Has anyone played Pendragon? I’m a big fan of all things Arthuria and I was listening to Cole Wehrle talk about it on the Bastionland podcast, which really piqued my interest.
There’s a whole lot to try to sort out though since it’s been around for forty years and has so much STUFF.
Anyone played it? Where do you start?
I’ve played only the first edition and we didn’t have many supplements. I found it enjoyable. I’ve not played it much because it’s a sub-genre of fantasy that isn’t my preferred sub-genre, so I don’t have an urge to play it often.
As to where to start, well…grab an edition of the core rules and begin play with just that. I’m not savvy about all the editions, so no idea what the Pendragon community considers the best or best for newbies or anything like that. I’d say either the first edition, to see where it all started, or the latest edition, to see where it is now. The most important part is to get started. You can figure out what supplements you want as you go along.
I‘ve played lots of Pendragon back in the day. Perhaps my favourite game, though certainly by now embellished by nostalgia.
Any edition is good, 1st my favourite, but 3rd/4th had Salisbury as a starting area, with lots of adventure seeds, my players loved it.
4th had magic rules, the older ones insisted players can‘t use magic.
Also, there was a Kickstarter for a reprint of 1st recently, including Grey Knight and Tournament of Dreams. Dozens of sessions‘ worth!
Yeah, I wish I had been aware of the game when the reprint kickstarter was live! Sort of funny to discover it and get interested right after
I mentioned it because sometimes, Kickstarters are picked up by smaller shops and remain available at a little premium. Though if you‘re a PDF-only person like me, there‘s still the huge Early Pendragon PDF bundle on Drivethru.
Also be aware that while there are quite a few published adventures, adventure collections and campaigns, a lot of old stuff has been republished for 5th edition under a different name.
Good to know! Thanks!
I had the very same question when I started exploring Pendragon. I went deep into reading various Pendragon books. I found the starter kit of 6th edition quite helpful. And settled on the consolidated 6th edition player handbook and gamemaster book.