Tournaments are events where fighters get together to compete... for prizes, to show off their abilities, etc.
Fighting isn't all that goes on, and fighters aren't the only ones in attendance. Tournaments are huge social events where everyone gathers to watch, compete, gossip, trade, bet, and sport. But fighters are the center-piece; the event revolves around them and their deeds.
The Basic Tournament[]
The basic tournament, in a medieval-type setting, consists of a joust competition. This can take place in an ordinary field, but is more colorful and entertaining when it takes place on a special joust list.
The Joust List[]
This field consists of a long strip of ground with a low fence along the middle of it; the jousters ride toward one another, each with the fence to his left, and make jousting passes until one or the other is dismounted.
Along one or both long sides of the list, stands are set up for onlookers. There may be a box or special seating area for the local ruler and his retinue.
At both ends of the list, where the horses turn around, are racks of lances for the riders' use. At one end of the list is an exit to the field where the knights and other participants have their tents set up.
The Jousting Competition[]
The most popular event in a tournament, the event which the tournament revolves around, is the jousting competition.
In this competition, all participating fighters announce themselves to the seneschal, knights' marshal, or other minor dignitary who does the actual work of running the tournament. There is no fee for admission, but each entrant must have his own mount, armor, and lances. It's best if he also has a squire, page or friend to wait by his lance-rack to hand him a new lance when one breaks.
In some societies, all entrants must be of the nobility, but that is necessarily left up to each DM.
The jousting competition is single elimination. The field of entrants is broken down into randomly-chosen pairs (sometimes the choosing is not so random, if the organizers want to pit especially interesting fighters against one another—or to rig the tournament results). Each pair makes a number of jousting passes until one is dismounted (or yields the field—i.e., surrenders in order to avoid further damage). If both combatants are dismounted in the same pass, they get up, remount, and start over.
The winner of the pair advances to the next round of matches; the loser is consoled.
When the number of entrants is an odd number, one fighter doesn't have an opponent. He gets to "fight the bye." An opponent is chosen for the jouster: Someone who lost in an earlier match, a warrior not entered in the competition, etc. Regardless of who wins the match, the jouster is advanced to the next round (and thus has a slight benefit over someone who didn't get to fight the bye); but he's just as tired and injured as any other fighter.
No fighter may fight the bye more than once in any tournament; the organizers re-arrange things if the same fighter ends up without an opponent in another match. By the last matches of the competition, the tournament numbers will have evened out and no more byes will be fought.
With each subsequent round, the number of entrants is halved, until at the end only two are left; the winner of that match is the winner of the tournament.
Blunted Lances[]
Tournaments may be fought with blunted lances. Blunted lances work just as normal lances, but they do damage like Punching damage (i.e., 75% of all damage is temporary, and wears off after the end of the match). Blunted lances do not have metal or pointed heads; they weigh as much as regular lances, but cost only half as much.
Queen of Love and Beauty[]
Often, the winner of the jousting competition gets to choose the tournament's "Queen of Love and Beauty." The local ruler or tournament organizer gives him a crown or coronet, which the fighter may bestow upon any lady (at the tournament) of his choosing; typically, the crown is placed over the end of the fighter's lance, so that he might ride along the stands and give the crown, at lance-point, to the lady of his choice. The Queen of Love and Beauty sits with the fighter and local ruler at the night's feast, and the award is a sign of status and respect, but confers no lasting benefit.
In a campaign where women also fight, naturally, the female fighter would be given a crown to award to the "King of Grace."
Prizes[]
Prizes are often awarded to the winner of the joust. These are not generally cash prizes, or magical prizes; they are usually some jewelled or ornamental sign of favor, and act as trophies for the victor.
Other Events[]
Other events taking place at a tournament (at the discretion of the organizers and the DM) include:
Archery Competitions[]
An archery competition is usually for long bows or light crossbows; some tournaments have one competition for each.
In the archery competition, the targets are set up at the weapon's long range; all competitors suffer a –5 to attack rolls with each shot. Targets are AC 10.
In each tournament round, each participant fires five arrows or quarrels at his target. A miss counts as 0 points. A normal hit counts as 3 points. If a character rolls 5 over what he needed on his attack roll, it counts as 5 points. If a natural 20 is rolled, it counts as 10 points (a bull's-eye!).
At the end of each round, points are tallied and half the field, the ones with the lowest scores, are eliminated. This continued until there are only two or three competitors left; when that happens, the competition has reached its final round.
In the final round, the same rules are in place, but smaller, harder targets are used; they have AC 4.
Prizes often consist of new bows, quivers, sheaves of arrows, and jewelry. Archery is pretty respectable; it does not command the sort of status or prizes the joust does, but is better-regarded than the lowly foot-list. Nobles and peasants alike may participate.
In some cultures, the crossbow is thought of as a vulgar weapon; in such cultures, most tournaments won't have a crossbow competition. The few such competitions which take place are not attended by noble competitors.
Foot-Lists[]
A foot-list is organized like a joust, except that its entrants fight on foot, and are not restricted to the nobility (even when the joust is).
Since melee weapons are deadlier than blunted lances, some tournament organizers prefer not to have foot-lists; the chances of a fighter dying are pretty high, and organizers are not required or expected to have a high-level priest on hand to raise some peasant warrior who dies in a competition.
Prizes often consist of weapons and minor jewelry, usually not as expensive or fancy as those awarded to the jousters.
Merchants' Stalls[]
Also present at larger tournaments are rows upon rows of merchants' stalls; a large tournament is a fascinating place to go shopping, and a good place to find experts in all sorts of craft-making, weapon-making, and armor-making.
Dancing, Socializing[]
Finally, the tournament is a grand social event. Musicians play, people gossip, dances are conducted; it's a grand place to hear new rumors, or start them, to meet contacts, to stumble across mysteries... all of which the DM should keep in mind.