D&D General Examples of games/sports in adventures?

[payn]

Some places in Golarion you'll find a friendly match of Knivsies (nighve-zees). In this game, two opponents stand together on a long wooden table with their right hands tied together. Each player has an empty pouch on their waist belt. A single dagger is stuck into the table between them. Observers toss coins on the table before the round starts. At the count of ten, each opponent either makes for the dagger or grabs as many coins to drop in their pouch as possible while trying to force their opponent off the table.

The game ends when, all the coins have been snatched up, or one of the players has been knocked off the table, loses consciousness, or is killed. The player with the most coins in their pouch is the winner in case neither opponent has fallen.

 

[R_J_K75]

one of the early Dungeon adventures had an adventure revolving around a game called Spottle (or something like that), a dice based game where the players rolled dice and a toad in the middle of the table would randomly eat some of them. There was a cast of odd characters playing along with the PCs, one of whom was a not so nice guy keeping the game going long enough for some hobgoblin slavers to come by...

I seem to remember this one, especially the toad. I think the DM had run that Dungeon adventure then reskinned that encounter for one of our games. Reading some of these threads really makes me realize how bad my memory is,

 

[Richards]

That was "At the Spottle Parlor" in Dungeon #12 being referenced in posts #10 and #12 above.

Johnathan

 

[Stormonu]

Three Dragon Ante...

I also seem to recall Ghost Tower of Iverness having a chess puzzle/game in it, where the players had to move like chess pieces.

Castle Amber had a boxing ring where you could box Magen (golems).

The 1E DMG had an entire section in it on games of chance and their rules.

 

[Rabulias]

Not an official source, but in one of my games there was a 5 day festival in a city that survived an attack by fire giants, ogres, and gnolls 10 years ago, and started a festival to celebrate their survival. In the lead up to the festival, people would decorate upside down barrels to resemble the head of the fire giantess who led the attack. The day before the festival began, a panel of judges would select the most fearsome head. The head would be attached to the top of a solid 30-foot-tall, 3-foot-diameter log.

The upper portion of this log would be decorated with heavy burlap stuffed with hay, and covered with a rigging of rope, forming a "torso." There would also be two 5-foot-long chains covered with thick padding, attached as "arms" and these could swing freely. The log would then be inserted into a 15-foot-deep shaft that was about 5 feet in diameter at the top, narrowing to about 3 feet in diameter at the bottom. Six 30-foot-long ropes radiated from the giantess's "neck." The ground surrounding the shaft is covered with 3 to 4 feet of hay for a 10-foot radius or so. A 10-foot-tall wooden platform is built just outside the radius, with an extendable platform that gets about 7 feet from the "torso."

Festival attendees can pay a silver piece to leap from the extended platform and grab hold of the torso's rigging. Once they have jumped, the platform is removed and a six-person team holding the ropes begins to rock the log back and forth in the shaft, and even spin it around, which causes the padded arms to flail about, possibly knocking the contestant off. I had a short table that I rolled on to determine what happened round to round, but it was basically a bunch of Strength checks and Dexterity checks at various penalties. Those who lasted 30 seconds (5 rounds) got their silver piece back. Those who lasted a minute or more got a gold piece. At the end of the festival the person who held on the longest was awarded 10 gold and was on the panel of judges for the following year, and the log and the barrel become the central portion of the great bonfire marking the festival's conclusion.

This is all done to recreate a heroic act witnessed in the assault on the city 10 years ago, where someone (no one knows exactly who...) leapt onto the giantess's back, stabbing at her while holding on despite all the giantess's attempts to brush them off.

 

[not-so-newguy]

Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (Tales From The Yawning Portal)

There's a sport-type game called Pelota. I can't remember any details though. If you own it, it's worth a look.

 

[MNblockhead]

Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (Tales From The Yawning Portal)

There's a sport-type game called Pelota. I can't remember any details though. If you own it, it's worth a look.

Is is a game involving the PCs vs a magic ball. Goals on North and South. There are rules for the balls movement and for how the players can grab and hold it and move it. But it plays more like a combat than a sport. You make attack roles against the balls AC. The game continues until the characters die or they score a goal that puts them two points ahead of the ball's score.