Bherasque

Bherasque (beh-RASK) is the most prolific and well known sport in the Ardemare Galaxy. The game has several variations, this page covers the most common ruleset, which was developed by the Interplanetary Bherasque League. Bherasque is a game in which contestants use physical and elemental control to knock two large balls into their opponent's goal

The rules of the game as would be explained in the world

• There are two teams, three players each on each team
• There are three matches in a game, plus one potential overtime match
• The match ends when both balls have been directed into one of the two goals
• Players begin each round in the six corners of the field, while the balls start atop opposite columns in the inner court
• Players may only touch the ball with one appendage at a time
• Players may not target another player, directly or indirectly. If a player intentionally shoots a projectile at another player, it is counted as a foul. A foul counts as a goal and ends the match

The game is played within the Combat round system using most of the normal combat rules for governing actions and movement, and initiative. The following additional rules apply

• Hitting the ball requires a hit roll of 6. The ball can considered to have a “reaction” of 6
• When a player successfully hits the ball, they choose a new direction and speed for the ball. The ball moves to the target location. The player's score becomes the new difficulty to hit the ball. If no player hits the ball for an entire segment, the difficulty resets to “6”
• When choosing the new direction for the ball, the player must choose a new heading that is less than 90° of the trajectory of their projectile, or their movement towards the ball if physically striking the ball
• When choosing the new speed, the player can choose 1H or 2H, see the graphic below for valid choices
• The ball moves at its current speed and heading at the top of each segment
• If a player takes disadvantage on a shot, they can perform a power hit, which sets the new speed to 4H
• If the new direction of the ball is set in the direct path of the striking projectile, this is a power hit
• When a player moves into the same space as a ball, they get a free hit on the ball. Their movement speed determines the new speed of the ball, see the table below
• If the ball is not hit at all for an entire segment, the speed is decreased one level
• At the top of each segment, the ball moves along its current heading, at its current speed
• Once the ball is knocked off the column at the start of the round, it stays on or near the ground for the remainder of the round, and cannot be manuevered over players or columns

The left figure shows all possible directions the ball can move when hit. The right two figures show how a new ball heading cannot be set at an angle more than 90° of incoming projectile

• The field consists of a regular hexagon measuring 55 feet on each side, 105 feet diagonally
• A wall 12 feet high encloses the space
• The goal is 30 feet wide
• Six hexagonal columns measuring 6 feet in height are placed at the vertices of a hexagon measuring 30 feet on each side, centered in the field. One column measuring 3 feet in height stands in the center of the field. The hexagon inscibed by these columns divides the field into the “inner court” and “outer court”
• Troughs of water 30 inches wide connect the six columns with each other and the corners of the field
• If available, two referees are stationed at the top of the wall, one on each side, opposite one another

• The balls are roughly spherical, having 30 faces, and a diameter of 5 feet
• The balls are hollow, filled with gas, and constructed out of leather, cloth, or metal. When made of metal the edges are heavily rounded
• The balls start out on top of the columns on opposing sides

Bherasque was invented by Bhren Nhel, a physically active Bheru looking to create a new market to prop up her family's troubled agricultural empire. She dug out the first field out of a roadside parcel of farmland, and sold concessions made from the fruit grown on the surrounding land. The sport took off immediately, and new arenas started cropping up on family lands throughout the region. Soon the entire family was in on the operation, and they used the Bheru's far flung market connections to spread the sport across the galaxy