Within the Kaltlands, jousting is more brutal than it is in others. It is less showy, more dangerous, and requires more actual skill. In some realms, the the joust’s primary function is to entertain nobles and peasants. In the Kaltlands, the primary function is to train lancers in the tradition of mounted combat.
The rules:
Lancers conduct themselves in three tilts along the list. The winner is determined by who accumulates more points during these tilts.
1 point. Touching one’s lance against their adversary.
2 point. The lance shattering against their adversary.
3 point. The adversary being dehorsed by the force of the blow.
To determine the amount of points earned per tilt, each lancer rolls a d20. The side that rolls higher is victorious, but how big the difference is is shown below:
Difference of 1-5: one point.
Difference of 6-10: two points.
Difference of 11+: three points.
If at any point a lancer rolls a critical failure, they are injured in the joust. The severity of the injury is at the discretion of the person who has critically failed, and it may depending on the context and their desired level of dramaticism be as mild as “inconvenienced” to extreme as “dead.”
To determine the modifiers for rolls, take the lancer’s stats for speed or strength. Historically, stronger knights had longer and weightier lances; faster knights had thinner, more maneuverable lances. Both are a valid way to attempt victory. “Known jousters” also are permitted to have a plus one, to represent their experience in the showy, fanciful art of tourney jousting.