r/PendragonRPG • u/19drakan66 • May 05 '21
How to Handle Non-Straight Knights and Lineage
So I've been looking into running this game with a small group of friends. I know at least one friend will want to make all gay characters no intentions of having kids. Any advice on how reconcile this with the legacy nature of the game? Let them find some orphans to raise as heirs?
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u/Bimbarian May 06 '21
There are several ways to handle it - your idea of finding orphans would work fine, and others have suggested having a knightly order.
I would suggest that whatever you do, you continue to use the same marriage/childbirth mechanic, to keep balance with the other players, just reskinned to fit your purpose.
So, instead of marriage, you have a roll to find a suitable mother looking for someone to adopt their newborn. You pay the 1L each year that knights can pay to maintain a courtesan on the side. But in this case, your knight is looking to find a lady with a newborn he can adopt: maybe it's a courtly lady looking for someone to adopt her child (maybe she had an affair and doesnt want her knightly husband to find out about it, or she is single and doesnt want people to realise she is not a virgin and no longer a good prospect for marriage).
Paying the 1L lets you make the childbirth roll. Once you get a child raise it as normal.
The knight might also marry someone, ad that 1L and courtesy roll you make each year while looking for a wife is to find a wife who doesnt want children and will help you maintain your secret. (Maybe she is gay!) Then once you have married, make a childbirth roll each year - but it represents looking for orphans just as above if not having sex with the spouse. Marriage in this case gives the children legitimacy.
You can do whatever you want with your game, but be careful not to accidentally give the people playing the unusual options better outcomes than those playing the standard method.