jugging

Jugging is also the name of a sport that is essentially a form of football with swords. The weapons used are all padded, as per Amtgard safety specifications. The goal of the game is for one team to gain control of the ball (the "dog skull"), run into the other team's territory, and place the dog skull in the goal. This scores one point. The first team to get at least three points and two more points than the other team wins.

The Field

Jugging is played in a rectangle measuring 100 X 50 feet. The goals are located five feet from the edges on the long side of the field, and are 1 foot in diameter. Also, the goals are usually 8" to 10" high. The center of the field contains a 10' diameter circle in the middle of the "half-court" line. This circle serves as the starting location of the dog skull. As long as the skull remains in the circle, only the Quicks may enter it. Any other player entering the circle "dies" immediately (more on death later.) However, the circle has no bearing on the game whatsoever once the dog skull is removed.

The Players

In jugging, there are five positions.

1. The Quick is only allowed to use a single dagger. Also, the Quick is the only player allowed to touch or carry the dog skull. Any other players who touch the dog skull die immediately.
2. The Slash wields two short (under 4' in length) swords.
3. The Shield gets to use a single short sword and a small shield.
4. The Chain has the choice of using two Amtgard-legal flails, or a single flail and short sword.
5. The Heavy can use any long weapon, usually a quarterstaff, but occasionally a pike is used. The Heavy is forbidden to cross the half-court line.

The players line up as per the diagram below. This is my first attempt at ASCII art, so please be kind.

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|                                  |                                  |
|                                  |                                  |
|                   Ch             |               Sl                 |
|                                  |                                  |
|                              ____|___                               |
|   _                          |   |   |                          _   |
|  (_)   Hv         Sh       Qu|   |   |Qu         Sh        Hv  (_)  |
|                              |___|___|                              |
|                                  |                                  |
|                                  |                                  |
|                   Sl             |               Ch                 |
|                                  |                                  |
|                                  |                                  |
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The Timekeeper

The clock in jugging is not measured by seconds. Instead, the unit of time is the "stone", which is equal to approximately 2 seconds. A timekeeper must be next to the field to call out the time. He first makes a loud noise, usually by hitting an object with a stick. It is important that all players are able to hear the timekeeper. The timekeeper also calls out the number of stones counted off.

Thwack!..."One"...Thwack!..."Two"...Thwack!

As soon as the first stone is called, play commences. The Quicks try to gain control of the dog skull and place it in the opposite goal. As soon as a goal is scored, the stone count stops and the dogskull is placed back in the circle. The players also return fully-healed to their original positions. The timekeeper then continues counting from where he left off. After 100 stones, all play ceases. Players regain all of their lives and a new round of play begins as if a goal had been scored.

Death and Wounds

The standard Amtgard rules apply to wounds. Head shots are not allowed. A shot to the torso kills instantly. If an arm is hit, the player loses the use of that arm. If a leg is hit, the player has the option of walking on his knees or pivoting in place on his "dead" leg. If a player loses both arms, both legs, or an arm and a leg, he is dead. Groin shots, although technically legal, are frowned upon, and if you insist on continually going for the groin, expect the rest of the players to try and do the same to you. Unlike normal Amtgard, the injuries get healed. Missing limbs are regenerated after seven stones. Dead players must remain in place, but they are alive again after 15 stones. When 15 stones are up, the dead player must yell "Alive!" before rejoining the game.

At the beginning of the game, each player has five lives. Each time they die subtracts a life. If all five lives are gone, the player is "shattered" and must leave the field immediately. At the end of 100 stones, all players, shattered or not, reset their life total to five. If both Quicks are shattered, pretend that 100 stones have gone by, because the game will not go anywhere.

When a player goes out of bounds, they are stunned. This effectively is a death, with two differences. Stunning does not subtract a life, and the effect only lasts for five stones. While stunned, a player can not be killed or wounded. A stunned player must yell "Unstunned!" at the end of the requisite 5 stones.

Pinning

Any dead or stunned player may be pinned by another player. Pinning occurs when the live player holds a weapon to the torso of the dead/stunned player. If contact is lost, the pin is broken. The pinned player may not attempt to break the pin himself by moving about; he must wait for the pinner to remove the weapon of his own accord. The effect of pinning is that the pinned player remains dead or stunned, even after the stone count advances by 15. After the pin is broken, the player cannot re-enter play until a full stone has passed. Then they may call "Alive!" and play as normal.

If you are the one doing the pinning, you may fight other players only if you keep a weapon in contact with the pinnee. You are allowed to remove your weapon to defend from an attack, but if you do this, the pin is lost and can not be re-established. If you are the Slash, you may pin two players at once, but this will leave you open to attacks. All other players may only pin one opponent at a time. Remember, if the pinning weapon is removed for even one second, the pin is broken.

Scoring

Scoring occurs when the dog skull is placed in the goal by the Quick. If the Quick is dead, the score does not count. Should a Quick carrying the dog skull die or run out of bounds, the dog skull must be placed at his feet. The other Quick may then attempt to grab the dog skull before the first Quick is alive/unstunned. The dog skull must be placed in the goal by hand; throwing, kicking, or otherwise propelling the dog skull forwards is illegal. Once the point is made,each team has a chance to substitute players, the dog skull is placed in the circle, and play continues, as noted above under The Timekeeper.