BSG | Bladesong Dynasty Getting Started

Theme:

• Focus on personal deeds, especially related to the three Regional Competitions (Duelling, Jousting, Arena Fighting), and on the stories that arise from them.- Another main aspect of the dynasty’s culture is represented by songs and ballads: a noble’s prestige comes from their glory in competitions and from the grandeur of the competitions they host, but they won’t matter at all if nobody sings of those successes.- The Crown’s story is going to be mostly a background, and in-game events will be mostly prompts to spur adventures and creativity.

Political and Social Background:

• The Crown doesn’t meddle in individual nobles’ affairs.
• This is a compromise between the nobles and the Crown: the Crown rules on Kingdom and Regions, the Nobles rule on themselves and their own peers.
• The authority of the Monarch will be taken into higher regard on matters concerning the Kingdom at large and the Regions’ administration, but they will also be more liable of being challenged and ousted if deemed justifiably incompetent.
• Nobles are expected to solve their conflicts autonomously, and they have a right to adjudicate disputes between peers when requested.
• If some nobles ask for the Crown’s intervention (due to in-game events), the Monarch will try to pick the most neutral option;
• If a neutral option is not available, the Monarch will have to pick sides and it won’t be possible to accuse them of unwanted meddling: the RP reason for the Crown’s intervention will be that the nobles in question couldn’t agree on a resolution method, and had to call on the Crown to step in.
• Each region has a way to resolve disputes via a Regional Competition, that is adjacent to the official justice system of the Kingdom:
• Grandees -> Duelling
• Barons -> Jousting
• Patricians -> Arena Fighting
• Each Regional Competition is recognised as an unofficial but approved way to resolve personal disputes.
• This Kingdom has very clear values, and the best nobles embody them all:
• Self-sufficiency - Never having to ask the Crown to step in
• Personal success - Winning most competitions
• Ostentation - Spending a fortune to host marvellous events
• Undying glory - Inspiring songs that will outlive who performed the deeds

Cultural differences compared to a typical KotC game:

• Grandees care more about duelling than about faith
• Barons are militaristic for jousting, not for war
• Patricians don’t make money for money’s sake, but to spend it on arena events

Regional Competitions

General Rules

• Nobles are expected to resolve conflicts using the Competition belonging to their own Region, and to host events in that Competition.
• Nobles can only challenge other nobles to their own Regional Competition, but they can compete in other Regional Competitions if challenged.
• Nobles can only host events in their own Regional Competition.
• The challenger determines the Competition that will be used to resolve the dispute; the challenged decides the location in which the Competition will take place.
• Each Competition can be fought in two variants:
• For Show - To entertain an audience, win glory, and inspire songs
• For Honour - To resolve disputes and gain social prestige
• Competitions fought “for Honour” have special rules that need to be followed:
• The presence of an impartial Referee is required to guarantee the proper conduct of the Competition and to certify its final result. Both parties must agree on the identity of the Referee. (Professional Referees with a high degree of competence and impartiality are held in high esteem and highly sought-after.)
• The presence of a Physician may be required, especially when the Competition is to be fought until one of the fighters is incapacitated.
• Each fighter must have one or more Witnesses with them to ensure fairness.
• Referees, Physicians, and Witnesses can all be made-up NPCs, but involving other players is highly encouraged!
• In each Competition, players can choose to fight to the death. This is discussed and agreed upon on a player level, not on a character level.
• Players have to agree on this before the Competition starts, and can walk back from this decision at any time, even during the Competition itself.

Duelling

Gameplay Rules

• Before starting, players pick a Fighting Style for the duel:
• Reckless, +2 Lunge / -1 Wound
• Cautious, -1 Lunge / +2 Wound
• Adaptive, alternates between +1/+0, chooses what gets the bonus first
• Tricky, +0/+0 -> -1/-1 -> +2/+2 (loops back to +0/+0 after the 3rd round)
• A duel takes place over the course of a maximum of 9 rounds.
• Each round, both players roll 1d10 plus a modifier granted by their Fighting Style, twice.
• The first roll (Lunge) determines who will have an opportunity to wound the opponent in the second roll. The player who gets the highest roll becomes the Attacker, and will be allowed to attempt to score a hit. The other player becomes the Defender.
• If players tie the Lunge roll, they both become Attackers and get a chance to score a hit.
• The second roll (Wound) determines if the Attacker manages to score a hit. If the Attacker gets the highest roll, they score a hit; if the Defender gets the highest roll, they defend successfully and the duel moves on to the next round.
• If players tie the Wound roll, they both score a hit.
• There are two possible win conditions: Incapacitated and First Blood.
• Incapacitated: the player who scores three hits first wins the duel; if at the end of the 9 rounds no one has scored 3 hits, the player who scored the highest number of hits wins. If the players are tied, they keep fighting until one of them scores an additional hit.
• First Blood: the first player to score a hit wins. [Might change in the future]
• Risk of death: if the Defender rolls a natural 1 on the Wound roll, they will die if previously agreed upon by the players. [Might change in the future]
• Players can still walk back from this decision at this stage.

Roleplay Rules

• The fighters duel within a square twenty paces wide, clearly marked at least at the four corners. They start at opposite sides of the square and close in on each other once the duel starts.
• If a fighter falls down accidentally, they are allowed to get up and retrieve their weapon.
• No foul play is allowed (sand in the eyes, use of poison on the blade, etc.)

Jousting

Gameplay Rules

• Before starting, players pick a Horse and a Lance type from the following lists:
• Horse
• Light, +2 Positioning /-1 Impact
• Medium, +1/+0 or +0/+1 (player’s choice)
• Heavy, -1 Positioning /+2 Impact
• Lance (a new lance will be selected at the start of every tilt)
• Light, +1 Positioning /-1 Impact
• Medium, -/-
• Heavy, -1 Positioning /+1 Impact
• A joust takes place over a set number of tilts, depending on the win condition.
• Each tilt comprises two rolls: Positioning and Impact.
• During the Positioning roll, both players roll 1d10 and add all the relevant modifiers. The result will be the * Difficulty Number for their opponent in the Impact roll.
• During the Impact roll, both players roll 1d10 and add all the relevant modifiers, then they score points based on their result compared to the Difficulty Number set by their opponent’s roll in the Positioning roll.
• There are two possible win conditions: Point Scoring and Unhorsing.
• In Point Scoring, the player who scored the most points at the end of a set number of tilts (usually 5) wins. Points are scored as follows:
• 1 point for a hit (equal to or 1 above opponent’s Positioning roll)
• 2 points for a break (2 or 3 above opponent’s Positioning roll)
• 3 points for a shatter (4 or 5 above opponent’s Positioning roll)
• 5 points for an unhorse (6 or more above opponent’s Positioning roll)
• In Unhorsing, the players keep fighting until they either reach a set number of tilts (agreed upon by the players) or until one of them is unhorsed.
• Risk of death: if a jouster rolls a natural 1 in the Positioning roll and is unhorsed on the following Impact roll, they will die if previously agreed upon by the players.
• Players can still walk back from this decision at this stage.

Roleplay Rules

• Jousters must present a good target (no crouching or leaning away from the opponent’s lance) and must be cantering or galloping at the moment of Impact; breaking these rules will net 3 points to the opponent.
• Striking at the horses or generally off target is forbidden (in jousts “for show” the area between the waist and the shoulders is considered on target; in jousts “for honour” aiming for the face is also allowed, even though much harder to achieve breaking these rules will lead to an immediate disqualification in jousts “for show”, and in a loss with dishonour in jousts “for honour”.

Arena Fighting

Gameplay Rules

• Before starting, players pick a Gladiator Type from the following list:
• Hero +0/-1/+2
• Anti-hero +2/+2/-3
• Novice +1/-3/+3
• Veteran -1/+2/+0
• Acrobat +2/-2/+1
• Bloodshed -1/+3/-1
• Then, players pick a Weapon for the fight:
• Sword +1/+1/+0
• Spear +2/+0/+0
• Shield +0/+2/+0
• Fists +0/-2/+4
• Net: if you win the Setup roll, your opponent gains no bonus during the next Clash roll
• Curved knife: each time you win a roll, your opponent gets -2 to their next roll (N.B.: the Cheer roll cannot be won as players don’t roll against each other, so scoring a higher result there won’t inflict a penalty to the opponent’s next Setup roll)
• An arena fight takes place over a series of rounds. Each round comprises three rolls: the first two describe the combat action, the third one describes the reaction of the crowd.
• In the first and second rolls (Setup and Clash), each player rolls 1d10 and adds all the relevant modifiers. The player who rolls higher banks the difference between their own roll and their opponent’s roll as a modifier for the third roll.
• In the third roll (Cheer), each player rolls 1d10 and adds the modifiers obtained in the first two rolls. Then, for each point above 5 in the result, each player scores a point on the Glory Track.
• The first player to reach 20 points on the Glory Track wins.
• Risk of death: if a fighter rolls a natural 1 in the Clash roll, and then rolls lower than their opponent in the Cheer roll, they will die if previously agreed upon by the players.
• Players can still walk back from this decision at this stage.

Roleplay Rules

• All gladiators must be consenting to fight; no slaves or prisoners are allowed, under any circumstances. Most gladiators will be regularly contracted; nobles can buy contracts from each other in order to have certain gladiators fight for them.
• Fights to the death between contracted gladiators are very rare. When participating in fights to the death, gladiators are usually insured in order to guarantee monetary reparations to their families and loved ones.
• Gladiators are only allowed to use their own weapon during the fight; if one of them accidentally loses their weapon, they are allowed to retrieve it before the fight continues.
• If a fighter falls down accidentally, they are allowed to get up and retrieve their weapon.
• Hits from the back are not allowed: striking an opponent after vaulting behind them or while they are addressing the crowd will lead to immediate disqualification in fights “for show”, and in a loss with dishonour in fights “for honour”.
• No foul play is allowed (biting, eye gouging, sand in the eyes, etc.)
• Narratively the match ends when one of the fighters is no longer able to fight: the first fighter who reaches 20 points on the Glory Track manages to disarm, pin down, and/or kill their opponent.