For a long time, I assumed that the long-tinkered with fifth edition of Pendragon (actually, more precisely, the 5.2 edition) would stand as the final iteration of Greg Stafford’s masterpiece. But it turns out, before his death in 2018, Stafford had prepared what he called “Greg Stafford’s Ultimate Edition,” which would become the sixth, and presumably final, edition of the game, beginning with the release of the Pendragon Starter Set (2023).

I’ve covered Chaosium’s other starters before and I think they are maybe the best on the market. Certainly on the level of “stuff they manage to cram in the box,” and in this Pendragon is no exception. Let me count the ways: dice set, introductory solo adventure, core rule booklet (covers the basic system, traits, passions, skills, honor, glory, combat, death, core equipment, wealth and the winter phase), a campaign booklet (covering the first three years of the Boy King’s reign, from 510 to 512, and includes an encounter with a nuckelavee), reference cards for the battles in the campaign book, four loose leaf rules appendices (tournaments, battles, overland movement and visiting foreign courts) and eight deluxe character sheets for pre-gen knights. All of it is lovely looking and feels good in the hand, though my one complaint from the RQ starter remains: the booklet covers feel too flimsy and I’d expect them to detach with use. That’s it, my lone criticism.

In all other ways, this is a fantastic introduction to the game. As I write this in 2024, my hope is to arrange an in-person campaign to begin next year; if all goes well, I’m going to buy a copy of this for all my players. If they dig into it, I am certain they’ll be well-prepared for the full game.