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Chaosium Digest Volume 15 Number 02
Chaosium Digest Volume 15, Number 2
Date: Sunday, June 23, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
The Adventure of the Golden Rose (Shannon Appel) PENDRAGON
Editor's Note:
This time around, another adventure from my current Pendragon
campaign, made general enough to be easily used by other gamemasters
out there.
Shannon
MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Runequest - "Dinner at Brimstones" is an 8 page adventure that has
conversions for GURPS, T&T and RuneQuest. The adventure is not
Gloranthan, but with that in mind its OK, Adventures Unlimited #6
[Summer, 1996]. Good magazine. Check it out.
--------------------
From: Shannon Appel <appel@erzo.org>
Subject: The Adventure of the Golden Rose
System: Pendragon
THE ADVENTURE OF THE GOLDEN ROSE
[Copyright 1996, Shannon Appel]
TIME: Anytime
SETTING: The Forest of Dean (or any other magical forest)
PROBLEM: A golden rose must be found to win a lady's love
CHARACTERS: Romantic Knights, the Rusty Knight, Plant Creatures, an Amor
SECRETS: the golden rose lies in a magical grove which is destroyed if
the golden rose is taken away.
SOLUTIONS: Take the rose; or leave the rose, and explain that a place
of love was left unadulterated
GLORY: 100 for the knight completing the quest, 10 for each of his
companions; 10 for defeating the Rusty Knight in contests; 10 for
defeating Sir Jean Marc; 100 for defeating Rusty Knight in combat; 200
for defeating him in combat after he has already died; 10 for each
monster defeated in grove
After a player has wooed a high ranking lady for a while, finally
winning her favor, and perhaps her love, she will offer him one last
quest, to ultimately prove himself to her.
THE LADY'S SUMMONING
This adventure begins when a romantic knight is summoned by his amor.
She will tell him that she has been impressed by his deeds and words,
and will ask of the newest victories that have been won in her name
while wearing her favor.
Assuming that the player's responses are favorable, the amor will tell
the player that her father is prepared to offer her hand in marriage,
if the knight will only prove himself to her one last time. He must
bring back a certain golden rose about which many stories have been
told.
The Story of the Golden Rose
The amor tells the player the following:
"I have heard many stories of a Golden Rose. It is a magical flower
that has bloomed for hundreds of years. Its petals are all made of
the thinnest gold, as bright as the sun, yet still as soft as silk.
It is said that an enchantment surrounds the rose, and that it
brings good fortune to marriage and lovers.
"It is also said that the rose has its magical guardians, those who
protect it from interlopers. The rose may even protect itself from
those people who are the antithesis of the romantic.
"The rose's current location is unknown, for it has been uprooted
and replanted many times in its long life. It was last seen in
Northern Logres, but no knight in the land now seems to possess it."
[Faerie Lore. Success = You have heard of the Golden Rose, and its
powers. You believe it to be guarded by certain living and magical
plants. Critical = You know the Rose is guarded by living plant
animals, and also certain flowers with strange magical effects.]
Encounter With the Rusty Knight
As the players are leaving their discussion with the amor, they will
have their first encounter with the Rusty Knight. He is a tall man,
dressed head to toe in full plate mail. The armor looks terribly
ancient, for there is not a single square inch which is not covered
with rust. The Rusty Knight has been magically drawn to this location
due to the impending quest.
The Rusty Knight will introduce himself as the Protector of the Grove
of the Golden Rose, and ask the players to give up their quest. He
will not give specific reasons, but will merely say that completing
the quest will bring sorrow. He might offer alternatives for winning a
lady's love, such as: bringing her a great present from a foreign
land; questing after the romantic beast (see below); or dedicating a
year to helping lovers everywhere. He will not threaten the players in
any way.
Bright players will try and determine the location of the Grove of the
Golden Rose from the Rusty Knight. He is unwilling to give away this
information, but unfortunately is quite honorable. Thus, if pressed,
he will tell players they may challenge him to win the information.
He will offer to give it if he is defeated in the best of three
contests. These contests will be determined by: the Rusty Knight, the
player and, if a third tie-breaking contest is necessary, the player's
amor. The Rusty Knight's contest will be one of Oration [opposed Orate
rolls].
If the player wins two of the three contests, the Rusty Knight will
keep his word, and reveal the grove is currently in the Forest of
Dean. Because the Forest of Dean is a strange, confusing place, the
Rusty Knight can only explain nearby landmarks, not tell precisely
where the Grove is. Thus, the players will have to Hunt for the grove
once they arrive in the Forest.
If the Rusty Knight somehow dies during this encounter, so far from
the power of the grove, he and his armor will immediately rust away
into dust. He will be regrown by the time the players arrive at the
Forest, and so the encounters listed there will take place as normal.
Glory: 10 for defeating the Rusty Knight in the Three Contests
Other Ways to Find the Location of the Grove
If the players fail to win the contest with the Rusty Knight, they
will need to determine the location of the Grove of the Golden Rose in
some other way. Following are some suggestions:
* Wandering Romantic Knights will have a small chance of knowing of
the current location of the Grove of the Golden Rose. Some may warn
the players off the quest, while others may try and follow or join
them, to take the Golden Rose for their own (perhaps they were too
weak or too cowardly in their own quest).
* Searching the North of Logres, the players will eventually come to
the Manor of Sir Rene, the aged knight who last held the Golden
Rose. When his lady love died in childbirth, he carried the Rose
away to the Forest of Dean, and planted it there. The players will
need to convince Sir Rene that they are worthy to find the rose,
through romantic skills [Compose, Courtesy, Dancing, Gaming, Orate,
Play, Romance, Singing], or through the Romantic Virtues [Forgiving,
Generous, Honest, Just, Merciful, Trusting].
* Randomly searching the lands of Britain, players may hear word of
a magical grove in the Forest of Dean when they are in Northeast
Cambria or Northwest Logres.
* In the later phases, players may find information at Guinivere's
Court of Love.
THE JOURNEY TO THE FOREST OF DEAN
Unless the gamemaster desires otherwise, the journey to the forest of
dean should be a relatively uneventful one. The only encounter is with
a Romantic Knight, who is destined to encounter the players because of
the romantic quest they are on.
Joust With Sir Jean Marc
Sir Jean Marc sits at a crossroad, lance in hand. As the players
approach, he announces that all who wish to pass must joust him. He
will explain that his lady love has sent him away, and that he can not
return until he has defeated 20 warriors.
The joust is for love. Use Notable Knight stats for Sir Jean Marc.
Anyone who purposefully throws the fight earns a [Deceitful] check,
and either a [Generous] check or a [Modest] check.
Glory: 10 for defeating Sir Jean Marc
THE FOREST OF DEAN
Due to its magical nature, the Forest of Dean is a confusing place. It
is very easy to become lost within. Each full day the players hunt for
the Grove, they may make a [Hunting] roll opposed by the Forest's
[Confusion] rating of 20. If the players fail, or only achieve a
partial success, they will be turned around and lost, without having
made any real progress that day.
Strange encounters should occur within the Forest. Each day which the
players spend hunting, choose one of the following encounters, or make
one up of your own.
Random Forest of Dean Encounters
1.) Sir Vincent, a knight driven mad by love, is wandering naked
through the woods. He is insane and will be dangerous to the
players if they don't some how reassure him. [Use Ordinary Knight
stats, but Sir Vincent is not wearing his armor or carrying his
shield; he has only his bared sword.] [Cruel] or [Merciful] checks
may result from the player's actions. If the players somehow
return Sir Vincent's wits, they will learn that he was searching
for the Golden Rose before his passion drove him mad. He may join
the players or oppose them.
2.) The Romantic Beast charges by [See below].
3.) A partially eaten animal is found. [Hunting. Success = the animal
was attacked by a horse sized reptile.] If the players try and
track down the reptile by hunting, they will be ultimately
unsucessful. This is a foreshadowing of The Adventure of the
Dolorous Wyrm.
4.) A group of Bandits [see Pendragon pg. 330] is encountered. They
are lost in the forest, and will be grateful to those who offer to
help them out of the forest, but cruel to others. [Check Cruel,
Merciful, Suspicious or Trusting as appropriate.]
5.) The spoor of a wild animal is discovered (bear, boar or dear).
Players may decide to hunt it.
6.) One of the grove flower creatures spies on the players. They may
notice with [Awareness]. If spotted, it will flee with an
[Avoidance] of 15. Players may [Hunt] it.
Glory: as appropriate for encounters.
Entrance to the Grove
The grove of the golden rose is surrounded by a heavy screen of trees.
There is only one entrance, and it is guarded by the Rusty Knight. He
will refuse to let players pass unless they swear by their honor and
their lady's love that the Golden Rose will not be removed from the
Grove. [The players will lose 3 Honor and 1 point in the Amor/Love
they swore on if they break this oath.]
Assuming the players are intent on entering the Grove to take the
Rose, the Rusty Knight will try to challenge them one at a time, but
will fight them all to the death if need be, the entire time blocking
the one entrance to the grove. If killed, the Rusty Knight will simply
fall to the ground this time. It is only when he or his armor are far
from the grove that they rot away.
Glory: 100 for defeating the Rusty Knight in combat.
THE GROVE OF THE GOLDEN ROSE
Looking within the Grove, the players will see a beautiful scene. A
screen of trees surrounds a large circular glade. Flowers of all types
fill the glade, giving it wonderful color and a pleasing scent.
Topiary animals, including a boar, a stag, a dog and a hawk dot the
glade. In the distance, the babble of a small brook can be heard. The
golden rose is immediately obvious in the absolute center of the
glade. It is in the middle of a huge rose bush.
As soon as players enter the Grove of the Golden Rose, have them sum
the six Romantic characteristics: Forgiving, Generous, Honest, Just,
Merciful, Trusting.
Any players with a total of 60 or more feels at peace in the grove.
The temperature is perfect; the stream has pure, cold water; a feeling
of peace and love fills the player. While in the grove, all amor or
love passions are at +5 for these players.
Any players with a total of less than 60 feel a sense of unease when
they enter the grove. They are constantly on edge. It's as if someone
was dragging their nails across a chalkboard. Such players may even
become physically sick, if they fail a [CON] roll. While in the grove,
all skills are at -5 for these players.
The Battle
It is most likely that the players have entered the grove violently,
and thus a battle will quickly ensue.
As the players gaze upon the grove, entering cautiously into it, the
Rusty Knight will stride up behind them. He may very well have been
disarmed or disrmoured by his opponents. His wounds are still clearly
obvious. As he walks in, he will state:
"Is there no way to turn you back from your quest?"
Unless the players decide to give up, a battle will begin shortly
afterwards.
Three events will all occur simultaneously, marking the start of the
battle: if necessary, the Rusty Knight will break a deadly sharp stick
from a nearby (magical) plant [treat as a sword]; the six magical
creatures (the topiary boar, dog, hawk and stag, the orchid thing and
the rose snake) will spring to life; and a nearby poppy will emit a
cloud of yellow gas.
The yellow gas is a sleeping agent. All players must roll their six
romantic traits. If any player succeeds at less than three of them, he
will fall into a deep sleep that can not be broken until he is dragged
from the grove. Any sleeping players left in the grove will eventually
wake up outside, a few days later.
The Rusty Knight should once more be treated as if he was at full
strength. He can be killed normally, as can the plant creatures. They
will fight to death, although they will not kill any downed players.
If all the players fall, the survivors will wake up beyond the grove
the next morning, healed to consciousness. They will not be able to
find the grove again.
The above battle will not occur if the players entered peacefully,
unless they break their oath and take the rose.
Glory: 200 for defeating the Rusty Knight again, 10 for each magical
plant monster.
Exploring the Grove
Assuming the players win their battle, they will be able to explore
the grove. As they move cautiouslly towards the golden rose in the
center, they may accidently fall afoul of other magical plants. Each
player should make a [DEX] roll. If he fails, a random plant is
stumbled into.
Random Magical Plant Table
1. Dye Plant spurts out a burst of color, dying player and equipment a
random color.
2. Stink Plant makes player smelly for 2d6 days.
3. Sword Plant (like the one the Rusty Knight may have grabbed his
sword from) makes a 5d6 [Sword] attack on a knight with a skill of
20. Unless the knight succeeds at [Awareness], he gets no defense.
4. Grabby Plant begins to twine around the player. An Opposed
[Strength] roll against the Plant's [Grab] of 20 is needed, or the
player will be unable to free himself. Afterwards, others may make
the same attempt, adding their Strengths together if a number try
at once.
5. Romance Plant acts upon one of the Player's Romantic Traits
[(1) Forgiving, (2) Generous, (3) Honest, (4) Just, (5) Merciful,
(6) Trusting]. The player must roll that trait. If he succeeds, he
feels utterly controlled by that single passion for the next day.
6. Prudence Plant forces a Prudent Roll. If the player succeeds, he
feels exceedingly Prudent for one day.
If magical plants are taken from the garden, they will begin to fade
and wilt when they are beyond a half-mile or so from the golden rose.
Players making [Faerie Lore] rolls may find other non-magical plants
which will be highly useful to herbalist, potion makers and magicians.
Eventually, the players will arrive at the center of the grove, where
the golden rose sits in the center of a huge rose bush. It is very
beautiful, and even glows with a soft light. Extracting the rose from
the bush will be a minor task. Simply burning the bush or such will
likely damage the rose (in actuality, it will probably destroy it).
However, the rose bush is deadly sharp and semi-animate, thus just
grabbing the rose is not easy.
If a player tries to grab the rose, oppose his [DEX] Roll to the Rose
Bush's [Thorn] Attack of 20. If he fails, he does not grab the rose,
and gets whacked for 3d6 of damage (no shield). There is one exception
to this: the first time a player reaches in, he may try to roll all 6
of his Romantic skills. If they all succeed, the Rose Bush never
attacks the player reaching for the rose.
If players decide to hack at the thorns with weapons, they will also
get attacked in a similar fashion, opposing instead the Player's
[Sword] against the Bush's [Thorn]. Again, no Shield may be used
because weighty double-handed strokes are necessary to do any damage
to the plant. The Rose Bush can sustain 50 points of damage, but has
no armor.
Leaving the Grove
As the players leave the Grove with the Golden Rose, have them all
take one last look back. [Awareness. Sucess = You see the beautiful
grove, and all its wonderfully plants literally rotting away, fading
to dust behind you.] If the players immediately return the rose, the
garden will return to its old vitality. Otherwise, this grove of the
golden rose will be lost forever
VICTORY?
The players have many options in completing the Adventure of the
Golden Rose, and the gamemaster will need to determine which ones are
considered successful by the knight's amor.
If the players failed to get the rose because they were overpowered or
outwitted by the rose's guardians, they have clearly failed.
If the players retrieved the rose and got it home, they are clearly
victorious. The amor may be slightly sad about the destruction of the
rose's old grove, but she will quickly realize that it will be create
a new one. This resolution is the most likely, and the results of it
are described below.
If the players did not retrieve the rose, because they did not want to
destroy the old grove, wanted to share the rose with another questing
knight, or had some other romantic reason, they are probably
victorious. This will depend, however, on the exact attitude of the
player's amor. A true romantic will be perfectly pleased with this
result, and will occasionally accompany the player knight to see the
rose. An amor who is [Worldly] or [Greedy], however, might insist upon
having the rose for her own.
GETTING THE ROSE HOME
It is most likely that the players retrieved the rose from the grove,
and determined to bring it home. This option is detailed here.
Getting out of the Forest of Dean will be a small problem, since it is
still Confusing. The players must again oppose [Hunting] rolls to the
Forest's [Confusion] of 20. More encounters from the above list may be
used, but it is suggested they be much more sparse.
Afterwards, the rest of the trip home should not be a problem.
Planting the Rose
The knight's amor will be very pleased to see the Rose. As promised,
her father will announce an engagement that knight. At the first light
of the next morning, the knight's amor will want to see the Rose
planted.
Although the players have destroyed one place of beauty, they will
eventually create another. For each full year the Rose remains
planted, amor and love passions for Romantic persons are at +1 in the
area, and skills for non-romantic persons are at -1, to a maximum of
+5/-5 (as in the old grove). After 5 years, the new grove will be
fully as beautifully and romantic as the last one.
Glory: 100 for the knight completing the quest, 10 each for those that
helped him
FUTURE STORY IDEAS
The Golden Rose creates an enchantment, and this may cause
repercussions in future stories.
* Romantic adventures will be naturally drawn to the grove.
* The Rusty Knight will be reborn, and his honor may force him to lead
others to the Golden Rose, and these others may hope to steal it
away.
* The nearby plants will eventually become magical (after 5-10 years)
and this may cause problems or strange happenings for those living
near the grove.
* If the Rose is planted in or near a manor (as the lady will desire)
everyone in that manor will experience the +5/-5 effects of the
rose.
NPCs
The Rusty Knight, Protector of the Grove of the Golden Rose
The Rusty Knight is a hulking behemoth of metal, covered head to foot
by a massive suit of terribly rusty plate. Not a single inch of his
flesh is visible. And, there is good reason for this, for the Rusty
Knight is actually a walking, talking plant. Like the topiary
creatures, and other strange plants in the Grove, the Rusty Knight was
magically grown due to the influence of the Rose.
If the Rusty Knight is killed more than a half-mile from the grove, he
and his armor will rapidly fall away into dust.
SIZ 18 Move 3 Major Wound **
DEX 12 Dam 6d6 Unconscious **
STR 15 Heal * Knock Down 18
CON 18 HP 36 Armor 14 (rusty partial plate + helm)
* Until the grove is destroyed, the Rusty Knight will rise fully
healed a short time after he is killed each time. He will even be
grown anew is he is burned.
** The Rusty Knight can not be major wounded. He fights until he drops
to 0 HP.
Glory to Kill: 100
Notable Traits: Valourous 18, Honor 18
Combat Skills: Sword 21, Lance 16, Horsemanship 16
Other Skills: Awareness 12, Courtesy 10, First Aid 10, Heraldry 10,
Hunting 10, Orate 18, Tourney 10
The Romantic Beast
A cousin of the questing beast. It is distinguishable by the fact that
the sound of a hundred song birds can be heard from inside its belly.
It is considered Romantic to quest after this Beast, for occasionally
those who search for it have magical visions of romance. Use the
Questing Beast stats [Pendragon, pg. 325]. It is worth 50 glory to
spend the entire year questing after the Romantic Beast.
The Six Grove Plant Creatures
Like the Rusty Knight, the plant creatures can not be major wounded,
and fight until they have 0 HP.
Glory to Kill: 10 each
Orchid Thing
A humanoid mass of orchids and vines.
HP 20 Move 1 Armor 0
Combat Skills: Mist 15, Roll [Con] or be blinded for 1d6 days
Rose Snake
A snake-shaped mass of vines, covered with blood-red roses.
HP 15 Move 7 Armor 0
Combat Skills: Bite 15, Damage 3d6
Topiary Boar
HP 40 Move 6 Armor 6
Combat Skills: Tusk 15, Damage 6d6
Topiary Dog
HP 20 Move 6 Armor 4
Combat SKills: Bite 15, Damage 3d6
Topiary Hawk
HP 10 Move 8 Armor 2
Combat Skills: Claw 15, Damage 2d6
Topiary Stag
HP 30 Move 7 Armor 4
Combat Skills: Antler 15, Damage 5d6
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