Friday Encounter: Tournament at the Bridge

Art by Peter Jackson
(Not that one)

This encounter, if you'll believe it or not, is based on a real historical anecdote from 1434. I brought it up way back in my previous post on the medieval tradition of pas d'armes, noting that it would make an excellent encounter at the table. Well, here's one way you could take that.

Background

Sir Ascanio di Tolceda and Sir Michal Klerke are two knights who have long been friendly rivals, with a long history of comparing their heroic exploits and seeking to one-up each other at every turn. Both of them believe in the virtues of knightly valor, and hold that glory in battle is one of the finest pursuits a knight can aim for. To that end, they are firm believers in the tradition of pas d'armes, and they and their followers have been engaged in many a duel before. This time, however, the two knights have arranged a contest far beyond anything they've pulled off yet.

The two knights and their retinues have come to a well-traveled bridge and determined that it shall be the site of a grand tournament. No knight may leave until everyone on each side has fought everyone else in a joust; only then will one be able to determine their men are the greater. All the knights are stoked with the fires of competition, and no one dares to disappoint their liege. They are determined to keep to the tournament and see it out to the end, and will not move from the bridge until it is over.

The problem is, both rivals have shown up with a great host of knights, and the tournament has already raged for several days, with no sign of slowing down. And there are plenty of travelers looking to cross the bridge, only to be held up by the dueling knights. The people are growing restless...

The Encounter

This encounter should be used while the PCs are traveling on a major route that gets a lot of traffic, such as an important trade or pilgrimage route. As they approach a bridge, they notice that the path is backed up with a considerable number of travelers and carts - and they look frustrated and listless. The side of the road is lined with vividly-colored pavillions, where men are polishing their armor and squires can be seen tending to horses. Up ahead on the bridge itself, two knights in full armor are charging at one another along the length of the bridge, lances drawn, while their associated retinues and companions cheer from the sidelines.

If the PCs speak to the travelers, they will relate that the knights have been jousting for the last three days, and this has slowed traffic over the bridge. Some of the travelers have been waiting for hours to cross, but every time one knight is unhorsed, another joust begins. They've tried speaking to the knights, but none of the travelers are of noble class, and the knights won't listen to them, feeling they have no understanding of the demands of chivalry. The travelers request the help of the PCs - maybe they stand a better chance of getting through to them, especially if there are fellow knights among them.

The knights insist that their tournament is a matter of great importance, and they are not willing to put it on hold for anyone, nor are they willing to leave the bridge and admit their cowardice. Besides, they've already set up an extensive camp and it would be a lot of work to move it. If the party tries to ask the knights to leave, they will only hear a PC out if they are themselves a knight or noble, and even then, they had best have a persuasive (or deceptive) enough argument. However, if presented with direct orders from a noble of higher rank (such as a count, duke, or king), they will defer to authority.

The PCs might have better luck if they try to meet the knights on their own terms. If asked, they will be led to Ascanio and Michal, who are serving as judges for the tournament and overseeing the bouts. The two knights will gladly allow the PCs to join the tournament, and will provide armor, lances, and horses for anyone who does not have any of their own, but expect them to be returned at the end of the tournament. The two knights will both encourage the PCs to join their respective team, attempting to win them over with grand accounts of their heroic deeds. Even though they are rivals, they respect each other as knights and will not dare to besmirch each others' honor. They just insist that they are clearly the superior knight to support.

To make things more interesting for the players, both knights are in the possession of a magical artifact that they are willing to surrender to anyone who can best them in a joust. Sir Ascanio has a lance that grants Advantage on all attack and damage rolls as long as the attack is made from atop a horse or other steed, while Sir Michal has a helmet that grants the effect of a set of eyes of the eagle when worn. You may also want to have one or both knights be in the service of noble houses or other factions in your campaign - siding with one or the other may impact a PC's standing with those factions.

You can potentially stretch this encounter out into an entire "tournament arc," with the PCs facing off against multiple opponents. Some of these opponents could be knights they have previously encountered in the campaign or have preexisting relationships with. Furthermore, the PCs might face off against knights in the tournament that could become recurring rivals later down the line. If you want an encounter that you can resolve quickly, though, you can simply have the PCs challenge one of the rival knights directly, and he will agree to withdraw from the bridge if he is bested in a joust. All competitors can be assumed to have the stats of a knight, and use warhorses as mounts.

Several people have written jousting rules for 5e, so feel free to use whatever system works best for your table here. I was going to list a set of my own, but in researching the subject, these rules are pretty close to what I would use anyway, so I'm just going to leave them here.

Alternatively, the PCs could try looking for an alternative route around the bridge. This route, however, may prove to be a deadly and treacherous one, and the travelers may want to come along too to scope it out. This could turn into an escort mission for the PCs.

Karnoffel

Back when I was in college, one of my classmates of a similar persuasion regarding history introduced me to Karnoffel - Europe's oldest surviving card game, tracing back to 1426 and probably beyond. Those who have been with this blog for a while might remember the earlier post I made on Hazard, and much along the same vein, I've used Karnoffel as a minigame in my D&D sessions.

There have been attempts to make card games that might exist in a D&D world, like Three-Dragon Ante and Prophet's Gambit, but none of them have really hit the mark for me. They're clearly based off of modern principles of game design - too streamlined and too complicated at the same time, with mechanics more in keeping with Magic: the Gathering than a traditional card game. In a preindustrial society, card games shouldn't be so refined; they would usually have rules that can fit in a simple document (so rarely will single cards drastically change the rules of the game in a unique way), making them easy to transmit orally, and with enough inconsistency to make it clear that they were created by ordinary people as a diversion, not by professional game designers doing this sort of thing for a living. Karnoffel scratches that itch, and has the added benefit of being relatively simple to play - plus, you don't need any special equipment; just a standard playing card deck.

As an added bonus, Karnoffel has a long history of association with the Landsknechts, the model for the Swordbrothers of the Lunar Lands. Which means that it fits right into our ongoing tour of the Freikantons.

How to Play

You'll need a standard 52-card playing card deck, with the aces and jokers removed. For flavor purposes, cards in the Lunar Lands use the suits of the minor arcana (swords, staves, cups, and coins), but any deck will work.

Karnoffel is what's known as a trick-taking card game - that is, players take turns playing cards over a number of rounds, or tricks, with a winner for each trick. At the start of a game, a dealer deals five cards to each player, one of which is face up. Of the face-up cards, the suit of the one with the lowest number becomes the trump suit for that game; in the case of a tie, the card that was dealt first determines the trump suit. Certain cards of the trump suit have higher value than cards of other suits - see below.

Each player plays one card from their hand per trick, starting with the player to the left of the dealer and continuing clockwise. The value of the cards is as follows, in descending order:

Jack of Trump Suit: The Karnoffel.

7 of Trump Suit: The Devil. This one has some unique rules. It must be the first card played in the trick, and may not be played on the first trick of a game. In all other circumstances, it automatically loses the trick. 

6 of Trump Suit: The Matriarch (in real-life Karnoffel, the Pope).

2 of Trump Suit: The Emperor. 

King of Any Suit

3 of Trump Suit: The Oberstecher.

Queen of Any Suit

4 of Trump Suit: The Unterstecher or Duke.

Jack of Any Non-Trump Suit 

5 of Trump Suit: The Knight.

10 of Any Suit

9 of Any Suit

8 of Any Suit

7 of Any Non-Trump Suit

6 of Any Non-Trump Suit

5 of Any Non-Trump Suit

4 of Any Non-Trump Suit

3 of Any Non-Trump Suit

2 of Any Non-Trump Suit

7 of Trump Suit when not played as the first card of the trick or when played on the first trick of a game. 

From personal experience, I recommend having the list of card values on hand when playing Karnoffel, as players may struggle to keep track of them if unfamiliar with the game.

Once all players have played a card, the trick ends, and the player who played the highest-valued card wins the trick. The next trick begins with the player who won the last trick and continues clockwise. The first player (or team; see below) to win three tricks wins the game. Whoever was to the dealer's left becomes the dealer for the next game.

Note that Karnoffel was traditionally played with either two players, or with two teams of players. If teams are used, players on the same team are allowed to look at each others' cards and consult with one another on their moves. Theoretically, it could be played with more than two players or teams, but this might lead to running out of cards before a trick is won, so the number of cards in each players' hand might need to be adjusted accordingly.

An Example of Play

Two Swordbrothers - Marius and Hilmar - are playing a game of Karnoffel back at their camp. Marius is the dealer, and deals Hilmar the following cards:

6 of Cups (face-up), Jack of Cups, 4 of Coins, 8 of Cups, Jack of Swords

Whereas he deals himself the following cards:

8 of Swords (face-up), 5 of Cups, 9 of Coins, 4 of Swords, 7 of Coins

The numbers of the face-up cards are a 6 and an 8. Since 6 is lower, the trump suit for this game is Cups. Hilmar, feeling quite smug but wanting to hold onto his Karnoffel just in case, plays the 6 of Cups - the Matriarch. Marius knows none of his cards can beat it, and decides to play his 4 of Swords to get rid of it. Hilmar wins the trick.

For the next trick, Hilmar plays the Jack of Cups - the Karnoffel. No card in the deck can possibly beat it. Marius restrains the urge to gut Hilmar with his katzbalger and instead considers what card he wants to get rid of. His lowest-numbered card is the 5 of Cups, but that is the Knight, and still a trump card, so he decides to hang onto it just in case. Instead, he decides to relinquish his lowest-valued non-trump card, the 7 of Coins.

At the start of the third trick, Hilmar is in the lead by two, but is out of trump cards. He gets cocky and plays the 8 of Cups - but even though it's the trump suit, an 8 of the trump suit doesn't trump an 8 of any other suit. Marius decides to play his Knight here, and wins the trick. Even though the number is lower, the fact that it's a trump suit means it takes precedent.

For the fourth trick, each player has two cards left. Since Marius won the last trick, he goes first and plays the 9 of Coins. Hilmar, realizing that he needs to take things more seriously, plays the Jack of Swords. Even though it isn't of the trump suit, a Jack still beats a 9, so it wins. Hilmar wins the third trick, and the game.

Each player then returns their cards to the Marius, who shuffles them back into the deck and passes it to Hilmar. Now Hilmar is the dealer, as he was sitting to Marius's left, and he deals five cards to Marius and to himself.

Why "Karnoffel?"

As for why the game is called that? Well, the term "Karnoffel," in medieval German, meant either to beat someone, or an inguinal hernia. Both of these are weird things to name a card game, but apparently, the term was also used as a slang term for a Landsknecht. No clue as to which meaning was intended for the game.

Hazard: A Medieval Dice Game

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Want a quick and easy minigame to play when your PCs stop at a tavern? One game I've used to great success in a few campaigns is the medieval dice game of Hazard - the ancestor of modern-day Craps, and the source of the modern-day word meaning something dangerous (after all, if you wager too much on a die roll, you're in trouble!). All you need is two six-sided dice, which you should have already at your table. It's easy to play, moves quickly, and adds a little bit of historical versimilitude to your game worlds - which, naturally, I approve of!

How to Play

One player is the Caster and takes two six-sided dice. They first announce a number from 5 to 9 - this is called the Main. Then, they roll the dice.

• If they roll the Main, they win - this is called Nicking.
• If they roll a 2 or 3, they lose - this is called Outing.
• If they roll an 11, they Out if the Main was 5, 6, 8, or 9, but Nick if the Main was 7.
• If they roll a 12 (ie. boxcars), they Out if the Main was 5, 7, or 9, but Nick if the Main was 6 or 8.
• If they roll any other number, it is a Chance. And that's where Hazard gets interesting.

When the Caster rolls a Chance, the note which number they rolled. Now, they must keep rolling the dice, and the target numbers change.

• If they roll the Chance again, they win.
• If they roll the Main, they lose.
• If they roll any other number, they must keep rolling until they roll either a Chance or Main.

Essentially, it becomes a game to see if you will roll the Chance again before landing on the Main!

If the numbers are hard to keep track of, Wikipedia has a handy table that I'll reproduce here:

Once the Caster loses three times in a row, they pass the dice to the player at their left, who becomes the new Caster.

Betting

Both the Caster and any other players at the table may place bets on whether or not the Caster will Nick or roll the Chance before the Main. There are rules for this too:

• If the Caster Nicks, they win an amount of money equal to their bet.
• If the Caster rolls the Chance before the Main, they win an amount of money related to the odds. Again, Wikipedia's table may be helpful:

An Example of Play

On his way to Dernburg, Johann stops at the Golden Boar tavern, where he joins in a game of Hazard. As the Caster, he wagers four silver coins and chooses a Main of 6. His first roll is a 4 and a 5, for a total of 9. Now, he must roll a 9 (the Chance) before he rolls a 6 (the Main). If he does, he will get his bet back and win five silver coins (as the odds of this are 5/4, and 5/4 * 4 = 5).

His next roll is a 1 and a 2, for a total of 3. Neither the Chance nor the Main, so he must keep rolling.

His next roll is a 4 and a 3, for a total of 7. Again, another roll.

His next roll is a 4 and a 5, for a total of 9 - the Chance. Johann wins, and now has nine silver in his purse!

Next, Johann, feeling emboldened, decides he will wager eight silver coins and calls a Main of 9. Alas, Fate has not smiled upon him, and his first roll is snake eyes - a 2. He has Outed, and gets nothing, so he is left with one silver coin.

After playing two more rounds, and losing both, Johann passes the dice to Helen, who becomes the new Caster. Her chosen Main is 5, and she wagers two silver. Her first roll gives her a 3 and a 2 - so she Nicks, and wins two silver coins, so is left with four. And so on!

Cheating at Hazard

5e allows characters who have proficiency in gaming sets to add their proficiency bonuses to rolls when playing games. This is all fair and good for games of skill, such as chess, but it doesn't exactly make much sense to be better than others at card or dice games that are based on luck. In these cases, I prefer to treat playing the game as a dice roll or a minigame, like this one.

However, it does make sense that certain characters might know a few tricks about cheating at games of chance - counting cards, tapping the table, using weighted dice, and so forth. In these cases, I would allow them to apply their gaming set proficiency bonus if they decide to cheat at the appropriate game, and have them roll an appropriate skill, probably something like Deception or Sleight of Hand. If they succeed, they might automatically win the round, or have Advantage on their throw to represent tipping the odds in their favor.

This is an optional rule, and DMs should handle it at their discretion. It may not work for every table.