The Joustist The joustist is a person who has placed much time and effort into practicing and becoming highly specialized in the sport of jousting. While the typical participant in jousts were knights and those of higher status (to include even kings), the joustist is typically an esquire which ranks below a knight. In some cases, a joustist may be a former squire to a knight. The joust was a sport in which knights could prove their ability off the battlefield though of course, their exploits on the battlefield were of much more value. The joustist, on the other hand, elects to make fame and glory for himself or herself through participating in jousting tournaments. The joustist is a sub-class of fighter with specializations in horsemanship, endurance, strength, and use of the lance. Humans, elves, and half-elves may take the joustist class. The minimum ability scores to be a joustist are as follows:

Strength 16 Intelligence 13 Dexterity 15 Wisdom 10 Constitution 9

If a human joustist has an 18 Strength, he or she can roll for a 25% chance to obtain a 19 Strength. A joustist can be of any alignment but the majority of them are Chaotic Good. The joustist uses a 12-sided die to determine hit points. Because the joustist places a focus on the sport of jousting, he or she puts emphasis on usage of the lance, weapons typically used in tournaments, and hand-to-hand combat. Thus, the joustist gets 4 initial weapons and one of them has to be the lance. The joustist gains the following bonuses to hit and to damage when using the lance:

At 3rd. Level +1 At 5th. Level +2 At 7th. Level +3 At 10th. Level +4 At 15th. Level +5

Level restrictions by race are:

Human No Restriction Elf Level 10 Half-Elf Level 8

At 8th. Level, a joustist gains the ability to assess the value and quality of horses by looking at the animal. Because of the importance of the horse to the joustist, no means of non-magical trickery and deception will prevent the joustist from knowing the true condition of the horse. From 8th. Level and every level thereafter, a horse purchased by the joustist will have +1 hit points. Thus, for example, a 15th. level joustist, when he or she buys a horse, the horse will have an additional 8 hit points. At 11th. Level, the joustist has the ability to ride griffons, hippogriffs, and the pegasus. A dismounted joustist can jump back upon his or her mount within 2 turns. Due to the joustist’s excellent endurance and strength, he or she can move and fight in plate armor as if he or she was wearing chain mail armor. In jousting tournaments, only certain weapons were utilized and because of this, the joustist is very limited in what he or she can wield. The reason for this is that the joustist doesn’t waste valuable training time on weapons that are not allowed within the tournament. The joustist may choose weapons only from the following list: Dagger Lance (Light Horse) Lance (Medium Horse) Lance (Heavy Horse) Mace (Footman’s) Mace (Horseman’s) Bastard Sword Broad Sword Long Sword Falchion

Like weapons, the joustist is limited in the armor he or she can use. Again, this is due to the types of armor used in tournaments and the need to be accustomed to wearing and fighting in those specific styles. A joustist can choose from the follow list of armor: Chain Banded Splint Bronze Plate Field Plate Full Plate Shield, Large

There are three new styles of plate mail armor which are unique to jousting tournaments. They are Tournament Plate, Tilting Plate, and Jousting Plate. Tournament Plate is simply a modification of standard plate mail to allow for more mobility. Tilting Plate is designed specifically for the joust and includes armor sections which are designed to deflect lance strikes, better protect the joustist from impacts, and help him or her stabilize their lance.

The image above shows an example of Tilting Plate (the armor, which is German and constructed in the 1580s or 1590s, is on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art). The armor on the shoulder is the Grand Garde and on this, the joust shield would be affixed. The shield not a shield in the traditional sense and simply serves as the area in which the joustist needs to plant his or her lance upon the opponent. Underneath the Grand Garde and bolted to the outside of the breastplate is the Volante Piece. This is additional armor to protect the chest, neck, and lower portion of the head. It is angled to allow for a better chance of lance deflection is the opponent misses the shield. The helm is also modified for the joust by having a very thin vision slit which is just enough for the joustist to see where he or she is going. The joustist can fight in Tilting Plate on foot if need be. However, the very narrow vision of the helm coupled with the inflexibility of one arm due to the Grand Garde impart a -2 to hit when in hand-to-hand combat. If time allows (or is permitted), the Grand Garde and the Volante Piece can be removed and the helm switched for one with more vision. At that point, no penalties to hit are assessed. It should be noted that the joustist cannot remove these pieces of armor him or herself and will need assistance. For a time, tournaments became more and more dangerous and so participants began to use heavier and heavier armor to protect themselves. Joust Plate is the ultimate evolution of this.

The armor above (worn by John, Elector of Saxony, 1468-1532) displays the further addition of protective measures. The helm, called a Tilting Heaume, is rigidly affixed to the armor and the vision slit, if the joustist sits upright, does not permit him or her to see. The helm works in that as the joustist approaches the opponent, he or she is bent downward to see out of the helm. Moments before impact, the joustist will sit up straight. The purpose it to protect the head completely by having no avenue for the lance to slip into the vision slit. The heaume is also much angled to deflect the lance if the head is struck. The circular piece around the lance is called the Vamplate and serves to protect not only the arm and hand, but that portion of the body. Joust Plate is completely unsuited to foot combat. In fact, Joust Plate is so heavy, the joustist will require assistance in both donning (and taking off) the armor and also mounting the horse. Both Tilting Plate and Joust Plate have lance rests bolted to the armor which help steady the lance. Historically, additional armor pieces would be affixed to jousting armor. These would include Palettes (to protect the armpit area), Tuilles (thigh protection), Garde-de-Bras (similar to the Volante Piece but without the neck protection), Polder Mitten (curved piece of armor to protect the elbow joint area), Coudiéres (kneecap protection), and the Manifere (a special gauntlet with armor extensions past the fingers). In D&D® terms, these additional armor pieces do not affect the armor class. The table below lists the cost for the new armor and the AC it bestows.

Tournament Plate

500gp AC 2

Tilting Plate 4,500gp AC 1 Joust Plate 6,000gp AC 0

Joustist Table

Experience Points Experience Level 12-Sided Dice Level Title

0-2,500 1 1 Horseman 2,501-5,000 2 2 Lancer

5,001-10,000 3 3 Lancer 10,001-18,500 4 4 Lancer 18,501-37,000 5 5 Esquire 37,001-85,000 6 6 Esquire

85,001-140,000 7 7 Esquire 140,001-220,000 8 8 Esquire

220,001-300,000 9 9 Esquire 300,001-600,000 10 10 Joustist 600,001-900,000 11 11 Joustist

900,001-1,200,000 12 12 Joustist 1,200,001-3,000,000 13 13+3 Joustist

3,000,000-6,000,000 14 14+4 Joustist 6,000,001-9,000,000 15 15+5 Champion

12,000,000 Experience Points beyond 15th. Level.