soon depart under much taunting.

Those who remain hail King Arthur, earning the new king’s gratitude and good graces.

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This was my first time playing Pendragon and there was a lot of mechanics that were involved in the tournament that require more practice to master.

It is a fun setting and the system encourages players to roleplay knights in a way that leaves some decision making to their character’s traits, passions and the whims of chance.

It was an interesting foray into the game and the start of a once monthly campaign squeezed inbetween other games.