Jugga

Introduction:

The ancient sport of Jugga goes back to time immemorial in the lore and traditions of the orcs. The fast pace, aggressiveness, and brutality are used to train young orcs in the ways of combat and tactics as well as instill these values into their youth.



The Rules:

The game itself is simple. Two teams of five players enter a marked off arena. At each end is a spike and in the center is the skull of an elven dog bound in leather. The goal is to place the skull on the other team’s spike. Each team has one weaponless player called a Quick, this is the only player allowed to touch the skull. The other players, three Enforcers and a player called the Chain, must fight to defend their Quick while harassing or attacking the other team’s players. Each team may also have a set of three replacement players to substitute in for exhausted or injured players.

The Enforcers are each allowed either a quarterstaff, a mace, a flail, and a shield (dual weapons are also acceptable). The Chain is given a ten foot length of spiked chain that can be used to attack, disarm, trip, or defend. The Quick can wear light armor, while the enforcers can use medium armor and the chain can wear up to heavy armor if they choose.

The match begins when the skull is set at the center of the arena and the referee blows a horn. Each team is allowed to position themselves however they wish within their half of the arena, but must be at least ten feet from center line of the arena. The match then commences for one hundred stone (17 rounds). Each time a team scores, the match is paused while the skull is once more placed in the center of the arena and the clock is resumed. Once a goal has been scored, but before the clock is resumed, a team may substitute in up to three players for their team. The team with the most number of scores at the end of the match is the winner.

Neither the Enforcers or the Chain are allowed to interact with the Skull in any way, they can stand over and protect it, but are not allowed to pick it up or hit it.



Common Tactics and Roles:

The purpose of the game is to establish superiority over your opponent while learning to be mentally and physically hardened, with that said, killing an opponent is seen as cowardly and more than one dispute inside the arena has been settled by single combat outside.

A common Enforcer’s role is to grapple and pin the other team’s players by any means available. By doing so they are able to lock down a player and remove them as a threat to the Quick, helping their team to score.

Two common tactics for the Chain are to defend the teams spike from the opponent’s Quick or by doing the reverse and defending their Quick from the other team’s players.



Mechanics:

When the horn sounds, both teams roll for initiative and resolves like normal combat.

Picking up the skull from the ground and placing the skull on a spike are both move actions.

Note: Adapted from the movie, The Blood of Heroes, if you haven’t seen it, check it out.