Pretty soon, my players are going to want to enter a tourney. Our setting is firmly rooted in pseudo-medieval Western Europe, for which Game of Thrones is most of my players' closest point of reference, so they expect knights and chivalry and all the weird games that go along with it. I'm quite pleased about this, because jousting is cool. There's something about the fact that I could actually go and watch a bunch of people in armour get on horses and run at each other in a real field that makes jousting more visceral than goblin murder to me. I harbour a shameful love of historical re-enactment that has never been consummated so often finds expression in the D&D games I run...
Having a look around for existing jousting rules didn't get me anywhere. Everything I could find (in D&D supplements, Pendragon, old copies of White Dwarf, etc.) took the form of simple variations on roll-to-hit, roll-damage, which doesn't quite have the tactical crunch I was after. Heavily inspired by Dave McGrogan's post on crab fighting in Yoon-Suin, and the especially dorky (read: amazing) Tournament of the Phoenix historical festival, I thought I'd have a go at writing my own. We play a mash-up of editions that shakes out as LotFP with the minimal bonuses of Swords & Wizardry and the monster stats of Labyrinth Lord. That has informed the stat bonuses below, but you could easily switch those for standard ability bonuses. Otherwise it should be completely system-agnostic. I've carried out literally no playtesting, so criticisms and corrections are very welcome.
Without further ado, here they are. A convoluted example follows.
THE JOUST
Tournament:
• Each contestant runs a course against each other contestant.
• A course consists of two tilts.
• The eight highest scoring competitors then run knock-out courses against one another until a single champion remains.
Requirements:
• Must be of noble birth or a knight of Imperial Alberhad.
• Must be attired in full plate.
• Must wield an ecranche shield and tourney lance.
• Must ride a horse caparisoned in house trappings.
Scoring:
• 1 point is awarded for striking an opponent between neck and waist or on the shield without breaking the lance.
• 2 points are awarded for breaking the lance on an opponent between neck and waist.
• 3 points are awarded for breaking the lance on an opponent’s shield.
• 10 points are awarded for unhorsing an opponent.
• 1 bonus point is awarded if the lance is broken half way down its length.
• Strikes to an opponent’s head, below their waist or swipes across the body are disallowed, as are strikes to an opponent’s horse. Two such strikes will result in disqualification.
• A contestant may score a maximum of 10 points per course.
Jousting:
• Roll 3d10 and assign the results to Accuracy, Force and Horsemanship in whichever order is preferred.
• Contestants check their Accuracy results:
• Accuracy Hit location
1-2 Head, below the waist or horse.
3-5 Miss.
6-8 Between neck and waist.
9-10 Shield.
• If a hit has been struck, compare each contestant’s Force result with their opponent’s Horsemanship result.
• If Force is greater than Horsemanship, the lance has been broken.
• If Force is more than twice Horsemanship, the lance has been broken half way down its length.
• If Force is more than three times Horsemanship, the opponent has been unhorsed.
Bonuses:
• Strength Force modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
• Dexterity Accuracy modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
For example:
Ser Job the Unfortunate is tilting against Ser Betyn the Tough (I like the alienating quality of Martin's misspelling - the correct version brings to mind Sir Terry Wogan et al, which does not put me in an especially medieval mood). Ser Job has pretty average stats, but is lucky enough to have Strength 13, giving him +1 to his Force roll. Ser Betyn has excellent Constitution (hence the sobriquet), but who cares, this is a joust: he receives no bonuses.
The destriers begin to pound the earth and Ser Job's player rolls 3d10, scoring 9, 2 and 5. Knowing the details of the hit location table, he assigns 9 to Accuracy, as 5 or 2 will result in a miss or potential disqualification. He decides to go balls out and assign 5 to Force (his +1 for high Strength raising it to 6) and 2 to Horsemanship, risking a poor defence for a stronger hit he already knows will strike the shield for high points. Meanwhile, the DM rolls for Ser Betyn, scoring 7, 2 and 6. He assigns 6 to Accuracy, knowing that a 7 would result in the same hit location but could be better used elsewhere. He too decides to go all out and assigns 7 to Force and only 2 to Horsemanship.
The results are then compared. Ser Job has hit Ser Betyn on his shield, while Ser Betyn has struck Ser Job in the chest. Ser Job's Force of 6 is more than twice Ser Betyn's Horsemanship of 2, indicating that he has smashed his lance to splinters, scoring 4 points (3 for breaking the lance on the shield, +1 for breaking the lance half way down its length). Ser Betyn's Force of 7, however, is more than three times Ser Job's Horsemanship of 2, indicating that he has sent Ser Job flying from his horse for a maximum 10 points.
With Ser Job 6 points behind, and Ser Betyn on the maximum possible score of 10, only an unhorsing by Ser Job in the second tilt can save the course for him, though he will be hard pressed as Ser Betyn will have no reason not to put his highest roll into Horsemanship on the next tilt...
Let's say that in a parallel universe, Ser Job knows Ser Betyn to be a demon-possessed spy who has infiltrated the court of Baron Vortigern to work evil. Ser Job has entered the Baron's tourney in an attempt to unmask Ser Betyn, but has been unsuccessful thus far. Ser Betyn knows Ser Job is on to him and has promised to find and kill him in his pavilion that evening after nightfall. Ser Job cannot pull out of the tourney and run without facing ridicule from his peers, so instead his allies conspire to pit the two against one another in the lists.
Assuming the same rolls as before, this time Ser Job assigns 2 to Accuracy, scoring a hit to the head, below the waist or the horse. He puts 9 into Force, which is modified to 10 for his high Strength and 5 into Horsemanship. Ser Betyn acts as before: Accuracy 6, Force 7, Horsemanship 2. This time, Ser Betyn's Force of 7 is higher than Ser Job's Horsemanship of 5, but is not more than twice so, indicating that he scores 2 points for breaking the lance on an opponent between neck and waist. Ser Job's player requests that his strike hit Ser Betyn's head rather than his horse. The DM calls for a Dexterity check, which Ser Job passes, and it is agreed that his lance strikes Ser Betyn clean in the face. Ser Job's Force of 10 is five times Ser Betyn's Horsemanship of 2, so the DM decides that the villain's head has been knocked clean off, sending the demon inside howling into the aether. Ser Job will certainly be disqualified from the tourney, but he has saved the Baron from the evil knight's machinations.
(Note to my players: the above is for demonstration purposes only. Ser Betyn is not necessarily a demon-possessed spy. Ser Job is still incompetent).
I'll probably write up some tables to cover bonuses for winning a tournament, injuries from unhorsing, strikes to the head and horse, shield breakage and the like, but I think for the time being the rules are expressive enough for a DM to generate some extra fluff and crunch based on what's rolled (a la the flying head above).
You'll be pleased to hear I've also written up rules for the blunt-weapon foot competition, though it's entirely ripped off from the Monsters & Manuals entry mentioned above. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to make the mounted melee fun: mounted, armoured guys with clubs, three verses three. I think just playing out a standard combat would be dull as hell. Maybe playing it as a Type IV encounter would work, but I'd prefer something simpler. Suggestions welcome.
THE FOOT
Tournament:
• Each contestant fights a match against each other contestant.
• The contestant with the most points after all matches have been fought is named champion.
Bonuses:
• Strength Force modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
• Dexterity Accuracy modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
For example:
Ser Job the Unfortunate is tilting against Ser Betyn the Tough (I like the alienating quality of Martin's misspelling - the correct version brings to mind Sir Terry Wogan et al, which does not put me in an especially medieval mood). Ser Job has pretty average stats, but is lucky enough to have Strength 13, giving him +1 to his Force roll. Ser Betyn has excellent Constitution (hence the sobriquet), but who cares, this is a joust: he receives no bonuses.
The destriers begin to pound the earth and Ser Job's player rolls 3d10, scoring 9, 2 and 5. Knowing the details of the hit location table, he assigns 9 to Accuracy, as 5 or 2 will result in a miss or potential disqualification. He decides to go balls out and assign 5 to Force (his +1 for high Strength raising it to 6) and 2 to Horsemanship, risking a poor defence for a stronger hit he already knows will strike the shield for high points. Meanwhile, the DM rolls for Ser Betyn, scoring 7, 2 and 6. He assigns 6 to Accuracy, knowing that a 7 would result in the same hit location but could be better used elsewhere. He too decides to go all out and assigns 7 to Force and only 2 to Horsemanship.
The results are then compared. Ser Job has hit Ser Betyn on his shield, while Ser Betyn has struck Ser Job in the chest. Ser Job's Force of 6 is more than twice Ser Betyn's Horsemanship of 2, indicating that he has smashed his lance to splinters, scoring 4 points (3 for breaking the lance on the shield, +1 for breaking the lance half way down its length). Ser Betyn's Force of 7, however, is more than three times Ser Job's Horsemanship of 2, indicating that he has sent Ser Job flying from his horse for a maximum 10 points.
With Ser Job 6 points behind, and Ser Betyn on the maximum possible score of 10, only an unhorsing by Ser Job in the second tilt can save the course for him, though he will be hard pressed as Ser Betyn will have no reason not to put his highest roll into Horsemanship on the next tilt...
Let's say that in a parallel universe, Ser Job knows Ser Betyn to be a demon-possessed spy who has infiltrated the court of Baron Vortigern to work evil. Ser Job has entered the Baron's tourney in an attempt to unmask Ser Betyn, but has been unsuccessful thus far. Ser Betyn knows Ser Job is on to him and has promised to find and kill him in his pavilion that evening after nightfall. Ser Job cannot pull out of the tourney and run without facing ridicule from his peers, so instead his allies conspire to pit the two against one another in the lists.
Assuming the same rolls as before, this time Ser Job assigns 2 to Accuracy, scoring a hit to the head, below the waist or the horse. He puts 9 into Force, which is modified to 10 for his high Strength and 5 into Horsemanship. Ser Betyn acts as before: Accuracy 6, Force 7, Horsemanship 2. This time, Ser Betyn's Force of 7 is higher than Ser Job's Horsemanship of 5, but is not more than twice so, indicating that he scores 2 points for breaking the lance on an opponent between neck and waist. Ser Job's player requests that his strike hit Ser Betyn's head rather than his horse. The DM calls for a Dexterity check, which Ser Job passes, and it is agreed that his lance strikes Ser Betyn clean in the face. Ser Job's Force of 10 is five times Ser Betyn's Horsemanship of 2, so the DM decides that the villain's head has been knocked clean off, sending the demon inside howling into the aether. Ser Job will certainly be disqualified from the tourney, but he has saved the Baron from the evil knight's machinations.
(Note to my players: the above is for demonstration purposes only. Ser Betyn is not necessarily a demon-possessed spy. Ser Job is still incompetent).
I'll probably write up some tables to cover bonuses for winning a tournament, injuries from unhorsing, strikes to the head and horse, shield breakage and the like, but I think for the time being the rules are expressive enough for a DM to generate some extra fluff and crunch based on what's rolled (a la the flying head above).
You'll be pleased to hear I've also written up rules for the blunt-weapon foot competition, though it's entirely ripped off from the Monsters & Manuals entry mentioned above. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to make the mounted melee fun: mounted, armoured guys with clubs, three verses three. I think just playing out a standard combat would be dull as hell. Maybe playing it as a Type IV encounter would work, but I'd prefer something simpler. Suggestions welcome.
THE FOOT
Tournament:
• Each contestant fights a match against each other contestant.
• The contestant with the most points after all matches have been fought is named champion.
Requirements:
• Must be of noble birth or a knight of Imperial Alberhad.
• Must be attired in full plate.
• Must wield a blunted pollaxe or longsword.
• Must be of noble birth or a knight of Imperial Alberhad.
• Must be attired in full plate.
• Must wield a blunted pollaxe or longsword.
Scoring:
• 5 points are awarded for a victory.
• A victory is awarded for:
• 5 points are awarded for a victory.
• A victory is awarded for:
• Three telling blows.
• Forcing an opponent to the ground.
• Disarming an opponent.
• Forcing an opponent to yield.
• Forcing an opponent to the ground.
• Disarming an opponent.
• Forcing an opponent to yield.
Fighting:
• Apply 1d8, 1d10 and 1d12 to each of the characteristics Speed, Muscle and Skill in whichever order is preferred.
• Each contestant rolls their Speed dice. The highest roll wins.
• The winner chooses Muscle or Skill. Each combatant rolls the chosen dice. The highest roll wins.
• If the loser’s roll is less than half the winner’s roll, they have been forced to the ground or disarmed.
• If the loser’s roll is half or more of the winner’s roll, they have been struck a telling blow. The winner may roll an additional 1d6 next round.
• Apply 1d8, 1d10 and 1d12 to each of the characteristics Speed, Muscle and Skill in whichever order is preferred.
• Each contestant rolls their Speed dice. The highest roll wins.
• The winner chooses Muscle or Skill. Each combatant rolls the chosen dice. The highest roll wins.
• If the loser’s roll is less than half the winner’s roll, they have been forced to the ground or disarmed.
• If the loser’s roll is half or more of the winner’s roll, they have been struck a telling blow. The winner may roll an additional 1d6 next round.
• If the dice have been rolled three times, and there is still no clear winner, a second round begins and Speed is rolled again.
Bonuses:
• Initiative bonuses and penalties apply to Speed.
• Strength Muscle modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
• Dexterity Skill modifier
3 -2
4-7 -1
8-12 +0
13-17 +1
18 +2
