Duelling rules

Of course, you can't have a swashbuckler game without rules for duelling, now can you?

Here goes: a duel is typically fought between exactly two combatants, armed with either swords or pistols. Combatants fight unarmoured, and typically magic is not permitted. (Typically, the challenged opponent may select the weapon, only officers and gentlemen are permitted to issue duels, and then not to a superior. However, these are all campaign assumptions, and beyond my scope here.) Combats between more than two opponents, or between two opponents that occur in less formalised manner, use the normal combat rules.

So, we need rules for both types of duel.

Duelling with Swords

Opponents start facing one another, standing with a gap of 5 feet between them. Neither character starts flat-footed. Initiative is rolled as normal, but is re-rolled at the start of each round. Duels are less regimented than normal combats, and more likely to shift over time.

Melee combat proceeds as normal. However, instead of characters having fixed AC values, they instead roll d20 to counter each attack. Their AC equals d20 + armour bonus + Dex bonus + (the usual bonuses to AC) instead of 10 + (same list of bonuses).

Duels can be fought to first blood, to the death, or until one combatant yields. In the first instance, first blood is defined as the point where the first blow successfully lands. The other end points are obvious.

Duelling with Pistols

Opponents start facing one another at a distance of 40 feet (each takes 10 paces then turns, assumes a pace of around 2 feet). Thus, issues of point-blank range and Sneak Attacks don't apply. Each has a single pistol loaded with a single shot. It is assumed that pistol duels are to the death - if, after each character has fired once, both opponents are still standing, the pistols are re-loaded and fired again.

Neither combatant is flat-footed, and Initiative is re-rolled before each shot.

When duelling with pistols, much of the ability of a character to reduce damage is negated (characters are expected to win through superior marksmanship, rather than the ability to dodge and weave). As a result, attacks can do significantly more damage than normal, depending on the results of the attack roll. (A character may elect to negate this additional damage by declaring before the attack roll is made that they are dodging fully. Such a character is considered to forfeit.)

Additional damage scored due to a high attack roll applies only if the shot hits its target, and is not multiplied in the event of a critical hit. The damage is as follows:

Attack Roll Additional Damage
10-14 0
15-19 +1d6
20-24 +2d6
25-29 +3d6
30-34 +4d6
35-39 +5d6
40-44 +6d6
45-49 +7d6
50-54 +8d6
55+ +9d6 (maximum)

Et viola: Duelling rules for use in my swashbuckling game.