By Mark Morrison
The Companions of Arthur community content program gives creators a place to explore their own take on Pendragon, and provides gamemasters with new adventures and background articles with which to expand their campaigns. With the new release of the Pendragon Gamemaster’s Handbook, it’s an excellent time to discover Pendragon.
Since our last Round Table Roundup, another Companions of Arthur release has achieved Silver Medal bestseller status on DriveThruRPG: The Adventure of the Loathsome Wyrm and the Machrel of the Sea
Here are some excerpts from recent reviews:
“The Adventure of the Loathsome Wyrm and the Machrel of the Sea is a great beginning to the (Companions of Arthur) collection. Its use of a folk tale “The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea” as its foundation grounds the adventure, weaving it into an Arthurian tale suitable for Pendragon.” - Rolling Boxcars
“The Barnyard Tournament is an excellent adventure, one that showcases the richness of King Arthur’s realm... All of the scenarios to date on The Companions of Arthur have been good, so it is no slight against any of them to say that The Barnyard Tournament is the best community content adventure published for Pendragon Sixth Edition to date.” - Reviews from R’lyeh
“The Adventure of the Craven Knight is a richly detailed scenario with plenty of opportunity for the Player-knights to show off their knightly virtues, defeat a rotten varlet unworthy to be a knight, and restore justice to the stricken.” - Reviews from R’lyeh
“A Guide to Arthurian Britain is loaded with information in bite-sized chunks that work hand in hand with the Pendragon Core Rules. The information provided, the media recommendations, and the new player primer are well worth it." - Rolling Boxcars
And here’s what’s new from the Companions of Arthur!
Heirs & Spares
Heirs & Spares
Jeff Erwin, Veli-Matti Pelkonen & Robert Schroeder ($14.99, PDF & zip file)
Heirs and Spares is a supplement for Pendragon that helps to bridge the gap between the introductory rules of the Pendragon Starter Set and scenarios, the Core Rulebook, and the long term, dynastic campaign that is used in The Great Pendragon Campaign (GPC). Backgrounds have been provided for the eight pregenerated characters as well as additional ones that can carry on the arcs of the original eight. The PDF includes general guidelines, 9 new characters, 9 named squires with quirks, over 50 plot hooks and seeds, full character sheets and backgrounds for important NPCs, and an estate and a castle in Estregales that can be retaken by Dame Lynelle and her friends.
Humber Campaign Map
Humber Campaign Map
Matthew Wallhead ($9.00, map, PDF)
The Humber Campaign Map details King Arthur's Humber River Battle campaign of 516, but it can be used for any adventures in this border region at other times. The map includes locations from available Pendragon sources, plus many local settlements listed as having significant populations according to the Domesday book. It centres on the powerful Duchy of Lindsey and the great city of Lincoln (Lindum Colonia).
The Adventure of the Secret Admirer
The Adventure of the Secret Admirer
Pedro Ecija Serrano (PWYW, PDF)
Lady Elise has been married to Sir Uren for many years, but a secret admirer has recently professed his admiration to her. Lady Elise’s daughter asks the Player Knights to help track down this secret admirer and persuade him to stop before Sir Uren finds out and ends it with violence. There will be a surprise for the Player Knights, and they will have an interesting dilemma on their hands by the end.
Pendragon Europe Map
Pendragon Europe map
Matthew Wallhead ($7.00, map, PDF)
The Pendragon Europe map takes information from the real world in King Arthur’s time whilst also merging in legendary realms. It attempts to summarise the situation during the majority of King Arthur's reign. The colouring of the various lands is intended to reflect their cultural connections, connections that were largely linguistic. So, for example, the Germanic peoples are mapped out in shades of blue and green, from the powerful Franks and Ostrogoths, to the Jutlanders or the Gepids. The Slavs have not yet emerged at this time and much of the east is still virgin wilderness. The most primitive tribal societies have their names typed in italics. This map is intended to accompany the Pendragon Mappa Mundi, which has a more fantastical approach, mirroring the conjectural nature of its sources.
The Adventure of the Bearded Ladies
The Adventure of the Bearded Ladies
Pedro Ecija Serrano (PWYW, PDF)
Three ladies suffer from a curse that causes them to grow beards. They seek brave knights to help them find a cure. The evil sorcerer Abramelin has cursed the ladies, and the cure requires the Player Knights to visit the hermit Metilus Catius, the sleeping giant Mambrinus, and the Sorrowful Knight, getting something specific from each of them.
Western Lands Map
Western Lands Map
Matthew Wallhead ($11.00, map, PDF)
The Western Lands map is a primarily political and cultural overview of all the western most lands, including the British Isles, Brittany, and the Atlantic coast all the way down to Galicia. It is intended for GMs as all its information would not, most likely, be known to individual player characters. It summarises and clarifies key elements from the Pendragon source books.
And, here’s what’s coming up:
Adventures for Pentecost 2025
Pentecost is a big event in the Arthurian calendar, when King Arthur would not take meat or drink until an adventure had appeared. This year Pentecost falls on Sunday 8 June, so we’re inviting all Companions of Arthur authors to rise to the challenge and publish a new adventure in May.If you would like to join in, we'd love to feature you. Note, your adventure doesn't have to be set at Pentecost, it can be anything you're working on.
In early June, this blog will feature all of the new Adventures for Pentecost. Prepare for adventure!
Want to take part in The Companions of Arthur yourself?
The Companions of Arthur community content license enables fans of Greg Stafford's TTRPG masterpiece Pendragon to create, share and sell their own material for the game on DriveThruRPG.
If you'd like to follow in Greg's footsteps and create for The Companions of Arthur yourself, check out the Landing Page for guidelines and your first steps into the program.
