Athletic Entertainment in a Fantasy Setting?

[dreaded_beast]

Has anyone tried to incorporate Athletic Entertainment in their camapaign?

In RL we have various sports that people watch for entertainment: Basketball, Football, etc. Every 4 years we have the Olympics?

I remember from the DMG that a "generic" DND fantasy world, while similar in some respects to the RL Medieval world, is quite different as a result of magic being a part of life.

That being the case, do you think the typical DND fantasy world would have sporting events or athletic entertainment?

I imagine many interesting encounters/adventures could be had from such events, especially an event such as Olympics.

For those of you that have read the Harry Potter books or seen the movie (I've only seen the first movie), I guess the sport of Qudditch (sp?) would be something along these lines.

 

[DragonLancer]

Sure. I think that you could something like an Olympic's. If you go with the gods from the PHB, then I'm sure that the temple of Kord would organise such an event every year. I would imagine that you would have events with and without magic.

 

[mmu1]

It's not going to happen (unless it's spellcasters performing for the nobility, the rich, or to impress one another) if you use the spellcasting costs given in the DMG. It's much too expensive to be a common form of entertainment.

Of course, those prices are idiotic in the context of any fuctioning economy and only make "sense" as a way of making sure adventurers don't have access to NPC spellcasting for peanuts...

 

[Thanee]

In our first 3E campaign we have been on a large festival where we played a game of dwarven ball (basically blood bowl, if you know that).

It was so much fun, that some PCs actually aquired a skill to train that further.

We were good, but lost in the finals. The opposing team captain critted (on 20 no less) EVERY SINGLE HIT for three consecutive rounds!

And yes, the DM was rolling in the open...

There was also a swimming contest and other stuff.

Bye
Thanee

 

[silentspace]

Historically, most athetics was combat-oriented. It was only relatively recently, historically speaking, that non-combat sports have gained a wide following. When tennis was becoming popular in England, there was talk of banning it, believing that its popularity was taking away from the other popular competitive (combat-oriented) sports of the time, like archery, and would lead to a weakening of the kingdom's military strength. Even the Olympics was originally military-themed.

 

[Rabelais]

Decathalon and Pentathalon

There's an Olympic sport called the Modern Pentathalon, it's made up of five events.

Running: 3,000 meter race
Equestrian: 12-jump obstacle course with a randomly drawn Horse.
Shooting: Pistol target shooting.
Swimming: Freestyle 200m race
Fencing: Epee tournament

The idea for the Modern Pentathlon came from a story about a soldier delivering a message. He rode, fought a duel with swords, shot his way free, swam a river and ran.

In a world full of sorcerors and wizards, there's no reason physical competition wouldn't thrive. In fact there's every reason for nobles to sponsor such competition amongst the peasantry. It's entertaining, and it's good to know who among your people might make a good scout, or messenger.

 

[Agemegos]

Has anyone tried to incorporate Athletic Entertainment in their campaign?

Athletics plays a big part in the society in my fantasy setting. Athletic training is considered to make up half of a balanced education. All settled communities set aside areas for running, jumping, wrestling, archery, weapons drills, sparring, and javelin-practice. Most build more-or-less elaborate stadiums, palaistras, and shooting-ranges. Generally, these are thronged in the mornings by youths and young men (to a lesser extent young women) of leisure, and one morning a week the citizens of military age work out there, doing the drill of their militia units. Athletic exercise in the mornings, athletic skills, and the possession of athletic equipment such as a bow, arrows, javelins etc. is one of the things that players have learned to count on and allow for among NPCs in my setting.

There is also a game, called kukrim, that youths play. It is roughly similar to volleyball, except that the ball (which is a light wicker or raffia ball the size of a fist) is typically struck with the foot, leg, elbow, or head rather than with the hand or hands. PCs often find that a road is blocked where a group of youths have strung a net across the street and are playing kukrim under the windows of a well-populated gynekeum.

Athletics festivals are significant events. Each community holds an annual Games, and victory in the various events at this is a significant source of prestige for NPCs and PCs alike. And certain large institution hold major games at longer intervals: the city of Asthmara holds Isthmian Games biennially, the temple of Helios in Elmis holds Solar Games every four years, the temple of Pontus in Periander holds Pontonian Games every tenth year, the temple of Mount Samars at Samariopolis holds League Games every five years, the temple of Timeon (exemplar of smiths and self-assurance) holds Timeonic Games at Skyra every third year, the emperor holds Hegemonial Games at Thekla every seventh year, and the temple of Thelmond (an island) holds Saecular Games at long intervals (each is held only after all the participants and officials in the last one has died). Victories at these games (which are open to competition by all) brings great prestige indeed.

Each games is the occasion of a fair, which attracts itinerant performers, merchants and providers of special services. Each is also the occasion of a religious festival, dance-pageant, and sacrifice. Many include musical, poetic, and dance contests alongside the athletics.

I have often run adventures set in the gatherings that occur at major games, or that involved the PCs travelling hundreds or thousands of kilometres to compete.

Athletics is therefore a fairly prominent feature of my fantasy campaigns.

 

[Seonaid]

As others have said, athletic competitions are almost always martially based, and those are relatively easy to discern. However, you could have a sport that is popular but not directly related to war. Most sports/athletic competitions encourage overall vitality, which would help in a setting where war is based on physical prowess, and if the sport is popular, it helps the peons (whoever they may be) take their minds off the petty drudgery and evils of their lives.

 

[Agemegos]

The idea for the Modern Pentathlon came from a story about a soldier delivering a message. He rode, fought a duel with swords, shot his way free, swam a river and ran.

The version I heard was that the modern penthalon was designed as a training exercise at a French military academy, a test of the skills of an aide de camp (junior officer acting as a despatch-rider on the battlefield) in the Napoleonic period.

I have sometimes speculated about what the events might be in a Post-Modern pentathlon. The IPSC 'second chance' pistol event, perhaps. 5 km run carrying a rifle, followed by a shooting event with the rifle. Some sort of karate, perhaps? And maybe a swim of motorcycle cross-country race.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dogbrain]

Have we forgotten the original big-time athletic competition, the original Olympic games?

Here is a list of the events of a larger Olympiad:

Boxing (with cesti), Chariot race (two races, one with a two-horse team and one with a four-horse team), Double-stadium race (approx. 420 yards), Horse race, Long-distance race, Pankration (finger-breaking prohibited), Pentathlon (long jump, footrace, javelin, discus, and wrestling), Race in armor (last event, ends the games), Stadium race (approx 210 yards), and Wrestling.

The Cotswold Olympics (started in AD1612), included cudgel play (won by first one to draw blood on the opponent's head with a stick), bear baiting, footraces (for men and women), "foining" (rapier) fence--with blunts, and other games.