How to make a mage duel interesting?

[Bihor]

I was thinking the other day to make 9th level PC ingage in a mage duel, and I was looking at the spells in all my books and as I see it a duel can be very fast.

So any body done a mage duel that didn't last 1 round?

I was thinking of doing a small optacle course, that the contestant pass with a couple of spell and enter in the duel arena. Maybe two obtacles just to slow the characters. The fastess can try yo ambush the other or one can prepare is defence before giong through the course.

 

[MonkeyDragon]

IIRC, there are rules for magic duels in the DMG II. I don't remember them offhand, but they seemed pretty sensible.

 

[Faraer]

Proper use of wards and mantles.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Let everyone cast protective spells before stepping in.

Have the duellists move on simultaneous initiative. (In other words, each declares an action and it's resolved without knowing the result of the other's choice.)

 

[MarkB]

Let everyone cast protective spells before stepping in.

Have the duellists move on simultaneous initiative. (In other words, each declares an action and it's resolved without knowing the result of the other's choice.)

Duelists (in unison): "I Ready an action to cast <spell> as soon as my opponent begins casting, in order to disrupt his spell."

<Five minutes later>

Tumbleweed: <rolls lazily across the field between the two casters>

 

[Varianor Abroad]

So? Not everyone thinks or acts that way. (If it really bugs you, just allow a counterspell attempt as a move action.)

 

[taliesin15]

I think the key thing here is making it *interesting*. OK--and this goes for any kind of duel, and though this sounds kind of silly, I would love to see someone try either one of these. There's a couple of recent Asian martial arts films God of Cookery and Drunken Master, the former involving use of food in martial arts fights, the latter a warrior who fights better or more creatively when drunk. The whole Fireball/Magic Missile thing is pretty boring when used all the time. This is one reason I prefer the whole Illusionist paradigm.

 

[TheNovaLord]

in last camapign we played in order to progress the party had to win duels (they were all wizards). used the rules for duelling in complete arcane . probably had 10 or so duels over the course of the campaign. Tended to find they finished within 3 to 6 rounds or so.....can get interesting for example if one character blinds another at the same tie the other gets paralysed. A few did drag on (to the point where they were hitting each other with staffs and 0 level spells!!)

Characters got to about 8th level or so. Dont know what would have happened had they started to throw around save or die spells?

JohnD

 

[Contrarian]

Duelists (in unison): "I Ready an action to cast <spell> as soon as my opponent begins casting, in order to disrupt his spell."

<Five minutes later>

Tumbleweed: <rolls lazily across the field between the two casters>

I've used serve-and-return rules, like tennis, for mage duels in games. The mage challenged to the duel decides who must cast a spell first. The other mage counterspells or cast his own spell. After that, they alternate "serving" each round.

I think this makes mage duels more of a intellectual display than a combat duel. Characters need to think strategically, and try to set up one-two punch combinations to outsmart the other guy.

YMMV. In my campaigns, mage duels aren't really about pummeling the other guy, they're about proving you're smarter than the other guy and impressing other mages. Points for style, as it were.

 

[MarkB]

I've used serve-and-return rules, like tennis, for mage duels in games. The mage challenged to the duel decides who must cast a spell first. The other mage counterspells or cast his own spell. After that, they alternate "serving" each round.

That makes sense. I was just visualising a mage duel as the classic western-style standoff, probably to nobody's amusement but my own.