Rose Tourney

From MiddleWiki

The Rose Tourney has become a regular annual event in the Middle Kingdom. It entails a tournament wherein each combatant is sponsored by a member of the Order of the Rose. The actual tourney itself can fit any standard tournament format.

A common format of such a tournament is the Rose sponsors a team. While the individual bouts are fought by members of that team, the teams loss or victory controls the advance of that Rose in the tournament.

As an example, the 20th anniversary Rose Tournament in A.S. 53 (2018, C.E.) was fought as a double elimination tournament. The teams were composed of a Knight, two rapier combatants, and three armored combatants. Combatants were engaged against their opposite on the other team with individual fighters for the bout chosen by the Rose. Masters of Defense, being not of great enough number at this time to be matched against their peers, were matched against the other rapier combatants.

Rose Tournaments take place in several locations in the Known World. The Rose Tournament was first brought to the Midrealm by Duke Brannos and Duchess Rebekah in 1998. It is perhaps proper that the 20th anniversary tournament's victor was Duchess Rebekah's team.

There is a common myth that combatants must be invited to participate at a Rose Tournament. While the members of the Order may choose participants ahead of the Tournament, they work together to find and build teams for all who show at the event.