Planchet & Tournament Rules

Sword – Man versus man, each participant gets ten swings versus his opponent.  Lots are drawn to determine who swings first.  Each successful strike causes a small flag to be raised.  The fighter with more successful strikes wins the match and goes on to fight his next opponent, with the loser being eliminated.  The armour class of one’s opponent is subtracted from one’s THAC0 to determine if one hits (if one’s THAC0 is 11 and his opponent’s AC is -2, then he needs a 13 to hit (11 – (-2)).  There is no weapon damage.  Higher level fighters who have multiple attacks per round receive bonuses to hit in the sword competition – a man with three attacks every two rounds gets a modifier of +1 to hit, while a fighter with two attacks every round receives a bonus of +2 to hit.  This is a single elimination event. 

Joust – The joust is the event with the most prestige associated to it.  The two participants begin at opposite ends of the tilting run, taking three passes at each other (each pass is called a “lance”).  If a rider strikes his opponent with the lance, he scores one flag.  If he strikes his opponent in the head, he has scored two flags.  If he bears his opponent to the ground, he has scored three flags and the victory.  This event will run through two stages – the group stage and the elimination stage.  During the group stage, each knight will joust against the other three knights in his group.  A knight is awarded three points for a victory, one point for a draw and no points for a loss.  The two knights with the most points move on to the elimination round (which is single elimination).  To strike one’s opponent, a knight need merely successfully hit him.  To strike his opponent’s head, the knight must successfully hit him plus five.  To bear his opponent to the ground, the knight needs a successful hit plus ten. For instance:

Sir Randolph needs a roll of seven to hit Sir Darwin.  This will score Sir Randolph one flag.  If Sir Randolph rolls a twelve, he has hit Sir Darwin in the head (two flags), and if Sir Randolph rolls a seventeen or higher, he has driven Sir Darwin off his steed.

There is no weapon damage.  Higher level fighters who have multiple attacks per round received bonuses to hit in the joust – a man with three attacks every two rounds gets a modifier of +1 to hit, while a fighter with two attacks every round receives a bonus of +2 to hit.  Also, it is assumed that a rider from noble or even knightly birth will be even more skilled with a lance, so a knight born to a knight receives a bonus of +1 to hit.  A knight born to a noble receives a bonus of +2 to hit.  Finally, a knight born to a king receives a bonus of +3 to hit, as he has been in the saddle and jousting since he was but a small boy.  

Melee – Two knights will choose teams, with Knight A picking first, Knight B picking second and third, Knight A picking fourth and fifth, Knight B picking sixth and seventh, etc. The two teams will line up without seeing their opponents, across from each other. When the flag is dropped the two teams will charge, with each man fighting the man directly across from him. Hand weapons only; lances will not be used. Striking an opponent is calculated as in the Sword Competition, but weapon damage does occur. Attacking another’s horse is dishonorable. Once an opponent has been vanquished the winner may search for another on the opposite team. Knights may attack another in concert, so there may be instances, past the initial bout, of two or three on one. Once defeated the loser must leave the field (or be removed). The initial phase is over when one team has completely left the field. The secondary phase occurs when only members of the winning team remain. They will be separated and will then charge each other; no restriction of one-on-one is in the secondary phase. The final combatant left will be the winner. Note: A man who yields is usually spared.