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Pendragon: Gamemaster's Handbook
240 pages, Hardcover
Published May 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 19, 2025
"Pendragon" is another new edition of a Chaosium rpg with a significant pedigree. I have neither run any as yet or before, so can only offer my thoughts on it as an initial read-through provides
First of all, this is thoroughly partnered with the "Pendragon Core Rulebook". If you plan to play Pendragon as a gamemaster, you'll want both ..in fact, there's a THIRD, as-yet unreleased (with no date set for its publication) book that is constantly referenced within this one and the core book: the "Pendragon Nobles Handbook". Once that one comes out I believe the 'trilogy' of core books is meant to be complete.
For anyone who is cash-strapped or impatient this could of course prove an understandable sticking point, and it is indeed hard to recommend a book that demands you purchase two others to have full and proper access to the game's rules (with one book not even made yet!).
However, bad planning though it may be, and a barrier to entry, I DO see why Chaosium has done this; it's because each book has a very generous amount of STUFF in them that would make it prohibitive to buy a single immense book that has it all, or dozens of tiny books that each have one additional set of situational rules.
While the Core Book covers basic stuff like combat, making a character and general rules, here in the handbook some stuff gets fleshed out, and other game mechanics are covered. There's a big list of enemies and their stats, a chapter on the rules for participating in a feast and the social challenges that arise therein, rules for chases and hunting, large-scale battles, fleshed out info on the different religions, and, finally, two game scenarios intended for beginners, which do indeed look instructional and easy to run.
The missing third book, The Nobles Handbook, promises to provide instruction on dynastic affairs, like what if a player gets married, wants to run a castle, and that sort of thing. Not NECESSARY if you plan to run more traditional, adventuresome games, but useful no doubt one day if you've been lured by pendragon's promise of a dynastic game where you can play as the descendants of your former, now-dead characters.
With all that being said, the book is of lovely quality, has good content, and seems terribly useful for playing. Should you run out and buy it now? I think so, yes. Combined with the Core Book, it really does offer a lot of content before even a third book is added- and if you're super impatient to get going with EVERYTHING, then dig up some stuff from older editions; Chaosium rpg's are famously backward- compatible, meaning that, with a minimum of easily made adjustments, old material can comply just fine with new editions. It's not like D&D, which is basically a whole new game every edition.
First of all, this is thoroughly partnered with the "Pendragon Core Rulebook". If you plan to play Pendragon as a gamemaster, you'll want both ..in fact, there's a THIRD, as-yet unreleased (with no date set for its publication) book that is constantly referenced within this one and the core book: the "Pendragon Nobles Handbook". Once that one comes out I believe the 'trilogy' of core books is meant to be complete.
For anyone who is cash-strapped or impatient this could of course prove an understandable sticking point, and it is indeed hard to recommend a book that demands you purchase two others to have full and proper access to the game's rules (with one book not even made yet!).
However, bad planning though it may be, and a barrier to entry, I DO see why Chaosium has done this; it's because each book has a very generous amount of STUFF in them that would make it prohibitive to buy a single immense book that has it all, or dozens of tiny books that each have one additional set of situational rules.
While the Core Book covers basic stuff like combat, making a character and general rules, here in the handbook some stuff gets fleshed out, and other game mechanics are covered. There's a big list of enemies and their stats, a chapter on the rules for participating in a feast and the social challenges that arise therein, rules for chases and hunting, large-scale battles, fleshed out info on the different religions, and, finally, two game scenarios intended for beginners, which do indeed look instructional and easy to run.
The missing third book, The Nobles Handbook, promises to provide instruction on dynastic affairs, like what if a player gets married, wants to run a castle, and that sort of thing. Not NECESSARY if you plan to run more traditional, adventuresome games, but useful no doubt one day if you've been lured by pendragon's promise of a dynastic game where you can play as the descendants of your former, now-dead characters.
With all that being said, the book is of lovely quality, has good content, and seems terribly useful for playing. Should you run out and buy it now? I think so, yes. Combined with the Core Book, it really does offer a lot of content before even a third book is added- and if you're super impatient to get going with EVERYTHING, then dig up some stuff from older editions; Chaosium rpg's are famously backward- compatible, meaning that, with a minimum of easily made adjustments, old material can comply just fine with new editions. It's not like D&D, which is basically a whole new game every edition.
September 28, 2025
El Pendragón siempre ha sido un excelente juego de rol. Las nuevas reglas lo hacen todavía mejor, más sencillo, más jugable, y, lo que a mi parecer es más importante, proporciona oportunidades para ganar gloria a los caballeros que no son máquinas de matar o robots programados por sus Virtudes y Pasiones, lo que está muy bien. Lo que no está tan bien es que, para tener las reglas completas, tengas que comprarte tres libros, uno de los cuales ni se sabe cuándo saldrá. En fin, paciencia, pero está claro que la niña bonita de Chaosium es The Call of Cthulhu, mientras que Pendragon es el patito feo que se sigue publicando en honor al tristemente fallecido Greg Stafford, lo que, también es verdad, los honra.
En cuanto a la nueva Great Pendragon Campaign... lo mismo para el 2030, qué sé yo. Entretanto, pues se juega la vieja y a correr. Qué se le va a hacer...
En cuanto a la nueva Great Pendragon Campaign... lo mismo para el 2030, qué sé yo. Entretanto, pues se juega la vieja y a correr. Qué se le va a hacer...
September 30, 2025
Excellent collection of resources for Pendragon, rich in flavour and honed by multiple editions of refinement and testing. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews