Jousting Competitions

excerpt wrote:A note for the events below: a lance gives a +2 bonus to Stunts and Acrobatics checks.

Encounter 2: Tournament of Champions

Rules: Simultaneous Stunts checks (bonuses applicable) against DC 20. A hit does 1d10 damage and then the striker must make another Stunts check against DC 20 to try to knock their opponent down. A success here forces the target to make a saving throw or be knocked down. A knocked down contestant is defeated automatically and the winner moves on.

If both contestants are knocked down at the same time, either the joust is considered a draw or the contest continues as though neither one had been knocked down. A joust is over when one and only one competitor is knocked down, or when either contestant drops to 0 hit points or fewer. A joust that’s part of a tournament is never meant to be a fight to the death.

Each NPC competitor has 20 hit points and a +5 to Stunts, gaining an additional +5 hit points and a +2 bonus to Stunts per match, to a total of 40 hit points and +13 to Stunts if one gets to the finals.

Encounter 2a: Other Jousts

Aside from the main event, a tournament is the site of many other sporting competitions. Two of these, ring jousting and dummy jousting, also require the use of a lance.

In a ring jousting match, several rings are suspended from different poles along a course; the competitor spears as many rings as possible along the course in the fastest time. Usually the rings are of increasingly smaller size, to make the last ones more difficult to spear than the first ones.

Rules: The competitor makes a single Stunts check for speed and a single Stunts or Acrobatics check (bonuses applicable) for spearing the rings, and compares it against the following table:

Speed: Divide the check by 6 and multiply it by 10 to get the time in seconds. Then subtract that value from 120 (round down) to get how many seconds the competitor takes to complete the course.

Accuracy: Divide the check by 3 (round down) to see how many rings the competitor speared. There are ten rings, for a total potential difficulty of DC 30. If the competitor meets or beats this number, they have speared all the rings. For every +1 that the competitor beats this number, subtract that many seconds from the previous Speed score to get how fast and accurate the competitor made his or her run.

Points: Add the points for Speed with the points for Rings to get the total points earned by the competitor.

Speed:
70 seconds or less: 30 points
71-80 seconds: 25 points
81-90 seconds: 20 points
91-100 seconds: 15 points
101-110 seconds: 10 points
111-120 seconds: 5 points

Rings: 5 points per ring.

Dummy jousting also tests speed and accuracy. Rather than meeting a live opponent on the jousting pitch, the competitor faces off against a dummy that has a target on one arm and a counterweight on the other. When the lance strikes the target, the dummy swings around; if the competitor isn’t quick enough, he or she is struck on the back of the head by the counterweight.

Rules: The competitor makes a single Stunts or Acrobatics check (bonuses applicable) for spearing the target and a single Stunts or Acrobatics check to avoid the counterblow, and compares it against the following table:

Accuracy: Divide the check by 5 (round down) to see how close to the bullseye the competitor struck. There are 5 zones, for a total potential difficulty of DC 25 to hit the bullseye. If the competitor meets or beats this number, they have hit the bullseye. For every +1 that the competitor beats this number, add that number as a bonus to their check to avoid the counterblow.

Counterblow: DC 20 Stunts or Acrobatics check (bonuses applicable). A failure means the competitor is hit by the counterweight and must make a saving throw. A failed saving throw means the competitor is knocked down.

Points: Add the points for Accuracy and subtract the points, if applicable, for being struck by the counterblow and/or being knocked down.

Accuracy:
Bullseye (DC 25): 30 points
Inner Layer (DC 20): 25 points
3rd Layer (DC 15): 20 points
4th Layer (DC 10): 15 points
Outer Shell (DC 5): 10 points

Counterblow:
Struck: -5 points
Knocked Down: -10 points

Each NPC competitor has a random Stunts and Acrobatics value. For each one, start with a 5 in Stunts and Acrobatics and roll a +1d8 for each, giving them a value of 6-13 in both attributes.

At the end of the each competition, the top three receive an award. The award should be something tangible but not mechanical, like a medal or something (gold, silver, bronze or diamond, sapphire, jade or something).

Azureink wrote:

Dummy jousting also tests speed and accuracy. Rather than meeting a live opponent on the jousting pitch, the competitor faces off against a dummy that has a target on one arm and a counterweight on the other. When the lance strikes the target, the dummy swings around; if the competitor isn’t quick enough, he or she is struck on the back of the head by the counterweight.