A few years ago we ran a Harnic RPG where political backstabbing was the point of the game, and was set in the background of a royal jousting tournament. Nobody cared much for the politics, but the jousting was a big hit. The hootin’, the hollerin’, and the favors of ladies made for an exciting competition.
It might be fun to run that again, this time without the politics. The prize: 300 pounds silver and a chance to gain lands or a place in His Majesty’s Royal Guard.
This is straight up combat, though role-playing is encouraged.
Ideally this will be a simple elimination competition. 8 players compete for 4 spots, 4 compete for 2, and 2 face off for the grand prize. If we can start with 16 players instead of 6, all the better. If we can’t quite fill the ranks, then a few NPCs can make up the rest.
The first phase of this is character design. You will be given points to develop stats and skills as you see fit, given a rank, choose a name, choose a blazon (coat of arms), choose a steed, and choose a suit of armor. Then… we joust!
I will explain all of the rules, so you don’t need to own anything. It’s not unlike D&D, in that it’s based on 3-18 stats. You’ll use those to generate skills that are expressed as percentages.
You will get 5 stats, strength, stamina, will, agility, and dexterity. They will all start out at 8, but you will get 20 or 25 points to increase them as you see fit, to a maximum of 18.
You will then get to average three of them to form a skill base – a number between 3 and 18 – and multiply that number by any amount you choose – once again, as you see fit.
Add on some plusses and minuses (which I will explain), and you’ve generated some percentages of success. If I roll equal to or under your number (with 1d00), you’ve suceeded.
Of course your opponent’s roll counts in as well. Surprising results are… amusing.