What is Knave of Hearts?
Knave of Hearts is an alternate version of Queen of Hearts Tournaments and War Maneuvers that will run on odd-numbered event years.
The overall mission of Knave of Hearts is to design an experience that is in many ways similar to the traditional norms of Queen of Hearts but to create a version where players can simply ‘show up and play’ without the need to coordinate teams or prepare the many roles that are required for those teams.
Knave of Hearts puts fighting in War Maneuvers all day as the principle focus with some individual combat, some small-group combat, and some crafting tournaments sprinkled in.
Please read on below to have a full understanding of what to expect at this year’s Knave of Hearts.
Showing Up and Playing at Knave of Hearts
There are no premade teams for Knave of Hearts. You do not have to find a team to join or coordinate with anyone ahead of time at all. To play at Knave of Hearts just bring all of your gear and get ready to spend the day in a wide array of large group fights.
People will be sorted onto four different teams once tournaments begin on Saturday. Those teams will be named for the four different card suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs). Each team will have a single Knave that is leading them that will be determined as those teams are made.
In virtually all war maneuvers two of the teams will face off against the two other teams on a rotation, meaning that every team will fight alongside and against every other team multiple times throughout the day. Each team will accrue points for winning war maneuvers independently of one another.
Many war maneuvers will be unlimited. Some will be ‘Queen of Hearts Limited’. See the description on the Queen of Hearts War Maneuvers page for a full description of ‘Queen of Hearts Limited’
We will be having an individual (and 3-person) weapon-style showcase at the conclusion of the daytime on Saturday. In these tournaments each of the four teams will be represented separately.
There will be some small-group combat (specifically 5-person) tournaments on Sunday morning. In these tournaments each of the four teams will be represented separately.
The very last tournament of the day on Sunday will be Knave’s War which will pit all four teams against one another in a spectacle that’s not entirely unlike Queen’s War but with some exciting new twists!
Knave of Hearts Tournament Information
This is a mostly-complete list of tournaments and war maneuvers we plan on running throughout the weekend. Things may get cut from this list, rearranged, or even be added based on time considerations for the event and the pace we follow.
Below are very brief descriptions of the tournaments. The standard Queen of Hearts tournaments will run very similarly to normal (with some slight deviations) and players may refer back to the Queen of Hearts pages on
rhiassa.com to learn more about how they work. Some other tournaments that are returning classics will probably require a bit more explanation but complete descriptions are forthcoming.
War Maneuvers (Saturday and Sunday). Every War Maneuver that is won will bestow ten (10) points to both of the teams that were on the winning side. Winning a War Maneuver (and only War Maneuvers) will result in both teams getting a Knave Card.
- Field Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)
You fight. In a field.
- Bridge Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)
You fight. On a bridge. There will be a time limit. When the time limit is reached in the Unlimited version of this tournament it automatically switches to QoH Limited.
- Folkestone Challenge (Unlimited and QoH Limited)
A classic tournament! You fight. In a field. That field is full of obstacles that you have to fight around or over or under or through while you are facing your opponents.
- Castle Battle (Unlimited and QoH Limited)
You fight. In a castle. Teams will take turns attacking and defending. There will be a time limit. When the time limit is reached in the Unlimited version of this tournament it automatically switches to QoH Limited.
- Monster Chess (Special armor and magic rules)
A classic tournament! It works a lot like Rhiassan Live Chess but all the pieces are different monsters with different special abilities (the Queen is troll twins!).
- Hadrian’s Wall (Unlimited)
Fight an opposing team on the opposite side of a wall, raising flags for point control. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
- Wizard War (Super Duper Unlimited)
A classic tournament! If you are a spell caster you automatically get an extra path of spells (circles 1-5). Then you may also choose either another extra path of spells (circles 2-6) or a bump up in your weapon restriction. If that bump up in weapon restriction takes you from light restriction to no restriction you may also wear two points of armor.
- Luck of the Draw (QoH Limited)
A classic tournament! Your team gets sorted into very small squads. Squads get called into the melee in a randomly determined order as the fight builds to its final form.
Throw bean bags (rocks) across a maze-filled field to score points in the opposing goal. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
Participate in a physical and mental challenge as a team that will test your ability to plan and coordinate. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
Run through this obstacle course as a team completing challenges of skill and chance along the way. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
The culmination of the weekend. See more information below.
Individual Showcase (Saturday Afternoon). Winning an individual or 3-person tournament will bestow five (5) points to the team that those competitors represent.
Each individual on your team may fight in one individual tournament and one 3-person squad tournament. They may not both be the same weapon style. All of these fights are true limited and casters can break restriction to enter them.
- Single Short Individual
- Single Short 3-person Squad
- Mixed Florentine - Individual
- Mixed Florentine - 3-person Squad
- Sword and Shield - Individual
- Sword and Shield - 3-person Squad
- Hand and a Half - Individual
- Hand and a Half - 3-person Squad
- Oops all Ranged - Individual
- Oops all Ranged - 3-person Squad
5-person Squads (Sunday Morning). Winning a 5-person battle will bestow ten (10) points to the single team that emerged victorious.
You fight. In a Line. With 5 people on a side. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
Each side sends in one competitor a time, the winner stays in the pit to fight the next opponent. As per normal Queen of Hearts rules.
Jugging (or Jugger) is a boffer sport that transcends Realms (there are international rules and leagues) though it certainly has a history in Realms as well with our own adaptations that better fit our game rules. Each side has one ball carrier (the Qwik), one true-florentine wielder, one sword-and-shield wielder, one hand-and-a-half wielder, and one Ball and Chain wielder. Only the Quik can score points by placing the ball (actually a skull) onto the goal on the opponents side. The Ball and Chain weapon will be provided by the event.
The Crafting Competition at Knave of Hearts
(The Arcane Artisan Competition)
Crafting is an important part of the fabric of Queen of Hearts and therefore Knave of Hearts must honor that aspect of our community as well, though it will do so through a fundamentally different method.
The crafting tournament at Knave of Hearts will be known as The Arcane Artisan Competition, and it is essentially a tournament about crafting create-your-own magic items.
Any individual who is attending Knave of Hearts may make a single entry to this crafting tournament. Since there are no pre-made teams there is no way to know who else will be on your team the day of the event and a single team may end up with many entries overall.
You may choose only one of the following categories from which to make your magic item
- Armaments (weapons, shields, armor, thrown spell props)
- Apparel (clothing, cloaks, hats, shoes, etc)
- Artifacts (jewelry, accessories, wands, other spell props, etc)
You may employ whatever crafting materials or methods you choose to make your entry to this competition. The item must be brand new and completely crafted by the artisan that is submitting the entry.
All items must have a significant amount of blue on them, though they do not have to be completely blue or even mostly blue. They should all be particularly ornate and come across as giving the impression of looking magical in some way. This is of course in the eye of the beholder, but it is the vibe you should aim for.
You must make up a power for your item and have it printed/written out on a piece of paper that you will submit with your item. Magic weapons can swing magic along with having one very minor power. All other items may have a power that is roughly equivalent to the power of a 3rd circle spell.
At any point after teams have been sorted, each Artisan should place their crafting entry on the tables upstairs in the tavern. The top floor of the tavern will be set up as an Artisan gallery. There will be blank placards on which you will write the following information
- Your proposed name for the item. This name must begin with “The Knave’s…”
- The suit of the team you were sorted on to.
- You must NOT put your name on the placard. The goal is for all entries to be anonymous.
Throughout the entirety of the day on Saturday the crafting entries will be on display in the gallery. Over dinner break the judges will determine the winners.
- There will be up to three (3) winners from each of the categories for a total of up to (9) winners.
- There is no detailed rubric for judging this competition. The winning entries will be the ones that are the most impressive both visually and in the quality of their construction.
- Each winning entry will earn five (5) points for the team they are on. A team can have more than one winner in the same category.
- The winning entries will become magic items for one calendar year. The staff reserves the right to modify the item’s powers before granting it the status of becoming a magic item.
Nightquest
After dinner break there will be a significant nightquest by a major plot team. More info coming soon.
Knave’s War
The final culmination tournament of Knave of Hearts will be Knave’s War. You’ll see that Knave’s War is in many ways inspired by Queen’s War to create a similar experience, ending the event in grand fashion, though there are many differences as well.
Throughout the course of the weekend, teams have earned Knave Cards for winning war maneuvers. These cards have no rank or suit, they are all equally “Knaves”. The Knave Cards that your team has earned will give you a subtle advantage in Knaves War.
The four teams will each compete separate from one another, forming four queues that create a square shape on the tournament field. The left side of each of those lines (looking from the middle of the field) is where players will enter the fighting area. Everyone in every line starts the tournament by “standing” (to use the Queen’s War parlance), there are no people sitting initially.
Teams may give the Knave Cards to whichever players on their team they choose to. These are essentially ‘wild cards’.
Every member of your team that does not have a Knave Card will be given a standard playing card by the marshaling staff. These will be passed out in such a way that your team will end up with roughly the same number of cards of each suit.
Your team will then arrange its standing line in this order
- All players with Knave Cards
- All players with Spade Cards
- All players with Hearts Cards
- All players with Diamond Cards
- All players with Club Cards
When it is time for combat to begin, the head marshal will pull one card from a shuffled deck and call out what suit it is. When that suit is called out your team will send in either:
- The first person in the queue that has been assigned that suit or
- The Knave player that is at the front of the line.
Equipping some of your strongest players with Knave cards and being able to choose when they enter the fray is the advantage that comes from having won those cards throughout the day.
Once the suit is called out by the marshal they will start a 5-count. By the end of the 5-count if your team hasn’t sent in a Knave Card they must send in the matching suit.
Out of the four players that enter the arena only one will be the winner. The three players that lose will start or join the sitting line for their teams, sitting in front of the standing line in the order that they died. Suit order does not matter in the sitting line.
The winner of that fight gets back into the line, at the back of the group that matches their suit (or at the back of the Knaves if they have a Knave Card). They also take the person at the front of the sitting line and have them rejoin the standing line at the back of the group that matches their suit.
Play will continue in this way, with the marshal drawing a card and calling out that suit to enter the arena. If a suit is called and you no longer have anyone who can enter the arena from that suit, you must send in a Knave Card to replace them. If you also do not have any Knave Cards your team forfeits that turn.
Play continues in this fashion until only one team has standing players.
The winning team of Knave’s war receives 25 points.
Prizes and the End of the Event
Prizes to commemorate Queen of Hearts are an important part of the experience and Knave of Hearts will keep that tradition alive.
After Knave’s War has concluded we will gather together to give out awards for the War Maneuvers, squads, individuals, and crafting tournaments. We will also recognize this year’s winning Knave of Hearts.
