Upcoming Arthurian Movie The Green Knight Has An RPG

The Green Knight, an Arthurian-themed movie starring Dev Patel as Sir Gawain has been delayed because of the global pandemic. However, you can pre-order the official RPG which releases in August!

The game is called The Green Knight: A Quest for Honor. Characters come in the form of knights, nobles, hunters, sorcerers, and bards, and comes in a boxed set with a rulebook, a book of encounters, a d20, character sheets, and a map. The game costs $35 and ships on August 7th.

As for the movie itself, here's the description: "An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table."

Here's a quick look at the movie's teaser trailer.

 

[GMMichael]

Am I the only one who caught this?

. . . a boxed set with . . . a d20

I mean yeah, the game's TV ad is epic. But my takeaway is that the rules are on the radical side, board-game-simple, or Cypher-system-esque if you just need one d20 to play.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So, the proper pronunciation is pretty close to GA win? Almost like Gowan?

Weird.

Scots, man.

 

[dm4hire]

Am I the only one who caught this?

I mean yeah, the game's TV ad is epic. But my takeaway is that the rules are on the radical side, board-game-simple, or Cypher-system-esque if you just need one d20 to play.

That or True20.

 

[Weiley31]

I'm somewhat intrigued since I am an Arthurian myth buff and I do remember reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in high school. And for some reason, I do like the classes that have been selected.

Now the question is, can and will the game get expanded, especially after the movie has passed by and you complete the scenario?

Or do we just get an excuse to refluff the entire thing, after completing this, as "Monty Python and The Holy Grail: Spamalot D20 Editon: REVENGE OF THE UNDEAD BUNNY OF DOOM CAUGHT RED HANDED!!!! Editor's Note: NOW WITH EVEN LESS MUSICAL NUMBERS!!!"

 

[Lidgar]

"Monty Python and The Holy Grail: Spamalot D20 Editon: REVENGE OF THE UNDEAD BUNNY OF DOOM CAUGHT RED HANDED!!!! Editor's Note: NOW WITH EVEN LESS MUSICAL NUMBERS!!!"

We apologize for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Added it to the directory of TRPGs based on non-RPG IPs:

Google Sites: Sign-in

Access Google Sites with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

sites.google.com

 

[timbolton]

I would love to get this, but since it's coming straight from the film company itself there distribution isn't so hot. I expect UK shipping to be bad and guessing there'll be an added customs charge on this when it gets to the UK? Anyone with experience of buying direct from US to UK know the exacts?
Would love to see shops like FP and other RPG ones get it in, but it's going to be limited copies and I can't out to any for now.


Besides, I've got Romance of the Perilous Land for Green Knight goodness.
But I have been looking forward to the film since initial announcement. Was lucky enough to do a one day course on Gawain the weekend before lockdown shut Liverpool Uni to the public - used my Tolkien translation for the short course

 

[Ravenbrook]

Why do they present a Punch & Judy show in the Dark Ages? It didn't even exist until the 17th century.

 

[Dioltach]

It will be interesting to see whether the game (or the movie even!) incorporates some of the deeper mythological elements. For example, the Green Knight is very obviously a representation of nature and its annual cycles.

But Gawain also represents the midday sun: his strength waxes in the morning, and wanes in the afternoon (even Mallory explicitly mentions this, which means that it's an essential feature of the character, since he was following the French tradition of making Gawain a scumbag).

There's also Percival, who (and I'm not sure anyone besides me has ever noticed this, because I never saw it mentioned in any of the literature during my studies) represents the setting and rising sun, and/or the winter solstice, and death and rebirth. I once wrote an essay where I drew a comparison between the Percival stories and Star Wars: Percival kills the Red Knight who had killed his father, and then becomes the Red Knight himself. The implication is that his father was actually the Red Knight, just the same way Anakin was "killed" by Darth Vader.

There are other things like this going on in medieval romances. Sir Greysteel in "Eger and Grime" for instance has the same "stronger until midday, then weaker" that Gawain does, and characters who, if you scratch the surface, actually represent Celtic gods: the Morrigan, in her various guises, becomes Morgan le Faye, Morgause, Mordred.

I'd love to see a Arthurian movie that does this, instead of the standard "knights fighting evil invaders/evil traitors" stories.

 

[GMMichael]

There are other things like this going on in medieval romances. Sir Greysteel in "Eger and Grime" for instance has the same "stronger until midday, then weaker" that Gawain does, and characters who, if you scratch the surface, actually represent Celtic gods: the Morrigan, in her various guises, becomes Morgan le Faye, Morgause, Mordred.

I'd love to see a Arthurian movie that does this, instead of the standard "knights fighting evil invaders/evil traitors" stories.

I'd love to see your next post about it. This one was very interesting!

I'm off to see if Google has appropriated these works for "the public good..."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Why do they present a Punch & Judy show in the Dark Ages? It didn't even exist until the 17th century.

Because this is a hallucinatory horror-tinged version of the story. It's not going to be any more historically accurate than Excalibur or Monty Python.

 

[Dioltach]

I'd love to see your next post about it. This one was very interesting!

Alright class, for the next class I'll talk about the origins of the characters in the Robin Hood tales! (Seriously, there are some very interesting roots there - including Little John, who has his roots in Arthurian legend.)

Actually, I'm very rusty on the topic. Like I said, it's been almost 25 years. But many of the Arthurian characters represent natural forces. The whole thing with Percival, the Fisher King and the grail is about year-kings and spring rebirth.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

"GAH-wain" is probably close enough.

(Sorry, it's a pet peeve.)

Wait, wait, is there anyone who doesn't pronounce Gawain as "Gah-wane" or something close? That's literally the only way I've heard it pronounced in the UK (including on TV), though admittedly it doesn't come up often. How else is it pronounced, like Gwayne like Dwayne or something?

The existence of this product bodes well for the movie, because the trailer has a sort of weird 80s retro-yet-modern vibe, and that they're making an OSR-type game for that suggests this is not an accident and the movie may well be cool.

 

[Morrus]

Wait, wait, is there anyone who doesn't pronounce Gawain as "Gah-wane" or something close? That's literally the only way I've heard it pronounced in the UK (including on TV), though admittedly it doesn't come up often. How else is it pronounced, like Gwayne like Dwayne or something?

It's the emphasis, I think. It's usually Gah-WANE, but I think he's saying the emphasis should be on the first syllable? GAH-wane.

 

[Hussar]

It's the emphasis, I think. It's usually Gah-WANE, but I think he's saying the emphasis should be on the first syllable? GAH-wane.

Which sounds REALLY weird to modern English speakers where, in a two syllable word with one long and one short vowel, you always stress the long vowel. By reversing the stresses, you change the pronunciation of the stress vowels. It is almost impossible to pronounce the "wain" as "wayne" if the syllable is unstressed.

So, apparently, Gow (rhyming with Now), win. Its a pronunciation I've never heard before.

 

[MGibster]

Why do they present a Punch & Judy show in the Dark Ages? It didn't even exist until the 17th century.

To be fair, Arthurian tales were never about historical accuracy and have been adapted and re-adapted over many centuries to the preferences of contemporary audiences. And while I recognize that the stories have been adapted time and time again, I dislike the efforts most filmmakers have made to produce updated Arthurian movies for a modern audience but Green Knight as piqued my interest.

 

[ART!]

From alliterative poetry (where the "Ga-" is the alliterative element, and his name even changes to "Wawain" sometimes to fit the alliteration), and medieval romances in other languages ("Walewijn" in Dutch, for instance), it's clear that the emphasis is on the first syllable. Just try saying "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" both ways, and you'll see how it fits the rhythm better (particularly if you say "grene" instead of "green", like in the original title).

And if nothing else, the modern version "Gavin" is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable.

Huh.

I don't know, "SIR guh-WAYN and the GREEN knight" rolls off my tongue perfectly fine, and that's how I've been mispronouncing it my whole life!

 

[Rafael Martin]

This looks like fun. Should I order it? I'm not sure...

 

[ART!]

This looks like fun. Should I order it? I'm not sure...

Looks like a copy sold on eBay a couple days ago for only $25 US, so there may be no better time.

 

[Marc_C]

I'll look it up. Seems like a simple system but with consequences for dishonourable actions. Interesting.