Credits

Writers: David Cartwright, Alan Gowing, Ethan Skemp

Developers: Matthew Dawkins
Editor: Dixie Cochran
Artists: Alex Sheikman
Art Direction: Michael Chaney
Creative Director: Richard Thomas

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2
Arthur‘s Britannia
 Themes and Moods 7 Close Relationships With Death 20
The Empire’s Crown 7 The Hands of Tyr —
Four Kings 8 Brotherhood Among Saxons 21
The Dragon Rises 8 Changeling: Tree, Lake and Stone 22
Uther’s Rage 9 Beasts in the Briars 23
The Kingdom from Below 10 The Courts 24
Camelot 11 Freeholds 25
Locations 11 Crows’ Hold 26
Camulodunum 11 The Threefold Hunter 26
Cadbury 11 Vampire: Shield, Spear, and Sickle 27
Caerleon 11 The Great Deception and the Courts of Night 27
Dun Tagell (Tintagel) 11 The Legion of the Green —
The Unconquered Kindred 28
Venta Belgarum (Winchester) 12
The Lancea et Sanctum — Knights of the Lance 29
Arthur’s Courts 12
The Circles of Mor — Sibyls of the Nemesis 30
Luguwalion (Carlisle) 12
The Encroaching Darkness —
Londinium (London) 13
Maintaining Touchstones, Humanity,
Novus Burgus (Newport) 13 and Feeding Ground in the Dark Ages 30
The Dead that Walk 14 Playing the Game 31
The Bloodied Fields 14 The Old Ways Resurgent 32
Dubglas — The Battles of the Black River Host 14 Threats Without and Evils Within 32
The City of the Legions 15 Running the Game 33
Camlann — Setting the Scene 33
Arthur’s Final Battle 15
Mutable History 33
Night Approaches 16
Legends of the Era 34
Hunters: Fealty, Fear, and Fire 17 Threats to the People 34
The Order of the Black Knight — Threats to the Region 35
A Fraternity of Chivalric Hunters 18
Threats to the Kingdom 35
The Armor of the Black Knight 18
The Bron 37
Assal — Spear of Lugh, Shaft of the Moon 19
Clan Origins 38
Excalibur — The Blade of Kings 19
Crochan 39
Saxon Hunters: Blood and Iron 20
3
Table of Contents
 She stands, pale and imperious in the moonlight of the glade. She raises her arm, a small bird answering the
summons and settling on her outstretched hand. The bird sings a series of shrill notes, and the forest, one voice at a
time, in a rising cacophony of caws and growls, answers back.
“I seek audience with Vile Adham, Tall Man of the oaken downs. Is he here?”
The answer comes, the call of an owl, a cry that brings echoes of fearful memories to the vampire, “Who? Who?”
it asks.
“I am Caecilia, bloody-handed scribe of the Dead Legion. By the treaties of the Court of Night and Day you know
me as Medb, traitor-bride of Conall the Worm-Born, mother of the Legion of the Green, they who hunt your enemies on
legs of four and two—”
A wind rises, the creaking of the boughs like a chuckle cutting her short. From across the glade, a tree snaps, bark
splintering as two dark, oaken hands burst from within. Tearing itself free of the rotting wood, an immense, stooped figure
unfolds, robed in ivy and brambles.
“I know your names, friend Medb,” the tall man says, “what do you require of me?”
“Prophecy. I seek knowledge, a path to victory for our people. The Saxon invasion has resumed, but
this time they bring with them soldiers of shield and spear. I fought two of them a cycle ago, and
they wielded sorceries I do not recognize. Their eyes pierced my transformations, their hews
matched my own for strength, and when I bid them yield, they...refused me. I lost five
good wolves in that battle, I will not be humbled again.”
“And what do you offer?”
“A promise, writ in the heart’s blood of a nightingale.” Medb draws the
songbird close, kissing it gently before piercing its chest with a fingernail.
She holds up her bloodied hands. “A single boon of your choosing,
what do you desire?”
“Friend Medb, there is much that you need to know. I ask
only that you stay awhile, and listen to my story in full. Will
you do this?”
Medb smiles, bowing and spreading her arms wide in a
mummery of supplication. “It is my honor.”
“Then know this truth, and commit it to your soul.
The era of thirteen battles is at hand. The son of the
dragon shall face these threats by hill and down and
river, his knights shall triumph in your name...but
one day he shall falter. The father kills the son, and
the son condemns the father to the sleep of ages. In
that time of sundered brotherhoods, the true Lord of
the Hunt returns, and the witches of shield and spear
shall emerge triumphant. Our only path is that of
retreat, cowering in caves as you did when your nemeses
claimed Rome.”
Medb’s smile pulls back into a snarl. “You dare
speak of nemeses! I came to you in good faith!”
“And I accepted your terms, friend Medb, as you ac-
cepted mine, but these truces shall mean naught when the
Horned God comes to reclaim his names from you. The night
may be constant, but seasons change, and so too must I.”
Adham tilts his head, the smallest gesture, as vines ensnare
Medb’s legs. “You promised to stay a while, and I intend to tell
the story of your children’s follies until the sun itself bears witness...”
 Arthur’s Britannia
Arthur’s Britannia
400-500
400-500CE
CE

In the year 410 CE, the last Roman legions leave Britannia. The Empire
is crumbling, divided and the “eternal” city of Rome, the light of civiliza-
tion, is burning. The Camarilla and the Julii are sundered; those that are left
cower in the Necropolis or lie in torpor in the catacombs beneath the fallen
splendor of Rome. In the wake of its exodus from Britannia, the senate leaves
a power vacuum. From the northern border of Caledonia and across the sea
from Hibernia, Celtic and Pictish barbarians come to reclaim what once was
theirs and punish the Britons for their weakness, for falling in line under the

Somewhere in
Roman lash. The land is the stage for a song of steel, the rhythm is the heavy

the world there

footfall of warriors’ boots, the clash of swords carries the tune, and the choirs

isSomewhere
a defeatinfor
sing with the screams of the fallen.

everyone. Some
the Older powers revel in their regained freedom. The Weihan Cynn, the golden-
world there is a defeat eyed Kindred of Britannia, once forced back into the dark depths of the forests by

are destroyed
for everyone. Some are the fire and steel of the legionnaires, return to strike unions and pacts with the

bysome
defeat,
made and
destroyed by defeat, old powers and the Hedge to regain their former dominion. Tribes find patronage

some made small and

and small with old gods, if they really are gods. The spirit of the Harrier, the Herjan, runs
and mean by victory. with their warriors; is it divine or does it just seem so? Are they swearing fealty

meantriumphs
by victory.
Greatness lives in one to the creatures beyond the Hedge or simply driven by their hand-me-down

over Greatness
who equally hatred of the Romans? Those sky-clad berserker warriors among them, frothing

lives inSteinbeck,
one who
defeat and victory. and foaming as the warp spasm takes them, are they man or beast... or both?
Within the borders of Britannia herself, chaos reigns. Romano-British

triumphs equally
— John nobles left behind vie for dominance, but with no legions supporting them they

over defeat and

The Acts of King Arthur cling desperately to the power once graced upon them by Rome. Among these
and His Noble Knights
victory.
holdouts, those Kindred who remain loyal to Rome but were left behind and
those who saw an opportunity, remaining to build their own kingdoms out of

John Steinbeck,
the blackened ruins of the Empire. Some don the appearance of the changeling
courts, seeking to sway the herd who still revere their pagan “gods.” This may

The Acts of
appear as a boon to those who have escaped the Hedge, but it is a double-edged

King Arthur
sword. The obfuscation helps hide the Lost but draws the attention of Gentry

and His Noble

and Huntsmen alike. The Kindred arrogantly dismiss the horn blasts of the True
Fae, but for the Lost hiding in the herd it is not so easily ignored.

Knights
Some mortal lords see a future free from Roman influence and they wage
bloody war against those they see as tainted by the Empire’s influence. Worse
are those opportunists hidden in their ranks, the robber barons who serve only
their own base interests. There is a reason these are called the Dark Ages. The
pall of ignorance creeping over the cowering tribes of the Britons (who either
cast off the iron shackles of Empire or mourn the loss of enlightened Roman
society) makes them malleable to those with the will to lead.
Aside from the immortal and the unliving are others who covet the fertile
hills and verdant forests of Britannia. To the southeast lie the massed and
superstitious ranks of the Saxon nations, Angles, Jutes and Frisians seeking
their own opportunity. They see the chance to expand, to conquer and drive
the encroaching darkness back, because within the ranks of the brutal invaders
comes something new: Mortal hunters experienced at facing down the monsters.
Where the Celts and Picts rely upon naked savagery and weapons of bronze,
the Saxons bring blades of steel and a formidable thirst for conquest.

6
Arthur‘s Britannia
 There is little to bring hope to the dismayed and de- it carefully, the pall of ignorance can easily be ignited by
moralized tribes of the Britons but all is not yet lost. From the spark of fervor and raise the cry, “Thou shalt not suffer
among them one shall arise, the Once and Future King, a witch to live!”
born to the line of Pendragon and destined to build a leg- Those who see the liberation as an oncoming dawn
end in unyielding stone. He is the first Christian King of must face the truth; there are those things returning that
Britannia, Arthur. The Knights of Camelot and the virtues the strength of the Empire held at bay, and they will find
of the Round Table herald an age of light and justice in the hours before the dawn are the darkest of all.
the face of shadow and oppression. It is a promise that will
ultimately fail in the face of mortal appetite and avarice,
but a legacy will be born to inspire a nation for generations.
Blood
That would be cold comfort to the serfs and churls of Briton In this time of upheaval one rule holds true: Might
who labor under the feudal yolk, even if they could see it makes right. Whether to bind your holdings in a grip of
coming. All they know is they toil for whoever owns them iron, carve a new domain from the lands of your enemies
and their land. They know they bleed when they are called or bring forth the virtues of honor and justice, you must be
to bear arms for a cause they don’t fully understand and they prepared to get down in the blood and the mud and fight
know that they all, as one, fear the setting of the sun and for it. Even those who would barter with the old powers to
the coming of the night. claim their portion must pay the blood price. Steel is the
currency of this dark time for, while people may be bought

Themes and Moods with gold, they can only be held by steel.

Change
The lands of Britannia are in upheaval. In the wake of
The Empire’s Crown
the ordered rule of the Roman Empire there are those who With the Empire of Rome crumbling, the legions with-
mourn the absence of enlightened civilization and those draw to defend the seat of the emperor. The incumbent
who celebrate the end of oppression and privilege. The King of Britannia, Constans Aurelianus II, is a puppet. Son
Romano-Briton nobles keen and cling to what remains of of Emperor Constantine III, he is a monk turned king at
the marble institutions of the past, desperate for the edge the urging of an ambitious noble named Vortigern. With
that will let them hold on to their power, while the lords of the emperor dead and the legions gone, Vortigern can take
the newly freed Britannia use any means to savage the rem- the final step and rid himself of the last tie to the Empire.
nants of the oppressor’s culture. Religion undergoes sweep- Slain in his bed by Pictish assassins, Constans’ throne is
ing changes; the Romans bring with them Christianity and usurped in 411 CE by his trusted advisor and orchestrator
its teachings. The druidic influence of the Weihan Cynn of his murder, Vortigern.
seeks to undo what the Romans have wrought, but to do All does not go well for the new tyrant. Saxon foedarati
that they must clash with the new religion to bring back (mercenary troops bought or subjugated by the Romans)
what once was. revolt en masse in 440 CE. Despite the support of many
Kindred who see Vortigern (or “Wyrtgeorn”) and his covet-
Darkness ous nature as malleable, the usurper king needs more swords
for his banners. Between quashing the foedarati rebellion,
The light of civilization has set upon this green isle. land squabbles between the nobles (those trying to reclaim
Those of a darker nature who had been driven away under the glory of Romano Briton and those desperate to relegate
the order enforced by the Legions of Rome fight and bar- the Empire to the ashes of history) and border attacks by
gain to forge their kingdoms. Those that had served the the Celts and Picts, Vortigern is driven to approach the
once-invincible seat of the Empire now cling to whatever exiled Saxon brothers Hengist and Horsa. In 449 CE, these
they can. Beyond the wars fought for territory is a war of unbound war leaders agree to provide mercenary troops to
ideology; the enlightened writings and philosophies of keep the barbarians at bay and help subjugate the holdout
Rome are rooted out and burned in favor of spoken his- nobles. The brothers, settled on the isle of Thanet off the
tories or legends carried through the times of occupation coast of Kent, send word to their people of “the worthless-
and revived (ofttimes inaccurately) from the mouths of the ness of the Britons and richness of the land” drawing more
newly independent tribes. warriors from Saxony. The strain of supporting these merce-
naries taxes the Britons greatly, and Vortigern orders them
Gloom to leave, but Hengist has other ideas. Over a table strewn
The land is cloaked in creeping shadows. Those who with empty wine goblets, Hengist has Vortigern betrothed
bathed in the golden light of Roman enlightenment are to his daughter, Rowena. The dowry for this marriage? The
forced to hide in the smoke of its charred remains. If those Kingdom of Kent and the title King of the Cantware. The
who seek knowledge continue to do so then they must do Saxons will not leave and, with a clear foothold estab-
lished, they set their eyes upon the conquest of Britannia.
7
The Empire’s Crown
 Vortigern’s son, Vortimer (taken by some prophetic vision It is 456 CE when Vortigern is tracked to his castle Caer
of the Saxon threat) overthrows his father and assumes the Guorthigirn, in the mountains of North Wales. The druid
throne to meet the approaching betrayal. Merlin foretold of his ruin at the hands of Ambrosius and
Uther upon the day he slew Constans, and here the druid
Four Kings stands to witness his prophecy realized. After three days
of siege bombardment, Ambrosius gives the order for the
Vortimer fought four valorous, bloody actions against castle to be burned with all trapped inside. Some tell that
the Saxon invaders, driving them back to Thanet. At the St. Germanus himself called God’s wrath and fire rained
third battle, in a place known as Set Thirgabail, Horsa falls. from the sky in response. A few whisper darker tales that
Finally, upon the shore of the Gallic sea, Vortimer drives Vortigern, his mind and heart broken after witnessing the
the Saxons from Britannia entirely, but his actions cost death of his wife and kin, and upon realizing what he had
him dearly. Upon his deathbed, Vortimer instructs that his done to reach that point, did escape the burning castle.
bones be buried where the Saxons first made landfall to ward They say he wanders the hills and valleys of Cambria as an
against their return, but his words are ignored. Vortigern empty, ragged husk, possessed only of the hunger he once
returns to the throne and, not long after, the Saxons follow. had in life and cloaked in the darkness that perverted his
To Vortigern’s surprise, a call for a peace summit in soul. Maybe he submitted to the Embrace of the Kindred,
Sarum comes to him from his father-in-law Hengist. The maybe he became something darker. During the siege,
representatives meet but it is almost a death knell for the Ambrosius witnesses the passage of a dragon through the
Chieftains of Britain. This “Night of the Long Knives” is a sky, perhaps it is what prompts him to burn the castle to the
bloody reminder that the Saxons take what they want by ground but, from that omen, he claims the name Pendragon,
fair means or foul. Four hundred and fifty Briton Chieftains the Dragon King.
are slain and Vortigern is spared only because of his marriage
to Rowena. By this time there are those who are tired of
Vortigern’s folly, those who weren’t old enough to oppose
The Dragon Rises
him when their brother was murdered and the usurper took Even enraged by the death of his daughter, Hengist is
the throne rightfully theirs. Those whose blood traces back no fool. In 488 CE, on the far side of the Humber River,
to the emperors of Rome: Ambrosius and Uther Aurelianus, he raises an army of 200,000 warriors and makes to destroy
who would soon be known as Pendragon. Ambrosius, Uther, and Germanus’ paltry 10,000-strong
Ambrosius and Uther had been hidden away in force. But he underestimates the three experienced
Armorica (Brittany) upon the bloody murder of their elder commanders and the fervor of their warriors. Germanus
brother Constans and, under the tutelage of their uncle himself put flight to a vastly superior Saxon army by using
King Budic I, both became skilled in the arenas of war and the echoes of his battle cry “Alleluia!” in the Vale of the
politics. Knowing they could not unite the tribes of the Mold to make it seem like his army was the larger. On the
Britons with Vortigern lurking in the shadows, they form field of Beli Mawr, the Saxons are routed and the Britons
an alliance with Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre. Germanus is pursue them across the fields of Britannia. Hengist rallies
a powerful man, a one-time duke become deacon, elevated his troops at Cunungeberg and turns to face the oncom-
to bishop, he practices strict austerity and unyielding piety ing Britons. His chance at victory in the bloody battle is
for the good of his followers. He is also no stranger to war snatched away when Armorican reinforcements, seeking
and command. With their combined supporters they cross favor with this valorous new king, pounce upon the engaged
from Gaul to Britannia to end Vortigern’s craven rule. As Saxons, sealing the Britons’ victory with Hengist himself
an initial gesture to Germanus’ purpose, to bring the faith- taken by the Consul of Gloucester and decapitated. As a
ful of Briton in line with the new Catholic Church, they gesture to stem Saxon retribution, Ambrosius accepts the
first meet with a great crowd of priests and their followers. petitions of the surviving war leaders, Octa and Eosa, who
In an effort to discredit the holy man, Vortigern has his submit to his rule. He pardons them and gives them lands
daughter confront the assembly and name him father of her to the north. This both placates the warlike Saxons and
child, conceived out of wedlock. The scheme is proven a places them as a buffer between the lands of the Britons
fraud; Germanus names Vortigern father of the child and and those of the Picts.
condemns the incestuous relations of the pretender. After With Vortigern gone and the Saxons appeased,
winning the support of the priests and their congregations, Ambrosius forges the Kingdom of Britannia but not with-
Germanus gives thanks at the tomb of St. Alban, one of the out opposition. Changelings amongst the nobility seek
first Briton Saints, and receives a vision of his own eventual to undermine his efforts, with stability not serving their
martyrdom. The Cult of Saint Alban swells the ranks of the court’s desires. A divided land is easier to prey upon, but
joint army and Germanus, now leading the clergy of Briton, the power of the high king’s charisma is inexorable as a
charges Vortigern in absentia for his crimes and (after a glacier and he makes ally after ally. Their salvation comes
shattering victory over Vortigern’s forces in Guollopum) from an unexpected quarter: Vortigern’s cancerous influence
crowns Ambrosius High King of the Britons. is not entirely expunged. Whether he escaped the fire of

8
Arthur‘s Britannia
his father’s castle or was never there at all, Pascent, son of
Vortigern, clings to a shred of his father’s power, claiming
the Kingdom of Builth. Upon promise of great reward, the
Saxon assassin Eopa poisons Ambrosius as he lies ill in
Winchester at a time when Uther is in Ireland quelling a
rebellion Pascent arranged. The satisfaction of his revenge
is short-lived. Upon news of Ambrosius’ death, something
savage awakens inside Uther, or perhaps it was always there,
held at bay by his older brother’s example.

Uther’s Rage
Uther crushes the combined forces of Pascent and
King Gillomanius of Ireland in a rage against the murder
of his brother and, with his new soothsayer Merlin in tow,
makes for Winchester to receive his crown and take his
place as the High King of the Britons. Unfortunately for
Uther, Octa decides that, with Ambrosius dead, his oath
to the king no longer holds. Gathering the scattered and
demoralized followers of Pascent and Gillomanius to his
banner, he marches south to make claim for the throne.
Uther meets him in battle at Bernicia but is forced to
withdraw south from the lands of Hadrian’s Wall to York
were Octa triumphs again. Finally, at the Battle of Mount
Damen, Uther defeats the Saxons. Urged on by his trusted
friend Gorlois of Dumnonia, he sets his army upon them
at night while they are drunk on the spoils of their previ-
ous victories and carves a bloody ruin through their ranks.
Some credit Merlin with calling on a powerful fae enchant-
ment to restore the strength of Uther’s knights before the
battle. Whatever magic might have been involved, Octa
and Eosa flee to Germania to lick their wounds and plan
their next move.
While still warring with the Saxons, Uther, his mind
increasingly frayed, has become obsessed with Igraine, wife
of Gorlois. Aware of his king’s darkening appetites, Gorlois
sends his wife to Tintagel, the farthest and strongest keep
of his holdings, for her protection. Undaunted, Uther de-
clares war on Gorlois and it is while his erstwhile friend is
engaged that Uther has Merlin use his powers to give him
the visage of Gorlois so he can walk into Tintagel and take
his pleasure in Igraine’s bed. By the savagery of his desires
and the sin of his loins is Arthur conceived that very night,
even as Gorlois falls beneath his soldiers’ thirsty blades.
Taking Igraine as his own, Uther continues his war against
the Saxons who still worry at the borders of Britannia but,
poisoned by his own nature, his health fails. Even then he
insists upon leading from the front. At Verulamium, in
battle once more with Octa, the Saxons see him propped
in his saddle and call him “The Half-Dead King.” It is here
Octa finally avenges his father and replays history. He has
the well at Uther’s camp poisoned and, finally, the Dragon
King succumbs to death.
Fearing the Saxons’ revenge upon the king’s death,
Igraine hides her young son Arthur away as chaos once
again rages across the lands of Britannia. Saxon raids

9
The Empire’s Crown
 are common, and it is all the barons and dukes can do to becoming plagued by lung disease. Virulent skin diseases run
hold the country from Octa and his army of Goths and through the population. Health improves in larger settle-
Saxons. During this time, Merlin takes Uther’s sword and ments, however. Though the retreat of Rome means less
sets it in a stone, inscribed with the words “Whomsoever trade in a variety of foodstuffs, and therefore more limited
Pulleth out this Sword from this Stone is Rightwise King nutrition, the Romans practiced good hygiene (including
of Britannia.” Nobles from all the kingdoms come to test oral hygiene), and some families keep up the tradition as
their virtue against the druid’s spell but it defies them for best as they can.
more than a decade until a young boy wrests the steel free Language: In prior centuries, the most common lan-
and the new High King is declared, Arthur Pendragon. At guages were Latin and various Celtic languages, in particular
the age of 15 he assumes the throne, his youth belying his Common Brittonic. The arrival of the Saxons in the fifth
war-like aspect. The campaign he wages against the Saxons century added Old English, still written in runes rather
knows not defeat. than the Latin alphabet, to the mix. Language may affect
a vampire or changeling’s ability to blend in, depending on
The Kingdom from Below their point of origin; for example, many changelings who
unknowingly spent decades or centuries in Faerie speak
For the common people of the kingdom, Camelot is a Celtic languages exclusively.
remote concept with questionable impact on their lives. Technology: The people of the island work in iron and
The average person in Britain knows the name of the pre- precious metals. Arthur has minted no new coins, so trade
vious king Uther, and the name of the current king. The is largely a matter of Roman coins from a century ago or
commoners don’t idolize their king, but they are grateful increasingly frequent barter. Commoners have wooden and
he offers a stabilizing presence that hasn’t been felt since sometimes iron tools. Spears, knives, and bows are the most
the legions left. The more battles Arthur fights against
the Saxons, the more his fame grows — among Britons
and Saxons alike. The renown of any individual knight is
dependent on the location. If a warrior successfully slew Timeline
the Great Red Boar that was killing woodcutters in the
The following timeline is a mix of historical events
local forest, then the locals consider him the greatest of with known dates, historical events assigned
Arthur’s knights no matter his actual standing. Mordred’s arbitrary dates (in italics), and wholly legendary
name becomes wider spread as he gathers more disgruntled events also assigned arbitrary dates (in bold). This
warriors to his cause. is just one possible timeline for Arthurian Britain;
Entire books could (and have been) written on the daily alter however you see fit.
life of post-Roman Britain. Some of the key aspects to keep 401: The last Roman troops guarding Hadrian’s
in mind as you build your chronicle include: Wall are recalled to defend Rome.
Identity: The recall of the legions was a strong blow to
the Romano-British. What point was there in being proud
408: Roman army at Ticinum mutinies.
Roman citizens when the Empire has abandoned you? Much 410: Emperor Honorius recalls the last legions
of Britain is still trying to rebuild a new identity from the from Britain. Alaric’s Visigoths sack Rome. London
remains of deserted towns and unenforced laws. Some see partially abandoned.
the retreat as a sign they should return to the Celtic tradi- 430: Vortigern allows Anglo-Saxons to settle on
tions possessed before the Romans came, but those tradi- Thanet.
tions are rarely chronicled… though rumor has it that the
Good Folk remember.
446: The Britons make their final appeal to Rome
for help against the Picts and Scots.
Faith: The Romans brought new faiths with them, and
Christianity is surviving better than the cults of the Roman 455: Hengist founds the kingdom of Kent.
gods. Britons tear down temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Ceres, 488: Ambrosius’ forces defeat Hengist,
sometimes to make new Christian churches, sometimes and the king of Kent is executed.
simply to make new homes. The older Celtic faiths still have
490: Ambrosius dies; Uther becomes king.
a foothold, if a tenuous one, and the Saxons have brought
new gods of their own. Complicating matters further is the 495: Uther dies.
presence of the fae: The line between an extremely local- 530: The Battle of Mount Badon: Arthur de-
ized god and a changeling benefactor is not very distinct. feats the Saxon forces, temporarily halting
Health: Hard physical labor takes a toll on the poor; Saxon expansion.
farmers and laborers often suffer arthritis beginning in their
535: The Battle of Camlann. Arthur and
early 20s. Women give birth very young, and childbirth Camelot fall.
complications often turn fatal for women of all ages. Farmers
breathe woodsmoke in windowless houses every day,

10
Arthur‘s Britannia
common weapons; most swords in the land are Roman or presence and a focus on mortal conflict. A Camelot in Wales
Saxon make, and the crossbow has yet to appear. Mail is a might play to the strengths of a changeling-heavy chronicle.
Saxon favorite, and many of Arthur’s knights wear a simple
mail shirt taken or bartered from the newcomers.
Threats: The Saxons are the clearest danger at the gates.
Camulodunum
The farther east the settlement, the greater the danger of be- Camulodunum, the “stronghold of Camulos,” was the
ing subjugated and brought under Saxon rule. Tribes such as first established capital of Roman Britain. Boudicca led the
the Picts and the Scots still raid along the northern borders Iceni to destroy the settlement around 60 CE, but it was
without Roman soldiers keeping them at bay. The average rebuilt and flourished once more in the following centuries.
commoner fears the thick forests and avoids travel — some Many of the Roman works, such as its chariot circus and
wild animals may be dangerous, and wolves are numerous several temples, are demolished by the time Arthur estab-
in Britain, but superstitions about ghosts, faeries, and worse lishes his court here, but the influence remains. This is a
run rampant. The superstitions are correct. Camelot with beautiful mosaics and repurposed tilework
in its new Christian churches.

Camelot
A Camelot set here has a stronger vampiric presence.
What’s more, the Saxon settlements at Thanet lie just to the
south, across the estuary of the Thames — if Camulodunum
The true face of Camelot is a matter of speculation for is not Camelot in your chronicle, it has likely already fallen.
modern scholars; there’s little evidence it existed at all, and The Christian faith was also well-represented in the town;
that gives our stories freedom. Because we can’t say where even if Camulodunum is not Camelot proper, it may house
a historical Camelot was, it can be anywhere that best suits a prophet who knows the path to the Grail.
the chronicle’s themes. Because no clear remains were left,
a Storyteller may choose to invoke a truly supernatural end
to Arthur’s domain, scouring the very stones apart. Cadbury
Arthur doesn’t remain in Camelot year round. He rides Cadbury Castle, in Somerset, was a hillfort in the Bronze
out when there’s war, of course. But he and certain of his Age and the Iron Age alike. It lies near the River Cam,
court travel during the spring, summer, and autumn to visit which may have lent its name to Arthur’s seat. The lime-
his vassals and settle disputes in person. Several of his quests stone hill lent itself well to defense, and would have made
against supernatural beasts also take place in these months. a fine staging ground for Arthur’s defense against Saxons
He inevitably returns to spend the winter here, though, as coming from the east. From here, Arthur could defend the
the weather makes travel more difficult. Several of the king’s lands all the way west to Tintagel.
trusted warriors remain to defend Camelot while he’s away, This is a martial Camelot, and more besides. A short
and several of them know more about the supernatural than distance to the north lie the marshes surrounding the
is comfortable for the vampires and changelings who might freehold of Insula Avalonnis, a place of great faerie magic.
like to infiltrate and influence his court. A Camelot set here would be a fine showcase for intrigues
Camelot is the hope of Britain, though that hope is fading. involving Morgana, or indeed any Lost.
Arthur’s seat is the most splendid human settlement on the
islands, outshone only by the wondrous and sinister faerie
courts beyond the Hedge. Obviously, it doesn’t look like a
Caerleon
medieval castle or a Hollywood set, but its Dark Ages beauty Caerleon, in South Wales, began as a Roman legionary
should still be clear. Play up its art — Roman mosaics, carved fort called Isca Silurum, after the River Usk. Its easy access
wooden pillars, glass vessels, golden jewelry — as well as the to the sea makes it a prosperous Camelot, still retaining
lingering smell of smoke, the darkness at the corners of the much of the wealth it gained before trade began to fall off.
ceilings, the thick mists that hang over the town at night. If you prefer a truly regal court, Arthur may have rebuilt
People laugh more, though the songs grow sadder. some of the luxuries established by the Romans, such as the
grand baths and the amphitheater. The amphitheater may
even have been the “round table” itself, in a figurative sense.

Locations Caerleon is fairly well removed from Saxon territory;

any hunters here are a bit out of their element. But vam-
Camelot is the heart of the realm, and what the play- pires may be drawn to the splendors of this Camelot, and
ers’ characters experience here will inform how they see of course the Lost are not far away.
the kingdom.
Storytellers should feel free to review the following list of
potential sites and choose one that best suits the game you
Dun Tagell (Tintagel)
have in mind. A Camelot in the southeast will be closer to The site one day known as Tintagel features in mod-
Saxon territory, which may suit a game with a strong hunter ern Arthurian myth as the place where a disguised Uther

11
Locations
 raped Igraine by fraud and conceived Arthur. As Camelot, mainland. When he discovered a young peasant with a
it holds a heavy sense of destiny. Arthur claims the land knack for dealing with birds of prey, he found a place for
of his mother, a gesture that would not go unnoticed by the youth. Arden cares for the court’s hawks, falcons, and a
matriarchal pagans and Christians alike. The site is also coop of pigeons besides — if the Romans could use carrier
far from the Saxon lands, though a particularly bold enemy pigeons, why not Camelot? The aviary is the only one of its
might try an attack from the sea. kind in Britain, and Arthur’s knights treat the fey-seeming
Dun Tagell’s location on the seaside cliffs of the Cornish Arden with a mix of befuddlement and respect.
coast offers plenty of environmental storytelling opportuni- The junior mews-keeper is shy and reclusive, easily
ties. Shipwreck victims, raiders from the sea, furious storms overlooked. Arden’s exhaustive knowledge of birds could
cloaking a True Fae hunt, Hedge-islands out at sea that ap- be mistaken for witchcraft, but it’s actually the fruit of keen
pear only when the moon is right — Tintagel contributes observation. Arden has sharp ears and excellent recall, and
scene after scene of rich visuals. is the first one to see the messages brought back from courier
pigeons. The strange youth is nearly as well-informed as a
Venta Belgarum (Winchester) spymaster, and nobody has any idea. Animal Ken (Birds
of Prey) 5, Politics 3, Streetwise (Far-flung Rumors) 3
The Roman town of Venta Belgarum sits not far from

Arthur’s Courts
the southern coast and the Isle of Wight. Like other Roman
towns, it declined when the legions withdrew, and was
abandoned within decades — but as Camelot it would be
restored. It sits almost halfway between east and west, and Like many other contemporary monarchs, Arthur
as such is a tempting target for the Saxons. spends a portion of each year traveling to, and reign-
The Winchester Camelot is not the proudest, or the ing from, settlements throughout his realm. Apart from
most defensible, or the most mystical choice. But as such, Camelot, he travels a roughly triangular route between
it may be one of the most evocative. This is the smaller, three other courts — the north, the south, and the west.
dimmer Camelot, where the dark is creeping in and the
gloom has set about the rafters. Saxon hunters prowl ever
closer, vampires taste bitterness in the locals’ blood, and the
Luguwalion (Carlisle)
Winter Court comes calling to feed on the mounting sorrow. The northernmost settlement to receive Arthur’s court
is Luguwalion, once a Roman town that supplied the forts
The King’s Hand along Hadrian’s Wall. It is at the heart of the kingdom of
Cai’s duty is to keep Arthur’s household, a duty per- Rheged, a realm willingly subordinate to Arthur. The people
sonally granted by his foster brother and king. Cai does of Rheged are hardy fighters, used to defending their own
not owe his prestigious position to his family connections from the Picts and the Scots. Meirchion Gul is the aged
alone: He is a brave and ferocious warrior, who has tested lord of Rheged, and vassal to Arthur; he has a sickness in
his sword arm against giants and beasts alongside his king. his bones that enfeebles him, but he has great reservoirs
But he is also stubborn and prone to take offense at slights of war knowledge to share. Meirchion’s young grandson
against himself or his family. He was present for many of Urien Rheged eventually marries the enchantress Morgana.
Arthur’s early battles, and carries the scars to prove it. Cai is Luguwalion is one of the stoutest fortresses standing
renowned for his stubborn strength, but it’s less well-known in the realm. The town has an impressive stone wall, and
that he’s considerably cannier than his reddened features the lord has a sturdy castle. Half a mile to the northeast, a
and bull neck would imply. Roman auxiliary cavalry fort still stands as part of Hadrian’s
Cai does his job well. He keeps a sharp eye on the ser- Wall. The kingdom of Rheged has accepted the faith of
vants and guards of the royal household, and is sufficiently Christ, but old altars to the Roman war god, marked to Mars
mistrustful to make matters difficult for any outsider at- Ocelus, Mars Victorius, and Mars Belatucader, have been
tempting to infiltrate Camelot. Local rumor holds that carefully preserved within the town. Several of Rheged’s
a wound from his sword will not heal; the origin of this most veteran warriors feel it’s foolish to throw away the
blessing is unknown, but he’s said to have slain a vampire blessing of a battle god no matter your faith. Changelings
with it (among many other things). Cai’s loyalty to friends of the Summer Court believe a battle oath or oath of ven-
and family is unstinting, making him a desirable ally and geance sworn before these three altars carries particular
a very undesirable enemy. Intimidation (Relentless) 4, weight with the Wyrd.
Investigation (Household) 3, Weaponry (Sword) 5 Two hundred years ago, Carlisle was the seat of Marcus
The Junior Mews-Keeper Carausius, a Roman commander who declared himself
Emperor of the North. He was assassinated after seven years,
Arden is a scruffy youth, feathers in his hair and white and the Empire condemned him to Damnatio Memoriae
stains on his jerkin, who cares for a variety of birds in the — to be forgotten. Rumor among the Kindred hints that
newly established aviary. Falconry is still largely unknown Carausius held more than temporal power, and the Roman
in Britain, but Arthur had word of the practice from the
12
Arthur‘s Britannia
effort to suppress his memories was in part an effort to hide The area around Novus Burgus has a long history of raids
whatever blasphemous power he’d attained. Carausius between chieftains; King Gwynllyw is but one of many.
minted a number of coins with various phrases glorifying One of the area’s tensions is that the local warriors are used
his reign, and it’s said that a few contain clues to his secret. to riding out to take what (or whom) they require, and
not all of them have taken well to the coming of Arthur’s
Londinium (London) peace. When King Arthur is attending one of his other
courts, some of the knights here inevitably descend into
Londinium has seen better days. It prospered during the old feuds or attempt to carry off one another’s sisters or
Roman occupation thanks to its vital access to the sea, but daughters. Some Kindred use these belligerent warriors as
by the middle of the fifth century, much of the settlement somewhat-disposable catspaws; all it takes is a few whispers
has been abandoned. Several buildings, including a major at the right time.
church and the manse where Arthur holds court during his
The Rider Ahead
visits, were assembled a century ago out of masonry reused
from other buildings. The town has an oddly patchwork One of Arthur’s several nephews by his half-sister
look overall, befitting a kingdom built from two cultures and Morgause, Agravain is a hard-hearted warrior with a knack
with a third at its door. A great bridge crosses the Thames, for carrying grudges. He currently holds the duty of riding
where a smaller portion of the city sits on the low-lying, ahead of Arthur’s court as it travels, arriving in a town a
marshy south bank. A small group of Saxons has established few days early to inform the locals to make ready for the
a semi-permanent camp outside the central town, and so king. In truth, Arthur gave him this position in part to
far they seem more interested in “Lundenwic” trade than keep Agravain away from court for brief periods of time, so
clashing with the locals. So far. that any slights he may have given or received have time
When Arthur brings his court here, he deals in part to heal. Sadly, Agravain often takes out his frustrations on
with the remaining wealthy families who still preserve as any of the town-dwellers that don’t seem to be preparing
much of their Roman way of life as is possible. He also pays for the king’s visit quickly enough.
his respects to the local church, and to the healer Sister Agravain is a strong fighter, and well-connected — he
Placidia. The king’s visit is both opportunity and danger holds particular influence with his brother Gawain and his
for the vampires remaining here. There is no better time half-brother Mordred. He is ultimately loyal to Arthur and
to try influencing his court, but it is also more difficult to the kingdom, but his arrogance and temper drive him to
preserve the Masquerade as other vampires close in with find some way to distinguish himself. A skilled manipula-
similar intentions. tor might, with caution, be able to make a useful catspaw
Most of Londinium is Christian by this point, but well- of the headstrong young knight, but Agravain has many
connected rumormongers might hear tales of an endur- ambitions of his own, and is not always the best at tak-
ing mystery cult of Mithras. The Mithraic cult is said to ing direction. Intimidation 4, Ride (Foul Weather) 4,
be either a group of hunters unaligned with their Saxon Weaponry (Broadsword) 4
counterparts, or a coven who simultaneously venerate The Blessed Healer
Mithras and a lion-headed demon called Arimanius. Both
When Arthur’s court comes to London, the king himself
possibilities pose threats to the Lost and Kindred who
pays a visit to Sister Placidia. The young nun is a member
frequent Londinium.
of one of Britain’s first convents, no more than a dozen
virgins and widows calling themselves brides of Christ. Her
Novus Burgus (Newport) grandparents were talented apothecaries who learned their
trade before the Roman withdrawal, and Placidia learned
Novus Burgus, in South Wales, was the westernmost
at their feet. The town’s faithful consider Sister Placidia to
edge of the Roman occupation. Now it is the westernmost
be blessed: not only are her remedies remarkably effective,
edge of Arthur’s realm. The nearby fortress of Caerleon
but her skin is free of the all-too-common diseases run-
is, if not Camelot itself, the site of Arthur’s court when
ning among the populace. She has tended to members of
he rides west. King Gwynllyw is the cantrev’s current lord
Arthur’s court and Saxon outcasts alike — anyone in pain
and vassal to Arthur. Gwynllyw was formerly a ruthless
may gain her charity.
raider and kidnapper, but after a vision of a white ox with
a black spot on its forehead, he was inspired to convert to Sister Placidia has no supernatural gifts of healing, but
Christianity and founded a church on nearby Stow Hill. her knowledge is uncanny. She knows how to treat sword
Some Lost suspect one of their own was responsible for wounds, elf-shot, and disease. Although she knows little
altering the robber-chieftain’s dreams, but if that were the of vampires — and many of them are afraid to approach a
truth, it would never do to have it come out. Gwynllyw’s woman of faith — she recognizes the signs of blood loss and
son Cadoc is if anything more pious than his father, prefer- can help a victim recover more quickly. Because her primary
ring to serve as a simple abbot rather than take command concern is alleviating suffering, she is even willing to treat a
of his father’s armies. person’s ills secretly… though avoiding the curious eyes of

13
Arthur’s Courts
 her fellow sisters might be more of an obstacle. Academics As war becomes more commonplace, so too does the
(Theology) 3, Empathy 4, Medicine (Apothecary) 5 plague of the dead. A few wandering corpses becomes a
The Saxon Envoy dozen, several score, sometimes even more. Their march
drives the small holds and fiefs into isolation, and as the
When the Saxon kingdoms need to send a message to number of slain rises, so too does the hungry aftermath.
Arthur under a banner of peace, they send Warian. The The Brythonic people struggle under this nightmare, and
Saxon envoy is a scarred man who’s survived to middle age, find themselves beseeching Saxon settlers for aid. These
who speaks Latin well and Celtic well enough. Warian carries warriors from overseas, raised on the stories of einherjar and
a diplomatic token given by Arthur himself, allowing the draugr alike, are strident in rallying their neighbors, a trend
Saxon to visit the cities where Arthur holds his court without that causes many to see them as saviors in these dark times.
being taken captive or beaten. Warian honestly argues for
peace when the Saxons speak of truce, and he calmly deliv-
ers threats when such is his charge. He often mentions a
recently born grandchild during diplomatic measures, by way The Bloodied Fields
of proving that he has every reason to avoid a prolonged war. Over the course of his reign, Arthur engaged in 13 major
The envoy’s key talent is not his fair speech — Warian is battles, each having a severe impact on men and monsters
blunt and proud — but his patience. He gladly endures insults in the region, some of which are documented below:
and implications thrown his way without losing his temper, a
valuable skill for a messenger. He also has a keen memory for
names and faces. Warian might praise or make introductions
Dubglas — The Battles
for a Saxon hunter if the need arose, so long as said hunter
didn’t have a reputation for causing trouble. Intimidation 3,
of the Black River Host
Persuasion (Patient) 4, Weaponry (Broadsword) 3. Four of Arthur’s battles are waged over an extended
campaign in the Linnuis region to the north-east against
the Saxon Colgrin. Colgrin, aided by his brother Badulf

The Dead that Walk and in alliance with the Frankish Duke Chedrich, vio-
lently subjugates and forges alliances with many of the
War brings ill tidings. The camp followers, looting and Scoti and Pictish clans in the region, granting their
picking through the dead of the battlefield, know not to troops from overseas a significant territorial advantage.
tarry too long. They bring shovels and torches, even in Arthur counters this by using Colgrin’s sizeable lands against
daylight, and the more pious among them burn herbs over him, staging a series of light cavalry raids along the river Dubglas
the corpses. Whenever they claim a coin or scrap of jewelry and ambushing Colgrin’s hosts as they patrol the region. These
from the dead, they offer a terse “thank you” so the ghosts raids culminate in a full, pitched battle between Arthur and
of the slain see this exchange as a gift rather than a theft. Badulf. Taking advantage of an early winter, Badulf moves to
When night falls, the wisest looters retreat far away and cross the frozen Dubglas with his personal guard and outmaneu-
leave the ravens and crows to eat their fill. ver Arthur’s skirmishing force, but mountain thaws cause the
The night after a battle, nearby homesteads call their ice to become slick and weak, and Badulf’s forces are divided.
children to bed early. Parents move from room to room Arthur’s spearmen drive them into the river, damming it with
with a hammer and nails, shuttering every entrance to the frozen corpses until the waters run black with blood. Lacking
house. A sprig of mistletoe is set over the doorway, and a Badulf’s men to transport goods between them, the fortified
pinch of herbs is cast into the hearth. Hatchets are held keeps of Colgrin and Chedrich are isolated and besieged one
in vigil, and prayers are made to the night sky. Silence is after the other, their local allies abandoning them to their fate.
a blessing in these long nights. The alternatives — the During this time, the freeholds of the Lost active in the
wet pad of footprints, the frightened squeals of wounded region are buckling under oppression from an invading force
cattle, the creak of splintering wood — are all far worse. of vampires that do not honor the Treaties of Night and Day.
This is a world in which vampires are not a fanciful fiction, These vampires hold powerful powers of enthrallment, and
they are the inevitable horror that follows in the wake of control swarms of insects to do their bidding. They use these
every slaughter. They rise from the battlefield, feral beasts that powers to ravage crops, leave plants sterile, and to poison
lash out at the carrion birds and grave robbers that loiter too the minds of humans and Lost alike into mindless servitude.
long into the night. They skulk through the fields and streets These vampires, known as the Melissidae, have enthralled
in packs, descending in droves on the unprepared. For days, local tribes into working in tandem with the Saxon invad-
these hungry corpses drift further and further afield until they ers, using them to set up a series of hives and forest havens
vanish into the shadows or collapse from hunger. Travelers in the region. The Hands of Tyr present among Colgrin’s
that find a dead body with bloodied hands and maw on the forces seem either unaware of or unconcerned with the
roadside know better than to leave it lie, severing its head vampires that are bolstering their forces, instead hunting
and burying it if they have the time, burning it if they don’t. down a Circle of Mor that has been kidnapping firstborn
children from the isolated homesteads in the region.
14
Arthur‘s Britannia
The City of the Legions
Built around the Roman fort of Deva Victrix and intended
for a time as the center of Roman rule in Britannia, the City
of the Legions is now recognized by the Courts of Night and
Day as a freehold of the Legion of the Green and is fiercely
contested by the Britons of Gwynedd and the Saxons of
Deira. This conflict comes to a head when Cadwallon ‘Long
Hand,’ Lord of Gwynedd is ambushed and killed en route to
the fort by Ardith Red-Braid, dubbed the She-Wolf of Deira,
in a betrayal orchestrated by Cadwallon’s brother Maelgor. In
return for their service, Maelgor gifts the fort to Ardith and
her mercenaries, with whom he allies to ransack his rival lords
in the regions of Powys, Pengwern, and Dumnonia. Dragged
into infighting, the Brythonic Lords are routed many times
before Arthur travels north and rallies them. With the aid
of Cadwallon’s son, Maelgwyn, Arthur ousts Maelgor from
Gwynedd, driving him east for a final confrontation.
The city, having expanded greatly beyond the scope of the
old fort, lacks fortifications on its southern side. Because of this
Ardith and Maelgor set their armies up in the streets, hoping
to lure the Britons into a rash nighttime charge by threatening
to execute a number of captured nobles in the main square.
Having filled many of the houses with bales of straw, their plan
is to hem in Arthur’s forces with walls of long spears and start a
series of fires that will destroy the city and Arthur’s army both.
The Roman Kindred of the Legio Mortuum and the Legion
of the Green, having sheltered a number of their sleeping elders
within the crypts of the city, are desperate to stop this plan
reaching fruition, but they are also engaged in conflict with
the hunters within Arthur’s court. The Green Knights of the
Legion and the Black Knights of Merlin have opposed each
other many times in trying to guide the morality of Arthur’s
growing retinue, and they find themselves in direct and open
conflict here. The Lost, with their close ties to Gwynedd,
have also taken to the field to avenge Cadwallon, unaware
that Ardith’s retinue includes two powerful Huntsmen that
ride with the She-Wolf as part of their hunt.

Camlann —
Arthur’s Final Battle
In Arthur’s absence, as he supports his allies in Gaul, his
vassal Mordred seizes the throne. Mordred declares himself
as the bastard son of Arthur, with his claim supported both
by his mother Morgause and the queen’s sister Gwenhwy.
Many of Arthur’s vassal lords, angry at his conversion to
Christianity, take up Mordred’s banner in defense of their
faith, allying with Saxon lords in the north as allegiances
are permanently redrawn. In this time, Merlin disappears,
his whereabouts unknown. Arthur and his loyalist forces, ex-
hausted from battle in Gaul and from infighting in Britannia,
muster in the southern riverlands of Camlann in Dumnonia.
A temporary truce is called as Arthur, Mordred, and their
retinues attempt to air grievances over parlay. They agree that

15
The Bloodied Fields
 neither side will charge until the first sword is drawn, but on the mercenaries. How Ardith died, none can say, as her body
third day of negotiations a soldier on the front lines draws his was never recovered.
sword to strike at an adder in the grass, and the truce is broken.
Both armies attempt to use the curves and fork of the river Mordred
to keep their bowmen and catapults isolated from the melee,
Mordred spent much of his life unaware of his lineage, serv-
with Slaughterbridge and two shallow crossings contested
ing among Arthur’s retinue as a soldier and envoy. Inducted
throughout the battle. It rages for days, with reinforcements
into a secretive order of dark-armored knights, he learned an
for both sides approaching day and night from villages and
array of fighting techniques, and developed a reputation as
woodland to bolster their lords. Finally, Arthur and Mordred
a gallant slayer of monsters and men alike. On the night his
face each other in battle, Arthur wielding Excalibur, the sword
mother told him of his true parentage, it is said he wailed in
of the Lake, and Mordred wielding Clarent, the Sword of the
despair and isolated himself in his keep. It took many days
Stone. These men, exceptional warriors born of sorcery and
before Mordred would look upon another living soul, and when
deceit, find themselves each other’s match as blades clash.
he did he was said to be a changed man, resolute and certain of
Members of the freehold of Avalon, long fearing this day, his right to rule. His eyes, now resplendent and golden, were
struggle to support Arthur in the final battle, actively hunted an omen of his challenge to the kingdom.
as they are by the Kindred of the Lancea et Sanctum. They
scour the land in a panic, allying with the Black Knights to
locate Merlin before the battle draws to a close. The Hands
of Tyr and the Knights of the Green, longtime enemies, Night Approaches
propose a tentative truce in service of the old gods, a truce Strange and cruel weather blankets the isle in the years
doomed to failure when the forces of Herne take to the field immediately after Arthur’s fall. The summers of 535 and 536
and declares the Kindred knights as imposters of his line. are far too cool, with the sun obscured; crops barely grow and
This conflict is a maelstrom of ill fates, and Arthur’s trees fail to give fruit. This climate shift is felt worldwide —
death is near certain. The final battle, then, is not to save the historian Procopius would write “For the sun gave forth its
Arthur’s kingdom, but his very soul. As the freehold of light without brightness…and it seemed exceedingly like the
Avalon seeks to inter Arthur’s body in the Hedge to rest sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear” — but it
and heal, so too do the Kindred war among themselves to is a rare Briton who doesn’t assign the terrible shift in climate
claim him as an addition to their ranks. The Black Knights to the loss of the hero-king. A little over a year later, plague
of Merlin and the Hands of Tyr meet and struggle to recon- reaches Britain and ravages the population even further.
cile the similarities in their desires, to let Arthur, beloved The Saxons expand further in Arthur’s absence. They are
king and valiant enemy, finally rest in peace. joined by the Angles, another Germanic people who land on
the east coast and conquer much of the northern portion of
Chedrich, of the line of Childerich Britain. By the year 600, the greater portion of Britain falls
under the rule of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: the greater
Tall and fair-skinned, Chedrich the Ever-Young was
famous for his strength and charm despite his slender frame.
Soft spoken, he could command respect with a whisper, and
his soldiers were notoriously disciplined, able to fight in
formation and shield each other from blows without saying Timeline
a word. When his body was returned to his homeland and As with the previous timeline, historical events that
interred, he was dressed in a cloak ornamented with over have received arbitrary dates are shown in italics,
300 gold-wrought cicadas at the request of his daughters. and wholly legendary events are shown in bold.
535: The Battle of Camlann. Arthur and
Ardith Camelot fall.
Ardith Red-Braid, the She-Wolf of Deira, was instantly 535–536: Climate changes bring famine to the
recognizable on the battlefield. Freckled and stocky, her isle, depleting the population.
long hair belted around her torso, with one blue eye and
one green, she was remarked upon as being a uniquely strik-
549: The bubonic Plague of Justinian reaches
Britain, killing many.
ing. It was a shock to her then, as she hunted alone in the
woods, to come across a group of travelers led by a woman 597: Saint Augustine arrives in Britain, converting
who appeared her exact double. Confusion led to anger, as Kent and becoming the first Bishop of Canterbury.
the stranger named Ardith an imposter and monster and 1177: Chrétien de Troyes writes Lancelot, the
drew a dagger. The two fought, and Ardith was aided by two Knight of the Cart, one of the works rekindling the
hunters who came upon the battle by chance, eventually medieval legend of Arthur.
emerging victorious. Ardith and her new companions were
inseparable from that day, and roamed far as soldiers and
16
Arthur‘s Britannia
kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex, taxes in return for allotments of land to farm. A serf might
and the minor kingdoms of Essex, Kent, and Sussex. England spend three days a week actually working their land for most
would not be unified again for another 300 years. of the year, only planting and harvest time require more effort.
The further expansion of the Saxons forces the Lost to Periodically, the serf takes their produce or animals to market
abandon several old freeholds and found others. Even Insula to sell and receive the latest news (by word of mouth) from
Avalonnis is left to the crows — archaeologists sift through other regions in the kingdom. In times of conflict the nobles
Saxon artifacts atop Glastonbury Tor many centuries later. are called upon by a king to raise soldiers for his army. This
This cycle of flight and rebuilding places the Winter Court levy will no doubt be taken from the young men who work
into prominence in most of the new freeholds. The Court the lands under the noble’s authority. Far removed from the
of Sorrow was best prepared for the inevitable fall, and politics of kingdom or court, the life of a serf is one of taxes,
their talents for stealth and secrecy are critical to helping tithes, and toil, a routine only interrupted by times of war,
numbers of changelings survive. or should something strange come to prey upon their town.
Many of the hunters suffer similar decline. The Order of The reality of facing the creatures of the night as a
the Black Knight hold what they can with Camelot gone, but simple Briton is daunting. While an old lady who collects
their numbers dwindle each year. When more of the Aegis herbs on the village outskirts might be branded a witch
Kai Doru eventually return to Britain, they absorb those cells for her peculiar ways, or a lunatic who shambles into town
who managed to survive. Conversely, the Hands of Tyr persist muttering indecipherable gibberish might be shunned as
mostly as they are as long as the Saxons keep their culture. one possessed, they are easy prey for an angry, overzeal-
Of the three vampire factions at play in Britain, only the ous mob. In fact, the first point of call for a serf who sees
Lancea et Sanctum endures the coming centuries with its something they deem “unusual” is the local tavern to rouse
core identity intact. The Legion of the Green pay a dear price, the townsfolk who will capture the unfortunate and bring
their numbers ravaged by the efforts of Saxon hunters and the them before a priest (if the town is big enough to attract
depredations of the True Fae. Little remains of their legacy but one) or one of the elders of the village. There, among the
their traditions of oaths, which find their way into the practices fervent cries of the other villagers, accusations will be laid
of the Invictus. The Circle of Mor turns inward, falling on (mostly wildly exaggerated) and a test will be set. Stoning
one another in a cannibalistic delirium. Most of the Bron go is common, ducking (having hands and feet bound before
forth and fall into a stone slumber, vanishing from the record. being thrown in a body of water) and pressing (laying of
And what if the Threefold Hunter was bound, or even a board on the accused and adding weight until they are
slain? If the changelings and their allies failed to destroy, crushed) are easily enacted upon those deemed socially
banish, or bind all three of the Herjan’s titles, then the True unacceptable unless, of course, they really are monsters.
Fae continues his hunts for centuries to come. He may still Between the withdrawal of the Roman Legions and the
be active in the modern era, a terribly powerful bogeyman rise of Arthur and Camelot the lands of the Britons are
who has adapted to hunting the alleys as adeptly as anyone beset by calculating, opportunistic creatures. Aside from
ever hunted prey in Whitechapel. But if Herne was well the raids of Celts and Picts, there are darker forces at work.
and truly defeated, then things are very different for the The Hedge runs rampant through the deep forests, having
Lost for a century or so. The Others actually avoid Britain been repressed by fire and steel during the Roman occupa-
for a time — they take fewer new captives back to Arcadia, tion. The Uratha, forced out to the hills and borderlands of
and they suspend their hunts against their escaped chattel. the savage Picts, return to prowl the hills and valleys. The
The surviving Lost grow stronger as they grow old, forging remaining vampires race to raise fiefdoms, insinuating their
many powerful tokens in the years to come as they brace way back into the nobility, manipulating mortal dukes and
for the inevitable day when the hunts resume. lording their power and influence over the frightened serfs.
In order to prevent rebellion, most nobles forbid peas-

Hunters: Fealty,
ants from keeping even the most basic of weapons. A serf
might have access to a bow for hunting or an inherited

Fear, and Fire

bronze sword passed down the generations. Beyond that,
they have only the tools of their trade and the protection
of numbers. If a real monster comes to prey upon the vil-
“When crops be blighted put the widows on the stake and
lage, a runner must be sent to the lord’s hold to petition
light the torch.”
for aid, and those left behind can only pray that the local
— Old English Proverb
noble believes the story. If they are lucky, the lord’s soldiers
The day-to-day life of a post-Romano Briton is simple will come, mounted and armored, with all the tools of war
compared to the technological light-show of modern times. at their disposal. The likelihood is they will still fail, their
The country is split into kingdoms like Brigantes, Coritani bodies found sundered or drained in the woods some time
and Dumnonii, but there are many others. These early feudal later (if they are ever found at all) but, in drawing attention,
states echo the Roman structure preceding them. The king a lone creature or small group might choose to move on
rules over dukes, earls, and barons, who tithe the peasants for rather than face the hardship of armed opposition.

17
Night Approaches
 With most of the literature left behind by the Romans often the knight would simply have to ride against some evil
destroyed, any knowledge of the twilight must be passed beast and it did not matter who saw them slay whatever
on in spoken word. Despite this lack of wisdom, there are afflicted the common folk, though it makes for many con-
warriors who seek out monsters for fame or glory and there fused accounts. What all the knights who donned the guise
are those who face the night because they have to, for of the Black Knight had in common was an oath, to never
the good of their tribe or their family. Still, any would-be take credit for their actions and to oppose evil by building
hunter needs information, which in this day and age is kept a reputation fearful enough that it would unsettle even the
by bards, druids, or hedge witches, all of whom ask a price. most savage creatures of the night. Each is a member of the
Wisdom doesn’t always indicate honesty, and there are those Aegis Kai Doru Conspiracy, but the Order, if multiple Black
charlatans who spin tales to suit any occasion, confident in Knights ever assemble, is effectively a Tier Two Compact.
the knowledge they will be gone by morning, or the listener As a branch of the Aegis, the Black Knight has a re-
will be dead soon enough. Of course, there is a chance the sponsibility to seek out and obtain any items of significance
wise one out in the deep woods has golden eyes and, upon that might aid humanity against the night, or that the night
the setting of a price, can solve the township’s problem. It might use against it. During the height of Arthur’s reign
won’t be cheap, and it’s very likely to be distasteful or im- over Camelot, the sword Excalibur was the most notable of
moral, but better the devil you know. these items, but it was far from the only one. The Knights
of the Round Table became famous for questing in search
The Order of the of the Holy Grail throughout the known world, but that
Black Knight — wasn’t the only thing they sought. To give the Order of
the Black Knight the fearsome reputation it desired, the
A Fraternity of agents of the Aegis used legendary relics already at hand,
Chivalric Hunters taken from the kingdoms of Ireland and Wales in the time
of Uther. The armor of the Black Knight is cast from the
“The force of his blow is as if Heaven and Earth came shards of Pair Dadeni, the Cauldron of Resurrection gifted
together, with me in the midst.” to the ancient Briton King Bendigeidfran by the giant Llasar
— Sir Meriadoc, son of Caradoc, Knight of the Round Llaes and sundered by the Welsh villain Efnysien. He also
Table wields Assal, the spear of Lugh, which is said to be able to
During the reign of Arthur, the lands of Britannia are pierce seven warriors in a single throw, never missing its
a fertile ground for twilight creatures to exploit. Isolated mark, and return to the hand that cast it.
centers of humanity, often days or weeks of travel from sol-
diers who could defend them, become ripe opportunities for The Armor of the
those who revel in the darker side of their nature (whether
they are truly monstrous or not). In response, druids of the
Black Knight
Aegis Kai Doru inducted those Knights of Camelot who This rough suit of black-iron plate armor is forged from
had seen beyond the veil and created the Order of the Black shards of the Cauldron of Resurrection. In times of war,
Knights. Although they are hunters, there are as many tales any warrior killed could be immersed in the cauldron and
of the Knights colluding with or being steered by the power return to the field renewed. What the stories don’t tell is
of mysterious elfin figures like the Lady of the Lake or the that, with each resurrection, the soul of the warrior was
Green Knight (though the Order of the Black Knight har- eroded and the same is true of the armor.
bors deep animosity toward the Order of the Green) from Rating: 4/2
the tale of Gawain, as there are tales of them opposing such Strength: 3
mysterious powers. Given Merlin’s previous pacts with the Defense: +3
courts of the fae, it is assumed that, whether the knights are
Speed: –2
aware or not of the true nature of their guide, there is some
secret agreement held between the old druid and some of Coverage: Torso, Arms, Legs, Head
the courts upon the isle of Britannia. Availability: Unique (•••••)
The Black Knight himself stands as a figure of much Special: The Armor of the Black Knight is an imposing
controversy. Some call him a villain, some a hero, some assembly, it was built to be. The armor gives the wearer
question if the figure in the ebon armor is a “he” at all. In +2 bonus dice to Intimidation Skill rolls.
truth a number of individuals wore the armor of the Black Drawing upon the power of the Pair Dadeni the armor
Knight, all members of the Aegis Kai Doru within the Round can “resurrect” the wearer should they be slain in battle.
Table itself, taking upon themselves the role to face great The first and second turn after the Black Knight is slain
evils. Sometimes a knight would have to commit seemingly (each time the knight is slain) make Stamina rolls. For
atrocious acts to achieve victory, such as an entire village every success the Black Knight regains 2 Health and for
put to the sword to stave off some malignant influence, but every Dramatic Failure they lose 1 Integrity as the magic
herein lay the importance of the anonymous ebon visor. Most burns away their humanity.

18
Arthur‘s Britannia
Assal — Spear of TACTICS
Lugh, Shaft of the Tactics are self-contained group activities that,
Moon if successful, incur a specific complex result. The
primary actor in a Tactic is the lead, or player who
One of the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann. The spear will roll their dice last, and the secondary actors
that killed the Fomori king Balor of the Piercing Eye. Lughs’ include participating players. Unlike Teamwork,
battle with Balor left its mark on this formidable weapon. Where the secondary actors do not have to match their
once it required a sleeping drought of crushed poppy seed to dice pools to the primary actor’s.
quell its roaring and struggling to seek battle, its passage through
Balor’s dread eye has stripped the spear of some of its savagery.
• Primary actor risks a Willpower point for their
roll’s outcome.
Damage: 2
• Primary actor assembles their dice pool.
Initiative: +1
Strength: 1 • Secondary actors assemble their dice pools.
Size: 4 • Secondary actors roll dice and may risk or use
Availability: Unique (•••••) Willpower as normal. The outcome affects the
Special: As a spear, Assal grants a +1 Defense bonus against primary actor’s results.
opponents who are unarmed or wielding weapons of size 1. • Primary actor rolls their dice pool. Secondary
Assal is lighter than any mundane spear so only requires actors’ roll results are then added or subtracted,
a Strength score of 1 to wield; add to that the enchantments
and success (or failure) is determined.
placed upon it and Assal can be used in one hand by any • Primary actor’s roll results are calculated as
character with dots in the Weaponry skill and confers a +1 normal.
Initiative bonus as it seeks out blood. Any hunter may choose to participate in any
If the wielder chooses to throw Assal, the spear can strike Tactic, but only hunters can.
up to three targets (different targets, it will not strike the
same target three times). Make a roll to hit/damage each
target in turn. The spear must then be recovered from the After the fall of the Round Table at the hands of the
ground/the opponents’ body. vampires, the soldiers who aided the Black Knight have per-
sisted, but they are haunted by a dark legacy. Of the knights
Excalibur — who wore the mantle of the Black Knight, one — Sir
The Blade of Kings Agravaine (son of Morgause and half-brother to Mordred
le Fay) — has let the darkness enter his soul. Though there
The Sword of the Lake. Once given to Arthur and (sup- are tales of his death at the hands of Lancelot, the truth is
posedly) returned by him before his final death to the Lady that he rides abroad killing any and all, monster or man.
of the Lake, Excalibur is famed as a blade that is unbreakably In using the Black Knight in a chronicle, the Storyteller is
tied to justice and truth. But, as with so many things, the encouraged to create a creature suited for their own purpose,
sword is simply a tool that focuses the will and intent of be it an immortal slasher or a corrupt knight.
the bearer, be that will benign or malignant.
Damage: 3 New Tactic: The Aura
Initiative: −1 of the Knight (• – •••••)
Strength: 2 Prerequisite — Membership (at least one dot of Status)
Size: 3 with the Aegis Kai Doru
Availability: Unique (•••••) The surviving members of the Black Knight maintain
Special: In the hands of a ‘rightful’ bearer (should the blade what links they can with the Aegis, but communication is
be awarded to a character by the storyteller or used by such an difficult in these dark times. Many of the relics entrusted to
NPC) Excalibur is a powerful symbol and a fearsome weapon. Camelot are lost after the fall and the members scattered.
What they retain is knowledge, the methods used to convince
Excalibur acts as a bane to targets of the bearer’s choos- a monster that the Black Knight was close, hunting them. It
ing. By invoking the characters Virtue (or Vice) and spend- is this doctrine they employ on the hunt and these methods
ing a point of Willpower, the character’s next strike causes they use to turn fear back upon the monsters themselves. The
Aggravated damage. members of the Order can use the Aura Tactic to prepare,
The scabbard, when worn, grants a +1 Defense bonus bait, and intimidate a creature they are hunting. Properly
against damage and a +1 to any roll against deceptions and applied, they can lay tricks and traps to convince their prey
falsehoods (such as detecting a lie or piercing an illusion). that the Black Knight himself is stalking her.

19
Night Approaches
 Properly preparing a trial for a creature plays along the Tactics however this is no guarantee of stability. Squabbles and
rules to lay the groundwork. The cell chooses a primary actor and bloody feuds between families can last for generations, and
the remaining members are the secondary actors. As the creature dissatisfied dukes (or eorles) often rise to challenge the in-
approaches each secondary actor makes an Intelligence + Aura cumbent monarch, leading to brutal wars lasting years. The
roll vs. the creature’s Composure. Each successful trial inflicts Saxons’ first real taste of the rich lands of Britannia comes
a −1 penalty to the creature’s Composure attribute. In closer when King Vortigern of Kent invites the exiled brothers
proximity (at the site of the ambush or in combat) the Aura is Hengist and Horsa to fight as mercenaries against the Celtic
employed by the primary actor as an Aura + Intimidation roll vs. and Pictish barbarians savaging his borders.
the target’s Resolve + Composure to generate further penalties to From that point, the Saxons covet the island. It is secure,
all rolls as the hunter ratchets up the monster’s fear and paranoia. rich, bountiful, a veritable paradise, and, considering most
of its people were conquered by the Romans before, ripe

Saxon Hunters: for invasion. In a display of cunning characteristic of the

Saxons, the brothers manipulate Vortigern, bringing more

Blood and Iron and more Saxon warriors into Britannia until they have a
force capable of staging a coup. This began the first Saxon
“Wide ne biþ wel, cwæþ se þe gehyrde on helle hriman.” invasion of Britain, an invasion finally ended when King
“Far and wide things aren’t good, said the one who heard Arthur beat the Saxons at the Battle of Badon Mount, a
wailing in hell.” campaign spanning decades. This leads to a protracted
— Saxon Proverb period of instability and infighting amongst the eorles in
Saxony lasting until the eventual fall of Camelot itself.
The warriors of the tribes of Saxony are a proud people,
unconquered by the might of Rome. They bow before no The Saxon tribes have a long-running culture of spoken-
king and no god save their own. Fearless in combat, they word histories or sagas and superstitions that served them well,
bloody their blades in celebration of their strength and as they were never conquered by the Roman Empire like their
are loath to leave the field unless it is in victory. But, like Frankish and Goth cousins. When the time for war comes
all mortals, there are those dark and uncanny things even upon the tribes, they hold a grand celebration to Hretha,
these brutal warriors fear, but what they fear they learn to Goddess of Glory. The raucous rituals involve feasting, sing-
destroy in honor of their gods. It is from this trait they have ing, the telling of sagas of victory, the sacrifice of animals to
learned, over long, arduous, and bloody years the skills of invoke the goddess’ favor, and the edhilingui drawing lots for
the hunter and for those who observe the right rituals and the position of war leader. The tribes invite divine providence
know which of the wise ones to speak to, there is a better to choose their leader for battle. A victory is celebrated by
chance of returning from the hunt alive and victorious. the taking of enemy heads as trophies and the Saxons value
most highly those heads that whisper prophecies and bring
The Tribes of the Angles, Frisii, Jutes, and Saxons bridge
luck. A defeat (if the leader has not already perished on the
the cultural gap between the Norse tribes to the north and
field) leads to another ceremony with the defeated general as
the Germanic, Frankish, and Goth tribes of the south. Brutal
the tribute to Hretha. But not all is barbarism. A particularly
warriors they may be, but they have many advanced skills, not
skilled opponent, bested but not killed, can opt to enter into
the least of which are metalwork, seamanship, and trade. The
bondage and join the ranks of the lazzi. Those who do not
tribes uphold a strict class system of nobles (the edhilingui),
fight are taken as asne and traded or sold between tribes, used
the freemen (frilingi), bonded natives subjugated and sworn to
as labor or sacrificed in the Saxons’ darker rituals.
loyalty (lazzi), and the slave caste (asne). Saxons share many
traits with their northern neighbors. They are warriors, raid-
ers, and traders of great ferocity and shrewdness. That which Close Relationships
cannot be bought can always be taken. From their southern
cousins they inherit their superstitious nature, much as the
With Death
If the tribe encounters the supernatural, a similar cer-
great Gallic leader Vercingetorix would not fight in the rain
emony would be held where, instead of Hretha, the tribes
as it was seen as an ill omen.
would invoke Hellia, the Goddess of Death, and sacrifice
The Saxon gods echo both the Nordic and Germanic the lives of slaves in place of the chosen hunter so they
cultures. Woden sits at the top, chief of the gods with his might face down the monsters in safety, knowing their place
son Thunear and wife Frig at his side. The tribes worship in the afterlife was, temporarily, taken. While war leaders
or ascribe patron gods for themselves or their enemies. would be chosen exclusively from the edhilingui, the role of
The Saxons worship Seaxneat, the Frisii are led by Ingui, hunter was open to volunteers from the frilingi or lazzi and
and the Angles favor Freyr. To their northern cousins they is a means by which a warrior might rise in station within
attribute Geat, god of the Geats (the tribe of Beowulf), the tribe. A successful hunt will not only ensure the warrior
rivers, and watercourses. a place in the sagas of the tribe, but entry to the edhilingui.
The tribes of the Saxons, from single families to larger The Saxon tribes have complex, structured burial cus-
mixed groups, swear fealty to the current king or aetheling, toms they practice for friends and the most respected foes.

20
Arthur‘s Britannia
The dead must be outfitted for the afterlife; a simple crafter
or farmer will be gifted with clothes, money, and tools to
see them well cared for. Warriors of note have weapons and
finely engraved armor placed upon them as they are laid in
their cairns. However, exemplary warriors (especially those
of enemy tribes) of fearsome skill or stature have to be ap-
peased so they will not rise again. In the case of monsters,
at least those with a human form, the head is severed, but
the grave goods lain as well. In line with their superstitions,
the Saxons are highly necrophobic; the dead are feared more
than the living. An enemy who is greatly respected is buried
with much wealth so their spirit is appeased. A wrathful
spirit, an aptrgangr or revenant, one who was buried with-
out the respect they were due, is one of the few things that
can strike fear into even the most seasoned Saxon warrior.
Monsters don’t always come at you with fangs bared
and claws ready. The Saxons are as susceptible to trickery
as any of those nations reclaiming their place from under
the Roman boot. More than most they are open to offers
of riches in return for deeds of conquest. Faerie lords and
ladies and vampires with the gold to spare recruit these fierce
warriors as mercenaries in matters of war both mundane and
internecine. The Saxons’ rituals and practices make them
efficient shock troops to employ against invaders both mortal
and supernatural. Their spears, swords, and broad axes back
up their renowned ferocity as warriors. Layered leather and
iron chainmail protect the edhilingui as surely as the round
shields protected their frilingi and lazzi foot soldiers. These
arms translate to the hunt as well as they do to the battlefield;
however, a Saxon hunter always carries a bow as part of their
equipment, along with several stakes cut from a holly tree and
brushed with crushed mistletoe berries. The successful hunter
drives these stakes through the hands and feet of a vanquished
monster, binding them to the earth while standing vigil for
two days to ensure the creature will not rise again. After that,
the corpse can be brought back to the tribe for the proper
interment into the cold embrace of the earth.

The Hands of Tyr —

Brotherhood Among
Saxons
“In the days of my grandfather’s grandfathers Tyr was the
father of all things. Then Fenrir took his hand. We will not forget
how the Wolf laid our god low, how he stole his power, and we
will ensure his children pay the wergild for it.”
— Hands of Tyr credo
Spiritual forerunners of the Long Night, the Hands of Tyr
are tier one hunters driven by the need to avenge the mutila-
tion of the creator god Tyr at the jaws of Fenrir. They remember
the time before Woden rose to prominence, when Tyr was the
All-Father. In the shared myths of the Saxons and Norse, the
gods attempted to bind the wolf Fenrir with a Glepnir, a ribbon
made of the footfalls of a cat, roots of a mountain, fish breath,
and bird spittle. The great wolf would only allow itself to be

21
Night Approaches
 bound if one of the gods placed a hand in its mouth. Tyr stood as a revenant, but the Hands of Tyr know to bury the head of
forth and offered his. Once the beast was bound it tore Tyr’s a vampire several feet away from the corpse, or to drive iron
hand off and thenceforth Tyr was known as “the Leavings of nails into the heart of a fae Huntsman before burial, or bind
the Wolf.” The Hands have never forgotten. Beginning with the body of a werewolf with a Glepnir. The mortal Hands of
werewolves (the offspring of Fenrir in the Hands’ teachings) Tyr have no means to create the mythic Glepnir of legend but
but swiftly encompassing all manner of twilight creatures, they they do create their own version for the hunt. It is difficult to
exact bloody retribution in his name. The Hands pass their bind a living werewolf, but the Hands are experienced hunters
knowledge and membership (including recognition of Tyr as and often make use of the Glepnir in snares and traps.
the true father of the gods over Woden) from one generation The Hands of Tyr are not organized but there is an aware-
to the next via spoken-word histories and sagas. Wherever ness of individuals following the same practices in other
possible, the Hands preempt the invocation of Hellia and tribes, and some sharing of knowledge in times of need. An
take on a hunt themselves, relying on the support of family elder of the Hands might know of up to a dozen other fol-
or other known hunters to achieve the desired goal without lowers in different tribes, and compiles the accounts of their
raising the suspicion of the rest of their tribe. hunts for sharing with any active member who comes seeking
The Hands of Tyr can be identified by the unique, silver- the wisdom. Upon the battlefield, should one of the Hands
inlaid seax knives they carry and pass from generation to gen- become aware of another, they avoid conflict unless abso-
eration. Alongside the knives they hand down sagas and eddas lutely necessary. Should circumstance bring them together,
of their own, including detailed accounts of how to combat loyalty to tribe triumphs and no quarter is asked nor offered.
monsters and deal with their remains. A fearsome warrior from However, securing another Hand as lazzi is desirable. Should
another tribe might be beheaded at burial for fear he would rise they meet upon a hunt, unless there is a particularly personal
vendetta at stake, they likely join forces to face the darkness.

TEAMWORK RULES The Glepnir —

Bound by Tradition
When creating Glepnir or working together on
As well as their trademark silver seaxes, the Hands of Tyr
any other great task, one hunter is the primary
actor, and hunters who wish to help are called carry the knowledge of how to craft the sacred Glepnir, a trib-
secondary actors. ute to their god’s sacrifice at the jaws of Fenrir. In preparation
for a hunt the Hand crafts a new binding (they don’t keep for
• The primary actor must assemble their dice more than a month, though some ingredients can be reused).
pool. The Glepnir is made of fine, strong rope shot through with
• Secondary actors assemble their dice pools to young ivy lengths, hawthorn thorns and silver slivers, then
match the primary actor’s. brushed over with a compound of soured beer and crushed
• Secondary actors roll dice. The outcome af- mistletoe berries. Access to silver is not a given. The Hand
fects the primary actor’s results. will need some way to get access to silver for the construction.
After collecting the required ingredients, hunters
• Primary actor rolls their dice pool. Secondary involved must use Teamwork rules to successfully cre-
actors’ roll results are then added or
subtracted. ate Glepnir. A Wits + Craft roll is required to create the
Glepnir, with five successes required, but it cannot be
• Primary actor’s roll results are calculated as achieved alone. If the creation is successful, every success
normal. beyond five subtracts a die from any escape roll made by a
The primary actor’s roll results are as normal for the ac- creature bound by the rope, to a minimum of one. For every
tion the group undertakes, except that hunters always turn the creature is bound, it takes one point of bashing
win ties on contested actions when they use teamwork. damage. Any failed escape rolls result in one point of lethal
Results damage. The Glepnir is intended to render the more savage
monsters insensible for easy dispatch.
Success: +1 die to the primary actor’s roll for
each success earned, cumulative for each sec-
ondary actor’s success. Changeling: Tree,
Exceptional Success: As success. Lake and Stone
Failure: Primary actor receives no bonus dice. Desire. Wrath. Fear. Sorrow. Gloom. The last years of
Dramatic Failure: –4 dice to the primary ac- a kingdom are a feast of emotions, but the Lost are in a
tor’s roll, cumulative for each secondary actor’s tenuous position to partake.
dramatic failure. The primary actor must continue; The Lost of Arthur’s Britain are both stronger and
the outcome affects the story. weaker than their modern counterparts. Nothing can truly
prepare anyone for the durance — but they were born into,

22
Arthur‘s Britannia
and returned to, a world that believed in the Others. They
have context for what they are: understanding, even if
acceptance is harder. And there are few mortal powers to Faerie Etymology
contend with fae magic. Yet at the same time, the Lost share In general, a number of the faerie names
their world with more than hobgoblins and the True Fae — we’re used to are a bit anachronistic for the
they must come to terms with vampires, hunters, and a king time. In practice, that’s fine. Even if the word
who both believes in and fights against the supernatural. “ogre” doesn’t show up until a millennium
Arthur’s warriors ride out against all threats to their later, it’s easier on all the players to still call
realm, mortal and otherwise. This charge benefits the Lost the seeming an Ogre. It’s a proud tradition to
rationalize that some words are much older
as Camelot’s finest fight the hobgoblins and Huntsmen that
than etymologists realize. But if you would
would threaten their freeholds, but it also endangers the Lost. like something period-plausible for in-charac-
Canny changelings do their best to ensure that if humans ter speech, you have a few options.
sense their true presence at all, the humans see the Good Folk.
Better to be mistaken for a kindly seelie pooka than a wicked Fata: The Latin term for the Fates later informs
unseelie ogre. The Lost are creatures of the wilder lands, build- old French and gives rise to “fae” and then
“fairy.” Consider appropriating this term early
ing freeholds in old forests and lonely moors. Some mortals
and having the Romano-British speak of “the
fear and revere them, leaving them offerings in exchange for fata” when they mean faeries.
blessings and protection. A few Romano-British think of them
as genius loci; to the Celts they’re the Old Ones. Pooka: Old English puca, Welsh pwca,
Changelings still feel the temptation to go home, to
Cornish bucca, Irish púca. A good all-around
term for shapeshifting or bestial fae, espe-
try living among their former human families. But even if cially as it sounds much the same in most
they can hide their true nature with glamour, even if they non-Latin languages of the era.
dearly long for the comfort of their loved ones, the danger
of being discovered is too great. This is an age of iron. Both Elf: Some Old English works use the term
Romans and Saxons brought plenty of iron with them, and “elf”; you may prefer to use the related “alp”
the knowledge to find and smelt more. The secrets of finer
(which can also mean “nightmare”) or “alfar”
if you want a less familiar variation.
steel — deadlier to mortals, less dangerous to changelings
— won’t reach Western Europe for centuries. No matter

how powerful the Lost may be, they find it more prudent
to live in the forests and mountains and caves.
Faerie Magic Yet apart from this grave weakness, changelings still hold
The Hedge is wild and verdant in this era. Some of a number of advantages. Mortal travel between settlements
the special tricks of Lost magic work a little differ- is slow, and long-distance communication is extremely lim-
ently than they will in the modern age. ited. No human understands the land as well as those who
have contracted with the stones and forests. Camelot may
• Hedgespinning: The Hedge is prone to fall, but the Lost intend to remain in Britain to remember it.
change both by a changeling’s hand and
on its own. When the Hedge shapes itself,
the Storyteller rolls nine dice rather than the Beasts in the Briars
modern-era eight. When a changeling shapes The Hedge is in full flower, so to speak, in this age. The
the Hedge, the player may spend successes as forests are dotted with naturally occurring Hedgeways. The
usual, but the cost of any paradigm shift rated Hedge entices new visitors into itself with all the usual lures,
at two successes or higher is lowered by one and one particular to the time — the lure of the quest.
success. For example, a player may create a Anyone, mortal or immortal, who takes action to pursue a
goblin fruit with four successes rather than five.
quest near a Hedgeway may be drawn into the Hedge just
• Oneiromancy: Changelings are stronger as if they were indulging their Vice. The mechanics are the
in this era, but there are fewer dreamers. The same (see Changeling: The Lost Second Edition, Chapter
dream world has been shaped less by hu- Four), but instead of a vision that tempts the person’s Vice,
manity’s subconscious. The Dreaming Roads they instead see a vision related to the object of their
are more dangerous, and Bastions harder to quest — a white hart, a great boar, even a glowing cup in
find. Paradigm shifts follow the above rule for
the hands of a maiden who flees into the darkened thorns.
Hedgespinning of requiring fewer successes
(though never less than one). Important eido- Some say the Saxons brought the giants with them.
lons have a Wyrd rating of one higher than the Maybe the Hedge smells blood and bones. But for whatever
Fortification rating of the dreamer’s Bastion. reason, a greater portion of the hobgoblins roaming the trods
and Thorns are large, ogrish, and hungry. There are trod

23
Night Approaches
 trolls, of course, but also giants — savage man-eaters, cunning
Summer
sorcerers, ruthless sea-raiders, kin of Ysbaddaden and Balor
and Gogmagog, forefathers of Blunderbore and Cormoran. The Iron Spear is crisscrossed with scars. The prevalence
Thankfully, the Lost are clever enough at navigating the of iron weapons makes it dangerous business to be the ones
Hedge that they can usually slip past the giants without much holding the wall. Healing magic helps changelings live longer
effort, even if mortals who blunder their way into a hobgoblin and stay healthier than their mortal relatives, but the Court
giant’s territory usually find their way into its larder as well. of Wrath suffers the greatest share of wounds that no charm
The true threat, though, is harder to evade. A True Fae stalks will heal. Nor are they happy to limit themselves to opposing
the forests and Hedges of Britain, a creature so enamored with Huntsmen and hobgoblins in this age of battle. Many Summer
the thrill of the hunt that it spends little time in Arcadia. courtiers direct their wrath as much against mortal Saxon and
First it was called the Herjan, the Lord of Hosts. Then as his Pict invaders as they do against threats out of the Hedge. You
name circulated among the ordinary people, they called him can often tell the Iron Spear changeling who holds a grudge
the Herne. Changelings are his favorite prey, but he doesn’t against the mortals — she’s most likely to bear a terrible scar,
restrict himself. When the Lost reach out to find friends an empty eye socket, or a stump at the end of one arm.
outside their freeholds, it’s with the knowledge that they Most Summer courtiers have a high opinion of Arthur
need allies if they’re ever to be free of the Threefold Hunter. and his court. Arthur’s claim took the shape of a sword.
The Pendragon took his throne to fight. The Crimson Court
The Courts aids Arthur’s reign as much as possible without betraying its
presence to new enemies. With careful woodcraft, Summer
It seems the seasonal courts have always ruled in Britain,
scouts have quietly guided his warriors to their foes while
even in the time before Arthur. For reasons mythological and
never being seen. A few of Arthur’s knights carry bless-
religious, the four seasons are distinct in the British Isles, and
ings that they unknowingly owe to the Iron Spear. Yet as
old Celtic observances of equinox and solstice hint of Bargains
Camelot sinks into malaise, the Court of Wrath feels the
that even the humans have tried to strike. The courts do not
deepening gloom as much as any other changeling does —
necessarily share power equally, depending on the freehold.
but isn’t that all the more reason to keep your blades sharp?
The emotion of the land plays a part as well — for a time,
If Arthur dies with no heir, the realm will fall. War will
Spring and Summer were ascendant as Camelot waxed, but as
come again, and the Summer Court will be ready.
it wanes, Autumn and Winter see their time coming yet again.
Courtiers of Wrath are of two minds regarding the
Spring Saxons, and the hunters that came within their ranks. One
part of the court respects the Saxons because they’re able to
It’s a difficult time for the Antler Crown. The heyday fight, and perhaps that could be turned against the Gentry;
of Camelot is fading. With the protection of the Roman the other part saw friends and loved ones killed or dragged
legions gone, the Saxon threat pressing harder, and the away by the newcomers, and argues that the Saxons deserve
Hunter taking more stragglers, the primary desire filling their fury as well. As a group, the Summer Court shows
the hearts of mortals is simply the desire to survive. It’s a the most respect for hunters who’ve bound themselves to
bitter cup to taste. But if the Court of Desire gives up on a martial brotherhood — that, at least, the Lost can relate
joy and surrenders passion, it ceases to be. And the Spring to. The same holds true for vampires, for if stone and forest
courtiers will not let that happen just yet. and fire can swear an oath, then so too can the dead.
Arthur and his courtiers are powerfully tempting tar-
gets for the Emerald Court. While it’s still 500 years too Autumn
early for the concept of courtly love to flourish, the nobles
The Leaden Mirror is surprisingly strong, perhaps
of Camelot are no strangers to passions that burn all the
the strongest of the courts throughout the year. Insula
brighter because they’re forbidden. But Arthur’s court is
Avalonnis is one of the most powerful freeholds in Britain,
dangerous ground to tread. If the constant presence of iron
and a bastion of Autumn sorcery. The Saxons are growing
weren’t enough, vampires are at play in Camelot’s halls as
stronger and Arthur has no heir, and so the populace is
well. A vampire might be a potential ally with much in
afraid. This is an era of mysticism where witches are still
common, or a jaded predator searching for a new thrill, and
feared and respected — perfect for the Ashen Court. Or
it’s always a gamble to see which is which.
it would be perfect, if the threats that menace one court
The Antler Crown has waning influence among the didn’t menace them all.
other courts. Autumn and Winter are both caught in their
The Autumn Court is, unusually enough, divided on
different forms of fatalism, and both seem to think that
the subject of Arthur. Some Ashen courtiers see in him the
Spring has already had its day. Summer was ever Spring’s
power of a legend, and reason that his extended reign would
closest ally, but the Iron Spear is constantly distracted by the
strengthen the magic latent in the realm. Others argue that
Saxons pressing against the borders and the depredations of
as a true king, Arthur’s fate is to be sacrificed for the good of
the Herjan. Some Spring courtiers find themselves looking
the realm — Britain will endure without him, but only if he
outward and striking desperate bargains to find new allies.
dies at the proper time. Some are convinced Arthur must

24
Arthur‘s Britannia
search for the Herne, and in so doing both slay a dangerous they are now, unless the Winter courtiers find a way to turn
Title and die a sacrificial king’s death. Messenger familiars them toward a common enemy. The most promising sign is
scuttle and fly from one freehold to the next, carrying argu- that the newcomers already seem to know of the Herjan. If
ments over the latest portent and the necessity of action. properly directed, they could be useful catspaws or even allies
Ashen courtiers are reasonably openminded regarding against the Threefold Hunter. But one must be cautious…
cooperation with other hidden factions such as vampires The Winter Court has grave misgivings about the
and hunters. It’s useful to know about the strange powers amount of lore that other courts have shared with the
and cunning tactics they might use, and certainly they all vampires. No matter how honeyed the speech of the Court
have a common enemy in the Threefold Hunter. When of Night, it rolls off tongues that lick blood from fangs.
they truck with these others, however, Autumn Lost at- Certainly, there are crueler and stronger things in this world
tempt to be subtly unnerving or intimidating. Better to and beyond than vampires, but the Silent Arrow tries to
earn a healthy respect than hope for a polite respect, and withhold as much knowledge of banes and tells as they can.
to be frank, few members of the Court of Fear wants their Perhaps the vampires could help rout the invaders from the
allies to regard them fearlessly. isle, nail the Threefold Hunter below a hill with iron nails.
But if they remove a common foe…what happens next?
Winter For want of an enemy, would the undead turn on a friend?
The Silent Arrow has exhausted its hope. Winter spies flit Best to aid them as is prudent, and always be cautious not
through the halls of Camelot at night, taking note of every- to give too much away.
thing they can. They see little to encourage them. Arthur has
no worthy heir, and his court is in slow decline even as the Freeholds
Saxons grow stronger. The Onyx Court encourages the other The freeholds of this era are built on necessity. They
Lost to isolate themselves, to draw farther from the world of need to be far enough from human settlements that a stray
iron. The presence of the Herne is even more reason to fade woodcutter won’t bring iron across the boundary. And for
from sight and memory. It may not be glorious, but it’s a way that reason, they also need to be self-sufficient. The Lost
to survive. And at least sorrow is plentiful in these times. can’t rely on dropping by the local village to purchase
Apart from a few aforementioned spies, the Winter Court groceries, and they can’t take too much from the peasants
has largely given up on Arthur as a power to shape the realm. without dooming the mortals to starvation. A freehold’s
At present, the Saxons concern them more — the Saxons, and buildings were probably raised by changeling hands; its
the dangerous hunters within their ranks. Should Camelot fall, food might have been raised by Arcadian magic. A freehold
as Winter expects it will, the invaders will expand to occupy might stand in the thickest part of a forest, under a broad
the vacancy. The Saxon hunters will be a greater threat than chalk hill, or on a lonely island.

25
Night Approaches
 Some freeholds carry an extra share of internal tension. Crow’s Hold is a freehold of scavengers. The Lost that
Most Lost were born among the original Celtic peoples or reside here have a tradition to roam down the trods and visit
the Romano-British, but the vagaries of Arcadian time all manner of places in Britain, carrying away the most interest-
mean that some Saxons have already been taken into Faerie ing things they find. The freehold itself is practically a Goblin
and escaped. There aren’t yet enough Saxon changelings Market for those who find their way here. The Crows deal in
to found freeholds of their own, which leaves the others to weapons, tokens, goblin fruits, strange trophies, Roman trea-
decide whether to take these invader-kin in or turn them sures, Saxon goods, and even rarities from across the Channel.
away. At the moment the freeholds take in more Saxon They scrounge things only the fae could find, too: memories
Lost than they turn away, for the shared experience of the from a corpse’s skull, dreams of a true love never met, a slander
durance is a deeper tie than a shared language. But if — victim’s good name. They might have had the Grail once, if
when — the battles turn bloody again, some Lost may forget it weren’t for the Crows’ general lack of Christian piety. The
that bond and turn out their newcomers. Crow Kings and Queens encourage a mismatched faith that
takes something from everything. It’s being practical.
Insula Avalonnis The freehold’s courts share power in the usual fashion,
In the marshes south of the Severn stands a single hill, mostly. But even when it’s not winter, the Crow King of
an island among the wetlands that will someday be called Winter holds a monarch’s share of influence. The present
Glastonbury Tor. It is the single strongest freehold in Britain: officeholder is Crimthann Rook, a wily old Beast who
the Isle of Fruit Trees, the Ynys Afallon — or, one day, Avalon. barters his treasures for secrets around the kingdom. He
Insula Avalonnis is a place of powerful sorcery. Fruit hangs cheerfully trades with vampires, hunters, even werewolves
from trees in all seasons, both tart mortal apples and stranger and spirits, it’s said. Rumor has it that King Crimthann sees
goblin fruits. Secret forges that work metal without iron send out the fall of the kingdom coming, and he’s gathering all the
smoke in the dead of night. A powerful and well-guarded trod pieces to the puzzle of its fall so that his court can be ready.
leads to the second-largest Goblin Market in Britain’s Hedge.
The magic of the isle is to be expected, for Autumn reigns The Threefold
here all but year-round. Avalon technically honors the pro- Hunter
cession of the seasons while keeping the true power largely in The True Fae took who they wanted from the Celts
the hands of the three sisters who take turns as the Autumn and Picts. When the Romans came, the Gentry stole away
Queen. Before the winter solstice, the first sister passes the settlers and soldiers. Now Arthur is king, and the Saxons
freehold’s apple-and-thorn crown to a temporary Winter have come, and the True Fae still do as they will. One in
monarch for three days, and then the crown returns to the particular has become so taken by the hunt that he stalks the
second Autumn sister. The vernal equinox brings three days forests every night. He is the Herjan, the Herne, the Harrier
of Spring rule, and then the crown passes to the third sister.
A Summer monarch takes the crown for three days of high
summer, and then it returns to the first and strongest Autumn
Queen until the winter solstice, and the cycle continues.
Insula Avalonnis has declared for Camelot — though Morgana and Avalon
not to Camelot, of course — so long as Arthur shows more
wisdom than do those around him. Some of the Lost here Morgana le Fay is the kind of legendary figure
that is difficult to categorize. She would be a
play the parts of mysterious enchantresses and warlocks
strong candidate to master the magic of Mage:
who wander into a knight’s story for a moment, offer crucial The Awakening. But she might also be a
guidance or a strange blessing, and then are gone without a changeling, an abducted mother who learned
trace. Usually their aid helps the knight toward his goal — Arcadian sorcery and became an Autumn Queen
unless the knight’s goal is to explore the Severn’s marshes on her return. She might be a mortal whose witch-
and find the freehold, in which case the knight typically craft is little more than misdirection and cunning.
awakens in a strange place, his arms and armor replaced She might even be a player character. And why
with wood and bone mummeries. not?
The legend anticipates that Morgana carries the
Crows’ Hold mortally wounded Arthur back to Avalon. Whether
To the north of the realm, long stretches of Hadrian’s that happens or not should probably depend
Wall stand abandoned. In some places, the forest has already on the events of your chronicle. We assume that
reclaimed the land around it. The ragtag freehold of Crow’s Glastonbury Tor no longer houses the freehold of
Hold is built along one such stretch, where an entire wall-fort
Ynys Afallon in the modern world, and therefore
Arthur isn’t there either. Your troupe may find it
has been swallowed by the woods. Ramshackle huts stand entertaining to discover why.
next to portions of the wall that still stand tall, while other
buildings are built from stone quarried from the wall itself.

26
Arthur‘s Britannia
in the Woods. Bloody-handed and antler-crowned, reeking
of entrails and musk and wet fur, an army of Huntsmen
behind him, he is the Wild Hunt embodied.
Vampire: Shield,
“The Herjan” is one of the many titles of the Saxons’
Woden as well as one of his. The hunters among the Saxons
Spear, and Sickle
know of the Herjan; the vampires have heard whispers of For centuries, Britannia has stood as a frontier territory of
the Herne; the changelings know both, and his third mask the Camarilla, a site of dispute and war between the Kindred
the Harrier of the Woods, far too well. Most who know of Rome and the native tribes of Albion and Hibernia. Now,
of the Hunter’s three masks assume they are different ac- the Camarilla is gone, brought low in a few short nights of
counts of the same being; only the changelings know that fire and madness. The Julii are dead or scattered, and the
each mask is a Title, and all three can hunt at once. Unlike consuls of Britannia serve only themselves. The influx of
other True Fae, the Threefold Hunter spends little time in Kindred from across the sea whisper of the shadowy nemeses
his Arcadian realm, returning only to hang another prized that eradicated the senate, and are even now lurking in the
trophy from his walls or sentinel trees. The hunt obsesses darkness to deliver the killing strike. It is no longer safe to
him, and the hunt is here. live as a vampire, and so many of the Kindred of Britannia
None of the Lost have seen an enemy like the Threefold have chosen to become something else, the Court of Night.
Hunter before. He has a small army of Huntsmen, far too
many. He has the talent to scent iron on the wind from
miles away, allowing him to strike only where he is at least
The Great Deception
risk — no warrior who rides out in a mail shirt and with
an iron blade by his side will ever find the Herjan. He
and the Courts of Night
The Court’s inception began in 230 CE as a manifesto
has learned to hunt vampires. Thankfully, the Herne and
penned by Consul Octavia of the Julii, “Courting the Other and
the Harrier of the Woods do not pursue prey into human
the Taming of Gods.” Over the centuries she watched monsters
settlements, though the Herjan has been known to do so,
real and imaginary vanish into fable, lingering as stories and
at night when there are few to see. The changelings fear
superstitions on the tongues of man. The peasantry venerated
they cannot defeat all three faces of the True Fae at once
gods that would never answer. “Why,” she asked, “should a
— at least, not alone.
vampire spend centuries rising to the status of divinity, when
they can simply assume the mantle of a similar, absent god?”
Oath: Blood Liege (•••)
Working with her childe, Caecilia the Blood-Scribe, Octavia
Prerequisite: Changeling supplanted loyal Kindred into many of the cults of the region,
Effect: Some changelings enter into the Contracts of including the Celtic figures of Sulis and Cernunnos, and
Night and Day to bind their fates to those of the Kindred many of the Tuatha de Danann. These cults, already coerced
— or rather, to add a layer of protection between them- by scholars of Rome to regard their gods as an extension of
selves and the True Fae. The character with this Merit has the Greco-Roman pantheons, fell quickly to Kindred control.
sworn herself to a particular vampire, receiving a measure This policy of syncretism — of vampires co-opting the
of protection in return. mantles of the heroes and gods of folklore, brought the
While the Oath between the two remains in force, the Kindred into swift and troubled negotiations with the resi-
changeling receives the benefit of a two-dot Mentor Merit dent freeholds of the Lost, some of whom outright claimed to
to represent the vampire liege’s protection. However, the be the figures whose domains and cults were being usurped.
character may surrender this Merit to redirect a Huntsman Treaties were brokered, both by the Autumn Court of
or True Fae away from the changeling; the changeling’s Avalon and the Weihan Cynn of the Kindred, outlying a
enemy focuses its attention on the vampire instead. If the set of rules that would redefine them as the Courts of Night
changeling cancels the Merit in this fashion, the Sanctity of and Day. The Kindred and the Lost divided their domains
Merits rule applies, and the character receives three Merit into courts, each of which was appointed a leader who held
dots to spend on an appropriate replacement. sole responsibility for protecting their borders and subjects.
The recipient of this Oath resolves the Obliged Strict rules on domain and ownership of mortal vassals
Condition and gives the changeling the Oathbreaker were set down in fae contracts penned in blood, rules that
Condition, as the Lost becomes a traitor to the Wyrd. would shape Kindred society for centuries to come. Once
Drawback: While the arrangement is in effect, the each season, new inductees are presented to the freehold of
character owes service to a vampire liege. Once per lunar Avalon and gifted titles by the Mekhet sorcerer Manannán
month, the vampire may ask the character to perform a of the Green and notarized by the Goblin Queen Red Teller,
task; if the task does not put the changeling in significant granting them a modicum of recognition among the courts
danger, the changeling must obey the spirit as well as the of the Lost. For the Kindred, this arrangement allows them
letter of the request. to hide their identities as vampires, maintaining influence in
a world where mortal hunters and the monstrous Strix alike

27
Night Approaches
 pursue them. For the Lost, aware of the true nature of their themselves, sometimes allied with the Lost and sometimes
courts, the benefit is a more closely guarded secret. The titles in direct competition, in much the same way Kindred ally
gifted to these kindred, carefully chosen by Manannán (in and fight with each other. For the Legion, the line between
truth, a Darkling archivist known as Shackle mac Lir) are vampire and changeling becomes increasingly blurred,
echoes of the Titles of the True Fae themselves. By offering deceived by their own arrogance and the honeyed words
vampires the titles of their enemies among the True Fae, the of the Lost into thinking they are equals in the fae courts.
freehold of Avalon creates a legion of monstrous scapegoats to In order to distance themselves from the Legio Mortuum,
fight their enemies when the Wild Hunt inevitably returns. the warriors among the Legion of the Green have cultivated
a warrior caste inspired by the legends of the Green Man.
The Legion of the Green — The mantle of the Green Knight, the immortal warrior
that hunts on legs of four and two, is a useful pseudonym
The Unconquered Kindred for Kindred that need to influence the wars and courts of
Composed heavily of members of the Weihan Cynn humanity directly. When armies clash, the Green Knights
and displaced Roman Kindred from the Cult of the Augurs charge from the mists on horseback, declaring for no man
and the Peregrine Collegia, the Legion of the Green is the and fighting for a cause of their own before retreating back
prominent force within the Courts of Night, a confederation into the wilds. Their founder, a Bron known as Bertilak of
of allied lords undergoing the uneasy transition between the the Green, is even known to stride into the halls of men,
gatherings of the Camarilla and the rival fiefdoms of the challenging potential thralls and childer to match his war-
new world. Their elders, in recognition of their authority, rior ideal. The Green Knights of the Legion, in their efforts
are gifted with aliases drawn from the cults and legends to steer the fates of men, have earned a growing animosity
of Britannia, with the rulers of each fief given the suffix with the Black Knights of Merlin, and their forces have
“of the Green” to make their status clear. In Gwynedd to crossed swords on numerous occasions.
the west, Math of the Green holds court, a shapeshifting For their mutual protection the Legion relies on strict
seer that speaks to animals. In Caer Baddan, Sulis of the liege-vassal relationships imposed by a system of blood oaths
Green leads a cult of mortal warriors, reaping praise with that will soon form the foundation of the Invictus. For the
her majestic presence and the healing power of her Vitae. purpose of purchasing Merits, Kindred Status in the Legion
Across the sea in Ulster, Conall of the Green commands of the Green functions identically to modern-day Status in
men and beasts alike as he battles for dominion. Across the Invictus, including access to Invictus Oaths.
Britannia, the Lords of the Green fight to claim a land for

28
Arthur‘s Britannia
Contracts of Night and Day (•) For this reason, the Lancea et Sanctum gathers every
weapon they can in their ongoing war. They sway the hearts
Prerequisites: Notary (Invictus Merit), Occult •• of humanity to their cause, not through deception, but
The Legion of the Green, while lacking the full breadth through ardent support of the common folk, rallying the
of authority that the Weihan Cynn possess, have developed masses. They tie legends of the treasures of the land to their
a limited ability to impose oaths of prestation and fealty new faith, inspiring devout Kindred and humans alike to
upon their allies within the Lost, aided in their transactions seek out the mystical artifacts of Britannia that they might
by Hobgoblin servants of the Bank of the Red Teller, who be repurposed as saintly relics.
store and ferry the accumulated Glamor and Vitae between
the liege and vassal of each oath. To the Lost, submitting to Faith Militant (••)
such total obedience to another is an unsettling prospect, Prerequisite: Lancea et Sanctum Status •
particularly to a member of the Court of Night. Kindred, The bonds of faith bind communities in the Dark Ages,
too, recoil at the idea of gifting their unique powers to one and in these times, as knowledge is destroyed and lost, the
not of the blood. In the modern nights, such an arrangement church is a bastion of academic knowledge. The Lancea et
would be viewed as abhorrent and worthy of Final Death, Sanctum has learned to cultivate the strengths of their flock.
but in present times it is a repulsive but dreadful necessity. Effect: Your character can treat their Herd rating as
Effect: Kindred with this Merit can invoke Invictus Resources for the purpose of procuring services. Once per
Oaths between a Kindred liege and a Lost vassal, grant- chapter, you can also treat your Herd Rating as Resources
ing the full benefits to each. The bloody sympathy of the for the purposes of procuring equipment.
bond between liege and vassal allows the changeling to use
Contracts on their vampire lieges without the expenditure of
Glamour, as though they were utilizing a Loophole. As part
of this Oath, the affected Lost must imbibe a small sample of
their liege’s Vitae, incurring a first stage blood bond for the
duration of the Oath. Note that this blood bond creates a
The Fine Print
blood sympathy, making the Kindred liege an eligible target The Legion of the Green’s Contracts of Night and Day
for anyone seeking to harm the changeling by proxy. and the Weihan Cynn’s Contract with the Uncanny
(Dark Eras p. 271) grant the Kindred a great deal of
The Lancea et Sanctum — authority within the courts of the Lost. These bargains
clearly favor the Kindred, but will not favor them
Knights of the Lance forever. The exchange of blood and titles between the
Courts of Night and Day give the freehold of Avalon
Paying lip service to the Treaties of Night and Day, ample opportunity to twist these contracts to their own
the growing might of the Lancea et Sanctum is a source benefit, labeling the Kindred as imposters of the True
of contention for their allies among the Lost and the Fae and viable targets for their wrath.
Kindred alike. Following in the wake of mortal missionar- For the duration of their service under these
ies, their demagogues help to reinterpret folklore heroes contracts, Lost vassals benefit from the Obliged
as biblical saints, and they do this with little regard for Condition. In addition, while serving as vassal un-
the titles formally traded by the Lost and Kindred courts. der an Invictus Oath, the Lost vassal may announce
This practice has led to conflict many times over, and with their liege’s crimes and impart the Hunted Condition
their acquisition of a number of surviving Kindred from on their Kindred master. Imparting this Condition
the Legio Mortuum, members of the Lancea et Sanctum does not end the Oath, nor does it protect the
find themselves capable of increasingly militant options in changeling from retribution from their liege. The
defense of their growing territories in southeast Britannia. bargains of the Weihann Cynn, not being subject to
Blood Sympathy, do not suffer from this drawback.
This aggressive approach is more than warranted — of Instead, failure to repay a favor of level four or
all the Courts of Night, the Lancea et Sanctum has the higher granted by a Contract with the Uncanny
closest ties to Rome, and their battles with the Strix at allows the aggrieved Lost to inflict the Hunted
the empire’s collapse is a recent and bitter memory. They Condition upon the Kindred as punishment.
hear whispers of ill omen, of yellow-eyed shapeshifters in
In each instance, this Condition is invoked only as
the wilds, of cultists bedecked in black-feather cloaks that a last resort, and almost never against a true ally
dance by firelight and dispense mocking prophecies, and of the Lost. Any attention from the True Fae, no
they ready themselves for the next strike. The nemeses cast matter how tangential, can be disastrous for the
a long shadow, one that lurks even in the ruins and wilds Lost, as well as accruing the full ire of the Kindred
of Britannia. It is an enemy that cannot be hidden from of the Court of Night. In the midst of a Wild Hunt,
with courtly intrigue; the only way to banish the shadows however, such sentiments mean nothing.
is with the light of judgment.

29
Night Approaches
 The Circles of Mor — Your character serves a coven that worships one of the
Strix, though you do not know them by this name. In ex-
Sibyls of the Nemesis change for veneration and tithes of Vitae, the Owl delights
in sharing its knowledge and dark power.
The Morrigan. The Furies. The Kindly Ones. The Effect: Once per chapter you can request a boon from
Valkyrie. Nemesis. These are the names of the Carrion your Strix master, treating your Circle of Mor Status as dots in
Queens, those who sit in judgement of men and monsters, Mentor for the purpose of requesting knowledge. As Ephemeral
who teach the virtues of vengeance. Kindred that aspire Beings, the Strix are not limited to a specific range of skills,
to this ideal adorn themselves in robes of black feathers, having access to lore acquired over many brutal lifetimes. This
carving runes into their own flesh. They offer up the weak boon can also take the form of the use of a Dread Power with
as food for their masters and exult in their continued sur- Shadow Potency no greater than your Circle of Mor rating.
vival in the face of ever-increasing adversity, prophesizing Drawback: Each boon must be paid for with Vitae equal
the death-throes of the world. They are what the Kindred to twice the level of your Circle of Mor Status. This Vitae
could be, what they should be, they are the Circles of Mor. can be gifted by your character, or offered from another
The Kindred that join a Circle of Mor choose a life bereft captive Kindred. The Strix delight in the corruption of
of clemency or negotiation. They are predators deep in the Kindred, and rage at the prospect of redemption. If your
wilds, followers of old faiths that reject the communal weak- character ever increases their Humanity, the Strix com-
ness of the new gods. Hospitality is an illusion, those that mands them to debase themselves, performing rites and
stand at the entrance of your cave are prey, enemies, or both. depredations until this change is reverted. Refusal or delay
The Sibyls do not operate within a broader structure. Each causes your character to be marked for death by their Circle,
Circle typically comprises three to six Kindred, with twice as losing their Circle of Mor Status. While the Circles of Mor
many ghouls serving them in hopes of their own ascension. are disparate and self-serving, with the option of joining
Rivalry is constant; the Circles of Mor depend on outside en- another Circle possible, it is by no means assured. Service
emies for any level of cooperation. In times of relative peace, to the Strix is a dangerous and dehumanizing path, one that
the Circles wage war on each other, and Kindred within the few other Kindred would ever tolerate, and the Storyteller
same Circle undermine each other at every step, their Beasts is encouraged to make it a challenging experience.
ever restless. When attacked from without, however, they have
an alarming unity of purpose, gathering to perform powerful
rites to turn the land against their enemies. Some within the
The Encroaching Darkness —
Circle take greater steps to focus this hatred outward, traveling
into the communities of man to spread their own enlighten-
Maintaining Touchstones,
ment, starting their own Circles as they teach their weaker Humanity, and Feeding
Kindred brethren the true power of the Beast. Some claim
that Morgana’s sister Morgause (or someone using her name) Ground in the Dark Ages
ranks among their number, but none among the Kindred have The time of vampires is in decline. Rome has fallen, trade
dared to make this accusation and lived to share her response. and contact with the mainland has collapsed, and the grow-
Few Kindred endure this path for long; many of the ing animosity between the peoples of Britannia has created
oldest among the Circles are feral, driven mad by their kin- an era of death and hunger. The world, no longer an empire,
ship with the Beast. They lead short, pure lives dedicated has diminished to a series of warring fiefdoms, small kingdoms
to the old ways. Some, however, have led their Circles that can be crossed in a few days’ travel. Every journey is a
for centuries, ancient beings that work their magic in the crawl, inch by bleeding inch, through a thicket of corrupt
darkest places, the yellow glint of their eyes a beacon to lords and drawn steel. Arthur’s rule did not eliminate war,
Kindred on the true path. Not all Circles are associated it only gave it focus, making the armies larger and better
with the Strix, and the call of the Beast sometimes leads equipped. Amid this constant murder and bloodshed human
the Circles into war with them, but the influence of the integrity is constantly tested, and so is a vampire’s humanity.
Owls is an ever-present secret of the order. The vampire is a predator, and like any predator its
Circle of Mor Status is functionally identical to Acolyte survival is dependent on a healthy feeding ground. The
of the Crone Status. While the Acolytes will not be formally peoples of Britannia have been at war for decades, and as
recognized as a Covenant for many centuries, the rites and they approach the Dark Ages they are becoming lean and
traditions that inspired them (including the Blood Sorcery paranoid. Division and warfare can be excellent distractions
of Crúac) have existed for far longer. for a nomadic hunter, but for the social hunter it creates ad-
ditional challenges. When the Legio Mortuum first arrived
Parliament’s Apostle (•) in Britannia, their report was blunt: “Food is plentiful, but
Prerequisites: Circle of Mor Status •, Humanity rating the Kindred struggle for every drop of blood.” The blood-
of 6 or less soaked fields and hardy survivors of this era have caused
the number of revenants and grave-born vampires to rise
30
Arthur‘s Britannia
sharply. They attack farmsteads and ambush travelers on are regular meetings practical. The Gangrel, and the rising
the road. The survivors speak freely of the damned, demons Ventrue and Bron fare better under these restrictions, endur-
in human skin that feast on the blood of the innocent and ing long journeys or commanding beasts and men alike to act
abhor the light of the Lord. There is no Masquerade — the as personal envoys, but all clans struggle to maintain their
threat is real and the people are rising to fight it. herds as the boundaries of man change constantly. Even the
Kindred have few options in maintaining their feeding most active of Kindred struggle to gather more than once a
grounds. Some abandon society, retreating into the wilds, far season, and the democratic traditions of the Camarilla are
from the swords and torches of “civilized” man. They become regarded as a failed experiment.
beasts, preying on animals, or hermits dispensing wisdom and A vampire’s Touchstones, the tethers to their humanity, are
gifts to desperate wanderers over a cup of proffered blood. under constant strain. The great distance between settlements,
Others embed themselves among the people, hiding in plain the increasingly isolationist fiefs, and the bitter winters all
sight among the noble and warrior castes, or scribing in secret make travel difficult, with loved ones moving out of reach for
in monasteries. Kindred society is a strained concept in these months or even years at a time. With the stability and protec-
times — travel is difficult and too many vampires in one place tion of the Camarilla a fleeting memory, Kindred struggle to
swiftly arouses attention. Only in the largest of settlements rely on people to stave off their descent towards monstrosity.
People fight and vanish, mortal households that have held do-
minion for decades are slaughtered overnight. The scope of the
great invasions strips the Kindred soul bare, encouraging their
descent. Kindred of this era are more reliant on locations and
keepsakes to bolster their Humanity. The country is infested
Touchstone Mementos with the ruins of old glories, and Kindred are bound to these
As war and the seasons force people apart, it is com- places. They gather at castles and stone circles, at abbeys and
mon for loved ones not to see each other for many battlefields. They renew their pledges to the old ways, carving
years at a time. So too are Kindred often deprived faces into ancient oak trees and staining them with blood, or
of the people and places that acts as touchstones for gather in stone churches in honor of the new faith.
their humanity.
Mementos help Kindred reassure themselves in this
time, acting as reminders of distant Touchstones
and helping them to draw on their benefits. They
Playing the Game
act as surrogate representations of the original Your setting is the chaotic years following the Roman
Touchstone. Any keepsake with a personal con- withdrawal, the reasonably stable time of Camelot itself, or
nection to the Touchstone can act as a memento. the dark times following the fall of the Round Table; there
is plenty of narrative meat to sink your teeth into. Besides
A tribal warrior, ruminating on a bloody battle, more immediate goals, each group has their own ongoing
clutches a child’s cloth doll in her hands, knowing
interests to drive them onward during this unstable period.
she fought to keep him safe. A traveler, stranded in
a snowstorm, staves off descent into feral hunger Vampires are looking for control, or at least comfort, in the
by reading his brother’s letters. A missionary, newly abandoned lands of the former Empire, the Uratha
bearing witness to profane rituals, draws strength mainly seek a return to the old ways or establish equilibrium
from the bronze crucifix gifted by her church. with the new human rulers. The Lost want to maintain their
anonymity and avoid the Huntsmen as they ever did, but
Mementos make it easier for a vampire to defend
continue to shepherd the Hedge’s growth as a means of hid-
attachment to their Touchstones, even if they are
hundreds of miles away or (unbeknownst to the ing from the mortals, creating a struggle between changeling
vampire) deceased. A prominently displayed fears. Hunters face the shadows that appear before them and
memento can also help a vampire to resist Frenzy, threaten their villages, whether that is a monster from with-
granting a +1 modifier to the dice roll. Finally, out, in the darkened woodlands, or within, at the seat of local
if the vampire permanently loses the affiliated governance. With such incongruent goals how does one cre-
Touchstone, the gifting of their memento can ate an antagonist that can bring them together? The answer
act as a powerful gesture in establishing a new is to look outside. Who has goals that serve themselves at
Touchstone. the cost of others? What dark alliances threaten the whole?
Vampires feel the loss of these treasured keep- The Saxon invasion and subsequent conquest of Britannia
sakes keenly. Another individual manhandling or looms, and that brings hardship and death for all. The Saxons
damaging a memento can induce frenzy with a themselves are superstitious people; they do not tolerate the
−2 modifier to resist. The destruction or loss of a supernatural (where they become aware of it) but, in this time
memento can be as potent a loss as losing a loved of strife, they are happy to act as mercenaries for those willing
one, inducing frenzy with a −4 modifier. to pay them (even if they only appear mortal). The promise of
a Saxon incursion can bring the most disparate of characters

31
Playing the Game
 together in the face of a greater threat. The Saxons might need draw the unwanted attentions of a Huntsman but, with only
an inroad, a safe landing or a way through the Hedge under the barest investigation by a True Fae, the illusion of the
the direction of an overambitious Fae who is also manipulating vampire’s court would be pierced and the ruse discovered.
some hapless mortal or even vampire noble to act as host to the The Huntsman moves on and the Lost remain concealed.
invasion. The characters might be offered advance knowledge
of such a plan and the opportunity to arrange an alliance to
counter the Saxon mercenaries, or a means to coerce the
Threats Without
traitorous noble into implicating themselves in the plot before
it comes to fruition. A Saxon raiding party focused solely on
and Evils Within
hunting the creatures of the night might bring an uneasy alli- Working as agents of a newly established kingdom pres-
ance together with a common goal, a tale of hunter becoming ents its opportunities, too, if the seat of power is awakened
hunted on the heaths and under the old oak branches. to the threat of the supernatural and wise enough to employ
such agents as they can to advise about or protect against

The Old Ways Resurgent it. A hunter of some renown is a logical choice, a Kindred
assassin of the Mekhet, and even a Lost of the Autumn
Within Britannia the Weihan Cynn seek to reclaim Court could profit from such an arrangement. Such a group
what once was theirs. The golden-eyed mystics, druids and might form spontaneously in the name of survival, faced
soothsayers claim the land by ancient right and work dark with a greater threat like Wyrtogern, the Herjan, or the
deals, tithes, and allegiances with any Otherworld entity post-Camelot slasher that is the Black Knight.
that encroaches upon their territory (See Contract with the Having witnessed the fall of the Empire, there is a chance
Uncanny, Dark Eras p. 271). In the past they relied upon for players to represent either side of the coming conflict as
their supernatural aura to cow the herd and ensure respect pagans standing in defiance of the Sanctified, or as Romano
but, after the Romans drove them into the shadows, they Britons still loyal to the lost Empire. Characters from multiple
had to watch and learn new strategies for the time when the backgrounds might struggle for the pagan soul of Britannia
chance would arise to retake their place at the reins of hu- against the encroaching Christian faith. They might choose
manity. In the ages before, the divisions amongs tribes served to undermine the older, established ways of the Weihan Cynn
them, their place as the ‘middle-men’ in transactions with the and further the cause of the Invictus and the new god, driving
Hedge and other powers saw them well kept in payment and the older powers back into the darkness. Given how success-
favors from both sides. In the centuries to come the Weihan ful your characters are in their efforts they might prompt the
Cynn seek tenuous alliances with the incoming Kindred Sanctified to employ some Saxon hunters to run them down
covenants to preserve their vaunted position of power, but or cause the Weihan Cynn to employ a darker bargain to be rid
in Arthur’s Britannia everything is a struggle. The Lancea et of them. The most attractive reason for playing in this setting
Sanctum come with the new faith trying to expunge the old, is, of course, to play Knights of the Round Table. Fifty-nine
but they are far from their powerbase; the Weihan Cynn have named knights appear in the romantic tales of the court of
been here forever but they are disparate, isolated and recover- Camelot. It has also been said that there were as many as 150
ing from their persecution at the hands of the fallen Empire. at its height, and some histories say the table itself could host
Yet, they still have ties among the older gods and creatures, 1,000. A chronicle can be written to explore battles, quests,
among the courts and with the Owls. There is everything to and political machinations both within and without Camelot.
play for and, whether by Machiavellian intrigue or outright In such a game there is scope for intrigue on many levels. What
warfare, this is the last chance for the golden-eyed Kindred if your vampire character is a member of the Bron, using the
to assume full control over the isle’s cowering mortal herd. knights of Camelot to gain information on the whereabouts of
These are the times when, in place of the Camarilla, the the Holy Grail? Are your characters truly loyal to the Round
Lancea et Sanctum and the Invictus are establishing their Table or working to speed its downfall at the hands of Morgana
power but are starting from scratch. The darkened shores of le Fay? Are these elements present despite the characters, do
Britannia are a long way from Rome, but it was once part of the goals of conspirators and saboteurs clash breeding a shadow
the Empire and so should be again. The root of Christianity war between knights outwardly loyal to the court of Camelot?
has been established and it is up to the Sanctified to see it Romantically, the period surrounding the rule of King
grow and use it as the bridle to lead humanity. Those Kindred Arthur is considered a time when one man led a nation fall-
who embrace the new ways must fight against the old or the ing into shadows toward an era of light, a shining beacon of
different; those who seek to establish an independent kingdom justice in a barbaric world before the folly of human nature
of their own would do well to do so in secrecy or in disguise. struck him down and sundered all he had built. Historically,
A vampire who founds their kingdom upon the ways of the era following the surrender of Briton by the Romans
the changeling courts cannot do so without some insight is no more or less barbarous or civilized than what went
into those courts. It could be quite attractive to one or before or came after. Here, the players have free rein to
more of the Lost (especially the Darklings) to aid a new hold up the romanticized ideal of Camelot or to delve into
vampire lord in building such an intricate facade. It might the horror-strewn filth of the Dark Ages and its mythos.

32
Arthur‘s Britannia
Running the Game
of an aggressive Pictish chieftain gaining influence; a
vampire character fed on someone close to the ally;
the rival was famed for arrogance and poor threat as-
The advantage of a game based on Arthurian myth is sessment. In this way the setting still feels tumultuous,
that most players are already pretty familiar with the story but it also feels cohesive and real.
of King Arthur from various media. This is also the disad-
vantage. To really share the spirit of fifth-century Britannia • Darkness: The darkness theme extends beyond literal
at your table, you want to keep your players from visualizing poor lighting. People don’t see as far as they used to.
knights in plate armor charging to the strains of Carmina The future is more uncertain than it was a century ago
Burana — or worse, doing musical numbers about Camelot. while Rome was still strong and the Saxons far away.
Arthur’s story has been told in countless ways, many of them Communities become more isolated: sea trade falls off,
sanitized, cartoonish, comical, melodramatic, or completely and it becomes more dangerous to travel from town
anachronistic. But if you can get buy-ins from your players, to town. Play up this theme by exploring the limits to
all of that can fall away as you explore how the rise and fall characters’ knowledge. No freehold knows how many
of Camelot might have played out in an older, darker world. other freeholds are in Britain; some might not know
any other freeholds. Vampires remember, or hear tales
Setting the Scene of, the world across the Channel, but never the latest
news. The hunters know precious little of the beasts
Useful visuals for fifth-century Britain can be hard to find, and godlings of this strange new island. Everyone is
especially inspirational movies or television, 2004’s King Arthur using out-of-date information, and the world keeps
and 2007’s The Last Legion are set in the right place at the right changing all the same.
time, but are a bit off-key for a Dark Eras game. Dim the lights
during play if you can; if your group is comfortable playing by • Gloom: The key to establishing a mood is consistency.
candlelight, this can evoke their characters’ environment. You don’t have to read aloud paragraphs of prewritten
Audio aids are more readily available. Keeping a low, un- flavor text to play up a malaise fallen over Camelot.
obtrusive musical soundtrack running is a common Storyteller Be subtler, but persistent. Most characters with whom
technique; you might prefer monastic chants, dark fantasy, the players interact seem weary; they may speak a
or dark ambient, or the more atmospheric tracks from video little more slowly, or in lower voices. In the firelight,
games such as the Dark Souls series. While Beowulf won’t be metal shines dully and colors are darker. News of a lost
written for another couple of centuries, there’s no better way battle hangs over a castle, and all the bards’ songs have
to bring Old English to your table than to play a recording of changed. The Spring Queen’s smile seems forced at
the poem being read aloud in its original language — a solid times. But remember to add a few moments of genuine
trick to give the Saxon characters a recognizable voice. joy or humor from time to time. These moments bring
a welcome (and believable) reprieve from the mood,
Returning to Theme and Mood and then help reinforce the mood when the moments
are past and the gloom returns.
• Change: Invoking change as a theme is an easy, two-
step process. Step one: Establish a recurring element
in the setting, something the players can get used to: Mutable History
a colorful town, an understanding ally, a recurring Players are not obligated to follow a script — even if
rival. Step two: Remove or drastically alter the thing. the script of history. They might act to somehow change
The town is burned by Picts; the ally switches her the timeline as you’ve planned it. This is fine. They don’t
allegiance; the rival unexpectedly dies to make room have to succeed, but they also don’t have to fail. You may
for a new, more dangerous rival. Many Storytellers find the ramifications more fascinating than anything you’d
upset the applecart almost by reflex, and when you’re previously anticipated.
stressing a theme of change, you do want plenty of
• Kill Arthur: The most obvious twist is to assassi-
chronicle-altering events. But the trick is making each
nate Arthur before his fated fall at Camlann. This
change feel earned. If changes feel too arbitrary, the
is, ironically, the least disruptive change. Camelot
players’ suspension of disbelief is altered. They think
simply falls ahead of schedule, and the Saxons move
of events as driven by the Storyteller’s authorial hand
in. An entertaining aspect of this change is either
rather than by the actions of their characters and oth-
describing how the legend changes, or showing how
ers, and they probably develop fewer attachments to
people spread the lie of Camlann to try keeping
characters, places, and causes within the game. Each
hope alive. This would be a plot for Tier One or
change needs to feel as though it was bound to happen
Tier Two chronicles.
based on the characters’ experiences. Rumors warned

33
Running the Game
 • Save Arthur: The players might rig events so Arthur
survives Mordred and rules on. Camelot endures
longer, but it may become clear that Arthur is the
Traits and the
only thing holding it together. If the players truly Threefold Hunter
want to change history, they need to find a way for Mechanics for the True Fae are covered in
Arthur to have heirs (other than Mordred), and his Changeling: The Lost Second Edition,
heirs to have heirs. If your players enjoy high-stakes Chapter Five. We don’t assign Traits to the
matchmaking, this might be a delight to play out. Herjan here; rather, we have recommendations.
This plot works best for Tier One or Two games.
The Hunter has three active Titles, all active
• Bloody the Saxons: It’s very unlikely that the players at once: the Herjan (or the Lord of Hosts), the
will succeed at driving out the Saxons where even
Herne (or the Bloody Antler King), and the
Harrier of the Woods. Each Title is associated
Arthur failed, but they might strike a surprising blow. with a separate seeming (Beast, Ogre, and
One example would be killing Hengist before he founds Darkling respectively). Each Title can possess
Kent. Do the players’ actions kindle a vengeful fury in as many of the following Aspirations, Regalia,
the Saxons, or bowel-loosening terror? Can they push oaths, and banes as you see fit — though each
the advantage? Embarking on a war with the invaders is one should probably have only one bane,
solidly in the Tier Two category, if the players intend a even if the other two are rumored. Each mani-
concerted effort to sabotage the Saxon invasion, or Tier festation has at least Wyrd 8, which means
Three if they intend to unify Britannia against them. it has at least 40 dots to divide among its
Attributes and another 40 dots divided among
• Strengthen the Herne: We assume that the Herjan is its Skills. It may have an even higher Wyrd and
weakened or slain at the end of it all. But what if the play- higher Traits, if it possesses more titles that that
ers, through accident or stratagem, actually strengthen have not made themselves known. Yet.
the Harrier’s grip on the isles? The Lost freeholds may Aspirations: To bring home the finest trophies;
be doomed. Changelings are no longer remembered as to watch the prey flee for its life; to taste the
minor godlings and strange guardians of the wild — they blood of a ferocious heart.
simply become prey in the Herjan’s grand preserve. For Regalia: The Leashes and the Reins (Mirror),
a time, Britain seems less magical… and then, with The Spear Inexorable (Sword), The Horned
one of the True Fae as the Horned King in the woods, Stallion (Steed)
it becomes much more magical indeed. Handling the
supernatural, especially something as powerful as the Banes: The teeth of a beloved dog; the knife in
True Fae, rests within the Tier Three level of play.
a child’s hand; the smoke from a burnt branch
of flowering yew
Tells: Antlers; sharp deer’s teeth; leaves hoof-
prints with his left foot.
Tiers

Legends of the Era

If you’re not already familiar with gameplay tiers
from Hunter: The Vigil, and recurring throughout
this book, they are a means of setting the scale
of your intended chronicle, and perhaps tracking Stories in this era range from the intimate struggles of
how larger events affect things on lower tiers. The individuals attempting to get by in an uncertain time, to
tiers in this era play out roughly as such: nobles dueling and warring for power over an entire region
• Street (Tier One): A town. A small freehold. and its people.
A vampire’s hunting ground.
• Regional (Tier Two): A kingdom — Camelot, Threats to the People
a Saxon kingdom — perhaps all of Britain.
Arthur’s court. Covenant and clan politics. A • There was a hanging in the town square today. The
large freehold, or a pact between freeholds. condemned raved on the way to the gibbet about
monsters and demons even as they dropped the noose
• Global (Tier Three): Britain; possibly much of about his neck. Strange that his crime was murdering
Europe. Travel to and from the Saxon homelands, or
a wandering storyteller. Does it have anything to do
from territories formerly held by Rome. Communication
with covenant elders. Freeholds on the mainland ask with a tale that had spread during the bard’s travels,
for aid, or pledge aid against the Herjan. a tale of lost fairy gold in the deep forests, and the
people who went looking for it and never returned?

34
Arthur‘s Britannia
• Bad enough when a mortal finds themselves dragged numbers dwindle; every night more are gone. The
off into the Hedge and replaced by a fetch, worse shadows move, and shift, and whisper dark things.
still when a mortal draws the attention of the fae by The owls have come for us and, in the forest, the
choice. A barren couple, desperate for a child, so des- golden eyes watch and laugh at our strife.
perate the husband traded himself for his wife’s happi-
ness so the fae would grant her a babe. Unsurprisingly, • In the scrublands around Blaeca’s Clearing to the
the fair folk kept to their word and only their word. east, cattle are gathering. A herd of hundreds con-
Years have passed and the babe is still in swaddling, verges on the hamlet from all sides, circling and
never growing, never changing, but exerting its will lowing, stamping the image of three interlocking
over the village, draining their strength and resources circles, miles wide, into the tall grass. They signal
and they can’t see anything strange going on at all. the awakening of the Catuvellauni, a Celtic tribe
that defied the invading Romans 400 years earlier. In
• In the western kingdom of Gwynedd, armies are mus- that time the Legio Mortuum captured 20 tribesmen,
tered as the rival lords Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Gronw Embraced them, and unleashed them on their own
Pebr vie for the affections of supernaturally beautiful families. The frenzied Catuvellauni were staked and
Blodeuwedd. Accounts vary on her origin. Some buried by their kin and will soon rise, at the heart of
claim that she is forged from flowers, her soul plucked Saxon territory. Their people eradicated, and with a
from storm winds, others that the ghostly spirit of an fierce hatred of vampires and foreign invaders alike,
owl was coaxed into a dying body. Regardless, she their allegiance will be highly uncertain.
has become a prize worthy of killing for, and even
the Courts of Night and Day are enraptured by her • The villages of the east coast have a legend, the
glamor. Currently her husband, Lleu, and her lover Black Shuck. A cyclopean hound the size of a horse
Gronw seek pacts with ancient beings for power. that roams the fens and pathways. To see the Shuck
is to die; but now, whole villages have heard the
Shuck howling up and down the coastline. Maybe
Threats to the Region it heralds a Saxon invasion, maybe something worse.
Whatever it is that looms on the horizon, the omen
• They say where the path of Wyrtogern lies the dead lurking in the fog of the marshes is just as dangerous.
become restless. The local graveyards have become
places where the living fear to tread at night. A
hooded figure has been seen in the forest, clad in rags Threats to the Kingdom
and shambling through the unnatural mist that hangs
around him like a shroud. As the sun’s rays wane in the • The old gods stir. The Hibernian Celts raid in the
evening, ghostly wails and creeping shadows trouble name of Crom Crúach, sacrificing their victims in
the wooden grave markers and the old priest looks the name of the crooked one of the mound. Whether
more like a walking corpse every day. Someone has the tithes of blood they pay are to gain his favor or
to do something before this evil befalls us all. divert his corrupting gaze from their crops matters
not. The tributes awaken stone and metal effigies of
• There is a story told of a Roman legion lost beyond the god itself to walk with their warriors: unliving,
Hadrian’s Wall, ambushed by Picts and slaughtered uncaring, and unstoppable by the efforts of mortals.
to a man. If there is truth in it then there are 8,000 The cults must be stopped and the golems they’ve
well-armed and well-trained soldiers buried in the awakened put to rest once more.
north without the proper tribute paid to sate their
imperial souls. If someone could find the legion’s • Across the western coasts a new sect of invaders has
Eagle, they might rouse them into service once more appeared, gifted with an unsettling power. Entering
or lay them to rest eternally, or maybe the dead sol- a battle frenzy known as the “Warp Spasm,” these
diers are just waiting for the right stars to align and warriors slough off their skin and manifest myriad
awaken them so they can march south and set their appendages, transforming into beasts wrought of
anger against the living? madness. The Bron witnessing these transformations
attack the warriors on sight. The Courts of Night
• We came ashore by night and in secret to raise a and Day both reject affiliation with these warriors,
fiefdom in this godless land. We sought to strengthen with speculation on their identity in its infancy. A
the hold of God’s church on these shores in the name missionary present at one of their attacks claimed
of the Lancea et Sanctum but none of the nobles that they were servants of demons, nightmares
we visited would bargain with us. They feared the made manifest. A blind seer far removed from the
golden eyes in the forest and so we readied ourselves battle warns that they are diseased, emissaries of a
to take what we required. That was days ago, now our contagion that sickens land and people alike.

35
Legends of the Era
 • The gates of Camelot seem never to shut. Pictish live beneath the land of Britannia itself, places like
incursions, robber barons, politics, and threats from Lambton or Sockburn are plagued by huge, white,
far shores occupy as much of the knights’ time as maggot-like creatures of entropy that leech the life
questing for religious artifacts and standing against from the very soil. At times even the simplest task,
the creatures of the night. Quests are raised to seek such as visiting a noble’s court to end an ongoing
the staff of St. Christopher, the bones of John the feud, can lead to desperate battles against evil crea-
Baptist and the silver dinari paid to Judas Iscariot tures bent upon sowing dissent and chaos between
alongside the quest for the Holy Grail, and then the mortals who want nothing more than safety and
there are calls to sally forth against the wyrms that security.

War Among the Remains

Werewolves in this era enjoy the people’s return to primal darkness and fear, but stalk a fine line between
reveling in their role as predators and falling off the path, into untamed wilds where creatures more horrific
than they hold court. Beshilu pour through tears in the Gauntlet, left by dreadful bloody clashes and the
uprooting of occult tradition, as Pure lay claim to the disconnected regions of the highlands and the moors.
Merlin was almost certainly a mage, but whether he’s one to worship and aspire to or revile for his flagrant
acts of Sleeper manipulation is a cause of hot debate between the orders. Mages in this era capitalize on
the resurgence of folk belief and lay claim to any number of mysterious places the Romans abandoned, tak-
ing all they can from this new Dark Age.
Tales tell of how the legendary King Nuada lost his arm in the battle at Mag Tuired and his throne when the
Fae declared a one-armed king unfit to lead the people. He returned, Remade, with a silver arm as part of
his Divergence. At first Nuada was a Devoted, ruling over a fiefdom as a mortal conspiracy’s puppet, but he
has since gone Renegade, and plots to lead an army against the conspiracy as the Tuatha Dé Danaan once
rebelled against the Fomorians.
For Romans and Prometheans alike, the British Isles exist as a place of abandoned toys, retired warriors,
and artifacts too cumbersome to take home. The Created who came here with the legions do not return to
Rome, finding their Pilgrimages drawing them to observe and interfere with the activities in Camelot and the
Saxon and Angle invasions. There is so much of life’s darkest sides to experience in Britannia; the Created
just need to overcome each one.
Like the Created, many Sin-Eaters of this era were not born here and cannot leave here. Their geists tie
them to the Isles, and so they remain as their leaving compatriots depart. Though there’s much unfinished
business and crimes that have gone unpunished here, there are talks of Reapers pouring through from each
corner of Britannia, looking to call an official conclusion to Roman occupancy. They fully intend to deliver
Sin-Eaters to their final rest.
Arisen abandon subtlety in this era, striding across fields, through villages, and into holy and mysterious
places to claim each one for their guilds. Something of the Isles stinks of the Lifeless, compelling mummies to
move fast and secure the sources of Sekhem that seem plentiful here. They care little for the struggles be-
tween vampires, hunters, and changelings.
This period is wondrous for Begotten who enjoy many of the same boosts in power through fear and nightmare
as the Gentry. While Tyrants mourn the loss of unified power as kingdoms crumble, the Eshmaki delight and share
toasts with the True Fae, believing Britannia is finally returned to its rightful state — dark, wild, and terrifying.
Saboteurs celebrate as Camelot falls, the demons taking broad credit for the assaults on Rome and thus
permanent damage to the God-Machine. To them, Camelot was the last holdout of Rome’s once-great
western reach. With angels losing interest in the Isles however, cryptids emerge in great number, taking
advantage of the chaos along Britain’s eastern coastline.

36
Arthur‘s Britannia
The Bron

“This is the only game of consequence. to live by their pious examples. They
Strike me, and I strike you back. First to defend the churches, the relics, and the
die loses.” sanctity of humanity, both as the stalwart
The unknown soldier challenging shield and as the crusading sword. The
knights in their own court, the stoic her- Hedge Knights drawn to the wilderness, to
mit standing vigil on the mountain top, the feral places of man, are more akin to the
the painted savage patrolling labyrinthine beasts in the humanity’s stories. In the wild
forests with bloodied spear in hand, these they hunt and fight, guarding their sacred
are the guises of the Bron, who have been groves and circles from intruders, in service
present in Britannia since the infancy of to the Weihan Cynn, or to something far
mortal memory. Their bloodline, twisted by older. Many Bron take to quiet introspection
promises long forgotten, recedes and resurges like in these times, warning interlopers away from
the tides, reawakening when the fabric between worlds their domains for their own safety, but some are guided
wears thin. Their willingness to take up arms against the to an unwholesome path, enacting rites that call to the
monsters of the wild and to court the favor of the fae nemeses of old. Those they capture become more than
has earned them the nickname “Hedge food. They are sliced open in rituals, their
Knights,” a mockery they have accepted innards nailed to trees as warnings while
willingly. The rites and powers that the Bron dance by firelight.
called them into being are unclear — some
claim lineage to the sun-cult of Sulis, goddess of
Why you want to be us
healing and battle, whose mystic founts were said to cure You do not break. You are a hound of the battlefield,
all maladies. Others claim to be the kinsmen of Bran the screaming in triumph and pierced by the spears of a hundred
Crow-King, the blessed warrior who sundered the Cauldron slain foes. When you walk the paths at the edge of dream-
of Rebirth and pledged his undying body to eternal vigil. ing, the eaves of the forest dip in acknowledgement of your
Most recently Bron have been tied to legends of the Holy power. You are no mere vampire; as a Hedge Knight you
Grail, with vampires claiming to have seen, and even have tempered the sorceries of the otherworld with your
supped from this sacred chalice and transforming their own spilled blood, and in doing so have become what you
blood. It is possible that all of these stories are true and the were always meant to be, a legend.
magic worked on these vampires is a fuel, rousing a spark
of change that has long been dormant within the Ventrue.
Why you should fear us
The Bron of this era are at the height of their influence, We do not bow. We are not gentle. We are not kind.
holding court across Britannia. Some are young, newly To intrude on our domain is to face an implacable foe.
awakened to their bloodline, serving as vassal knights and We track our prey through the fiercest of storms and defy
guardians of the glades. Some are ancient, roused from the even death in our pursuit, and should our enemies elude
sleep of ages by the drums of war and the distant call of us we can nurse our hatred for 1,000 years, biding our time
the hunt, claiming rite of rulership from younger vampires to resume the hunt. They are naught but monsters in our
in tests of skill, honor, and the sword. Regions controlled story; they cannot stop us.
by the Bron are prone to upheaval, the Hedge Knights do
not live by half measures. Whether they name you friend Why we should fear ourselves
or foe, the Bron pursue their goals to ruination. We cannot bend. There is always another path to walk,
This intense loyalty has created a schism among the another enemy to pursue. We have been snared in the
Hedge Knights, already divided by myriad awakenings of brambles of fickle fate, snagged on threads that pull us from
the bloodline. Those drawn to the towns and cities of man our homes and turns us against our loved ones, and as long
predominantly serve the Lancea et Sanctum. They view as we cannot control it we cannot fully control our own
themselves as living martyrs, born to endure hardship in ser- destiny. The Hedge Knights are compelled to ever greater
vice to their lords and their vassals, forcing other vampires deeds, and we cannot stop ourselves.

37
The Bron
 Clan Origins
• On a winter’s night, a pious pilgrim — tired and • In the ruins of Caer Guorthigirn, Wyrtogern recov-
wounded from her travels — arrived at threshold ered the burned remains of his wife, her flesh dark
of the Chapel of the Grail. Bron, brother of Joseph and scarred. With trembling hands, he carved a
of Arimethea, offered her shelter and tended her prayer on her brow and buried her in the scorched
wounds, but in return was cursed with the Embrace. earth. He fed the soil his own blood, and pleaded
Seeking a cure, Bron ascended the chapel tower, to the old stones of his castle to bring her back to
took the Holy Grail to his lips and drank deeply of him. The ground quaked and broke, and she arose
the blood of the Christ. No salvation came, and the that night, her eyes black and her skin like stone.
Grail vanished from sight. For his hubris, Bron and They kissed and clawed at each other, red and black
his line were cursed to endure calamitous fortune, blood spilling from the wounds, and they walked
and since this day they travel the lands in pilgrim- hand in hand among the hills of the dead to remake
age, hoping to rediscover the Grail and become their army.
truly worthy of its blessing.

38
Arthur‘s Britannia
 • Bran the giant lay bleeding and still after crush-
ing the skull of the Hibernian king Matholwch in
Swift Flows the Blood •
battle. Seeking to enslave him, Matholwch’s men All Kindred have an innate ability to heal their bodies
cast Bran’s body into the Pair Dadeni, the Cauldron through the power of Vitae. Using this discipline, the Bron
of Rebirth, an enchanted vessel of boiling blood greatly speeds this process.
that could return the dead to life as mindless sol- Cost: 1 Vitae
diers. Amid the fire and the blood, Bran clung to Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine + Crochan
life, and with rejuvenated strength shattered the Action: Instant
Cauldron from within. Matholwch’s host fled, and
Bran gathered their undying soldiers and claimed
Roll Results
their loyalty for his own. Dramatic Failure: The character’s blood becomes
unresponsive. For the remainder of the scene, during any
• Around the hill of Tomnahurich, where the ancient turn in which the character wishes to spend Vitae to heal
Pictish kings were crowned and buried, a forest of her wounds, she must spend an extra Vitae to shock her
brambles sprang up overnight, devouring the nearby sluggish system into responding. Only one extra Vitae must
villages in bloodied thorns. Fifteen soldiers of the be spent per turn.
Legio Mortuum strode into this forest with axe Failure: The character gains no additional ability to
and torch in hand. A season passed, and the forest channel Vitae toward healing. She may try again in sub-
rescinded, but only six of the soldiers returned. In sequent turns.
turn they denounced the Camarilla and scoured the
Success: For each success on the activation roll, the
eagles from their breastplates, and have remained in
character may spend one additional Vitae over her Blood
the north ever since.
Potency limit, but only for purposes of healing injuries.
Parent Clan: Ventrue For example, Cecilia has a Blood Potency of 4, allow-
Nickname: Hedge Knights ing her to spend four Vitae per turn. She activates Swift
Bloodline Bane: The Errant Curse Flows the Blood, achieving four successes. This increases
The Bron are victims of fate, pulled by unknown skeins the total number of Vitae she may spend this turn to
toward tragedy. They defend what they love fiercely, lest eight. Four Vitae can be spent on healing wounds — her
everything they hold dear abandons them. player spent one Vitae to activate the power, and the
In addition to possessing the Ventrue clan bane, final three Vitae may be spent as Cecilia’s player wishes
whenever the Bron’s permanent Blood Potency changes, within the normal rules.
they lose attachment to all their Touchstones. These are Exceptional Success: The extra successes are their
not permanently lost, but remain unattached until the own reward.
Bron successfully defends her attachment (Vampire: The
Requiem p. 88).
Blooding the Hunter ••
Upon waking each night, the Bron must make a The Bron approach each hunt with veneration and
Humanity roll for each unattached Touchstone. On a ceremony. Anointing their eyes or brow with their quarry’s
success there is no effect, but on a failure the Storyteller blood, the Bron is spurred on to greater success. This power
replaces the Touchstone with a new attached Touchstone can be used at the same time as A Taste of Blood (Vampire:
of their choosing. The Requiem p. 91), with similar modifiers.
Favored Attributes: Stamina or Presence Cost: 1 Vitae
Disciplines: Animalism, Crochan, Dominate, Dice Pool: Wits + Survival + Crochan
Resilience Action: Instant
Duration: One Night
Crochan Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The vampire gains no clues from
Crochan is a series of rites that enhances the power the blood. In addition, they are unable to benefit from A
of Vitae to heal, hunt, and bind others to obedience. Taste of Blood or Blooding the Hunter for the remainder
The disparate sects of the Bron perform these rites in of the scene.
different ways, from quiet prayer to graphic bloodlet- Failure: The blood yields no new information.
ting, and the discipline has altered many times in Success: For the remainder of the night, the Bron
response to these schisms. Derived from the Welsh gains additional dice equal to the number of successes
word for “cauldron,” users of Crochan see themselves rolled (to a maximum of 5) to Wits + Composure rolls
as living vessels, scions of a unique fusion of vampiric to track their tasted quarry. This bonus also applies to
and divine or fae lineages.

39
The Bron
 Investigation, Athletics, Survival, and Streetwise rolls the Kindred being treated) to heal them as if healing
made to pursue their quarry. themselves, at a cost of one Vitae to heal two points of
Exceptional Success: As above, and for the remainder of bashing damage or one point of lethal damage. A single
the night the Bron can use the number of dots in Crochan aggravated wound requires one Willpower and five Vitae
to pierce their quarry’s supernatural concealment (such as to heal. Unlike conventional healing, the time required
Obfuscate) in a Clash of Wills. to treat an injury is limited only to the speed at which the
Bron can expend Vitae. For example, a Bron with a Blood
Sealing the Covenant ••• Potency of 4 (expending four Vitae per turn) can treat a
The Bron know the power of contracts and blood single point of aggravated damage in two turns. The Bron
promises. By mixing their Vitae with one or more willing can accelerate this process by activating Swift Flows the
Kindred (such as by clasping cut hands together, or sign- Blood as part of the same action. This Discipline also
ing a pledge in their own blood), they can bind them to a allows the Bron to treat their own aggravated wounds.
common cause. Many Bron use these oaths to help mitigate Using this power on mortals is functionally identical,
the curse of their clan bane. with the added ability to heal permanent wounds. The
Cost: 1 Willpower, 1 Vitae (per participant) cost varies from two Vitae to remove a small scar or restore
Dice Pool: None a missing eye, up to six Vitae to regrow a missing limb.
Entirely reliant on the Bron’s Vitae to heal the wound, the
Action: Instant
treated mortal often experiences intense, shocking euphoria
Duration: Permanent (until the Touchstone is destroyed as their body rapidly heals and regrows.
or abandoned).
Expending Vitae on another in this way does not create
The Bron binds one or more willing vampires in a a blood bond.
declaration of loyalty. The vampires gain an additional
Touchstone at Humanity 4 representing this loyalty,
determined by the Bron during the rite and agreed to by
Conquering the Challenge
the participants. Example Touchstones include a noble of the Axe •••••
liege, a secret society, a holy site, or an ancient relic. Legends speak of warriors that could withstand any
The Bron leading this rite can choose to witness the strike, unbreakable on the field of battle. Following Bran,
oath rather than swearing it, in which case she does not Cú Roí, and the Green Knight, the Bron have gained
gain a Touchstone (although she must still expend vitae echoes of this gift. They use this power to act as bulwarks
as part of the rite). A vampire cannot possess more than and figureheads, unbowed and unbroken.
one additional Touchstone from Sealing the Covenant Cost: 1 Willpower, 2 Vitae
at any one time. This Touchstone is not affected by the
Dice Pool: None
Bron’s bloodline bane.
Action: Instant
Such oaths are not taken lightly. The loss of this
Duration: Scene
Touchstone (such as from its theft or capture) is a Humanity
3 Breaking Point, and the destruction of it is a Humanity 1 The Bron shouts an ultimatum, refusing to yield. For
Breaking Point. A vampire can abandon an oath and lose the remainder of the scene the Bron has complete immu-
the benefit of their additional Touchstone, but in doing so nity to damage, regardless of the source. The sword falters,
gains the Languid condition. the axe passes cleanly through the Bron’s neck without
breaking it, and the flaming pyre leaves her unscathed.
Blood of My Blood •••• Even the bane of sunlight poses no threat to a Bron invok-
ing this Discipline.
Blood calls to blood, regardless of the vessel that holds it.
By cutting their palm and placing it over another creature’s This benefit is lost if the Bron takes any hostile ac-
open wound, the Bron can call to the blood of another and tions, such as attacking, grappling, or feeding from an
stir it to action. unwilling target. Aggressive, targeted use of Disciplines
by the Bron, such as Dominate, automatically fail,
Cost: Varies
and lashing out with the Beast or frenzying also ends
Dice Pool: None the effect. This power does not restrict the Bron from
Action: Instant obstructing enemies or tending to injuries, and less di-
By placing a hand over another creature’s injuries, the rect applications of Disciplines (such as lower levels of
Bron can expend Vitae to accelerate their healing. Majesty or Nightmare) may be permitted.
Using this Discipline on a consenting Kindred al-
lows the Bron to expend Vitae (their own or that of

40
Arthur‘s Britannia
 The Dreamlike Nature of Arthurian Myth
Arthurian mythology varies wildly from the grim expectations of Dark Ages Britain, riddled with plague, lack
of infrastructure and education, corrupt nobility, and invading forces, all the way to fantastical romantic
Britain, with magicians in flowing robes, kings in golden crowns, and heroes slaying fell beasts triumphantly.
In that regard, this chapter stands out from among most others, as while the French Revolution took place
and the Great War was an awful, real-world event, Arthurian Britain is considerably less faithful to historical
certainty.
As can be gleaned from this chapter, we veer more toward historicity where possible, at least in terms of
era and setting, but you may wish to court the pomp and romance of polished, full-plate armor and over-
sized swords; marital intrigue between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot; or the nonsense of Monty Python.
The Dark Ages of this era’s setting may make villages and towns out to be beacons of flickering light amid
the shadows of the dangerous wilderness, or have every stretch of countryside be populated with faeries,
soothsayers, ladies in lakes, and wizards.
The good news is much of this content can be adapted to whichever mood suits your group. Playing a com-
pact of hunters, grim and grizzled from the last attempt at Saxon invasion, only to have them stumble upon a
dragon’s lair or go on a quest for the Holy Grail, isn’t at all a bad proposition. Storytellers can even empha-
size the contrast in life among the ruins of fallen Roman Empire, through to the dreamlike and nightmarish
nature of monsters’ lairs and the unnatural beauty of fae kings and maidens.
Tell the tale of how the world seems to be in flux, with the players following the breadcrumbs to discover the
True Fae or the Begotten at play, each interfering with the mundane world. Make it seem alluring, if artificial,
to plunder these realms while your characters’ contacts, Touchstones, and king back home seem all too
mundane in comparison.
The mercurial nature of Arthurian myth is one you can easily interlace through your game, to make every-
thing seem all the more magical and chaotic. Only feel the need to abide by historical accuracy if it serves
the game and the players. Otherwise, pick your preferred myth and make it the canonical truth of your
chronicle.

41
The Bron
 You’ve heard the stories of King Arthur and Mordred,
Merlin and Morgana. Inspired by medieval romance,
the Arthurian myth lives on. Get behind the myth,
find the source of these tales, and adventure in Great
Britain during the legendary King Arthur’s rule. For, in
the Chronicles of Darkness, nothing is what it seems.
The shadows we explore will expose darker secrets that
follow King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table
wherever they roam.

Requires the use of the Hunter: the Vigil Second Edition Rulebook,
Vampire: the Requiem Second Edition Rulebook, and Changeling: the Lost Second Edition Rulebook.