Wizard Duelling: Marquis of Gurnbourne Rules

The most modern of wizard duelling rules, the Marquis of Gurnbourne ruleset was developed by the eponymous Eldrian imperial governor of Gurnbourne, who made these rules to provide safe entertainment and a means to ‘defend his honour’ without using a rapier during 920s, 3e, and across the 10th century it slowly spread throughout the noble courts, being seen as the duelling style of nobility and wealthy.

Setup:

1. A 15x45ft rectangular dueling space with a division halfway through
2. A wizard capable of casting wall of force around the arena

Rules

1. After gentlemanly discorse, the combantants must walk from the centre line to the end line, then can begin
2. Spells of 4th level or lower only can be used
3. area of affect is safe, but spells such as walls can only last one round
4. once a duellist drops to 10hp or less, they must yeild and the duel is over

History

The Marquis of Gurnbourne, whom the rules are named after, was born as Earl Henry Tutonsberry of Westfold and was a noble of minor rank but high esteem within the imperial court of Eldron. Born in 869, 3e, Henry was the third child of the Lords of Westfold and unlikely to inherit, so trained as a mage and earned a scholarship to go to the Miskatonic an enrolled at Kings Patron College, studying evocation and abjuration.
Henry was known as an eccentric young mage, demanding his valet make twice yearly journeys to Altruscia to find what the high society of Falzeno were wearing so he would always be ahead of the fashion trends within the empire. During his studies, this eccentricity continued. Henry would study multiple other pursuits and tried their hand at ‘Orukian throat singing.’ Henry also became obsessed with ideals of chivalric honour, and is recorded as spending at least two semesters of his studies wearing a full suit of plate armour at all times. He also earned a reputation of duelling, a practice that was formally banned at the Miskatonic, but would find venues in the seedier side of Saunton to allow the practices. He would duel with both a rapier and magic, but found the magical duels to be lacking, as the areas of duels often limited the spells allowed and had a tendency for mages to just counterspell then rely on minor cantrips.
Henry was ascended to the rank of lord after a freak plague in his home, with his siblings and father dying. He had been working as a court mage within Oidis at the time, and due to the tragic nature of his ascension to lordship he was brought to the imperial court to receive a crown recompense as a sign of respect. He turned up in a fully black suit with a 2ft wide ruffle made of black silk and a veil. This amusing site earned him the favour of Queen ‘Iron’ Mary and her son, Crown Prince Edward. His time at court did see more duelling and eccentricities, including the invention of a magically teleporting toilet.
With the Eldrian invasion of Cape County, Henry was appointed as marquis of Gurnbourne to help bring some order to the area. Henry would spend his early time, once more, challenging others to duels. This is what led to his development of the ‘gentlemanly’ version of wizard duels, and his later return to the empire saw him continue his annoying practice of trying to fight people, but saw his form of the rules spread throughout the nobility.

Observance

Marquis of Gurnbourne rules are common amongst the wealthy and is practiced usually amongst nobles who are capable of magic. Since the Miskatonic outlaws magic duels, and its reliance on the high level wall of force spell, this ruleset is rarely practiced amongst the student base with underground duels relying on different rules instead.
Rosengrantz college in Jameleska is known to practice these rules, with Lister Hall having a fully constructed arena for it.