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In addition to the set of Traits, each Knight gets a set of Passions, such as Honour, Loyalty (Lord) or Hate (Saxons), these can be used to inspire the knight to great deeds (but it's risky, a failed roll has dire consequences). These function to both describe and control the Knight's personality at various times, or at the player's whim rolls can be made against a personality trait to determine how the character acts. Each Knight gets a set of Traits in pairs, such as Selfish/Generous or Pious/Worldly, with each pair adding up to 20. Where Pendragon does do something interesting and distinctive is in its personality mechanics and year-a-session time frame. The basic system is sound enough but it doesn't do anything we haven't seen before. Player Knights can easily be slain in a single lucky hit, especially if carrying a minor wound. This happens particularly fast when a critical is scored and the number of dice is doubled.
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Armour is implemented as damage reduction and the system suffers from the same problems that this usually brings: namely, low damage levels are basically ignorable but the actual damage ramps up very quickly after the damage reduction is overcome. Each weapon has a special effect, making weapon choice an interesting part of the game, much more so than systems where each weapon simply gets a damage or hit modifier. Damage is determined by a characters strength and size, and to a lesser degree the weapon they use. There are a few combat options but they don't add up to a tactically interesting system. The combat system is simplistic, and simultaneous, with one roll being made by each combatant and the highest roll winning. Stats and skills in Pendragon are very much separate with stats not factoring into skill values at all. However, the system is used consistently, and lacks any great complications so it is easy to learn, if not apply. All of my players have found this difficult to remember, and still - after playing for almost a year - get confused between adding the modifier to the dice and to the skill. If your skill is less than 20, a 20 is a fumble and has bad (sometimes very bad) side effects.
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Modifiers are added to your skill, not the roll but if your skill is over 20, the amount over twenty is added to the dice roll and the final result is capped at 20 (a critical). Pendragon uses a slightly counter-intuitive system of rolling under your skill on d20, with higher rolls being better and matching your skill being a critical. You'll also find some pretty detailed information about the nature and traditions of Knighthood, an overview of the county of Salisbury (the default setting for the Player Knights), the requisite system for resolving skills and combat, an equipment list, rules for Character Advancement (and decline) and a bunch of things to kill. Unlike the 4th edition there are no rules for playing foreign knights or wizards - this is a welcome change as Pendragon has always thrived on its focus on Knightly doings and the broader spread of 4th edition detracted from that. Inside you'll find rules on creating and playing Knights and Noble Women only. Physically it is a half inch thick hardback in the style of most commercial RPGs, attractively illustrated and laid out in a very readable style. It is now in its 5th edition, and this edition returns the reigns to Greg Stafford, the original creator, which sees the game regain its former focus on simply being a game of chivalrous knights. In Pendragon players take on the role of Knights living and adventuring against the background of the Arthurian legends. I have been running the Great Pendragon Campaign for almost a year, and have previously owned and played the 4th and 3rd editions. Although the list price of this is $34.99, I got my copies (all three of them) for £13.99.