Companion Chronicles #9: The Barnyard Tournament

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition and the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, The Companions of Arthur is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon. It enables creators to sell their own original content for Pendragon, Sixth Edition. This can original scenarios, background material, alternate Arthurian settings, and more, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Pendragon Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Pendragon campaigns.

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What is the Nature of the Quest?

The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure is a scenario for use with Pendragon, Sixth Edition.

It is a full colour, eight-one page, 11.63 MB PDF.

The layout is tidy and it is nicely illustrated, often to amusing effect.

Besides six pre-generated Player-knights, The Barnyard Tournament includes thirty-three handouts, a game board and thirteen tokens, one map, and a Game Master reference card.

Where is the Quest Set?

The Barnyard Tournament is set in Huntland County and quite literally, beyond, on the border between Logres and the Saxon kingdom of Anglia.

It takes place in the Boy King period directly before a battle, either against the Rebel Kings during the Civil War or against the Saxons in the Saxon War.

Who should go on this Quest?

The Barnyard Tournament is suitable for knights of all types. The Passion of Hate (Saxons) is likely to be advantageous, but not necessary to complete the scenario.

What does the Quest require?

The Barnyard Tournament requires the Pendragon, Sixth Edition rules or the Pendragon Starter Set.

Where will the Quest take the Knights?

The Barnyard Tournament is a grand adventure which begins with the Player-knights as exploratores on the road, conducting a scouting mission for King Arthur on the eve of battle. An encounter with three ‘Weird Sisters’ will divert them onto three different paths that together allegorise the need to grow up and assume the responsibilities of adulthood, in the scenario on a small scale, but in the kingdom at large, on a much bigger scale. The diversion is actually a dishonourable act for the Player-knights, as it will take them away from their assigned mission, but there is much to be learned and much to be gained by taking the path rather than ignoring it. (Plus, there is a chance to redeem themselves at the end of the adventure.) The paths in turn lead the Player-knights to a prosperous manor, almost an idyll in the face of the oncoming war. None are prepared for the conflict to come, including the young man due to inherit the manor. On the first path, the Player-knights are directed to inspire the young man to follow in the footsteps of his father, a famous knight, and prepare both him and the manor in case of an attack by Saxon raiders, looking for easy pickings. On the second path, the Player-knights find themselves in a very strange situation where they must attempt to bring together squabbling, but potential allies in the face of greater aggression and so protect the king—much like the situation with the young King Arthur. On the third path, the Player-knights must put into practice what they have preached and defend the manor from the marauding Saxons.

The first path introduces the location and the cast, presenting a community and pastoral respite that the Player-knights can indulge in, just a little, as they begin to teach the folk of the manor more of the wider world. There is a playfulness to this first chapter, one that the Player-knights tumble out of and into the second chapter and into the magical realism of tooth and claw in the nearby forest. Here on second path, the scenario is at its strangest, not just in terms of what both their players and their knights are now playing, but also in terms of how it is played out, more like a board game than a roleplaying game. If the first path teaches the lesson, the second cements it, and the third enforces the need for it. On the third path, the Player-characters become the generals as a wild assault is made on the manor by marauding Saxons. The likelihood is that the second path will be remembered for its oddness, whilst the first and third paths stand out for their roleplaying and storytelling opportunities, the third path offering opportunities for heroism.

The Barnyard Tournament is designed to showcase the various aspects of Pendragon Sixth Edition and its rules. Thus, there is a mock tournament, a battle to engage in, and opportunity aplenty for the Player-knights to show off their knightly virtues. All of which veiled in the mystical strangeness of Arthur’s realm and a little beyond. The scenario is written for use by Game Masters new to Pendragon—though this does not mean that old hands will not either appreciate or enjoy it—and to that end there is advice throughout its pages on how to stage and run The Barnyard Tournament with numerous possibilities and outcomes suggested and discussed.

Should the Knights ride out on this Quest?

If as the Game Master, you do not yet have The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure, then you should, and if as a player your knight has not yet participated in The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure, then ask your Game Master why not? This is an excellent adventure, one that showcases the richness of King Arthur’s realm—if only in miniature—and have the Player-knights become part of it and defend it. All of the scenarios to date on The Companions of Arthur have been good, so it no slight against any of them to say that The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure is the best community content adventure published for Pendragon Sixth Edition to date.