Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 23:33:27 -0600 To: Peter Corless From: Wil Radcliffe "Culhwch" is copyright (c) Wil Radcliffe, 1996. Excerpted from the work in progress "The Courts of King Arthur", Peter Corless, Editor. (Written for future publication by the Chaosium) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Culhwch, son of Kilydd, son of Prince Kelyddon It pays to have cousins in high places, as the life of Culhwch so aptly illustrates. Culhwch was born the only son of Kilydd, a powerful lord, and Goleuddydd, sister to Arthur's mother Igraine. From the time she became pregnant, Goleuddydd wandered the land in a madness. By the time she was ready to give birth, her wits returned as she wandered into a herd of swine. Upon seeing the swine, Goleuddydd was shocked into labor and gave birth to a son. Thus the boy's name, "Culhwch" ("hwch" being Welsh for "pig"). Soon after giving birth to Culhwch, Goleuddydd died. Culhwch was sent into foster care as was the custom of the time. Several years later Kilydd, found a suitable new bride in the wife of King Doged. And so Kilydd went with his men to King Doged, slew him, and took his wife, daughter, and lands for himself. This new wife, eager to know if she would provide Kilydd with any heirs, consulted with a village hag, who told her of Culhwch hidden away in fosterage. The wife insisted on seeing her step son, and so Kilydd summoned Culhwch to court. The step mother eagerly offered her daughter's hand to Culhwch. The boy immediately turned down the offer, at which point the step mother cursed him to marry Olwen, daughter of the chief giant, Yspaddaden. Undaunted by the danger of such a monumental task, the love-struck Culhwch (he had developed an instant Amor for Olwen) immediately went to his father to tell of his impending marriage to the fair Olwen. Kilydd seemed unconcerned as well, and told the boy to go to Arthur's court and ask his cousin for aid in the matter. And so Culhwch set out for Arthur's court adorned in the finest clothing, equipped with the greatest weapons, and riding upon the most stunning horse. The youth was met by Glewlwyd, the gatekeeper. Although at first denied entry into Arthur's court, Culhwch insisted until Glewlwyd went to Arthur himself, who then gave permission for the lad to enter. Culhwch presented Arthur with his request, and although Arthur confessed to never having heard of Olwen, he sent out many messengers to search for her. After a year of searching there was no luck. Finally Arthur organized a party consisting of Cei (Kay), Bedwyr (Bedivere), Cynddylig, Gwrhyr, Gwalchmai fab Gwyar, and Menw fab Teirgwaedd. It was not long before Culhwch and the party came upon a shepherd's wife who happened to be Culhwch's aunt. She had lost twenty-three of her twenty-four sons to Yspaddaden, but she agreed to help Culhwch nonetheless. She agreed to help Culhwch meet Olwen as the girl came to the shepherd's house every Saturday to wash her hair. Culhwch met Olwen, and both fell instantly in love. Olwen told Culhwch to come to her father's castle and request her hand. But she warned him not to show fear or weakness before him. For three days the party went to Yspaddaden's castle and for three days they were turned away and assailed with poisoned stones. Finally on the fourth day, the giant agreed to let Culhwch have Olwen's hand in marriage... but only if he would complete three tasks. He must first chop down a thicket, burn it, plough its ashes into a field, and sow it with flax. Then he must gather a variety of exotic items for the wedding feast. And finally he must gather the items with which to barber the giant before he is slain... for Yspaddaden himself has said that when his daughter weds he shall die. These tasks were also laden with many difficult conditions. But as daunting as these tasks seemed, Culhwch instantly agreed to them, for he knew he had Arthur's entire court to aid him. With a great deal of effort and the deaths of many fine warriors, the tasks were fulfilled. Culhwch returned to Yspaddaden's castle with the requested items in hand. The giant was slain, and Culhwch wed Olwen. They remained happy and faithful for the rest of their days. This story shows Culhwch is nothing if not pragmatic. He is not a hero in the typical sense. He doesn't perform great deeds of his own, nor does he battle for the good of the kingdom or the people. On the other hand, there is nothing despicable about him. He is a decent and honorable sort, cultured, patient, and modest. But he knows his own limits... and he knows whom to go to when he reaches them. Most of the tasks put forward by Yspaddaden are achieved not by Culhwch, or even by Arthur for that matter (who makes a brief appearance near the end to help in the hunt for the mystical boar, Twrch Trwyth). Arthur's warriors carry out most of the action, in particular Kay and Bedivere. Culhwch is instead a springboard for the adventure. He and Olwen are what frame the story... Arthur's warriors and their bizarre adventures are what truly make up the tale. With that in mind, a look at Culhwch's game statistics reveals a typical lord's son. His most significant passions are Modest, Prudent, and Valorous. On the negative he is also slightly Selfish. He also has a perfect Love for family, and a perfect Love for Olwen. He possesses high courtly skills, particularly Courtesy, Intrigue, and Orate. His combat skills are above average, but not on par with Arthur's best warriors. His statistics are not unusual except for his appearance which is quite striking (leading Glewlwyd to refer to him as the most handsome youth he had ever seen). Culhwch also possesses several items with magical properties including a battle axe which could draw blood from the wind, a faerie horse, two faerie greyhounds, as well as clothing and adornments of uncommon quality. Culhwch is not much of a warrior or an adventurer, but his stately bearing and noble attitudes certainly mark him as kin to Arthur. Name: Culhwch Homeland: Wales Culture: Cymric Religion: Christian Father's Name: Kilydd Father's Class: Noble Son Number: 1 Lord: Arthur Current Class: Lord Current Home: Cader Idres Mountains (Yspaddaden's castle) Age Year Born 511 Personality Traits Chivalry Bonus [] (total =80+) Yes. Religion Bonus: Yes Chaste 16 / 4 Lustful Energetic 18 / 2 Lazy Forgiving 16 / 4 Vengeful Generous 6 / 14 Selfish Honest 18 / 2 Deceitful Just 17 / 3 Arbitrary Merciful 16 / 4 Cruel Modest 22 / 0 Proud Pious 10 / 10 Worldly Prudent 23 / 0 Reckless Temperate 16 / 4 Indulgent Trusting 12 / 8 Suspicious Valorous 19 / 1 Cowardly Passions Loyalty (Arthur) 18 Love (family) 20 Love (Olwen)* 20 Hospitality 18 Honor 18 * Instant Amor (Olwen) 20 after being foretold his destiny by stepmother; develops into Love after meeting Olwen. Equipment Carried Armor Type [14] + 3 Chiv, but see notes. Clothing [worth 20] Equipment: Magical battle axe Statistics SIZ 14 (Knockdown) DEX 14 STR 13 CON 15 (Major Wound) APP 30 Damage ((STR+SIZ)/6) 5d6 Healing Rate ((STR+CON)/10) 3 Movement Rate ((STR+DEX)/10) 3 Total Hit Points (SIZ+CON) 35 Unconscious (HP/4) 10 Distinctive Features: Stately bearing, bright smile, gray eyes. Skills Awareness 17 Boating 0 Chirurgery 5 Compose 16 Courtesy 20 Dancing 17 Faerie Lore 5 Falconry 16 First Aid 16 Flirting 18 Folk Lore 10 Gaming 10 Heraldry 15 Hunting 17 Industry 0 Intrigue 20 Orate 21 Play (Harp) 16 Read (Latin) 15 Recognize 16 Religion (Christian) 10 Romance 18 Singing 15 Stewardship 16 Swimming 10 Tourney 15 Coat of Arms: A silver boar's head upon a red background Glory 8000 Combat Skills Battle 10 Horsemanship 17 Weapon Skills Sword 10 Lance 12 Dagger 5 Spear 8 Great Axe 17 Possessions: * Magical battle axe provides +5 to Great Axe skill and adds +5 to DEX when wielded. Cannot be dropped or broken. Horse Best Warhorse Type Faerie Damage 6d6 Move 12 Armor 5 HP 35 SIZ 30 CON 14 DEX 10 Greyhounds Damage 3d6 Move 10 Armor 4 HP 20 SIZ 10 CON 12 DEX 21 Bite 15