D&D 5E Medieval Tournament ideas

[aramis erak]

Typical medieval tournament forms include:

• Single Combat - with rebated weapons - Usually Single or Double elimination. Sometimes round robin format. Sometimes to X blows, sometimes to yield, sometimes to first to fall.
• Melee - with rebates or not - essentially a 2 or more sided battle.
• Bear Pit - someone goes in, takes each comer at a time.
• Joust - as with single combat, but using lances from horse. Each bout often to 3 falls (total) or to 3rd fall by one.
• Ring joust (also called a ring tilt) - Riding an unopposed course, collecting hanging rings (from hooks or hung by yarn)
• Quitain joust/Quintain tilt - riding a mechanically opposed course - you hit the target, and it swings a bar or bag at you in return.
• Helm Show - fanciest helm decoration, judged by the ladies of the court.
• Helm Tourney - you're out if your crest is knocked off your helm.
• Pas d'Armes - an array of weapons is provided - each contestant faces an opponent while wielding the provided weapon. Usually smaller, round robin. Not to be confused with ...
• Pas d'armes - "Passage by Arms" - an impromptu tournament form at a crossroads - fight to go past, or admit defeat and pay ransom.
• Pas d'Armes - SCA style (which is taken from a 14th century document) - The senior fighter holds the field, and accepts a challenge from the lesser fighters - who pick the weapon to be used.

Non martial tourneys often accompanied the martial - judging of armor, of horses, of cattle, of food. If it would fit in in a county or state fair, and someone could do it with the tech, it was likely to happen.

Common enough Tournament stakes

• For Love - for love of battle. Essentially, nothing but bragging rights.
• For Prize - someone offers the winner a prize
• For Ransom - losers pay winners
• For Right - a tournament to decide who gets some right or title. A squires tourney might be For Right of Knighthood - the winner, or even several finalists, get knighted. Champion Tourneys are a form of this - winner is so and so's champion. Often restricted entry.
• For Show - to establish that one Can, in fact, amass so many troops. Usually a melee amongst the vassals bringing the vauvassars before their lord. Sometimes, the neighbors show up, too, just to prevent any "squirrely ideas"...
• For Justice or Honor - not generally an open list - to establish some point of honor or some point of legal fact. Also called trial by combat.

 

[dmnqwk]

When it comes to getting the party involved, consider having a team event at the festival wherein the PCs must compete in different challenges to have their team crowned Festival Champions. Each section allows some flexibility but ultimately provides them with "points" towards a final score, which you can use to determine their placing in the overall competition.

1. Talent Contest:
Each character who takes part must perform the following tasks to receive a "score", based in part on the character's actions and in part on dice rolls for skill checks.
a) Storytelling/Singing. Ask the PC to perform a narrative or song to entertain the crowd. Try to avoid allowing the PC to get away with saying "my character plays his instrument" but force him/her to actually perform. At the end allow a performance check to see the success/failure of the piece.
b) Magical illusion. Ask the PC to choose a spell or cantrip to use as they perform a breathtaking display of (safe) magical energies. Let them do an Arcana check to be capable of manipulating the spell to provide a more imaginative form of entertainment than the spell would normally allow.
c) Display of Prowess. Perhaps allow them to balance on top of six precariously placed chairs one above the other, or let them show off while juggling. Acrobatics, maybe a strongman display with Athletics depending on the character's preference would achieve the skill check required.

2. Archery Contest.
Ranged targets set at 60', 100' and 250' will test players' abilities to hit targets, with an AC for the bullseye, inner ring, middle ring and outer ring. Spellcasters can be included by allowing them to utilize magical cantrips (eldritch spear would be excellent, warlock invocation). 3 shots at each target with a total of 9 shots to achieve a final score, perhaps bonus points awarded for inventive ways of showing off while doing it (things like a ranger shooting their arrow up, then a second shot to hit their own arrow and send it heading into the bullseye, similar to Robin Hood by Disney!)

3. Maze
Put players into a maze which requires them to find the prize in the middle, then get out without another player "tagging" them. Encourage Intelligence checks, Stealth, Magical spells like Invisibility (have the target provide an anti-magic aura to prevent someone finding it then going invisible with it) and consider letting them set traps to stop other players etc.

4. Gladiatorial Arena
Maybe you'd prefer a duel, maybe a group fight but whatever you have here will involve hitting things repeatedly until they fall down.

5. Finally, consider a meeting of the minds, for the player who is knowledgeable or Persuasive. Consider a debate wherein an obscure topic (Do Devils have souls? Or What would happen should you place a Bag of Holding over someone's head on the Astral plane then seal the bag). Allow Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation checks as well as Charisma-based Knowledge checks to see who comes out top in contested rolls.

There should be enough ways you can get the whole party involved as a team, working with each other to achieve victory.