Lordly Domains (Pendragon Role Playing Game Series)

Rating:
Summary: Lordly resource
Review: The Lordly Domains book is a self-contained resource for players and GMs on owning land and the responsibilities of being a noble. It includes a simple but extremely effective system for stronghold design and siege warfare and (most fun of all) a system for running your fiefdom with rules for expanding populations, the annual harvest, taxation, raids, the happiness of peasants and the expensive business of visits from your liege. Although the book is a resource for the King Arthur Pendragon system, the rules are comprehensive and essentially self-contained and can be easily slotted into any role-playing system set in a feudal society.

The book is split into a series of chapters, the aforementioned sections on lands and fortifications are concerned mostly with the fundamentals of owning land while additional chapters on grand events (including tournaments, hunts and feasts), heraldry and a description of castle interiors give life to the rules. There is also a full adventure to set PCs on the path of owning land and rebuilding a ravaged society as well as additional adventure seeds to inspire the GM.

Overall I have found that the rules for owning land friendlier and more entertaining than the rules for sieges - and would suggest that GMs do some pre-game preparation before a siege to reduce the amount of time spent rolling dice. However, that is a small criticism of a what is generally a fluid system and a great resource.

Rating:
Summary: Lordly resource
Review: The Lordly Domains book is a self-contained resource for players and GMs on owning land and the responsibilities of being a noble. It includes a simple but extremely effective system for stronghold design and siege warfare and (most fun of all) a system for running your fiefdom with rules for expanding populations, the annual harvest, taxation, raids, the happiness of peasants and the expensive business of visits from your liege. Although the book is a resource for the King Arthur Pendragon system, the rules are comprehensive and essentially self-contained and can be easily slotted into any role-playing system set in a feudal society.

The book is split into a series of chapters, the aforementioned sections on lands and fortifications are concerned mostly with the fundamentals of owning land while additional chapters on grand events (including tournaments, hunts and feasts), heraldry and a description of castle interiors give life to the rules. There is also a full adventure to set PCs on the path of owning land and rebuilding a ravaged society as well as additional adventure seeds to inspire the GM.

Overall I have found that the rules for owning land friendlier and more entertaining than the rules for sieges - and would suggest that GMs do some pre-game preparation before a siege to reduce the amount of time spent rolling dice. However, that is a small criticism of a what is generally a fluid system and a great resource.

Rating:
Summary: Heavy Duty Stuff
Review: This book is for dedicated fanatics. It allows the storyteller to function on a scale either much larger (such as the management of whole countries and the building of castles) or much smaller (modifiers on hunting depending on which breed of dog you use, for example) than the standard Pendragon campaigns.
This makes the book a valuable tool for experienced players, but less number and detail - oriented ones (such as myself) should be carefull about getting lost in all that information. Another thing to watch out for is the mood, wich on the surface seems quite generic - maybe this was origionally intended as a stand - alone tactical wargame?. Fortunately, they decided to do a guide to role - playing nobles instead, that allows you to do things like design a proper coat of arms or run the twelve nights of Christmas. It also has a full list of Arthurian British annual tournaments, something quite nice to know!.
The only part of the book i didnt much care for was the hunt adventure: some people should really read their beastiaries better...
But still, details like the pictures of the inside of a medival castle or what mood nobles are in on a hunt more than make up for it.
This is not a vital book, but after you have played the game for a while you will come to value it highly: its the most important Pendragon book after "Mystic Tournaments".