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How to do a 1st-level 'arena fight' without the PCs getting one-shot?
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 8567155" data-attributes="member: 63"><p>One of my players wanted to make a competitive brawler who is at the adventure location because he's touring. I liked the idea and was going to put a little sporting event into the intro session. But then I realized that, well, he's got 8 hit points. Any sort of 'fighting' will last 2 or 3 rounds, and there's not much in the way of tactics or cleverness. </p><p></p><p>What to do? Which of these options might be improvements?</p><p></p><p>'Timing' - The brawl has three ten-round 'stages.' Between stages, you get a one minute break.</p><p></p><p>'Knockout' - If you end your turn at 0 HP three rounds in a row, you're knocked out. If you go to 0 HP three times in the same stage, that's a technical knock out.</p><p></p><p>'Boxing gloves' - Your attacks deal 'temporary' damage unless it's a crit. Sorta like temp HP, temp damage goes away after one minute. If you can make it to the end of a stage, you basically get to reset your health.</p><p></p><p>'Boxing coach' - You've got a buddy who hypes you up before each 'stage' of the brawl (and there are three stages that are 10 rounds long each). This gives you 5 or 10 temp HP, and he can shout <em>healing word</em> twice during the whole encounter to get you back on your feet, but this needs to be used judiciously. (Maybe if I really flesh this out, different coaches provide different types of bonus. Maybe bystanders can cheat and try to also cast <em>healing word</em> without getting noticed, but if they're spotted they'll likely get mobbed by the crowd.)</p><p></p><p>'Dodging' - Use Dodge to do your best Muhammad Ali impression.</p><p></p><p>'Clinching' - A variant of the Disarm optional rule in the DMG, you basically make a Grapple attempt, and if you succeed your opponent cannot deal more than 1 damage with any attack until they break the grab.</p><p></p><p>'Tie-breaker' - If both fighters are still up at the end of the third stage, they make opposed Performance checks to see who put on the better show.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bonus Action Options</strong></p><p>You can attempt these a number of times per bout equal to your proficiency bonus + Int mod.</p><p></p><p>'Trash Talk' - Make an Intimidation check and frighten them for one round if your check beats their Wisdom save. </p><p></p><p>'Feint' - Make a Deception check to get advantage on your next attack if you beat their Wisdom save. </p><p></p><p>'Get a Read' - Insight check vs Int save. If you succeed, you get a +1 bonus to attacks for the rest of the fight.</p><p></p><p>'Wound the Eye' - If you hit with an attack this turn, Con save equal to damage dealt (which is probably pretty low) to blind them until the end of the stage.</p><p></p><p>'Appeal to Ref' - Persuasion check (DC varies) to get the ref to let you get away with something illegal, like making an attack without using the gloves</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 8567155, member: 63"] One of my players wanted to make a competitive brawler who is at the adventure location because he's touring. I liked the idea and was going to put a little sporting event into the intro session. But then I realized that, well, he's got 8 hit points. Any sort of 'fighting' will last 2 or 3 rounds, and there's not much in the way of tactics or cleverness. What to do? Which of these options might be improvements? 'Timing' - The brawl has three ten-round 'stages.' Between stages, you get a one minute break. 'Knockout' - If you end your turn at 0 HP three rounds in a row, you're knocked out. If you go to 0 HP three times in the same stage, that's a technical knock out. 'Boxing gloves' - Your attacks deal 'temporary' damage unless it's a crit. Sorta like temp HP, temp damage goes away after one minute. If you can make it to the end of a stage, you basically get to reset your health. 'Boxing coach' - You've got a buddy who hypes you up before each 'stage' of the brawl (and there are three stages that are 10 rounds long each). This gives you 5 or 10 temp HP, and he can shout [I]healing word[/I] twice during the whole encounter to get you back on your feet, but this needs to be used judiciously. (Maybe if I really flesh this out, different coaches provide different types of bonus. Maybe bystanders can cheat and try to also cast [I]healing word[/I] without getting noticed, but if they're spotted they'll likely get mobbed by the crowd.) 'Dodging' - Use Dodge to do your best Muhammad Ali impression. 'Clinching' - A variant of the Disarm optional rule in the DMG, you basically make a Grapple attempt, and if you succeed your opponent cannot deal more than 1 damage with any attack until they break the grab. 'Tie-breaker' - If both fighters are still up at the end of the third stage, they make opposed Performance checks to see who put on the better show. [B]Bonus Action Options[/B] You can attempt these a number of times per bout equal to your proficiency bonus + Int mod. 'Trash Talk' - Make an Intimidation check and frighten them for one round if your check beats their Wisdom save. 'Feint' - Make a Deception check to get advantage on your next attack if you beat their Wisdom save. 'Get a Read' - Insight check vs Int save. If you succeed, you get a +1 bonus to attacks for the rest of the fight. 'Wound the Eye' - If you hit with an attack this turn, Con save equal to damage dealt (which is probably pretty low) to blind them until the end of the stage. 'Appeal to Ref' - Persuasion check (DC varies) to get the ref to let you get away with something illegal, like making an attack without using the gloves [/QUOTE]
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How to do a 1st-level 'arena fight' without the PCs getting one-shot?
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