Amtgard Chess
Rules modified by Sir Egil Njalsson for the El Paso Quadricentennial.
Inspired by sets of rules created by Sir Greywalker and by members of the C.K.
(April 1998)

General comments:

  • In Amtgard Chess, pieces fight to capture squares -- the outcome is not predetermined. "Lay on" will be called while both pieces are still in their squares. A dead piece is removed from the board.
  • Please roleplay! Taunting, boasting, and other fighting words are encouraged. Please keep the language clean. If possible, let us carry the dead bodies off the field. People are watching, and we want to give them a good show.
  • We have been asked to minimize magic use, so no magic classes this time.
  • Each piece is meant to simulate a particular class, and gains any applicable non-magical abilities that player is normally entitled to, based on class and level.
  • Only pieces involved in the current move are considered active. All other pieces are asked to maintain their positions unless they're in the way of the battle. In that case, give the combatants room. Exception: non-active pieces capable of bringing another piece back to life may do so to a piece in an adjacent square at the end of the turn, causing the just-finished battle to be fought again. (Opponent's wounds remain.)
  • Unless otherwise stated, all wounds are kept until you die. If you have the non-magical ability, you may use any healing techniques you have, either while fighting or between moves.
  • In the event of a simultaneous death, both pieces are removed from play, and the square becomes vacant (unless one of them is restored to life).
  • Please make sure the tabards are returned when we're done! They're a lot of trouble to replace.

Piece descriptions

Pawn: (1st level warrior)

  • Weapons: Single unhinged melee weapon under 3'. No shield.
  • Armor: None

Rook: (barbarian)

  • Weapons: as barbarian. May use barbarian hand-thrown projectiles.
  • Armor: 2 points natural (berserk)
  • Notes:
    • Considered permanently berserk during the chess game. If 3rd level or above, may use 10 second fight after death, which means it is quite possible that the square in question will end up vacant.

Knight: (warrior or knightly class)

  • Weapons: as per class. May use a shield.
  • Armor: as per class.

Bishop: (monk, archer, or scout)

  • Weapons, shield, and armor: as per class.
  • Notes:
    • Arrows and other projectiles are returned to combatants at the end of the turn, unless they are able to retrieve them while fighting.

Queen: (any non-magical class)

  • Weapons, shield, and armor: as per class.
  • Notes:
    • May choose a champion to fight in their stead. (ROLEPLAY!) If the champion is defeated, the "queen" swoons and is removed from the field. Once a champion has been selected (anyone except an enemy piece), the queen must use the same champion every time for that game, or may fight for her/himself. In addition to any armor the champion may be wearing, if the queen gives them a favor to wear it acts as a non-magical protect, once per turn. If the champion is another playing piece, this life is considered to be separate from the life they are using as the other piece: the two lives (wounds, etc.) are maintained separately.

King: (any non-magical class)

  • Weapons, shield, and armor: as per class.
  • Notes:
    • One additional point of natural armor on each location, in addition to any armor which is being worn. (If their class cannot normally wear armor, this point still counts. If they can wear armor, this point cannot push any location beyond the limit allowed to that class.)
    • The King may summon one surviving Pawn to fight at their side. (Thus, a King vs. King battle could actually involve four people.) If that Pawn dies, they are removed from the field (this life is not separate from their Pawn life); but a surviving King may choose another pawn on their next turn.

A little commentary on this version...

As the El Paso Quadricentennial approached, I volunteered to customize, provide materials for, and host live-action chess games as one method of advertising our club to the mundane world.

First of all, we had been asked to minimize the use of magic, since the Quadricentennial was intended to focus more on historical elements rather than fantasy. Therefore this version was written with no magic classes, and to my knowledge is the first Amtgard chess version to do so.

After unsuccessfully trying to drum up assistance, I finished sewing the tabards myself (which up until that time had been about half completed by myself and several other volunteers for Ren Fair a couple years ago), ensuring that all of them had symbols front and back, all edge-stitched for permanence. I also provided and set up a durable chess board, which was pushed to the limits as the contestants played in a gravel-rich area next to the main entrance of the Quadricentennial.

In particular, the enhanced rules for the king and queen were very popular, and provided ample opportunities for roleplay.

The chess games were highly popular and successful, both with the members of our club and with the mundanes, who crowded around to watch. Members of visiting kingdoms, at their request, were provided with copies of the rules; and with any luck we may see this version of chess showing up throughout the realm of Amtgard.

Return to Egil's home page