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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 2167104" data-attributes="member: 2011">Simple. The friends are not willing. Opps. Guess you shouldn't have brought that item and wasted that standard action. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> Actually, the coordinators should make it clear that such items will not work ahead of time.My thoughts exactly.Some others:1)  For actions that the opponent is not aware of and/or are not obvious, have the players write them down on 3x5 card and hand it to the DM (re-used the same 3x5 cards for the entire encounter). This serves two purposes: it keeps players in the dark about stuff they should not know, and it keeps a record of some of what has occurred in case of arguments. In fact, you could have players write down on the card every action they are doing and you would then have a complete record of the entire combat for later review/adjudication. Even though this will take up time, these combats should not last that long as is.2) Set up your squares with a numbers system (e.g. A1 through Z26 or whatever). That way, a character whose opponent is unaware of his location for whatever reason can write down movement from G34 G33 H32 I31 I30 (which is 25 feet in this example) and the DM knows exactly which squares the character went through and how far he went.3) Make sure that the adjudicating DM is totally familiar with every item, feat, ability, and spell of the two opponents ahead of time including what creatures the spell can summon and it's abilities. Nothing worse than a DM who screws up the combat cause he is unaware that Protection From Evil prevents Domination from being effective. If a character casts a specific spell that the DM is not totally familiar with, have the DM take out a moment to read the spell to ensure he is onboard.4) In the case of Contingency spells, as green slime mentioned, state your rules ahead of time as to whether one shot spells can be replenished between encounters. Plus, Contingency can easily be abused. Do not allow the character to get away with a trigger that the character himself cannot observe. For example, do not allow a Contingency Dispel Magic if an Antimagic Field touches the character unless the character can somehow be aware that an Antimagic Field is touching him. The Contigency spell itself is not omniscient.5) "Characters may opt to start the tournament at nineteenth level in order to make items or cast spells." What does this mean? Is it talking about XP spells like Wish for stats, or just normal spells? If normal spells are allowed ahead of time, are characters allowed to cast spells like Commune and get information about their opponents ahead of time?6) You should up the height on the arena to 250 feet from 200 feet. That way, an opponent could be dropped for the full 20D6 and Feather Fall is less effective for characters with only a few levels of arcane spell caster.7) You also should have rules for whether characters that take Craft feats can craft reasonable items that are not listed in the book, especially wands, potions, and scrolls where the rules are well laid out. Granted, crafting most other items runs the risk of putting the cost through the roof (due to the poor item creation rules), but you should set up a limitation for non-standard items (I would suggest only wands, potions, and scrolls).</blockquote>

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