Well, if I had a Pendragon fansite, this is one thing I'd put on it.

One thing I found somewhat challenging as a Pendragon GM was coming up with names for NPCs.  The names of characters in Arthurian literature are a very eclectic mixture of French, Welsh, English, and German, with a lot of creative reinterpretation or pure invention, so I found it hard to make up something that sounded right on the spot.

To ease the process, I created some tables for generating male Arthurian names, based on the idea that these are combinations of a first and second element.  You simply roll percentile dice for the first element, d6 x d10 for the second, and combine the two into a name.  So an 85 and a 23 yields the name Galeheret, for example.  A vowel in parentheses at the end of a first element is optional; it may sound good with some second elements, but not with others.

To make family groups more identifiable, I would typically give them all a single first or second element.  So the three sons of Baron Brenas might be Bremagus, Brewain, and Brelois, while the sons of Duke Lamored might be Liored, Cahered, and Aglared.

The tables derive from poring over lists of Arthurian names in some reference sources.  Obviously, they won't allow you to recreate all existing names—one-syllable names like Lot and Cei are impossible, for instance.  Also, some of the combinations just may not sound right.  But the tables do yield a potential 6000 unique names, which should be enough for most campaigns.  Unfortunately, I could not find enough female Arthurian names to construct similar tables.

Feel free to distribute the charts for non-commercial use.  They've already appeared on other message boards.  Unfortunately, I can't figure out any way to make the charts appear correctly on this system.  So I've presented them below as simple html--it should be easy to cut/paste them into a document and print it out--I hope!

First Element:

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
[1]0	Acca-	Agla-	Agra-	An-	And(o)-	Ar-	Aug-	Ba-	Bal(a)-	Bande-
1	Baude-	Bedi-	Bel(e)-	Bellan-	Ber-	Berci-	Ble-	Bod-	Bra-	Bran-
2	Bre-	Bru-	Ca-	Cad-	Caher-	Cal(o)-	Cane-	Car(a)-	Celi-	Clama-
3	Clau-	Dago-	Di-	Din(a)-	Dodi-	Dris-	Dru-	Dur-	Ec-	Eli-
4	Er-	Esca-	Esco-	Ev(a)-	Fal(a)-	Fer-	Foran-	Ga-	Gale-	Gan-
5	Gar-	Ge-	Ger-	Ging-	Gir-	Gola-	Gor(a)-	Gorn(e)-	Gorve-	Gringe-
6	Guine-	Har-	Her(i)-	Hum-	I-	Iva-	Lamo-	Lan-	Lar(a)-	Leode-
7	Lio-	Ma-	Mabona-	Mad-	Mar-	Med-	Melea-	Mer-	Meria-	Mor-
8	Mord-	Nero-	O-	Pal(a)-	Par-	Pedi-	Pel(i)-	Perce-	Pere-	Sagre-
9	Sar(a)-	Sel(e)-	Sor-	Tor-	Tris-	Tyo-	Uri-	Val(a)-	Vel(i)-	Vorti-

Second Element:

	1	2	3	4	5	6
[1]0	-dan	-das	-deles	-din	-dinis	-doc
1	-don	-dor	-dos	-dur	-ens	-flet
2	-gan	-ger	-gern	-gore	-gran	-gros
3	-halt	-heret	-heris	-holt	-hus	-lac
4	-lan	-lant	-les	-lin	-lois	-lon
5	-mant	-magus	-mart	-medes	-mor	-nant
6	-nas	-nel	-net	-nor	-ons	-rain
7	-ran	-rant	-reint	-red	-ret	-reth
8	-ris	-ron	-sor	-stan	-tan	-tor
9	-vain	-val	-vere	-wain	-wyn	-wys

Any chance of getting that table fixed so that it actually looks readable? Cause it would be really useful...

RPGpundit

Bah to your electrickery! I hunted through obscure tomes in dusty university libraries for names, painstakingly transcribing them into my notebook.

Not about fansites for Pendragon - but man, isn't Pendragon about the most perfect RPG ever created?  Theres loads of great role-playing, story, plot, character stuff in there, and the mechanics for combat - personal or mass, are pretty damn tight.  You could take the game in one of a thousand ways - of course, provided you wnated a game about Arthurian/Romantic low-magic fantasy (which if not, why the hell are you buying the game?)

Quote from: HackmastergeneralNot about fansites for Pendragon - but man, isn't Pendragon about the most perfect RPG ever created?  

One of the most perfect fits to its subject matter anyhow.

Quotebut man, isn't Pendragon about the most perfect RPG ever created?

Sufferers a bit from Elminster syndrome, I think - yknow - its Arthurs story, and you get to watch.

I'd almost be happier setting it in a fantasy rip off, identical but without the uber NPCs. On principal.

Quote from: Erik BoielleSufferers a bit from Elminster syndrome, I think - yknow - its Arthurs story, and you get to watch.

I'd almost be happier setting it in a fantasy rip off, identical but without the uber NPCs. On principal.

Well, that IS what its based on.  And theres loads of room for PC insertion into the main story.

But really, thats going to be a problem of ANY RPG based on established material.

And theres nothing stopping you from using the game to set up a parallel story using the PCs as the heroes in, say, France.  or LUxumbourg.

Quote from: HackmastergeneralWell, that IS what its based on.

Well, the material I know (er, basically from watching Excalibur, yknow. And I've read the crystal cave. I think) is all about Arthur and his cronies. I think theres a whole bunch of stories about knights doing knighty stuff, but thats not the main legend which is arthur pulling the sword out of the stone, Lancelot stealing his girlfriend and then the bit with the boat.

I'd be more interested in doing that story, but even in a different setting. A stalinesque 1930s thing like about the rise and decline of a workers hero and his generals or something.

You'd be keeping true to the core story instead of the trappings.

Quote from: Erik BoielleWell, the material I know (er, basically from watching Excalibur, yknow. And I've read the crystal cave. I think) is all about Arthur and his cronies. I think theres a whole bunch of stories about knights doing knighty stuff, but thats not the main legend which is arthur pulling the sword out of the stone, Lancelot stealing his girlfriend and then the bit with the boat.

I'd be more interested in doing that story, but even in a different setting. A stalinesque 1930s thing like about the rise and decline of a workers hero and his generals or something.

You'd be keeping true to the core story instead of the trappings.

In the original, it was Bedevier that stole his girl.  Lance was implimented by French novelists to get their Mary Sue French hero in on the act, and show how French knights were better than the English ones...

Only the originals are the true Arthur!  Damn that French crap!  Down with Cretien Des Troyes!

Quote from: HackmastergeneralLance was implimented by French novelists to get their Mary Sue French hero in on the act, and show how French knights were better than the English ones...

Hmm, which makes this:-

WARNING - NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEVJ_48YgTg

disturbingly in keeping.

One SHOULD reinvent arthur to make him relevant to you.

:-)

So, we have anachronistic tech and a local hero arriving to show up the principals.

Obviously, in a modern version, all the knights drive Tanks,





 and Hank is a farm boy from nebraska who arrives to show up the folly of the class system and steal Arthurs girlfriend.

THAT is following the source material.

Quote from: RPGPunditAny chance of getting that table fixed so that it actually looks readable? Cause it would be really useful...

RPGpundit

It would look right if the board had html turned on--it doesn't, though, according to the little Posting Rules box at the bottom.

I think this should work--just copy the table, paste it into a blank notepad document and save it as a text file but with the extension .htm  Then open the file using a web browser.  That should show the table in a usable form, and you could print it out.

Or I'll try it here as an attachment.

Quote from: FritzefOr I'll try it here as an attachment.

Okay.  That is sweet and nifty.

!i!

Quote from: Erik BoielleSufferers a bit from Elminster syndrome, I think - yknow - its Arthurs story, and you get to watch.

Yes and no.  The game is set against Arthur's story.  It's a literary game (if you'll forgive the term) in that the mechanics were designed to emulate the literary genre.  And the thing about the body of Arthurian literature is that everybody over the last 1500 years has added their own character to the story somehow.  There's lots of room to move in Arthur's Britain, and he's always in need of more heroes and more foils to get things done.  I can only think of three, maybe four, key stories where Arthur barges in and takes the day.  Outside of that, the world is your cake.

!i!

Well, the characters other people have added get special rules - Gawaine has his strength doubling, Lancelot is Better Than You and Arthur is the chosen one and has at least two magic swords (and Merlin watching his back). These arn't really presented as being for PCs, which seems unfair (and, dare I say it, contrary to the source material).

I've played pendragon once, and the general feeling was that whenever someone tried something heroic they would get their ass handed to them, which kinda ruinied the atmosphere (you meet a knight at the crossroads - he challenges you - will you fight? No way dude - he'll hospitalise my guy for a year!)

I think it might be a good knight simulator, but not a famous knight simulator - so for every Lancelot there are a hundred also-rans. Which is 'realistic', but...