Scenario: "Bedlam in the Boudoir!"
	Updated: Mar 20, 2005

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This is a detailed combat scenario for three participants who play the roles of a jealous husband, his wife, and her paramour. This is written for fencing, but can be easily applied to other forms.

CONTENTS

> Overview
> Setup
> The Scene
> The Layout
> The Husband
> The Wife
> The Paramour
> Prizes
> Mechanics

Overview

Bedlam is "a situation of noisy uproar and confusion" or "a state of extreme confusion and disorder" — while a boudoir is simply a lady's bedroom or sitting room. The characters are a Jealous Husband, his Wife, and her Paramour (which is a woman's lover, especially in adultery).

Yes, the three fencers will frequently all be male. No big deal, have fun with it. Besides, think of this as street theatre with unchoreographed combat. In Period, males played the women's roles.

Setup

The fencers are asked about two things.

1. Their confidence at role playing.
2. "Death from Behind" (if applicable for your kingdom).
   Do they know it works? Are they comfortable with it?

The Scene

The Narrator describes the action until combat begins.

The Wife and her Paramour are sitting or laying on her bed (probably a sheet or tarp on the ground). The Paramour's weapons lean against the "wall" nearby. The two people are relaxing. Maybe they're holding hands — or perhaps he's stroking her face (mask/helm), or kissing her hand (gloved), her arm... (Of course, this can be pretty amusing when both performers are the same gender.)

They hear the Husband "open the door downstairs". The Paramour should arise quickly! At some point in the dialog between the Wife and Paramour, the Narrator will signal the Husband to come "upstairs".

The "door" opens, the Husband comes in. He is armed but his weapons are sheathed. (This can be simulated by laying them on the ground nearby.)

He is not automatically hostile. He is not immediately hostile. He might have a few questions about why this guy is in his bedroom with his wife.

Half of this scenario is role playing, play it to the ... HILT!

The behavior and armaments of the Husband are pre-assigned for a given scene.

The Wife could stay in the room and side either the Husband or the Paramour. She might also run out at the first sign of violence (threats made, weapons drawn). The Wife's behavior is also pre-assigned.

The Layout

Below is one example. The bed can be a blanket on the ground which doubles as a cover blanket. To keep the fencers from running into the pretend walls or bed, don't worry much about actual boundaries — unless you really want to use something like stakes with ropes or ribbons.

+-------------------------------------------------+
|                                               
|                                              d o o r
|                                                 
|                                                 |
|                      .bed. . . . . . . . . . . .| 
|                      .                          | 
|                      .             W I F E      |
|                      .                          | 
|                      .                          | 
|                      .                          | 
|                      .                          |
|                      .         P A R A M O U R  |
|                      .                          | 
|                      . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|
|                                                 |
|Weapons                                          |
|                  - - open - -                   |

The Husband

When you play the Husband, your weapons and behavior are assigned to you. Play your part and try to make the Paramour look good — without being a pushover.

When you are a much better fencer than the Paramour

Instead of a quick kill, which does NOT make for an entertaining scene, consider these options:

* Ask if he would like to yield — and live...
* Disable his arm, close in so that he cannot change hands, THEN ask...
* Disable his leg, move back, THEN ask...
* Fight normally, but try to give him a 50-50 chance of winning...
* Remember, ideally, he wants you to yield, not die.

When you are wounded and attempt to yield

Staying in character, try to stop the combat immediately (without saying HOLD). If the Paramour stops fighting, you could say something (loud and clear, please) like "I must yield to you, for I am beaten. Please send a doctor, I..." and then pass out from "bloodloss".

The Wife

When you play the Wife, your behavior is assigned to you. Play your part and try to make the Paramour look good — even if your role is to side with your Jealous Husband.

Vocal distraction

Sometimes you try to "help" the Paramour with verbal distraction. Here are some ideas:

The Paramour

When you play the Paramour, weapons permitted are:

Taking a weaker weapon style earns you points. Remember that soft parry items are fun to watch. You are encouraged to take at least a dagger.

Depending on the Husband's behavior, you might not be given a choice except to fight your way out. That's OK. You earn more points for making the Husband yield rather than killing him.

Though you are not required to fight, but it's difficult to be dashing when you're being hauled away by the Town Guard!

The Wife might try to help you — or she might not. It's a good idea to keep her in sight if she doesn't run out at the first sign of trouble.

In the scene, you are the only competitor. You earn points for:

Things you can do to be entertaining

You might also exclaim, "You didn't TELL me you were MARRIED!" or act as if the Wife was someone who is... err, paid for certain pleasurable services.

Prizes

Modest prizes and wild acclaim could be given for...

• Best individual performance in each of the three roles
• and, of course, the Paramour with the highest score.

Best performance results are determined by applause and other positive reactions from the spectators in the gallery.

Mechanics

See the behind-the-scenes details on how to run this scenario. SPOILER ALERT!

Your feedback is most welcome!

Original page posted: June 21, 2002. Last tweaked: July 1, 2006.

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