This month’s installment of On Target is about how to run the Highlander archery tournament that I marshaled at this year’s Archers to the Wald.

Each Archer gets a token for his quickening. An archer may join the game at any time.

Any archer can challenge any other Archer. The two archers must then give all of all their tokens to the Marshal in Charge. The Archers get one shot at their opponent’s head; if they both miss, they both get another shot. This continues till one or both heads are hit in the same volley. In the event of a double kill, all tokens are returned to the head table. The winner of the round gets all the tokens, while the loser is obviously out. At the end, if there are three shooters and there is a double kill, the third Archer wins automatically. If it’s down to two archers and there is a double kill, the Quickenings are the tiebreaker, so it’s important to collect as many tokens during the day as possible. This shoot is about protection and revenge.

An archer may be under the protection of another player. If challenged, he or she announces whose protection they are under, and that third party will come for revenge just like in the TV series. At that point the Challenger may resend his challenge. Around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, get all the players together for the gathering so you can finish the game. Remember, there can be only ONE.

So this month I want to leave you with a safety tip. I’ve noticed archers are starting to nock their arrows before they get to the line. Remember, do not nock an arrow till the Marshal gives the command.

Till next month…

THLord Deryk Archer