| The lance charge | - | - | - | - |
| Jousting (OD&D) | - | - | - | Dragon 118 |
When words such as “cavalier”
or “chiv-
alry” are mentioned, most
gamers conjure
up a mental image of armored
knights
jousting in a grand medieval
tournament.
Although the cavalier class
is now an
official part of the AD&D®
game, jousting
is an area of combat not
clearly defined by
the official rules. In this
article, jousting
combat and tournament jousting
are
described.
This article is not historical
essay. In
some cases, strict historical
accuracy is
sacrificed for the sake
of game balance
and playability. Those wishing
to know
more about medieval tournaments
and
knighthood can look for
some of the books
mentioned at the end of
this article. Foot-
notes are provided to cite
the sources of
some of the ideas presented,
both to sat-
isfy the curiosity of the
readers and the
nit-picking of the editors.
[Thanks. — The
editors]
These jousting suggestions
describe two
events not specifically
covered by the
existing combat rules of
the Dungeon
Masters Guide: the possibility
of a knight
being unhorsed by the lance
charge and
the probability of the lance
being broken
or “shivered” when it strikes
an armored
knight. Both events are
handled by saving
throws of differing complexity.
The com-
plexity of either saving
throw is up to the
DM’s desire for “game realism.”
Various
modifiers are suggested
that may be ap-
plied to the saving throws;
which modi-
fiers are actually used
is up to each DM.
The example provided below
uses a num-
ber of modifiers to illustrate
the joust at a
moderate degree of complexity.
The exam-
ple takes the reader step
by step through
jousting combat, to make
the details clear
to the reader.
The lance charge
The charging rules that apply
to the
joust are discussed on page
66 of the
DMG. These lance-charge
rules are sum-
marized and expanded upon
below.
No dexterity bonus to armor
class is
allowed for a charging knight.
If a knight
has no dexterity bonus,
then the knight
charges at one armor class
worse (e.g.,
AC 0 becomes AC 1).
A charging knight is +2
to hit for the
attack at the end of the
charge. The longer
lance always strikes first.
If lance lengths
are equal, then the attacks
occur simulta-
neously. All damage rolls
and saving
throws vs. unhorsing and
vs. shivering
also take place simultaneously.
A lance does double damage
at the end
of a charge attack. A pike,
spear, and
certain pole arms score
double damage
when set to receive a charging
knight (see
the footnotes on page 27
of Unearthed
Arcana to see which weapons
cause dou-
ble damage for a charge).
A charging horse moves at
a rate 50%
greater than its base movement
rate.
Unless the horse can accelerate
up to
charging speed, no charge
bonuses for the
“to hit” roll or lance damage
are gained.
Terrain may prevent a horse
from moving
at charging speed. Only
firm, level ground
is suitable for the joust.
Rocky ground,
overgrown plants or brush,
marshy or
muddy turf, or shifting
sand may prevent
a horse from charging. If
the terrain is
hazardous or unsafe, the
horse must make
a saving throw vs. petrification
to avoid
falling if the horse tries
to charge. If the
horse falls, both horse
and rider take 1d6
hp of damage in the mishap.
Only one charge every 10
rounds is
possible in combat. The
horse must be
allowed to rest or be limited
to non-
running movement during
the intervening
nine rounds. Otherwise,
the horse is un-
able to charge again in
the 10th round.
In the controlled environment
of the
tourney joust, it is suggested
that a DM
allow the horse to charge
once every three
rounds, provided the horse
is allowed to
rest completely between
each charge and
can rest for at least three
turns between
each jousting match. The
suggested addi-
tion applies to the civilized
tournament
conditions only and not
to actual combat
or fierce jousting matches
not rigidly
controlled by tourney judges.
Any civilized
tournament joust that degenerates
into
true combat must abide by
the “one
charge per turn” restriction
of the official
rules.
Cavalier’s bonuses
The cavalier gains some impressive
bonuses in the joust. A
cavalier gains a “to
hit” bonus with the lance,
starting at +1
at 1st level and increasing
by +1 every six
levels. A cavalier also
attacks at one level
higher when mounted. A cavalier
gains a
damage bonus of +1 with
the lance for
every level of experience.
Strength and
magic bonuses may also accrue.
A typical knight, such as
a 6th-level
cavalier with 17 strength,
would be +4 “to
hit” with the lance charge.
The cavalier
would gain a +2 charge bonus,
+1 bonus
due to lance skill at 6th
level, and +1 for
the 17 strength. A 13th-level
cavalier with
18/00 strength would gain
+3 bonuses for
both lance skill and strength,
and would
be +8 “to hit,” even without
the benefit of
magic.
A cavalier can do tremendous
damage
with the lance. The lance
charge inflicts
double lance damage, and
the cavalier
damage and strength bonus
also apply.
Totalling up these bonuses,
a 6th-level
cavalier with 17 strength
would do:
(2 × (2d4 + 1)) +
6 + 1 = 13 to 25 hp of
damage.
Obviously, the lance charge
is a deadly
attack form, even at low
to middle levels.
A high-level cavalier with
a girdle of giant
strength and a rod of lordly
might is a
“Monty Haul” player’s dream
in this
respect.
Because of the many attack
bonuses that
may be applied, a DM may
choose to ig-
nore the weapon-versus-armor
class bonus
of the heavy horse lance.
The +4 bonus of
a heavy horse lance vs.
plate armor (see
Unearthed Arcana, page 27),
combined
with the aforementioned
bonuses, might
make the cavalier’s lance
charge too pow-
erful for many campaigns.
A DM inter-
ested in maintaining game
balance might
wish to moderate the great
power of the
lance charge.
The lance
Lances used in the joust
come in a vari-
ety of styles. To reduce
the chance of a
serious injury in a medieval
tournament,
the lance’s spear point
was replaced by a
blunt head called a coronel
or cronel.
Hollow or very fragile lances
were used in
the courteous 15th and 16th
century tour-
nament pageants, usually
in the opening
charge of a general melee¹
(see below).
Naturally, a fragile lance
would always
have a blunt head.
Blunted and fragile lances
do reduced
damage in the jousts, as
the table below
illustrates. Blunted and
fragile lances
never gain any weapon-versus-armor
class
bonus, since they lack a
spear point. If a
weapon-versus-AC modifier
is routinely
used by the DM, then a blunted
lance is
treated at -4 “to hit” vs.
hard armor (AC 5
or better), in addition
to the listed modifier
of the “Armor
Class Adjustments” table
(Unearthed Arcana, page
27). In this way,
the +4 bonus of a heavy
horse lance vs.
plate armor is cancelled
out. If the
weapon-versus-AC modifier
is not used in
lance combat, then the blunted
lance
penalty is ignored and the
lance attack is
conducted normally.
Table 1 illustrates the suggested
base
damage values for blunted
and fragile
lances for each size of
lance.
Table 1: Types of Lances
| Lance Type | Length | Sharp | Blunt | Fragile |
| Light horse | 10' | 1-6 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Medium horse | 12' | 2-7 | 1-3 | 1-2 |
| Heavy horse | 14' | 3-9 | 1-4 | 1-2 |
Any time a lance scores a
hit vs. a hard
target, the lance must make
a saving
throw to avoid shivering.
This “save vs.
shivering” is required whenever
the lance
scores a hit against a sturdy
shield or
metal armor of AC 5 or better
(chain mail
or stronger). This save
vs. shivering is
handled as a “save vs. crushing
blow” with
the lance treated as thin
wood (DMG, page 80).
Normally, a lance would need
to make a
saving throw roll of 13
or better to avoid
shivering. If the knight
struck by the lance
remains firm in the saddle
rather than
being unhorsed by the lance
charge (see
below), then the lance saves
vs. shivering
at -2.
A fragile lance automatically
shivers
when a hit is scored. When
a fragile lance
hits, it inflicts only the
doubled base dam-
age; no other damage bonuses
are applied.
Damage bonuses due to strength
or a
cavalier’s lance skill are
not applied, since
the fragile lance is unable
to inflict great
damage. The lance’s fragility
renders it
unable to transfer the kinetic
energy of
the collision to the knight
who is struck
(much like hitting a cowboy
actor over the
head with a prop bottle
made from sugar).
Thus, a fragile lance would
inflict 2-4 hp
of damage at most to a foe,
regardless of
the attacker’s strength
or lance skill.
A magic lance, even a simple
lance +1,
should be nearly impossible
to shiver in
the common joust. A save
vs. shivering roll
should be needed only for
an impact
greater than a normal jousting
collision,
perhaps when great magic
that increases
strength or total collision
damage is in-
volved. No magic-user would
bother creat-
ing a lance +2 if that lance
merely had a
+ 2 bonus to save vs. shivering
in a common joust.
Magic armor may impose a
penalty to
the lance’s save vs. shivering
if the lance
strikes magic armor or a
magic shield.
This penalty would be equal
to the nega-
tion of the armor’s total
magical plusses.
For instance, a lance that
strikes a foe
wearing +2 armor and a +2
shield would
suffer a penalty to the
save vs. shivering of
-4, since the magic of both
the shield and
the armor contribute to
the protection of
the knight from the lance.
Plate armor (field
plate or
full plate) can absorb
some of the <>
damage done by the lance
charge (see Unearthed Arcana, pages 75-76, 104).
For purposes of determining
plate armor
damage absorption, consider
a lance’s base
damage range to be a one-hit-die
attack,
and the double damage of
a lance charge
to be a two-hit-dice attack.
The blow from
a fragile lance, however,
is always consid-
ered to be a one-hit-die
attack.
Saving throw vs. unhorsing (Revised)
Any time a knight is struck
by the lance
in a mounted charge, there
is the possibil-
ity that the knight will
be unhorsed by the
charge. Thus, any time a
hit is scored in
the joust, the knight struck
must make a
saving throw to avoid being
unhorsed.
Although this save could
be as simple as
any other saving throw in
the game, it is
more interesting to base
this save vs. un-
horsing on the character
abilities, skills,
and experience of the jousters.
The follow-
ing system uses various
modifiers that
affect the chance a knight
has to avoid
being overthrown by the
lance charge.
This system differs from
the unhorsing
rules on pages 99-100 of
Oriental Adven-
tures. As the lance charge
is such a power-
ful attack, any successful
hit has the
potential to unhorse a foe,
not just a “criti-
cal hit” as in Oriental
Adventures. Since
hits are so common in the
joust, the saving
throw for knights should
not be exces-
sively difficult. Just how
easy or difficult
the save vs. unhorsing should
be is a mat-
ter for each DM to decide.
As of yet, there is no provision
for cava-
liers and paladins to fill
proficiency slots
With horsemanship proficiency,
as samurai
are able to do. The western
knight’s save
vs. unhorsing is considered
a form of
horsemanship ability intrinsic
to the cava-
lier class. Cavaliers, paladins,
and certain
fighters are trained from
birth to learn to
avoid being overthrown in
the joust. Thus,
the save vs. unhorsing progression
natu-
rally improves steadily
as the knight
increases in level.
This system is restricted
to jousting
combat only and does not
apply to any
weapon other than the horse
lance. For
any other weapon used against
a mounted
In this system, a knight
who is struck by
foe, the system in Oriental
Adventures
the lance charge (referred
to as the
“defender”) must make a
saving
throw to
should be used
avoid being unhorsed. The
saving throw
progression used by the
DM should be a
fairly difficult one for
fighter classes, such
as the “save vs. rod” or
“save vs. spell”
categories. A few important
modifiers can
be applied to this saving
throw.
An alternate choice is to
use a form of
“horsemanship proficiency”
roll as used in
Oriental Adventures.
For western knights,
this save vs. unhorsing
progression starts
at 19 at 1st level and improves
by one for
every two levels gained
by the knight. For
instance, the saving throw
roll is 19 at 1st
to 2nd level, 18 at 3rd
to 4th level, 17 at
5th to 6th level, and so
on. This difficult
save vs. unhorsing progression
may be
used in the joust, along
with a fair number
of bonuses or penalties
to the save. The
same progression may be
used, at the
DM’s option, whenever a
horsemanship
proficiency roll is needed
by a knight. This
roll can be used by cavaliers
or paladins to
determine the chance of
success in a feat
of horsemanship, just as
samurai are able
to do, as described in Oriental
Adventures
on page 54.
Certain bonuses may be applied
to the
save vs. unhorsing roll
in the joust. These
bonuses to the defender’s
saving throw
are based on the knight’s
character abili-
ties, horsemanship skill,
and magic protec-
tion. The “attacker” who
strikes the
defender in the joust imposes
penalties to
the defender’s saving throw,
due to the
attacker’s strength and
possible use of a
magic lance. The attacker’s
penalties are
applied to the defender’s
normal save vs.
unhorsing roll to find the
final saving
throw the defender must
make to remain
in the saddle.
This system assumes that
jousting com-
bat is limited to cavaliers,
paladins, and
occasionally to other fighters.
Only cava-
liers, paladins, and those
fighters with
experience in mounted combat
are al-
lowed a save vs. unhorsing
roll in the
joust. Any character with
little or no expe-
rience or ability in mounted
combat will
avoid being unhorsed by
rolling a natural
20 only, with no bonuses
applied to the
roll, Those characters who
must roll a
natural 20 to save include
magic-users,
thieves, clerics, zero-level
characters, and
any others that the DM feels
would have
little chance of weathering
a powerful
lance charge.
Some suggested bonuses and
penalties to
the save are described below.
To be con-
sistent, bonuses are always
expressed as a
positive number and penalties
as a nega-
tive value. How many or
how few modi-
fiers a DM wishes to use
is a matter of
personal taste based on
the DM’s desire
for “realism.” A DM who
wishes a quick
and easy system should limit
the saving
throw to a few important
modifiers that
are applied to a fairly
difficult saving
throw. The DM who wants
to reflect the
skill and abilities of both
knights may
decide to use the full range
of the follow-
ing modifiers, and perhaps
some modifiers
of the DM’s own invention.
The DM should experiment
freely with
the system. The DM can tinker
with vari-
ous modifiers and saving
throw progres-
sions until a system that
seems most fair
and balanced is found. If
hits occur fre-
quently in the joust, then
an easier save vs.
unhorsing progression could
be used. Less
frequent lance hits may
warrant a more
difficult save. If bonuses
are heavily fa-
vored over penalties, then
a more difficult
save may be needed, such
as the save vs.
spell or the horsemanship
proficiency
progression. Fewer bonuses
may call for
an easier save, such as
the save vs. rods or
an even easier save.
Defender’s
bonuses
Defender’s strength — High
strength
helps a knight avoid being
overthrown by
the attacker’s lance charge.
The defender’s
hit probability bonus due
to high strength
is used as the bonus to
the defender’s save
vs. unhorsing. Thus, cavaliers
of strength
17/xx to 19/00 would gain
a bonus of + 1
to + 3 to the cavalier’s
save vs. unhorsing.
Defender’s dexterity — High
dexterity
helps a knight remain in
the saddle. The
knight’s reaction/attacking
adjustment
bonus is used as the defender’s
saving
throw bonus. Cavaliers of
dexterity 16/xx
to 18/xx gain a bonus of
+1 to +3 to the
save vs. unhorsing.
Horsemanship skill — Superior
horse-
manship grants a defender
a better chance
to avoid falling off the
mount. Cavaliers of
1st to 6th level gain a
bonus of +1. Cava-
liers of 7th level and higher
save at +2.
Other characters that are
deemed by the
DM to be superior horsemen
may be
granted a + 1 bonus to save
in the joust.
Any character given this
bonus by the DM
must have some experience
jousting. This
bonus does not apply to
barbarians, samu-
rai, or other oriental horsemen
with
horsemanship proficiency,
as jousting is
such an alien method of
combat to them.
Magical protection — Magic
armor worn
by a knight can provide
a bonus to the
save equal to the total
magical plusses of
the knight’s armor and shield.
The saving
throw bonus is applied to
the defender’s
chance to save, just as
bonuses are applied
to other saving throws that
may benefit
from magic armor (see page
81 of the
DMG).
Fragile lances — If a knight
is struck by
a fragile or hollow lance
rather than a
sturdy lance, then the save
is made at +4.
Females — Although female
fighters are
considered to be at a disadvantage
in most
melee situations, jousting
is one form of
combat where a case can
be made for a
slight female advantage.
Female knights
gain a +1 to save vs. unhorsing
due to
their low center of gravity.
A woman’s
center of gravity is located
in her hips,
while a man’s is higher
up in his abdomen.
As women have a smaller
percentage of
total body weight located
above the waist
compared to men, female
knights are less
likely to be knocked off-balance
by a lance
blow to the upper body.²
Attackers penalties
Attacker’s strength — An
attacker with
great strength who strikes
a lance blow
causes the defender to save
vs. being
unhorsed at a penalty. This
penalty is
equal to the negative of
the attacker’s hit
probability adjustment due
to high
strength. Characters of
strength 17/xx to
18/00 impose a penalty of
-1 to -3 to the
defender’s save vs. unhorsing.
Magic lances — Magic lances
impose a
penalty to the defender’s
chance to save.
This penalty is equal to
the negative of the
lance’s magical plus; for
example, a lance
+2 imposes a -2 penalty
to the
defender’s save.
Once the DM decides on the
applicable
modifiers and the proper
saving throw
progression, the save vs.
unhorsing data
can become part of a cavalier’s
permanent
character record. After
a cavalier charac-
ter has recorded his or
her save vs. un-
horsing roll and the attack
penalty that he
or she imposes upon the
opponent’s save,
the joust can be conducted
quickly.
Two abbreviations are used
to list the
total modifiers involved.
The defender’s
total bonus to the save
vs. unhorsing is
called the “DBU.” The DBU
can be consid-
ered analogous to the armor-class
adjust-
ment of a character. The
attackers total
penalty to the opponent’s
save vs. unhors-
ing is called the “APU.”
The APU is similar
to the “hit probability”
of a character.
If greater simplicity is
desired, the DM
could ignore the APU business
and simply
use a more difficult saving
throw progres-
sion, along with whatever
bonuses that
may be applied. If this
system seems con-
fusing right now, don’t
worry; an example
is provided below.
The fall
Any jouster who is overthrown
by the
lance charge takes an additional
1d4 hp
damage from the fall, due
to both the
height of the fall and the
awkward and
uncontrolled manner of the
fall. Any
knight reduced to zero or
fewer hit points
by the lance blow is automatically
un-
horsed, of course, with
no save vs.
unhorsing roll allowed.
If a knight is auto-
matically unhorsed, then
the additional
1d4 of damage may be ignored
by the DM,
as the small damage taken
in the fall
would be minor compared
to the critical
injury suffered by the knight.
If the knight
is wearing plate armor,
the armor may
absorb part of the falling
damage taken by
an unhorsed knight.
Combat example
Let’s take a look at an
example of a joust
that might be part of an
actual adventure,
using all of the ideas previously
discussed.
The elven warrior-maid Allycia
is travel-
ing with her retainers and
fellow party
members across the countryside
on a
quest. She encounters a
mounted warrior
guarding a bridge. He proclaims
that he is
Scud the Invincible and
challenges Allycia
to joust for right of passage
over the
bridge. No quarter is to
be given, and the
winner takes the goods of
the loser. Allycia
accepts the challenge.
The two characters are described
below.
Allycia
6th-level cavalier
Female high elf
Alignment: Neutral Good
Str: 17/87
Int: 13
Dex: 18/34
Wis: 12
Con: 16/43
Cha: 14
AC:-6(-2)
HP: 61
Possessions: full plate
armor, shield +2,
heavy horse lance, longsword
+1
Hit probability: +1 (strength)
+ 1 (lance
skill) +2 (charge bonus)
= +4
Damage Adjustment: + 1 (strength)
+ 6
(lance skill) = +7
THAC0: 14 - ( +4) = 10
Save vs. unhorsing adjustments:
DBU: +1 (strength)
+3 (dexterity) +1
(horsemanship) +1 (female)
+2 (magic
shield) = +8
Save vs. unhorsing: 17 -
( +8) = 9
APU: -1 (strength)
Scud the Invincible
8th-level fighter
Human male
Alignment: Neutral
Str: 18/59
Int: 8
Dex: 13
Wis: 10
Con: 17
Cha: 7
AC: 0 (1)
HP: 66
Possessions: plate mail
+1, shield +1,
heavy horse lance, battle
axe +2
Hit probability: +2 (strength)
+2
(charge bonus) = +4
Damage Adjustment: + 3 (strength)
THAC0: 13 - (+4) = 9
Save vs. unhorsing adjustments:
DBU: + 2 (strength) +0 (dexterity)
+0
(horsemanship) + 2 (magic
armor and
shield) = +4
Save vs. unhorsing: 16 -
(+4) = 12
APU: - 2 (strength)
Allycia is a cavalier, so
she gains advan-
tages that Scud does not.
She attacks at
one level higher when on
horseback. She
gains a cavalier’s lance
skill to her hit
probability, as well as
her normal +2
charge bonus. Her modified
chance to hit
AC 0 is 10 or better. Her
lance skill also
benefits her damage potential.
When Allycia charges, she
gains no
dexterity bonus to her armor
class. She is
thus AC -2 when she jousts.
Allycia gains defensive bonuses
to her
saving throw vs. unhorsing
(her DBU) for
her strength, dexterity,
horsemanship skill
at 6th level, female sex,
and her shield +2.
Using the horsemanship proficiency
pro-
gression, she needs to roll
a 17 to avoid
being unhorsed. With her
impressive DBU
of +8, she normally needs
to roll a 9 or
better to save vs. unhorsing.
Her strength
of 17/87 means that she
imposes an APU
penalty of -1 to Scuds save
vs. unhorsing
roll.
Scud gains no lance skill
or horseman-
ship bonuses, since he is
just a normal
fighter. His lack of dexterity
bonus makes
him one armor class worse
when he
charges.
Although Scud gains strength
and
charge bonuses for his chance
to hit Ally-
cia, he lacks any special
skill with the
lance. Thus, he needs to
roll a 9 or better
to hit AC 0, using the 5%
progression
suggested by the special
note on the bot-
tom of page 74 of the DMG.
Scud gains defensive bonuses
to his save
vs. unhorsing (his DBU)
for just his
strength, magic armor, and
magic shield.
As he is 8th level, he needs
to roll a 12 or
better to avoid being unhorsed.
His 18/59
strength gives him an APU
of -2, which
he applies to Allycia’s
save.
Allycia has a THAC0 of 10,
so she hits
Scuds AC 1 on a 9. Scud
hits Allycia’s
AC -2 on an 11 or better.
Allycia normally needs to
roll a 9 or
better to save vs. unhorsing.
Since Scud
imposes an APU penalty to
Allycia’s save,
she now saves on a 9 - (
-2) = 11 or
better. Scud normally saves
vs. unhorsing
on a roll of 12. Allycia
imposes her APU of
-1 to Scuds save, so Scud
now saves vs.
unhorsing on a roll of 12
- ( -1) = 13 or
better.
Both combatants are using
heavy horse
lances that inflict a base
2d4 + 1 damage.
The attacks occur simultaneously,
since
their lances are of equal
length. If both
knights hit, then all damage
and saving
throws occur simultaneously
as well.
Allycia rolls a 12 for her
attack die result
and hits Scud. At the same
time, Scud hits
Allycia with a roll of 16.
Since the lance charge inflicts
double
damage, Allycia’s damage
roll of 5 results
in (2 × 5) + 7 = 17
hp damage to Scud.
Scud now has 66 - 17 = 49
hit points.
Scud rolls an 8 for his
lance damage and
does (2 × 8) + 3 =
19 damage. Allycia’s
full plate armor absorbs
4 points of this
damage, since the double
damage of the
lance charge is considered
to be a 2 hit
dice attack. Allycia only
suffers 15 hp
damage; she now has 61 -
15 = 46 hit
points.
Allycia must roll her saving
throw to
avoid being unhorsed. She
rolls a 14 and
makes her save. Scud rolls
a 12 and is
overthrown by Allycia’s
charge. He rolls
1d4 of falling damage and
takes an addi-
tional 2 hp damage when
he crashes to the
ground. Scud now has 44
hit points.
Both knights must see if
their lances
have shivered. Allycia must
roll a 13 or
better for her lance to
avoid shivering. She
rolls a 7, so her lance
has shattered. Scud
must roll a 15 or better,
since Allycia re-
mained firm in the saddle.
Scud’s lance
holds with a roll of 18.
But Scud’s lance is
not nearly so useful when
he is flat on his
back.
Allycia rides up to Scud
carefully so
Scud cannot set his lance
— now a pike —
against her charge. She
asks Scud to yield,
but Scud grabs his battle
axe and attacks.
Allycia remains on horseback
so she can
still attack at one level
higher. Scud fights
fiercely, but he is no match
for Allycia’s
superior armor and dexterity.
Scud sur-
renders before he is slain.
Allycia claims
Scuds armor, weapons, and
horse, as is
her right of conquest.
The tournament
The tournament is undoubtedly
one of
the great highlights of
a knight’s life.
Amidst great feasting and
festivities, a
cavalier has the chance
to prove his or her
knightly skill, to gain
renown among both
peers and populace, and
to make a decent
wage. The tournament provides
excite-
ment, entertainment, and
ransom money
or prizes for a successful
knight.
In the tournament joust,
very strict rules
and customs are maintained
to insure fair
play and to reduce the chance
of serious
injury. The hosts and judges
use every
means possible to prevent
cheating, regu
late safety, and uphold
the chivalric code
of courtesy. Heralds keep
track of those
knights who enter and insure
that only
recognized and respected
knights com-
pete. Clerics and magic-users
use detection
and divination spells to
prevent cheating
or other foul deeds.
Very rigid rules of conduct
are enforced
in tournament jousting.
Foul blows or
cheating are penalized.
Magical devices
(including weapons, armor,
and shields),
unusual mounts, or other
means used to
gain an unfair advantage
are prohibited.
Only a war horse may be
ridden in the
joust, and barding may be
required to
protect the mount. Blunt
lances may be
mandatory in a civilized
tourney to reduce
injury.
A tournament joust is restricted
to the
lance charge only. Foot
combat after a
knight is unhorsed is forbidden,
as it is
considered discourteous
and unsports-
manlike (as well as time
consuming). A
wooden barrier, called a
“toyle” or “tilt,” 4’
to 5’ high, is placed along
the length of the
jousting field to separate
the knights from
each other. The tilting
rail also helps to
prevent the horses from
colliding together
or being accidentally speared.
3
Entrance
requirements
In many tournaments, only
members of
recognized orders of knighthood
or mem-
bers of the nobility are
allowed to enter.
Proof of knighthood or noble
lineage is
demanded by the officiating
heralds. Little
known cavaliers are allowed
to enter only
under unusual circumstances
(such as the
cavalier helping to save
the kingdom).
If a liberal tournament
allows all comers
to enter, an entrance fee
is likely to be
required. The fee helps
pay for the costs
of holding the tourney,
as well as for any
prizes. The fee cannot be
returned to the
knight, especially not if
the knight is dis-
qualified for violating
the rules. The fee is
based on the status (i.e.,
level) of the
knight.
4
The fee should be
at least 100 gp
multiplied by the level
of the knight.
To insure that knights of
vastly different
skill level do not face
each other in the
joust, every cavalier who
competes in the
joust is assigned to one
of the four classes
of Table 2.
Table 2: Cavalier Classes in Tournaments
| Class | Experience Level |
| Esquire | 1-4 |
| Knight Bachelor | 5-8 |
| Cavalier | 9-12 |
| Cavalier Commander | 13 and up |
The first day or two of the
tournament
is devoted to practice,
or perhaps to pre-
liminary heats to assess
the skill of un-
known knights.
5
Well-known knights
are
immediately assigned to
the proper class
without need for practice,
as the judges
already know the skill level
of renowned
knights. No knight of renown
would dare
compete in the heats against
unknown
knights, for fear of disgracing
himself by
jousting a suspected or
possible inferior. A
knight may choose to practice
jousting
against a known equal or
friend.
The remaining days of the
tourney are
devoted to the jousts and
other matches
and events. The nights are
spent in feast-
ing, dancing, and recovery
from injuries.
The first jousting matches
of the day are
fought by some of the finer
knights
present, to get the tourney
off to a good
start. Lesser knights then
get their chance
to joust. These knights
try to prove their
skill to their lords, sponsors,
and superi-
ors. The very finest knights
joust last, to
give the day’s events a
fitting climax.
The knights may be allowed
to run a set
number of matches in any
given day, or
joust a set number of matches
throughout
the duration of the tourney.
For example,
each knight may be allowed
to joust three
opponents a day for five
days. The possi-
ble number of matches that
a knight can
fight is determined by the
severity of the
injuries sustained and the
availability of
healing. Again, blunt or
fragile lances may
be used, and the vanquishing
rules (Un-
earthed Arcana, page 109)
may be em-
ployed to reduce injuries.
The knight in each class
who has accu-
mulated the most victories
over the days’
matches is declared the
champion of the
class. Ties require a tiebreaker
match,
which is very exciting in
itself. Penalties in
the form of losses may be
imposed for
committing foul acts or
unchivalrous
deeds. Excessive violation
of the rules may
warrant immediate disqualification
from
the tourney. Great shame
and dishonor
follow any knight who has
disgraced him-
self in the tournament.
Some typical rules violations
that may
warrant a penalty or disqualification
are:
6
1. Striking a foe from behind.
2. Spearing a horse.
3. Continuing the fight
after a foe has
been unhorsed or after the
judges have
declared the fight to be
ended.
4. Striking a part of the
body that the
judges of a civilized tourney
have forbid-
den (such as the helm).
5. Striking the toyle three
times.
The challenge
Each knight should be allowed
to choose
whom he or she wishes to
joust. A chal-
lenge can be issued by touching
the lance
to the shield of the contender
a knight
wants to joust. If the tournament
allows a
knight to choose between
sharp or blunt
lances to be used in the
match, the knight
can indicate his or her
choice by touching
one of two shields displayed
by the chal-
lenged knight. Touching
one shield indi-
cates that sharp lances
are to be used,
usually in a joust between
foes. Touching
the other shield means that
blunted
“weapons of courtesy” are
to be used.
7
Alternately, a single shield
can be
touched in the challenge.
Touching the
shield with the point of
the lance indicates
a joust with sharp lances,
while touching
with the butt of the lance
is a challenge to
joust with blunt lances.
8
The match
When two knights joust,
each knight is
allowed three lances. The
first knight to
unhorse the opponent or
to shiver all
three of his or her lances
against the foe is
the winner of the match.
If both knights
are unhorsed simultaneously,
then both
knights suffer a loss in
the tourney. If both
shiver all three lances,
then the knights
must continue with a fourth
or fifth lance,
until a victor is found.
Instead of having each lance
that hits
make a save vs. shivering,
it is easier to
declare that any lance that
scores a hit is
shivered automatically in
the tourney.
Thus, any successful hit
is counted as a
broken lance.
The melee
On the day after the jousting
matches,
the melee is held. The melee
is a large-
scale contest involving
all the knights
present, but strictly supervised
by the
judges. The melee may be
restricted to
foot combat only, to further
mark its dif-
ference from the mounted
jousts. Unless
the melee begins with a
mounted lance
charge, the lance is forbidden
in the
melee.
In the melee, two teams of
equal
strength battle each other
in order to
capture the best and most
famous knights
of the opposing side. The
better knights of
each side seek each other
out, to the exclu-
sion of all others, leaving
the lesser
knights to contend among
themselves.
Vanquishing combat is the
only form of
combat allowed in a civilized
melee. The
judges monitor the melee
for magic or
cheating as scrupulously
as they monitor
the jousts.
Any knight vanquished in
the melee is
considered captured. The
captured knight
is then released to retire
from the field for
the day. If ransom is to
be arranged with a
captured knight, then the
knight is ex-
pected to return to meet
with his captor
after the match. The knights
who have
captured the best and most
renowned
knights of the opposing
side are declared
the champions of the melee.
Lesser
knights are expected to
aid and support
the greater knights of their
side. Lesser
knights help to capture
opposing knights
and to protect their own
best knights from
capture. Although the better
knights. have
the greatest chance for
glory and recogni-
tion, lesser knights who
prove themselves
in the melee may receive
special acknowl-
edgement and minor prizes
from the
judges.
At the outer edge of the
field is an enclo-
sure (sometimes called the
“list”) to which
knights may retreat to rest,
and where no
fighting is allowed. Knights
who are in-
jured, tired, or have damaged
armor may
retire to the list to recover
without fear of
being attacked.
9
Attacking a knight
who
has retired to the list
is forbidden.
A knight on the melee
field who is in
trouble or seriously injured
may be pro-
tected by the intervention
of the Chevalier
d’ Honneur. This especially
honored cava-
lier is privileged to wield
the lance bearing
the couvre-chef (kerchief)
de mercy. When
the chevalier of honor touches
any knight
on the field with his lance
of mercy, that
knight is protected from
all further at-
tacks.
10
Any combatant foolish
enough to
attack a knight who has
been so touched is
immediately disqualified
from further
competition.
In the foot combat of the
melee, combat-
ants other than cavaliers
can enter with a
fair chance of success.
Fighters and rang-
ers of noble rank can enter
the melee.
Clerics might be allowed
to enter, provided
that their temple is recognized
and ap
proved by the tourney judges.
A temple
closely tied to lawful good
or chivalric
ideals has the best chance
of being allowed
into the melee. The tourney
judges must
take care that clerics from
different tem-
ples are not divided into
teams based on
opposing religious views
or alignment.
Otherwise, the melee may
break out into a
religious war.
-
Prizes
and ransom
Prizes awarded to the victorious
vary
with the quality of the
tournament. Poorer
tournaments may not be able
to offer
lavish prizes, and may instead
allow a
winning knight to claim
the goods of the
loser. A knight who has
beaten a foe in the
joust or captured an opponent
in the me-
lee may claim the arms,
armor, and mount
of the loser. The loser
can ransom back his
goods for a fee equal to
the value of the
goods claimed by the winner.
Better tourneys bestow valuable
prizes
to the champion of each
class and the
most valiant knights of
the melee. Such
prizes may include finely
crafted weapons
or armor, superlative horses,
gold, or
perhaps a very unusual gift.
11
The prizes
awarded are commensurate
with the level
of the winner, of course.
Newcomers who
have proven themselves especially
worthy
and valiant may receive
certain praise
from the judges and a gift
of acknowledge-
ment (for being rookie of
the year).
The champion of the tourney
is also
allowed to choose a “queen
of love and
beauty.” The champion knight
of the high-
est jousting class or the
champion of each
class may choose the queen
or queens of
beauty of the tourney. A
female champion
may elect a male paramour
for this honor,
of course, electing a king
of the tourney.
The queen or king so chosen
receives
much honor and praise from
the judges
and spectators, as well
as some gifts of
acknowledgement —typically
a crown and
a few minor prizes.
Conclusion
With these suggestions and
a bit of re-
search by the DM, a grand
jousting tour-
nament can be run. The important
thing
for the DM to remember is
that each DM
should experiment freely
with the ideas
presented. A period of trial-and-error
play-
testing and tinkering may
be needed to
find a system that is most
comfortable and
balanced for each campaign.
The DM and players should
seek out
various books on medieval
history and
tales of knighthood to help
flesh-out and
add color to the tourney.
The tourney
contains a great many events
popular in
medieval times, including
archery and
wrestling contests, and
often a medieval
merchants’ fair. A well-run
tournament
should include competitions
and intrigues
that provide adventure for
all party mem-
bers, not just cavaliers
and paladins. The
most highly recommended
reference
works include any by R.E.
Oakeshott, Sir
Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe,
and Nicholas
Slope’s The Book of Medieval
Wargames,
which contains tournament
games.
Notes
1. Painter, French Chivalry,
pp. 50-51.
2. Oakeshott, A Knight and
His Horse, p.
68. Many noble ladies of
the time were
competent jousters, particularly
Joan of
Arc.
3. Oakeshott, A Knight and
His Horse, p.
68, and Stone, Glossary
of Arms and Ar-
mor, pp. 615, 626.
4. Keen, Chivalry, p. 86.
An entrance fee
was often required in English
tourna-
ments, after Richard I licensed
tourneys
and imposed fees that were
based on the
rank of the nobleman or
knight. Barons
and greater noblemen payed
the most,
while landless knights paid
a small fee.
5. Oakeshott, A Knight and
His Horse, p.
61. A French chanson written
by Jaques
de Bretac described heats
for assessing the
skill of jousters, taking
place on the second
day of a tournament held
at Chauvency in
1285.
6. Stone, Glossary of Arms
and Armor, p.
626. A prize could be lost
for committing
some of the offenses mentioned
in this
article.
7. Painter, French Chivalry,
p. 52.
8. Scott, Ivanhoe, p. 100.
9. Oakeshott, A Knight and
His Horse,
p. 60.
10. Ibid, p. 71.
11. Ibid, pp. 62, 68. At
the tournament of
Runnymede in A.D. 1215,
following the
signing of the Magna Carta,
a local baron-
ess donated a bear as a
prize.
Bibliography
Barber, Richard, The
Knight and Chiv-
alry. Totowa,
N.J.: Rowan and Littlefield,
1970.
Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s
Mythology:
The Age of Chivalry and
The Legends of
Charlemagne. New York: New
American
Library, Inc., 1962.
de Camp, L. Sprague and
Fletcher Pratt,
The Compleat Enchanter.
New York: Bal-
lantine Books, 1975.
Foss, Michael. Chivalry.
New York: David
McKay Co., Inc., 1975.
Gies, Joseph and Frances
Gies. Life in a
Gies, Joseph and Frances
Gies. Life in a
Medieval Castle. New York:
Harper & Row,
Publishers, 1974.
Publishers, 1974.
Heller, Julek and Deirdre
Heardon.
Knights. London: Bellew
& Highton Pub-
lishers Ltd., 1982.
Keen, Maurice. Chivalry.
New Haven and
London: Yale University
Press, 1984.
Lehane, Brendan, and the
editors of
Time-Life Books. The Enchanted
World:
Legends of Valor. Alexandria,
Virginia:
Time-Life Books, 1984.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart. A Knight
and His
Horse. Philadelphia: Dufour
Editions,
1964.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart. A Knight
and His
Weapons. Philadelphia: Dufour
Editions,
1964.
Painter, Sidney. French
Chivalry Ithaca
and London: Cornell University
Press,
1940.
Scott, Sir Walter. Ivanhoe.
New York:
New American Library, Inc.,
1962.
Slope, Nicholas. The Book
of Medieval
Wargames. New York: Harper
& Row,
Publishers, Inc., 1984 (available
from the
Science Fiction Book Club,
Dept. AS-331,
Garden City NY 11530; catalog
number
016170; member’s edition
price $15.99).
Stone, George Cameron. A
Glossary of
the Construction, Decoration,
and Use of
Arms and Armor. The Southworth
Press,
1934; reprint ed., New York:
Jack Brussel,
1961.
Over the past couple of years
that I’ve been a
Dungeon Master, I’ve noticed
that some players,
particularly younger ones,
tend to use information
written in DRAGON®
Magazine as though it
was carved on tablets of
stone.
Unsure of the spirit of the
articles, they cling
to the letter, mimicking
the actions described as
best they can. So when something
is described
in an article that is not
a good thing to do, it is
advisable to point out its
faults before a hoard
of 13 year-olds start having
all their characters
make that mistake.
The case in point is the sample
battle between
the cavalier Allycia and
the fighter Scud the
Invincible in Leonard Carpenter’s
“Surely, You
Joust!” in issue #118
(No, I don’t joust, and my
name isn’t Shirley).
After besting the “invincible”
Scud, “Allycia
claims Scud’s armor, weapons
and horse, as is
her right of conquest.” Fair
enough, but leaving
Scud unarmed and unarmored
in a dangerous
forest is not only something
out of character for
a neutral-good cavalier,
but downright stupid
for someone of any alignment
to do.
Put yourself in Scud’s place
as the 6th-level
cavalier and her retainers
ride away. Following
the group and trying to ambush
them at night
may be a good way to die,
but so is traveling
alone in a forest without
arms or armor. At least
this way you have a chance
of getting your
equipment back. In fact,
if you can sneak into
their camp, quietly crush
Allycia with a big
rock, and arm yourself afterward,
the odds of
killing the rest of her low-level
retainers are
fairly good for an 8th-level
fighter. In addition to
survival, killing Allycia
and her minions saves
Scud the embarrassment of
having his defeat at
the hands of an elf girl
made public.
What Carpenter overlooked
in trying to keep
his description in a Tennysonian,
knights-inshining-
armor vein is that Scud also
surrendered
his person to her. In the
knightly vein,
she had the right to hold
him hostage until a
ransom was paid, and given
the quality of
armor and weapons he had,
it wasn’t unlikely
that he had friends or family
who could pay a
decent price for his return,
possibly ransoming
his horse and equipment,
too.
In a nonfeudal campaign (one
based on
ancient Greece, for example),
Scud’s status upon
yielding is that of her slave.
It’s more profitable
to sell Scud back to his
people, but if that option
isn’t available, she can
always sell him at the
next market or foolishly
try to tame him into
being her docile servant.
(She had the advantage
of being the better rider
in the combat. Offhorse,
particularly if Scud were
to attack her
while both were armored,
his odds of victory
are better than hers.)
In any case, keeping Scud
limits his potential
for mischief.
Although the DMG discourages
characters
getting henchmen
of higher level than themselves,
the higher social class of
the grey elf to
the fighter ought to permit
an exception.
If I were running Allycia,
I might well offer
Scud his equipment back in
exchange for a year
or two (depending on its
value) of service as my
henchmen (a less degrading
status than slave
and less likely to cause
him to violate the agreement).
I gain an excellent ally
for the next two
years, and the fact that
I have a fighter of
higher level (and a human
one, at that) under
my command adds glory and
honor to me.
To sum everything up: Just
because you can
beat a guy in a forest and
take all his weapons
doesn’t mean that you want
to.
Dana Foley
Downey CA
(Dragon
#122)
I read Dana Foley's letter
in issue #122 commenting
on my article "Surely, You
Joust!" in
issue #118 with much
interest. Dana Foley's
remarks are a case in point
of a person reading
too much into an article.
My purpose in describing
the combat between Allycia
and Scud was to
provide an example of how
a joust can be conducted
using the full range of jousting
modifiers,
not to present the life stories
of Scud and
Allycia, so I used a minimum
of background
detail. The full tale of
what happened after
Allycia defeated Scud was
not pertinent to the
jousting example, so I did
not bother to elaborate
a complete description of
the future relationship
of the two characters. Also,
Dana Foley
should have read my article
more carefully;
otherwise, such incorrect
conclusions would not
have been drawn from the
joust described.
Allycia did not leave Scud
unarmed and unarmored
in a "dangerous forest" as
Foley described,
but in the ?countryside?
as I had written. Assuming
?countryside? must mean hazardous
wild
terrain leads Foley to conclude
Allycia performed
an unchivalrous act. The
?countryside? could well
be part of a civilized land
and the bridge might
be only walking distance
from the nearest village.
Had the joust indeed been
fought in a ?dangerous
forest,? Allycia should immediately
wonder why
Scud is all alone in such
dangerous land and
would immediately suspect
a trap or ambush.
Since Scud is just an ordinary
fighter and not a
cavalier, it is unlikely
that Scuds shield would
bear a coat-of-arms familiar
to Allycia, further
reinforcing the idea that
Allycia should not trust
Scuds professed intentions.
Allycia?s party would
prepare themselves to meet
an attack from any
direction and use divination
magic to determine
what dangers the surrounding
terrain might
hold. So a simple pass-at-arms
instead looks like a
full-blown battle to the
death.
It makes no sense for Scud
to choose to guard
a bridge in a ?dangerous
forest.? Scud would
naturally pick a bridge that
is safe and welltraveled,
so that many knights would
happen by
for Scud to challenge to
a pass-at-arms. Scud
might well spend months waiting
for a knight to
show up at a bridge in hazardous
and littletraveled
terrain.
Foley would also have us believe
Allycia and
her companions are fair prey
for Scud to
ambush them at night, slaughtering
Allycia's
low-level retainers with
ease after bashing in
the sleeping elf's head with
a rock. Please reread
the opening paragraphs of
the jousting
example on page 25 of issue
#118. I wrote: ?The
elven warrior-maid Allycia
is traveling with her
retainers and fellow party
members . . .? However
invincible Scud thinks he
is, an unarmed
8th-level fighter is no match
for a party of wellarmed
and intelligent mid-level
characters,
especially when one considers
that Scud has
been sorely injured in losing
the battle to Allycia.
Scud would have been in no
shape to challenge
Allycia again, unless he
had a quick access
to healing magic, which is
unlikely. And considering
that Allycia claimed Scud's
horse when
she won the joust, Scud would
have to be a very
fast and hardy runner, and
possibly also a
skilled tracker, to be able
to catch up to Allycia's
mounted party.
When Scud surrendered to Allycia,
Scud's fate
was not detailed at length
because that would
have been digressing from
the point of the
jousting example. But since
Foley speculated on
what might have happened
next, I shall as well.
Had Allycia claimed Scud
as a hostage, as was
her right by feudal law,
he might have proven a
great hindrance to the completion
of Allycia's
quest. If the party had gone
astray from the
quest to secure Scud's ransom,
the quest would
have been delayed. A chivalrous
knight should
not give in to the temptation
of greed when a
higher duty calls. If the
party had dragged the
unwilling Scud along on the
quest, he would
have been another potential
adversary for the
party to worry about, threatening
the accomplishment
of the mission.
The smart thing for Allycia
to do would be to see
to it that Scud returns to
a place of safety, escorting
Scud there if the land is
hostile, or letting Scud
walk to the nearest village,
leaving plenty of food
and water if the countryside
is civilized. A charm
spell cast by the party's
magic-user could insure
that Scud tries no hostile
act against the party in
the near future. Allycia
would donate Scud's
possessions to her loyal
retainers and continue
with the aforementioned quest.
While the military ethics
of ancient Greece is
an interesting topic, I fail
to see what that has to
do with the chivalric code
of a high-elven cavalier
(Allycia is not a gray elf
as Foley wrote). If
Allycia had treated Scud
as so much chattel and
had sold Scud at the next
marketplace, she
would have been guilty of
the crime of enslavement
and would surely have jeopardized
her
neutral-good alignment.
Allycia would have to be a
total idiot to ask
Scud to become one of her
henchman. If Scud
were a lawful- or good-aligned
character with a
true devotion to chivalry,
then an offer to serve
Allycia might work, but Scud
is not such a
character. Scud's true-neutral
alignment (easily
discovered through a know
alignment spell cast
by the party's cleric) would
cause alignment
conflicts between Scud and
the devoutly good
Allycia. Scud's immense ego
(? I am Scud the
Invincible, and don't ever
forget it!?) would
make his attitude insufferable
and his loyalty
questionable. Scud would
likely bide his time,
gain a few cutthroat allies,
then attach Allycia
and her friends when they
are most vulnerable,
restoring Scud's hurt ego
and nettling the party's
posssessions. If I were running
Allycia, I would
not play her as a trusting
fool.
On a related subject, those
who would like to
add a touch of romance to
a tourney [such as
described in the article,
"Surely, You Joust!" in
issue #I18 should
try using the ?paramour?s
favor? rule. When a paramour
favors a particular
knight, she or he bestows
a token to the
knight - usually a personal
item of clothing
such as a scarf or kerchief.
The bestowal of this
favor grants the cavalier
a morale bonus in the
tournament somewhat similar
to the effect of a
bard?s song. A favored knight
is + 1 ?to hit? in
the joust and gains a + 1
bonus to a save vs.
unhorsing roll. The morale
bonus remains in
effect for as long as the
cavalier is able to see
his or her paramour, and
for as long as the
paramour continues to show
support for the
knight, such as by cheering
the knight on,
flashing an encouraging smile,
or waving a
pennant bearing the knight?s
colors.
If the paramour suddenly shows
disfavor to a
knight when great favor was
previously shown,
then all favor bonuses are
lost. Furthermore,
the knight may be so demoralized
by the paramour
?s rejection that the knight
must roll his
wisdom or less on 5d6, or
suffer penalties of - 1
?to hit? and - 1 to the save
vs. unhorsing for all
future combat in or out of
the tourney. This
morale penalty may only take
effect if the
knight is at fault, such
as by disgracing himself
in the tourney or by doing
something discourteous
to upset the paramour.
The cavalier can regain the
paramour?s favor
if the knight tries to make
amends, such as by
proclaiming to go on an important
quest on
behalf of the paramour. If
the paramour is an
NPC, and the DM is satisfied
with the cavalier?s
sincerity, then the paramour
will restore her
favor with a successful reaction
roll based on
the knight?s charisma. If
the reaction roll yields
a friendly or enthusiastic
response, then favor is
restored and the knight may
again receive the
morale bonus.
If the differences between
knight and paramour
are irreconcilable, then
the morale loss
may remain in effect for
a long time. The knight
may eventually get over being
demoralized by
trying 4d6 wisdom checks
once per game week,
with a cumulative modifier
of - 1 to the roll for
every wisdom check after
the first (i.e., - 1 on
the second check, -2 on the
third check, and so
on). Making the wisdom check
indicates the
knight has finally reconciled
himself with the
loss of the paramour.
Len Carpenter
West Chester PA
(Dragon
#126)
This letter is in response
to Len Carpenter?s
letter in issue #126, which
discussed and clarified
certain details about his
article, ?Surely You
Joust," in issue #118. Since
Len has reopened
discussion on that article,
I would like to give
my own comments on it. Specifically,
I have a
few suggestions for Scud
the Invincible on how
to deal with Allycia, the
half-elven cavalier.
First of all, Scud, there
are much more profitable
things for a man of your
skills to be doing
than guarding a silly bridge.
If, however, you
like this sort of thing,
then why are you going
about it in such a silly
way? Never challenge a
cavalier to a joust! Get
off of your horse and
issue a challenge to single
combat. Only a very
dishonorable cavalier would
then attack you
while mounted. At its roots,
the AD&D game is
based on mathematical probabilities.
Only a fool
would ever intentionally
enter a fight where
those probabilities are against
him!
If you must joust with
a cavalier, Scud, then
for gosh sakes, get a longer
lance so you can
strike first! All honorable
cavaliers would be
horrified at such a cowardly
weapon, but that?s
their problem.
Second, Scud, you should be
screaming
bloody murder at your DM
for giving Allycia a
+1 to her jousting ability
for being female.
Supposedly, she has a better
chance to unbalance
you because more of her body
weight is
distributed below her waistline.
While this
ruling appears to be a logical
one, it has absolutely
no basis in any known reality.
If anything,
your human male body weight
should give you
a massive advantage over
a puny, female halfelf.
Yes, ?many noble women of
the time were
competent jousters? ? against
other women!
(How many is ?many"? Two?
Twelve?) Call me a
chauvinist if you like, but
to argue any other
way requires some pretty
humorous contortions
of logic, history, and plainly
observable fact.
If you do decide to joust
with a cavalier, and
you do get dumped on the
grass (which you
deserve for your stupid arrogance),
you are
most certainly not finished
yet. If Allycia?s lance
does not break, and she intends
to use it on you,
simply step up next to her.
It is very difficult to
use a 16? lance on someone
who is only 3? away
from you. If Allycia charges
you with her lance,
simply step back into the
trees where her horse
cannot go, or just run around
some obstruction,
keeping it between you and
her to foil her
charge. If Allycia then drops
her lance and
whips out a sword, argue
that this will require a
round of action, giving you
a free swing!
Let us suppose that the battle
is now between
sword and battle axe. Question:
What is the
armor class of a cavalier
with a shield, full plate
armor, and an 18 dexterity?
Answer: Who
cares? What is the armor
class of her horse?
Don?t let Allycia sit up
there and hack at you
with all of her bonuses.
Your first action should
be to splatter Allycia?s
horse, forcing her to fight
on foot. This doesn?t sound
quite fair. It isn?t! It
was, however, a standard
battle tactic in the
Middle Ages. It was a decisive
tactic in the
battles of the Hundred Years?
War, in which
unarmored archers defeated
the flower of
French chivalry. Unromantic
as it is, this tactic
was also common in battles
between mounted
noblemen.
Now that you have Allycia
on foot, her armor
class and melee skills are
still a match for yours,
right? Wrong. Next time,
before you go out and
challenge knights on the
highway, Scud, read
page 18 of Unearthed Arcana.
There, you will
find rules on weapon
specialization for fighters
and rangers. (Unearthed
Arcana is where Allycia
got her combat abilities
and unearthly armor
class. Now you can return
the favor!) What does
weapon specialization mean?
It means, Scud my
boy, that you have been transformed
from a
reasonably balanced character
into a ridiculous,
walking death machine. You
swing 2/1 to Allycia
?s 3/2. Your bonuses and
multiple swings
more than offset Allycia?s
armor class, and woe
unto her when your swings
connect! With luck,
you will soon stand over
the smoking ruins of a
Knight.
Yes, Scud, you did not play
fair with Allycia?s
cavalier virtues, but the
bridge is still yours.
That?s what cavaliers get
for adhering to a
ludicrous and romanticized
ideal of chivalry and
honor. (Woe betide you if
you ever meet a
dishonorable cavalier.) Rules
of combat are for
tournaments, not bridges
in the forest, as historical
cavaliers knew very well.
If all else fails, Scud, for
gosh sakes, don?t
surrender; run away! Your
plate mail +1 allows
you to move at 9?, while
Allycia, her nifty horse
a gruesome mess back by the
bridge, clanks
along at 6". If she insists
on pursuing, just
chuckle as you let her have
it with the projectile
weapons which she would never
deign to use,
then just run along a little
further and do it
again! She?ll get the point.
If Allycia?s companions
also pursue you, call her
honor into question.
She will be honor-bound to
protect you
from her interfering friends.
If you must surrender,
surrender to Allycia alone,
and call
upon her honor to force the
party to treat you
well and safeguard your other
possessions. If
Allycia refuses or tries
to look the other way,
scream to the DM that she
should be forced to
undergo an alignment change
and lose her
cavalier status.
Finally, Scud, be forewarned.
If my party
comes upon you denying us
a bridge in the
forest, we?ll just fireball
you and pick your
magical items out of the
ashes before our cavalier
can even accept a challenge.
However, for a
suitable fee in advance,
we might not mind just
sitting back and watching
while you teach that
snobby little brat a lesson!
Mark R. Shipley
Bremerton WA
(Dragon
#132)
When I wrote the article
"Surely, You Joust!"
in issue #118, Oriental
Adventures had just
come out, but the two AD&D
game Survival
Guide <(Underworld,
Wilderness)>rule
books were yet to be published.
Using the proficiency system
in Oriental Adventures,
I based a type of save vs.
unhorsing roll in
the joust on the horsemanship
proficiency
described on page 54 of the
book. With the
publication of the two Survival
Guides and their
more sophisticated proficiency
system, I hoped
the riding proficiencies
described therein could
be used as the best way to
decide whether a
knight hit in the joust would
be unhorsed or
not. Alas, I couldn't reconcile
myself to the idea
that the knight's save vs.
unhorsing roll would
be a form of Wisdom Check.
To accommodate the riding
proficiencies with
the needs of jousting combat
and to make the
riding proficiencies a bit
more realistic, I suggest
the following changes: Each
riding proficiency
should be divided into two
separate rolls
based on either wisdom or
dexterity. The
revised riding proficiencies
are given here in
the accompanying table.
| Proficiency | Slots required | Appropriate ability | Die-roll modifier |
| Riding, airborne | 2 | Wisdom
Dexterity |
+2
+3 |
| Riding, land-based | 1 | Wisdom
Dexterity |
-3
+1 |
Common sense should dictate
which appropriate
ability would be used in
a given situation.
When a rider needs to roll
a proficiency check
in order to control his mount,
or to urge the
mount on to do something
the mount normally
wouldn?t want to do (such
as leap over a chasm
or move at a greater speed),
then wisdom is the
appropriate ability. If the
question to be decided
is whether the rider remains
in the saddle or
falls or gets knocked off
his mount, then the
appropriate ability is dexterity.
All feamle characters
gain a -1 die-roll modifier
to their dexterity
rolls, because of their lower
center of
gravity compared to males.
When a character
spends an additional proficiency
slot to improve
his riding proficiency, both
the wisdom and
dexterity proficiency checks
improve by -2.
To reflect the great power
of the lance charge
in jousting combat, an additional
die-roll modifier
must be applied to the dexterity
proficiency
check. Cavaliers must make
their proficiency
checks with a +5 penalty
applied to the roll. All
other fighters with experience
in jousting combat
have a +7 penalty applied
to their proficiency
checks. Whether paladins
receive a +5 or
+7 modifier depends on whether
the Dungeon
Master considers the paladin
to be a cavalier
subclass or merely a fighter
subclass (and if the
paladin has jousting experience,
of course).
All other characters with
riding proficiency
but no experience in jousting
make their proficiency
checks at +10 to the rolls.
Characters
without riding proficiency
are automatically
unhorsed by a lance charge,
with no Proficiency
Check or saving throw allowed.
If the system described here
is used, then the
various modifiers on pages
24-5 of "Surely, You
Joust!" are ignored and the
DM needn't bother
with the complexity of the
APU and DBU business.
I consider the method for
handling
unhorsing in the joust described
above to be
superior to the system in
"Surely, You Joust!"
both because of its greater
simplicity and
because it takes advantage
of the existing riding
proficiency.
S.D. Anderson, of Whittier,
Calif., and I have
had an interesting correspondence
on the
question of whether a mounted
character with
his feet planted firmly in
the stirrups is entitled
to an armor-class bonus for
high dexterity. After
all, a mounted character
does not have much
freedom to bob and weave
to avoid attacks.
After a bit of thought, I
decided to allow a
character in my campaign
to retain his dexterity
bonus to armor class, provided
that: a) the
character has riding proficiency
with the
mount, where skilled control
of the mount
makes up for the rider?s
loss of mobility; and b)
the mount is a fairly quick
and agile one, such
as a well-trained pegasus,
unicorn, or war horse
of quality, but not a slow
and unwieldy mount
such as a mule, camel, or
elephant.
By the phrase ?well-trained
war horse of
quality,? I mean a horse
of fine breeding that has
received much training in
the art of mounted
combat. If you use the excellent
system
described in Robert Harrison's
"Let the Horse
Buyer
Beware" article of issue #92, only a horse
of ?excellent? or ?superb?
quality that has
received the full course
in ?combat? training will
enable the rider to retain
his armor-class bonus
while mounted. Any lesser
horse simply won?t
do. So, if a character wants
to retain his dexterity
bonus to armor class while
mounted, the
character will have to spend
a pretty penny on
his horse for the privilege.
Len Carpenter
West Chester PA
(Dragon
#134)
This letter is being written
in response to
Mark Shipley's
letter in issue #132, concerning
cavaliers? fighting and jousting
abilities. There
are several things he overlooked.
To begin with, he advises
attacking the horse
first. Any cavalier worth
his shield would have
the attacker whittled down
to half his hit points
before the latter could kill
the horse. Don?t
forget the horse?s attack
modes, either.
Next, he claims that the weapon-specialization
bonus to attacks per round
afforded to fighters,
rangers, and barbarians would
outweigh a
cavalier?s better armor class.
Not so. A cavalier?s
ability with weapons of choice
would bring her
up to at least a minor advantage,
considering all
of her attack bonuses. A
better armor class
would only increase that
advantage.
Additionally, Mr. Shipley
seems to have forgotten
the detail that makes cavaliers
so difficult to
hit: their superior parrying
ability. If the example
of Scud and Allycia is used,
Allycia would
have Scud dead without a
scratch.
Next, he believes that the
cavaliers? honor and
chivalry codes are detrimental
to their abilities.
Possibly, but in all probability
they will serve to
prevent too many people from
being killed by
cavaliers.
He also seems to think that
a cavalier?s honor
system is a way of proclaiming
a holier-thanthou
attitude. Again, not so.
The cavalier?s
honor system is a basis for
bringing a civilizing
aspect to an otherwise chaotic
and barbaric
society.
Finally, Mr. Shipley states
that an alignment
change will strip a cavalier
of his or her knightly
abilities. According to the
Unearthed Arcana
book, evil cavaliers
could and do exist.
Eric Liss
(no address)
(Dragon #136)