My understanding of Dart Competitions is it refers to all martial struggles between the noble houses short of warfare (warfare being prohibited by the Emperor and enforced by the Tax Demons). The two extremes are straight war of assassins (the most covert form) and ritualised arena combat (the most overt, as it is a major spectator sport). In between are formal duels, or short skirmishes on noble property. The same people may well participate in both, as the nobles have only a few reatainers. They are both somewhat formalised, I think - I have an idea that wars of assassins must still be officially declared, somehow. Tales of people wearing bells of whatever are probably local ordnances designed to keep the action in the arena.
Rather than the DnDish assassins guild, I think of Dart
Competitions in very Dune terms - you have the upright members of the
house, often straight forward Dara Happans, trained to beware of assassins,
but finding the idea of actually participating personally repugnant, and
their more Lunarised (and rather more pragmatic) retainers.
More later,
Dave
------------------------------
Powered by hypermail