"The Girl King" (a one-shot Arthurian scenario)

This is a very brief idea that I jotted down as an adventure seed, intending one day to develop it more fully as a one-shot scenario. If you're planning a mini-campaign then with careful watering it could grow into that.

The inciting incident is that time travellers arrive in the Arthurian age and fake the sword in the stone incident to make their candidate the King of Britain. So all the knights turn up to draw the sword, but before young Arthur gets his chance the time travellers use some kind of tech (laser drilling, hologram, whatever) so that their candidate (who happens to be a young woman) draws it.

Some of the player-characters should know what went on; others think it’s genuine. You'll need to give the former group a reason not to share the info right away. Maybe they saw the girl (let's call her Moira; Gwen would be signposting too much) with a group of strange folk with a weird device, and then when she steps forward and whips the sword out of the stone they suspect wizardry.

So Arthur remains a squire – but maybe nonetheless the best candidate, as after all he's the rightful King. Even though Moira champions a bunch of very worthy causes: feminism, tolerance, fair distribution of wealth, and so on, she isn't of this time. Good intentions alone aren't enough. Maybe she knows what needs doing but Arthur is the one who can actually do it.

The time travellers? I hadn't given them much thought, but that could be where Nimue and Viviane come into the picture. I envisage them as rather like management consultants, coming in with lots of ideas (some of them good) about how to improve society, but without the lifelong hands-on experience of the people who actually grew up here.

Ideally the adventure shouldn't come down too hard one way or the other between Moira and Arthur. This is two “good guys” in conflict (assuming that Arthur is ever made aware of the truth) while the real antagonist is the wretched status quo that both would like to fix. (If you want to embody all the problems in one figurehead villain, you could use King Claudas in league with the invading Saxons.) Perhaps by combining their strengths (insight into the future on one side, leadership on the other) Moira and Arthur can make it work -- but arranging that alliance will be up to the players.

Overview

A caveat first about structuring this scenario in three acts. For a one-shot, all right, I'll admit it does help to conceive of the narrative flow in advance, because you can't rely on players who have only just created their characters to get the wind in their sails and take things off in an entirely unexpected direction. But I still insist that applying the self-consciously authorial approach of act breaks and plot points to an extended campaign is selling roleplaying short. The best stories are not constrained to the shape of a Hollywood script paradigm or (essentially the same thing) a management memo. So you can imagine me gritting my teeth as we break the scenario down in this way.

OK, this one-shot adventure unfolds over three acts with room for subplots and player improvisation. It balances intrigue, ethical dilemmas, and action, while allowing players to shape the outcome. As far as rules are concerned I would probably opt for GURPS 4e but have given stats below for Pendragon because -- well, it would be rude not to.

Most of the player-characters should be native to the Arthurian setting (envisaged as more or less 5th century AD Britain) but if you have a large enough group then one PC could be part of the time travelling group (see below). The characters have not met each other before assembling at the stone to watch knights trying to draw the sword on May Day. (Traditionally the ceremony is at Christmas or New Year, but I think the year ought to start in spring and in any case it fits better with the rapid progression to possible open warfare.)

The time travellers are operating covertly and so are dressed in clothing appropriate to this era. They portray themselves as French to explain differences in manner, accent, and so on. Moira, although one of the time travellers, affects to be from northern Britain and pretends not to know them. Moira could be a player-character, and as it’s a one-shot the other players will not know that she’s from another time.

Act I: The Sword in the Stone

Scene 1: Gathering at the Stone

Nobles, knights, and squires gather to witness the attempt to draw the sword. This is an annual event. Arthur, still Ector’s squire, is present, as are Moira and the other disguised time travellers. 

Other knights try and fail to draw the sword from the stone. Before Arthur gets to try, Moira draws the sword with subtle tech assistance (holograms or a device concealed in the stone). 

Observant player-characters might notice these clues that something untoward is going on: 

• A faint glow or mechanical sound as Moira draws the sword. 
• A brief glimpse of the time travellers' unusual tools or attire. 
• Moira’s initial hesitation or a whispered exchange with her “advisors” – as she is supposedly a Briton and they recently arrived from France, she isn’t supposed to know them but is clearly familiar.

Scene 2: Reactions and Rifts

Ector and Kay are puzzled; Merlin told them Arthur was the true-born king. 

Arthur is privately disappointed but outwardly supportive; he has not yet learned he is Uther Pendragon’s son. Ector could reveal that to one of the player-characters, or they could overhear him telling Kay, making them privy to an important secret.

King Claudas, if present, sees an opportunity to sow dissent. 

The player-characters have choices to make:

• Investigate the strange occurrence. 
• Align with Moira, Arthur, or remain neutral. 
• Gather information on the time travellers.

Act II: Seeds of Doubt

Scene 1: The Truth Unveiled 

The characters may uncover evidence of time travel:

• Physical Evidence: A discarded high-tech tool (which will seem sorcerous to them). 
• Eyewitnesses: A peasant saw “those foreigners” working some strange magic when Moira went to draw the sword. 
• Dialogue: Perhaps Moira (if an NPC) confides in a trusted PC, revealing her mission.

Scene 2: Political Manoeuvring 

Moira promotes progressive reforms, gaining followers but also resistance. 

Arthur earns quiet support among traditionalists and those who value his character. However, Arthur himself may be reluctant to go along with his more ardent followers, as he values stability over personal ambition.

King Claudas and his Saxon allies exploit the division. Meanwhile, British nobles jockey for power, complicating alliances.

Scene 3: Merlin and Nimue’s Role

The time travellers (Nimue, Viviane, Moira and Bedivere) aim to guide history toward their vision but lack subtlety. But over time Bedivere and Viviane begin to admire Arthur’s potential, putting them in conflict with Nimue. They recognize that Moira, as a person of their own era, can have exemplary goals but lacks the cultural understanding to implement them. Possibly it would be better to deal with Arthur and try to influence him. They approach the player-characters, offering alliances or rewards to get them to act as intermediaries with Arthur.

The PCs must decide whether to expose Moira, back her, or support Arthur. Some of them might also want to leverage Nimue’s technology for their own goals.

Act III: The Saxon Threat

Scene 1: A Common Enemy 

The Saxons, aided by Claudas, launch a major attack. Moira and Arthur must unite their factions or risk annihilation. 

Several challenges confront the characters:

• Can they convince Moira and Arthur to cooperate despite their differences? 
• Can they rally disillusioned knights and commoners?
• How will they navigate betrayals among the nobles?
• Can they convince Arthur he must oppose the new "lawfully chosen" monarch?

Scene 2: The Final Battle 

This is the climactic encounter. The characters may take leadership or advisory roles, directing troops, or they might be sent on missions involving personal combat. Meanwhile the time travellers attempt to intervene with technology from their era, risking exposure. 

Ideally Moira and Arthur will combine their strengths, or else one takes the lead. The characters’ choices should determine whether Britain emerges united or fractured.

Key NPCs 

Arthur (17 years old): Humble, capable, and destined, though initially unsure of himself. 

Moira (18): Charismatic and forward-thinking, but arrogant and inexperienced in medieval leadership. Like her fellow time travellers she comes from the 25th century, where she is a D.Phil student in Temporal Studies & Interpretive Dance at Grainer College, University of Derby. Her real name is Jennie Hill.

Nimue (33), Viviane (37) and Bedivere (36): Moira’s fellow time travellers with advanced knowledge but limited cultural understanding. Their real names are Roberta Ford, Karen Darvill, and Roy Russell.

Ector (38): A steadfast and pragmatic guardian, torn between loyalty to Arthur and the knowledge that the kingdom needs stability.

Kay (19): Often brash and proud. He might resent Arthur or Moira’s rise and seek a way to distinguish himself. Ultimately, however, he is loyal to Arthur and will redeem himself.

Leodegrance (35): A noble supporter of the "rightful" monarch, potentially split between Moira’s apparent legitimacy and Arthur’s vision and destiny. His ties to Camelot could influence the players' choices and alliances.: 

King Claudas (31): A manipulative villain embodying the era’s worst traits.

Where is Merlin while all this is going on?

Nimue has trapped him in a “in a stone” (some kind of multidimensional matrix) or in cryogenic sleep. The implications of his imprisonment are: 

• Players may have the option to rescue Merlin, but doing so could risk coming into direct conflict with the time travellers. 
• If Merlin gets free he prefers to let events play out so as to to test Arthur and discover the time travellers' intentions. He might take the guise of a hermit, bard, or commoner. 
• Merlin could act as a distant advisor, communicating through dreams, omens, or letters. This approach lets the player-characters and major NPCs take centre stage, while Merlin remains an enigmatic presence. 

Here are some enemy knight stats compatible with the Pendragon RPG, with the proviso that I haven't played Pendragon in decades so am not rock-solid about the rules.

Generic Enemy Knight (competent but average)

• SIZ: 14 
• DEX: 9 
• STR: 13 
• CON: 13 
• APP: 10 
• Damage: 5d6 
• Hit Points: 27 
• Major Skills: 
• Sword: 15 
• Lance: 12 
• Horsemanship: 13 
• Awareness: 10 
• Battle: 8 
• Armor: Chainmail (10 points), shield (+6 points if used). 
• Personality Traits: 
• Valorous: 14 
• Proud: 13 
• Reckless: 10

Tactics: Such knights rely on straightforward combat techniques, usually charging with a lance before switching to sword and shield. They are loyal but lack deep cunning.

Elite Enemy Knight (a dangerous adversary) 

• SIZ: 15 
• DEX: 12 
• STR: 14 
• CON: 14 
• APP: 12 
• Damage: 5d6 
• Hit Points: 29 
• Major Skills: 
• Sword: 18 
• Lance: 16 
• Horsemanship: 16 
• Awareness: 12 
• Battle: 10 
• First Aid: 10 
• Armor: Chainmail (10 points), shield (+6 points if used). 
• Personality Traits: 
• Valorous: 16 
• Proud: 15 
• Honorable: 12

Tactics: An elite knight uses disciplined tactics, coordinating with allies and exploiting openings. He might dismount to fight in difficult terrain or switch to defensive play if wounded.

Sir Gerlach, Knight of King Claudas (named enemy NPC) 

Sir Gerlach is one of King Claudas’s most trusted knights, known for his ruthlessness and cunning. He is fiercely loyal to Claudas and harbours disdain for the ideals of chivalry espoused by Arthur’s circle. He could be a recurring antagonist, leading the Saxons’ elite forces or acting as Claudas’s enforcer. He might confront Arthur or Moira directly, forcing the players to intervene. His weakness is that he is fearful of sorcery -- which would include, in his eyes, any of the time travellers' "sufficiently advanced technology".

• SIZ: 16 
• DEX: 10 
• STR: 15 
• CON: 14 
• APP: 8 
• Damage: 6d6 
• Hit Points: 30 
• Major Skills: 
• Sword: 19 
• Lance: 15 
• Horsemanship: 14 
• Awareness: 14 
• Battle: 13 
• Intrigue: 11 
• Armor: Chainmail (10 points), shield (+6 points if used). 
• Personality Traits: 
• Valorous: 15 
• Cruel: 14 
• Reckless: 13 
• Deceitful: 12

Reputation: 1,000 Glory

Tactics: Sir Gerlach is a brawler who fights to win, not to preserve honour. He uses feints and dirty tactics such as attacking an enemy’s horse or taking hostages. His reputation might intimidate less-experienced knights.

(A different version of this adventure was originally published on my Patreon page.)

"The King Under The Forest" (the first ever Dragon Warriors scenario)

I can tell you when it was: 1984, and fairly late in the year. And where: Ridge Close, near Woking, which was my parents’ home but I had all my reference books there so I’d have come down from London to write. And I’ll have banged it all out on an Olympia Traveller typewriter, the same one I’d used for school prep, short stories, and contributions to fan magazines like The Mystery Trader.

I’m talking about “The King Under The Forest”, the first ever scenario for Dragon Warriors. It was just a dungeon bash. Oliver Johnson and I figured that was the easy-in for new roleplayers, even though we seldom resorted to dungeons (or even Tekumel underworlds) in our own games. Still, in the Deliverance-like sequence with the elves there was a foretaste of the British folklore elements that would come to dominate DW.

You can read the original adventure here. It has echoes of King Arthur's promised return and sets up the PCs with a shared bond as potentially the King's paladins (not in the D&D sense). You’ll need Dragon Warriors if you want to play it as written. Alternatively, if dungeons are your thing, you might be familiar with D&D 5th edition and so prefer this 5e version.

I was already rethinking the scenario for my Jewelspider RPG when a friend got in touch to say he was going to modify it to run as a Dungeons & Dragons game for his son and his school chums. He had some interesting changes to suggest:

Scene 2. The chest in the map room has a lock-rose of verdigris, and contains no silver, just the bag. (The green lock is to provide a hint for later.)

Scene 6. The dragon never appears in plain sight. Instead, there are hints and rumbles – steam emerging from cracks, the very earth shaking beneath their feet. Instead, the oak tree is tended by a stocky, diminutive fellow with a red hat who tells them that this is the dragon Fengel's domain. The little man doesn't give his name – ‘It's not important’ – but will speak for Fengel and even agree to a riddling contest on Fengel's behalf. The lurking presence of the dragon in the background should be impossible to forget, but regular reminders will be given.

Scene 7. The sculpture of the north wind is of verdigris (matching the chest earlier).

Scene 9. The spider's web contains not a helmet but a wreath of black roots and white flowers (moly) which will protect the wearer against the spells of Elaine and Morgrin.

Scene 11. Instead of the barrier of light, there are three gateways, each narrow so that only one person may pass at a time, and the inscription, ‘The race goes not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.’

On the right is the gate of strength: it contains a portcullis that a sufficiently strong character might be able to lift. The portcullis, however, is even heavier than it looks, and there is a real risk that a person trying to squeeze under may let it slip, with disastrous consequences. (Holding up the portcullis while others pass is a further test of strength; trying to prop it up might be possible but might also destroy the object being used.)

On the left is the gate of swiftness. An unseen mechanism triggers a flurry of stinging darts, and only a character with tremendous reflexes and athleticism will be able to dive forward fast enough to evade them. Subsequent characters will meet the same test, since there is no apparent end to the supply of darts.

The middle path is a narrow gap in the rocks, barely wide enough to squeeze past, with a somewhat wider section to allow a person's shoulders and arms through. (Perceptive characters – or players – may notice that the effect is to make the shape of the cross.) To squeeze through is no easy feat, but any character who relinquishes weapons and armour will manage it easily. Others risk becoming wedged, with various negative consequences possible. Any character who abandons their weapons and armour and passes through the cross, leaving them behind, will (later) find themselves immune to the spells of Elaine and Morgrin, and able to damage both of them even without a magic weapon.

Scene 19. Instead of a gorgon, Elaine is a beautiful golden-haired woman who presents a banqueting table full of tempting treats, including berries and a wine which she assures the group each have healing properties. She reassures the party that she is one of Vallandar's retainers, set here to care for any travellers on their way through the underworld. Of course, to eat anything is to fall under Elaine's power.

If she fails to trick them, she will attempt more blatant sorcery to enchant them. If that fails in turn, her hideous undead visage will become visible and she will try to claw out their eyes.

Scene 21. Each of the skeletons has a single golden hair tied around its neck bones. These are victims of Elaine, who became her servants in death.

I especially like the strands of hair around the skeletons’ necks, which put me in mind of Donne’s line ‘a bracelet of bright hair about the bone’ from the poem ‘The Relic’.

The little fellow in the red hat is as much Lyonesse as Legend, perhaps, but is a brilliant way to avoid throwing a dragon into the campaign on day one. I suggested that later, perhaps as an epilogue to the adventure, the characters could come upon a discarded pile of cloth. It proves to be a life-sized hand-puppet with a faded but still recognizably red hat. But they saw the stocky fellow up close, they spoke to him, and he looked and sounded real and alive. No mere puppet, surely? And anyway, what giant hand would be needed to operate such a puppet? Examining the puppet more closely they see that the fabric inside is torn in long gouges releasing wads of stuffing, as if the hand that used the puppet had long sharp talons.

Like my friend, I was concerned about the gorgon encounter in scene #19. A gorgon doesn't fit the British folklore feel and medieval setting of Dragon Warriors, and my only excuse for including it in this introductory scenario was to give new players the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a variety of opponents. To develop the Vallandar/Arthur resonance I could have made her Nimue (or Nymenche, or Nivienne), and I might do something along those lines in the Jewelspider reboot of the adventure, but for the 5e version I switched it to a basilisk.

There are many better Dragon Warriors scenarios that came later. Some of them have appeared on this blog, and if I had to single out some favourites I'd pick "A Box of Old Bones", "Wayland's Smithy", "Mungoda Gold", and Robert Dale's Bymstone campaign. And that's just restricting the choice to scenarios specifically with DW stats -- there are plenty of other wondrous adventures to be found like gold nuggets among the old posts. If you want to mark the game's 40th anniversary, there's something to fit every taste.

And finally, here are a couple of curious fragments I came across by chance while writing this post. The first is my original back-of-a-fag-packet type sketch of the dungeon for this scenario. At centre right there's a doodle of the helm with the reflective visor, though at this early stage it doesn't look like the gorgon (or basilisk) was included on the dungeon map. How strange to think that, forty years on from this, I'm about to embark on yet another iteration of the scenario for Jewelspider. What would my 27-year-old self have thought of that?

The other sketch is of the evil wraith Morgrin. You might think it was intended as a guide for the illustrator (Leo Hartas), but no -- it was addressed to none other than Bryan Ansell at Citadel Miniatures. There had been some talk at Games Workshop about them publishing a book of Dragon Warriors adventures in 1986, with the plan of tying that in with a range of DW figurines much as they'd done with my "Dealing With Demons" articles from White Dwarf, only with the difference that I'd get paid this time. That might have been what scotched it, come to think. At any rate, it was just talk and no scenario pack appeared, nor figurines neither. I don't use figurines myself so it was no great disappointment, though the adventure book might have included Brymstone so it was a real pity to lose that.