Jousting Rules

[tombowings]

I'm admit creating a tournament-based adventure for a new campaign setting I'm work on. The melee is pretty easy to do (it's just a battle, after all), but jousting is a little tougher.

Has anyone adapted the Chainmail jousting rules to the OD&D level scheme? If so how?

[cooper]

Interesting. I'd never thought of tying level to these rules. I think are there are some good reasons not to do so:

1) jousting is a "player" skill like solving riddles.
2) why should a 10th level barbarian who's never ridden a horse be a better jouster than a 0-level knight.

With that said, you could require a successful attack roll (either MtM lance vs. Plate) or a d20 attack (with or without weapon vs. AC) before rolling on the jousting chart. That would introduce a level of character skill into the jousting rules. So someone with a better thac0 has a better chance of scoring a hit on the chart.

If you look at the MtM table, "plate+shield" assumes the wearer of said armor is mounted (this is why the dagger entry says a score of only 7+ is required if the subject is dismounted and prone) and there is a row for "mounted lance /mt. lance" for the attacker.



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I've come up with a system that allows the MtM table to advance with level. Combined 0d&d Combat Tables.



Or borrow from the Ryth Chronicles which is very similar to mine (but 20 years ahead of me) except using the d20.



So, using the MtM table, A baron (8th level fighting-man) challenges the parties fighter (4th level) to a joust in exchange for allowing them free passage through his barony. Using the 2d6 attack roll, the baron rolls 2d6+3 and the PC rolls 2d6+2. Let's say the baron rolls a 5 and the PC gets lucky and rolls a 9 (exactly the number a mounted lance needs to hit Plate+shield). Since only the hero scored a hit, only he gets to roll on the jousting table to determine if he unhorses his enemy. Or simply Thac0 vs. AC.

How does that sound?

[tombowings]

That's exactly what I was looking for: some way to combine the two methods.

I liked the mini-game brought on by jousting, but also wanted higher level characters to have a slight advantage due to experience.

[thorswulf]

I'm pretty sure that in book 3 of OD&D under the castles section that the neutral lord will challenge fighters to a joust. Must be that Chainmails jousting rules were used somehow....

[xerxez]

Tom, I don't know if there are any ideas in here for you but I'll give you the jousting rules from Hidden kingdom, maybe they will spark something.

Every character in the game has a Joust Bonus and an Unseating Number. With this in mind:

"Jousting is conducted simultaneously so it doesn't matter who rolls first.

A.Roll 3d10.

B. If your steed is a Charger or a Draft Horse, and if your shield is a large Knight's shield, you needn't worry about modifications. Otherwise refer to the following chart:

Joust. Deficiency..Foe's 3d10 bonus ..Your 3d10 Penalty

Pony..............................+6.................................-4....................
Palfrey...........................+4.................................-2....................
Hackney.........................+2.................................0.....................
Small Shield...................+4.................................-4.....................

C.Add Your Knight's Joust Bonus (from your character information).
This is the "Modified joust Roll."

D.Compare this with your opponent's Unseating Number.

E.Consult the chart on the next page:

JOUST RESULT CHART

MODIFIED JOUST ROLL...........................................RESULT

Less than UN, less than or = to 10......Missed him,lance intact
Greater than 10 but less than UN..............Lance Broken
Equal to UN...................................Unhorsed him,Lance Broken
Greater than UN...........................Unhorsed him, Lance intact
Greater than UN by 5 or more.......As above but check for dmg.

A broken lance is unusable. There are two different kinds of lance, however.

A Jousting Lance is a relatively inexpensive weapon which is used only when the Knight wishes to test his opponent's strength. It is blunted or padded at the tip and can only inflict subduing points.

A Battle Lance is a proper weapon and awesome one at that! It is tipped with a sharp iron spear head and inflicts injury points. It also costs more.

JOUSTING DAMAGE AND FOULS

When a Knight is unhorsed, he automatically takes d10 subduing points.

If his Unseating Number was exceeded by 5 or more, he takes damage from his opponent's lance.

There is a special hit location chart:

JOUSTING HIT LOCATIONS (D12 Roll)

1-2.Head
3-6.Chest
7-10.Abdomen
11. Left Leg
12. Roll d6*

*If 1-3, Hit Left Leg. 4-6, Hit Left Side of Steed.

Fouling your opponent's horse is considered highly unethical and necessitates a penalty against your Chivalry rating (Consult Ratings and Penalty Bonuses Charts). If you wish to avoid this penalty you may announce that you have swung your lance away and missed your opponent, thus retrospectively changing your intentions and negating your 3d10 roll. Your opponent cannot then be horsed.

USE OF LANCES IN SWORDPLAY

It is important to know that you may also use your lance in Swordplay combat. Your steed moves sufficiently fast to back up and then charge during a round.

When on horseback a lance has a damage increment of 15 points +d8.

On foot its damage increment is 6 points with a -6 to hit."




Hope this offers some ideas. Joust Bonuses and Unseating Numbers are already assigned to the individual characters in Hidden kingdom, but you of course would have to find a way to fix them on a basis compatible with D&D.

As an Example, King Arthur has a Joust bonus of +4 and an Unseating Number of 24. Gives you some idea of the scale.

[tombowings]

Thanks, xerxez. I've got lots to consider now. Thanks.

[Deleted]

There is a level-based jousting system in Dragon #17 that is heavily based upon the Chainmail jousting rules.

[gloriousbattle]

Neat topic. Pity I'm picking it up a month late, however...

I think I'd do something that would give the higher level fighter an advantage, but a somewhat flattened advantage given that the joust is more of a game played by rules than true all-out combat. People died during tournaments, but that wasn't the object of the game.

So, I think I'd give the combatants relative, rather than absolute modifiers, something like this:

In a three-pass joust, each knight gets a saving throw to avoid any negative result against him from the combat table. The saving throw might be:

6+ if he is the higher level rider, and at least twice the level of the other rider
8+ if he is the higher level rider, but not at least twice the level of the other rider
11+ if the riders are of equal level
14+ if he is the lower level rider, but greater than half the level of the other rider
16+ if he is the higher level rider, but not at least twice the level of the other rider

If neither knight is unhorsed, the tourney continues until the third pass, after which it is declared a draw.