Jousting

Squires and would-be knights compete in their own jousts. These contests are round robin events, with the victors of each contest moving on to the next round. Note that the competition is open to rich and poor alike. Officials inspect all lances before the competition and no contestant is allowed to battle without a shield. All such contests are conducted under nonlethal rules and use blunted lances.

Winning such a contest often gets the victor and his lord much prestige, and sometimes a better home. Another lord may offer to “take over the knight’s training” for a hefty sum if the winner is already a knight-in-training. Or, the rogue squire or warrior who wins might get an offer of patronage from a noble house interested in training knights. In any case, the reward money is usually enough to encourage the victor to further competitions in the future, wherein he might just make quite a name for himself.

The main joust is also round robin but open only to knights of the realm. In addition, each knight chooses a lady to champion. If he wins honorably, the victor brings honor to his name, the lady he has chosen, and the sponsor of the tournament. Disgracing the joust, either by killing an unarmed foe, harming or killing a mount, or in some other manner, is considered a “Loss of Family Honor” or worse (see “Falling from Grace”).

Winning a royal joust often earns the knight the position of Royal Champion, meaning sometimes that there’s going to be a new Captain of the Royal Guard, Lord High Chamberlain, or Lord High Marshall in the realm. At the very least, the knight earns the right to hold the next royal tournament at his castle. If he decides not to do so, for whatever reason, there is no loss of honor, and the tournament returns to the royal castle the next time. The knight retains the title of Royal Champion until the next royal tournament. Note that the result of lesser jousts has no bearing on the standing of the Royal Champion, although a number of losses to the same rival might boost the betting odds the next time around.

Sometimes, for show, the winner of the open joust competes against the winner of the royal joust, but usually the former backs down without loss of honor, deferring to his obvious superior, the Royal Champion.

Magic items of all kinds are permitted at a joust, but anything which is deemed dishonorable by the list officials cannot be used. Some examples would include any item that removes the chance element to the game (i.e. a lance that never misses, or a shield that always blocks). Such an item, if discovered after the joust has begun, causes the wielder to forfeit automatically. A minor “Loss of Personal Honor” ensues (see “Falling from Grace”), as it is the knight’s responsibility to be fair. Some jousts even go as far as to ban magic altogether, providing their own lances and suits of armor for the combatants to wear.