Jousting is a nobal form of armed contest found in nearly every BR
tournament. In order for Players and DMs to resolve the outcome of these
contests fairly, here is a simple and fast system for determining the
outcome of a Joust.

- -Initiative: Both Contestants roll 1d10. This roll is modified by
subtracting your opponents Level from yours. Then adding the difference to
your roll. For example a 7th level Fighter is to Joust against a 5th Level
Fighter. The 7th level Fighter rolls a 6, then subtracting 5 from 7(his
opponents Level from his)he gets a difference of 2. He then adds 2 to his 6
and gets an 8. The 5th Level Fighter will do the same. He rolls and gets a
8, but when he subtracts his opponents level(7) from his(5) he gets a -2.
This gives him 6(-2 + 8 = 6). The person with the *higher* number wins
Initiative. Similtanious Initiatives are covered below. Also any non-Warrior
involved in a Joust should first divide thier Level in half before
determining Initiative. Initiative should be determined before each Pass.

- -Jousting Pass: The winner of the Initiative shall be called Contestant 1
and the loser shall be called Contestant 2. As the Contestants Joust they
need to make opposed rolls in order to determine who wins. Contestant 1
makes a Strength check(Exceptional Strength does not factor into this), and
Contestant 2 makes a Dexterity check. Contestant 2 then subtracts thier A.C.
rating(without Dex. modifiers), and the Strength damage modifier for
Contestant 1(Exceptional Strength counts for this)from thier roll. Note:
A.C. lower then 0 is treated as 0. Contestant 2 then adds thier own Strength
damage modifier to thier roll. The winner is the Contestant with the highest
successful ability check. If Contestant 1 has the higher roll and Contestant
2 has lower roll, but both are successful checks, Contestant 2 is unhorsed.
If boths checks rolled are equal then Contestant 1 wins and Contestant 2 is
unhorsed. If Contestant 2 has the higher successful check, or Contestant 1
fails his Strength check, then Contestant 2 is not unhorsed. If Contestant 2
is not unhorsed then the Contestants immediatley make opposite checks. That
is Contestant 2 now makes a Strength check(no Exceptional Strength), and
Contestant 1 makes a Dexterity check(modified by subtracting thier A.C. from
thier roll, again thats A.C. without Dex. modifiers, and subtracting the
Strength damage modifier for Contestant 2, then adding thier own Str. damage
modifier). The rolls are then compared to see if Contestant 1 is
unhorsed(using the above rules only Contestant 1 is now considered
Contestant 2 and Contestant 2 is considered Contestant 1). If the
Contestants have similtanious Initiatives they each make both a Strength and
Dexterity check(with the restrictions above)at the same time, and then check
to see if one or both of them have been unhorsed.

- -Damage: Both Contestants take damage for a hit from a Jousting Lance(1d3-1,
no Strength modifiers)with each Pass, and an unhorsed Contestant takes an
additional 1d2 points of damage for hitting the ground. Also the DM should
roll 1d10 for each Lance on a roll of 1-5 the Lance snaps and must be
replaced before the next Pass.

- -Additional Notes: If a Contestant has Lance as a Weapon Pro. then his/her
Initiatives, successful Strength checks, and successful Dexterity checks
gain a +1. If he/she is Specialized in Lance they gain a +2 to the above
rolls. These modifiers will not cause an ability check to fail. They mearly
make the successful number higher. Lastly in a basic Jousting Contest 2
warriors would make Passes until the one of them had been unhorsed 3 times.
Of course there are many variations on the rules and regulations in specific
Contests, but those(if any)can be determined by the DM.

Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net

"War is a matter of vital importance to the State;
the province of life or death;
the road to survival or ruin.
It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied."
-Sun Tzu,(The Art of War)-

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