Warudi

Warudi is a popular team sport amongst school-aged Dynasts, melding camaraderie and competition into a single activity which bolsters both strategic thinking and physical prowess.

Field: Warudi is played on a pentagonal field of stone, dirt, or grass. An arch is centered on each side, stretching ten feet post-to-post. A semi circle is marked extending in front of the arch, ten feet at its furthest point, known as the 'manse'. In the centre of the field is a pentagram within a circle, one point directed towards the centre of each arch.

Players: Players are divided into five teams, of any number of players (usually six). Each team is given a colour at the start of the match: White, Blue, Black, Red, or Green. Players wear tabards in their given colour, and defend the manse of that same colour. Each team may have only five players on the field at any one time, and each of these must wear cloth belts of either red (for Blade players) or white (for Shield players) to mark their position.

Rules: At the beginning of a match, the head referee stands in the centre of the field. Balls are placed at each point of the central pentagram, coloured to correspond to the closest arch, with a sixth yellow ball held by the referee. All of the Shields on a team must stand within a foot of their arch, and all of the Blades must stand a foot outside the line marking the edge of their 'manse'. To begin the game, the referee throws the yellow ball up into the air and begins to leave the field. As soon as he steps out of the central circle, the players are free to move. The goal of Warudi is to score points by tossing a ball through the arch of the appropriate colour... the yellow ball may be thrown through any arch, and a team does not score points for throwing a ball through its own arch.

Blades are the offensive players of a team. They are not allowed to enter their own 'manse', nor are they allowed to touch their team colour with their hands (this applies to everything 'of that colour' in play: balls, arches, and members of the team bearing that colour).

Shields are the defensive players of a team. They are not allowed to leave their own 'manse', nor are they allowed to touch any colour but their team colour* or the yellow ball with their hands.

Players are not allowed to use tools or weapons, and all are barehanded and barefoot. Charms are sometimes allowed by prior agreement. Players are permitted to grapple, tackle, beat upon, trip, punch, kick (and so on) members of other teams in order to obtain the ball, within the restrictions imposed by their position.

A game of Warudi lasts until one team has scored five points... depending on skill, this can take quite some time.

Referees and Penalties: Warudi has six referees... on behind each net to validate points, and one to hand out penalties for rules violations. The standard penalty is for the offending player to be removed from the game.

Strategies:

Water Formation: Standard, adaptable formation. Three Blades, two Shields... if the defense is troubled, on or more Blades fall back to provide forward defense tackling.

Wood Formation: Two Blades, three Shields. Slightly more rigid than Water formation, this formation begins slowly and defensively in the early game, with passive Blades often assisting defense, blossoming into offensives once the other teams have become tired.

Earth Formation: One Blade, four Shields. An entirely defensive formation, where the Blade moves quickly to secure as many balls as he can, throwing them into his team's 'manse', where the Shields guard the balls and seek to break opponents who attempt to retrieve them.

Air Formation: Four Blades, one Shield. While many assume this formation is associated with Air because of its offensive power, the true credit rests with the single Shield: to defend his arch, he must flow like a breeze, leaping and bounding from place to place to block incursions while his teammates concentrate on scoring points.

Fire Formation: Five Blades. This is a formation of pure offense, leaving the arch unguarded. The goal of a team in Fire formation is to score five points before the other teams are able to take advantage of their defensive weakness... they must strike fast and in a flurry.

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System: The game starts with each each character takes a Join Battle action to determine initiative, and each Blade chooses a ball and dashes for it... where actions are simultaneous, opposed Strength + Athletics rolls determine who comes away with contested balls.

Each player has a Warudi Defence Value, which is (Dex + Athletics + Essence)/2.

Throw Ball Action: A character can throw or kick the ball at an arch or to someone else. This is a Speed 5/-1 DV action rolling Dex + Thrown + appropriate specialty, difficulty = (see below) + combined Warudi Defence Value of all blockers.

If targeting another player, the receiver rolls Wits + Athletics, needing only one success to catch the ball.

--Throw Difficulties--

Centre to Centre: 1

Centre to Field: 1

Centre to 'Manse': 2

Centre to Arch: 3

Field to Field (same Arch): 1

Field to Field (adjacent Arch): 2

Field to Field (opposite Arch): 3

Field to 'Manse' (same Arch): 1

Field to Arch (same Arch): 2

'Manse' to Arch: 1

Intercept Action: Speed 5/-2 DV. A character may stay immobile in one area, and may roll Wits + Athletics the next time a ball is thrown in or through that area, making the throw an opposed roll. If the interceptor wins, he now holds the ball (but may not act until he reaches the proper tick).

Block Action: Speed 5/-2 DV. A character may shadow a specific opponent. Whenever that opponent throws a ball, or has a ball thrown to her, add the blocker's WDV to the difficulty. Cumulative.

If a character attempts to put a ball through the arch, he counts the Shields at that arch as if they were blocking him, unless they are immobilized (often, supporting Blades will seek to clinch enemy Shields prior to a score attempt).

Source: While it has been expanded and contorted so very very much over the years, at its core this is a Where's Waldo reference.