Stubborn Root

This game is similar to the “king of the mountain” game played by children at lower altitudes. One goliath, known in the parlance of the game as the root, stations themself at a high point - often on a ridge or peak but sometimes atop a boulder or simply on a marked patch of ground. Then the other players (usually 3-6) try to bull rush the root away from the high point or grapple the root and drag him away. Whoever does so is the new root, and the process repeats itself until all goliaths are tired out or everyone fails in multiple attempts to move the root.

No specific number of consecutive failed attempts results in a winner; the goliaths’ sense of fair play determines when a particular root has won the game. It’s considered bad form to gang up on a root (using the Help action or similar tactics) until everyone has failed to move the root singly, and it’s always bad form to attack the root outright. For their part, the root is obligated to forego the attack of opportunity that precedes the bull rush attempt, unless their opponents are ganging up on them, in which case the root can attack with nonlethal force.