Jousting in D&D?

[Lizard Lips]

My players are going to attend a tournament. They are very excited to participate in the joust. I was thinking of doing something where each rider rolls to hit, and if successful rolls a grapple check. The higher grapple roll unseats the other. A couple things I don't like about this:

1) it seems like each match will only require a single pass if the riders are competent. I'd like something where the tension ramps up (maybe inflicting Fatigue on riders who aren't unhorsed at first) over the course of 3 to 5 passes.
2) One of the participants is a halfling wolf rider. That HAS to be some sort of disadvantage. I was thinking each rider could add their mounts str bonus to their grapple check or something.

Really, I'm hoping somebody has already come up with rules I could just snag. I'm way behind on my prep for the next session and don't really have time to figure out all the nuances of jousting. Any help?

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Tournements, Fairs, and Taverns, available right here on Enworld. It is version 3.0 but Ranger Wicket has commented on maybe converting to 3.5 eventually..

 

[Endur]

Complete Warrior from WOTC has jousting rules.

 

[Storyteller01]

The Cavaliers Handbook has some simple rules. Roll initiative, them roll to hit. Damage is nonlethal unless a critical is rolled on the attack (death is always a possiblilty in this game).

If the damage doesn't knock you out, roll a Fort save (DC = damage taken). Failure means you're unseated. Go reseat and make another pass.

Tourney goes for three passes or unconsciousness/death. Each pass gives points. Those with the highest points wins.

There was a Fort roll for the lance, but I don't rememeber it at the moment.

Not sure off the top of my head as to the point system, but each was slightly different for every region. Making up your own shouldn't be a problem. (1 point if you hit during a pass, 2 if you unseated a rider. 1 if you broke your lance, etc)

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, people nowadays think of jousting as being all about knocking the other guy out of his saddle, but most historical research I've seen says that a large part of it was seeing how many hits you could get, and how many lances you could shatter on the other person's shield.

The quick fix that I would institute now that we have 3rd edition rules is to allow anyone using a lance in a mounted charge to give up the damage multiplier from the charge, and instead to gain the Awesome Blow feat for that attack.

Awesome Blow [General, Fighter]
Prerequisites: Str 25, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, size Large or larger.

Benefit: As a standard action, the creature may choose to subtract 4 from its melee attack roll and deliver an awesome blow. If the creature hits a corporeal opponent smaller than itself with an awesome blow, its opponent must succeed on a Reflex save (DC = damage dealt) or be knocked flying 10 feet in a direction of the attacking creature’s choice and fall prone. The attacking creature can only push the opponent in a straight line, and the opponent can’t move closer to the attacking creature than the square it started in. If an obstacle prevents the completion of the opponent’s move, the opponent and the obstacle each take 1d6 points of damage, and the opponent stops in the space adjacent to the obstacle.

 

[Bagpuss]

Here's a pdf of the jousting rules I use to use for Birthright updated to 3.5. I've not had a chance to play test them for 3.5 so it might be too easy to unseat an opponent, but they worked really well in Birthright. The idea is unseating should be tricky but breaking a lance more common. If you think unseating is too easy, then make the Ride DC = damage dealt. If you think it's too hard make it DC = 10 + damage dealt.

Anyway have a look and tell me what you think. These rules aren't simple but then they were designed for a adventure where the tournament, archery, foot, joust, grand melee (in that order). Where the main part of the adventure, with a political plot going on in the background.