Flying Carpet Jousting
One thing that we often don’t think about in our fantasy roleplaying games are the kinds of sports people might play. With that in mind, here are some simple rules for jousting – on flying carpets.
Flying Carpet Jousting
Order of Play
- Both combatants choose their movement speed secretly (you can use coins – designate Heads for normal and Tails for fast. Place the coin in front of you and keep it covered.)
- Combatants reveal their movement speeds and take note of the effect.
- Roll attacks and resolve their effects.
- Tally the current score. If nobody has won, another run takes place.
Equipment
Jousting carpet
Wondrous item, rare
3ft. X 5ft., fly 60, capacity 300lb. (GM may make rules about armor allowed/weight classes/etc. Or simply ignore the carrying capacity of the carpet if you want.)
Specialist jousting lance
Melee weapon. Proficiency with a lance allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
The specialist jousting lance is flimsy and breaks on impact, dealing no damage. Targets struck with the lance fall prone in their space.
Rules
Each round of jousting involves two combatants, who aim to score points by striking each other with lances and knocking their opponent from their carpet over a series of ‘runs’.
Scoring
Score 1 point for successfully striking your opponent.
Score 2 points for knocking your opponent from their carpet.
Scores are tallied after each completed ‘run’ in a round. The first combatant to score 3 points wins the round. Runs continue until one combatant is defeated or chooses to concede defeat.
The List
The Flying Joust takes place on a List that comprises of a stretch of open space some 240ft long and at least 15ft wide. The list is divided into two distinct ‘lanes’ by the bisecting wall of nominal height.
In so-called ‘underground jousting’, the list may be filled with dangerous objects such as spikes or even monstrous enemies, in order to increase the chances of bodily harm to those who are dismounted. This practice is not allowed in sanctioned tournaments.
Jousting
Combatants must move towards each other in a straight line along the list in their own lane at a pre-determined height.
Combatants may move at the base speed of their carpet (‘normal speed’) or they may Dash (‘fast speed’). (If you are playing in a TTRPG system that does not have Dash rules, assume the ‘fast speed’ is twice the movement rate of the ‘normal speed’.)
Combatants make melee attack rolls against their opponent’s AC.
Struck opponents fall prone, and must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or else fall from their carpet. The DC for this roll is equal to the total roll (including bonuses) of the attack that hit them.
Attacks are rolled and their effects applied simultaneously, unless the effects of movement speed say otherwise.
[For GMs – no matter what speed is selected, there is no need to track movement on a grid. Simply apply the effects of the chosen speed, listed below.]
Effects of Movement Speeds
Normal movement grants advantage on your attack roll. You have taken the time to ready your lance properly.
Fast movement allows you to strike before your opponent with no advantage to your roll.
If both combatants move at the same rate then no advantage is granted and both strike simultaneously.
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