Best Knight redux

After about seven or eight hours of work I have got my first AL! adventure in pretty good shape. It still needs another editorial pass, but overall I am pretty happy with it. I really want to take a look at Gumshoe, however. Laws and Hite are said to have come up with some pretty original mechanics for crime-solving roleplay, and I want to see them.

The AL! manuscript is currently at 145 pages. I can't post "The Best Knight in the World" until my players are done going through it, but if anyone out there does want to see it, let me know and I'll send you a copy. I'd be glad for the feedback.

"The Best Knight in the World"

I've moved on to re-tooling the first adventure in the AL! saga. I ran this adventure years ago under the d20 Modern system. We did not finish the adventure, on account of the fact that it was far too lethal. Everyone nearly died at the first major climax. I had not realized then -- as I do now -- that d20 Modern was not actually intended for 1st level PCs. Player characters should be 5th level or so. Otherwise, they are simply far too fragile and typical foes far too lethal.

Of course, I cannot post this adventure since my players need to be kept in the dark. What I did today was re-make all the antagonists and NPCs using True20. In all cases, the new version was lower level and simpler. I also got some good ideas on how to make the encounters less lethal. Also: I note that True20 had Minions long before 4E. So there.

Final Chronology

I had not intended to go into this much detail but, you know, it's done and it's not as long as all that. Besides, players of Gawaine, Gaheris, Pellinore, Tor, and Balin will be plenty happy for that detail.

The last year of the chronology for the core AL! release is 413 AD. It covers the final battles with Ryons and Lot, the marriage of Arthur, and the Quest of the White Hart.

Chronology: Three Feet High and Risin'

The tough part about figuring out an Arthurian chronology is getting Merlin's prophecies to work out right. When Merlin convinces Arthur to let Lot and the other rebels escape in the first year of his reign, he does so by convincing Arthur that Lot will not threaten the realm again for three years. He's very specific. If Arthur's reign can be dated to 410 based on internal evidence, that means Lot is not finally defeated until 413. But it seems to happen in mid-412.

One more big year to go and then I will not worry about any more chronology for this manuscript.

Read 411 AD here and 412 AD over here.

Arthur Chronology

My current Arthur Lives! project is a history of Arthur's early reign, focusing on his first three or four years. The first chapter is drafted. You can read it here.

Subsequent chapters will introduce Guenevere and Morgause, Excalibur and Pellinore, the Dolorous Stroke, Arthur's wedding, and the Round Table.

It feels really good to be doing this at last, although to others it probably looks like thankless drudge work. It really helps me get a full understanding of the medieval sources, and I start to see connections I never did before. For example, in the Battle of Bedegraine, one of the few casualties of note is the King of North Wales. But his death suddenly gives more depth to King Ryons, who subsequently becomes one of Arthur's immediate enemies. Because Ryons was also King of North Wales, so Arthur must have killed his father or brother.

But, predictably, it is slow and long work.

"Lovely"

Today I wrote a summary of the story of Avenable, which is found in the Prose Merlin. It's about a woman who masquerades as a squire and rises to become Seneschal of the Emperor of Rome, being knighted along the way. She is specifically described as skilled at arms, as well as strong, tall, and beautiful. I <3 her.

A Festivus for the Restofus!

We will begin with the Airing of Grievances.

Brian Michael Bendis: I have got a lot of problems with you. You managed to ruin many of my favorite characters. Strangely, these were also some of your favorite characters! You're shittin' in your own den! You should stick to your own original stuff. You do less damage that way.

The Economy: I understand your need to crash, but dammit, I went on the academic market in the very months you decided to bend over and start sucking. Couldn't you have waited one more year, until my salary was protected?

Barack Obama: Oh, don't think just because you're the President that you're immune. You're the busiest man in the world and you still find time to work out three times a week. A paparazzi catches you shirtless on the beach and Adrianna Huffington's drool endangers New Orleans.  Do you know what this means? It means I have to start going to a gym, that's what this means! Presidents are supposed to be guys who are older and fatter than me! And IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!

We will resume later this evening with Feats of Strength. The Rock is going to use a sledgehammer on Dick Cheney's head. Bring a plastic sheet.