Playing hockey in DnD

[roguerouge]

My game is heading to the icy north, so I'll need games to let the PCs get to know the culture of the inhabitants. So, I thought, with the Olympics on TV, why not hockey?

But how?

How would you create a quick rules system incorporating: passing, shots on goal, checking, intercepting passes, and making saves?

Would you do it as a combat on ice? Make it an abstract skill challenge? Something in between?

 

[Celebrim]

As soon as you try to simulate hockey or football, you realize how how problimatic turn based combat systems are.

You'll need to try to simulate simulataneous action. The simpliest change here would be implement a strict turn order - move first, then shoot/check, etc.

For initiative, slowest moves first and acts last.

Remembering that just moving on skates if you aren't proficient with them going to require a balance check vs. say DC 10, remember that double moves carry a penalty on balance checks.

Shooting/Passing is an attack, vs. say 10 DC. Non-weapon proficiencies with both sticks and skates apply and stack. Defenders (including golley) provide cover, which increases difficulty of the pass/attack. Moving the puck with the stick is a DC 5 attack - failure means it squirts out (grenade based attack to determine direction) and moves at your speed away from you.

Recieving a pass, blocking a shot, intercepting a pass is also an attack, vs. 10 DC in the case of recieving a pass or an opposed roll in the case of blocking a shot or intercepting a pass. To block or intercept, the shot must pass through your square.

Checking is a bullrush or overrun. Both sides have to make balance checks. Stealing the puck is a disarm attempt. Illegal checking is a trip. Personal fouls is an actual attack. Some feats might help here. You might allow 'dirty play', such as getting away with a foul on a successful bluff check. This of course may provoke actual fighting.

 

[MortalPlague]

This of course may provoke actual fighting.

Much like actual hockey.

I'd make shooting a simple attack roll, modified by DEX, WIS, or CHA for a wrist shot (which is more accurate), versus STR, CON, or INT for a slap shot (which has greater range). Quickness, good eyes, and faking the goalie are all great in close, whereas for a slap shot from the point, you need physical might or a good knowledge of where the puck will bounce or tip.

The goalie would then roll an opposed attack. A success would make for a save.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'd abstract almost all of it.

What's important to you as a DM? Do you want a result that makes sense, or one that is narratively satisfying? Will the PC's be actually playing in a game of Hockey & Hosers?

If simulation is more your style, have the opposing teams make Athletics checks in each "quarter," with the winner scoring on the loser, and maybe scoring, say, one point more if they beat them by 10 or better. Let the PC's make Athletics checks to sway the score one way or the other (maybe each PC can try and either make a goal on their own, or they can block another's attempt, in each quarter).

If you lean more on the narrative side, it should, of course, come down to a dead heat with the PC's against the other side. In this case, you might want to run it like a Skill Challenge in the final round, with each success getting closer to the final goal, until, with the final success, they score the winning goal and win it all.

If the PC's aren't participating, just determine the winner randomly.

It might be interesting to make it a bit more combat-focused. In this case, HP is essentially the clock, running out gradually until it reaches 0. If the PC's can "attack" the goal enough (give it some Defenses), each "hit" might score a point. To defend their own goal, they need to heal and provoke.

I'd go with a skill challenge kind of thing.

The Cleric-type might be able to challenge a goal the enemies make on a technicality ("That was clearly a foul!")

The Rogue-type might be able to anticipate how they'll score next ("Look, I heard the locker-room chat, they're going to try the Poison Dragon play.")

The Fighter-type might be good at picking fights with the others, distracting them from their end result ("I'm going to punch the big guy. I might get some bench time, but I'll neutralize the worst of it.")

The Wizard-type might have some tricks for getting goals ("I'll teleport it right in front of you, don't worry.")


Anyway, brainstorming, throwing ideas against the wall. Let us know how it turns out, sounds cool!

 

[LostSoul]

If you wanted to play it out action-by-action it would take forever.

I'd give each side 3 scoring chances each period. You zoom in on each scoring chance and play it out action-by-action. Maybe a random table would say where the scoring chance starts and the situation - behind the net, defensive zone, neutral ice, etc. Another roll on another table would say what's going on in the play - bad change, power play, short-handed chance, offensive zone turnover, regular attack, etc.

You'd have some kind of way to increase/decrease scoring chances based on some rolls - momentum, what happened in the game, team morale, etc.

Each player should be rated in a number of skills; speed, puck handling, checking, shooting, etc. You could go to a scouting report and use those things.

That would be the basic framework of play.

In each scoring chance, action-by-action, I think the easiest thing would be to have each player say what they were doing ("I head to the front of the net", "I pass back to the point", "I get in the shooting lane", etc.); each player would probably have to roll a skill, the rolls would determine who's successful, and the DM would figure it all out and have it make sense. ("You pass back to the point while the center gets in front of the goalie; the puck's at the point but the center's in his face.")

All these actions would have some modifiers to them. That could get complex or be a pretty abstract set of numbers (-5 -2 +2 +5).

That would continue until the scoring chance is over. The defending team could force a turnover and get a chance to score of their own, something like forcing a turnover at the blue line when you're shorthanded and getting a breakaway.

What happens in the scoring chance would feed back into the momentum roll, giving you an opportunity to get more scoring chances. A goal is nice (but 3-0 isn't); a fight or a big hit might provide a boost; a great save could help; short-handed goals are always great; etc.


That's how I'd set it up.

Then you could have campaign play. Maybe you'd play the GM, making trades; maybe you'd play the player heading home, and what happens there could impact your on-ice performance.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Don't forget using your AoOs for poke checks and penalties.

Hmmm...Poke Checks & Penalties...that's a perfect name for a 3.5 Hockey RPG.

 

[unan oranis]

Well, the easy thing would be to make it an opposing skill challenge dice-off, matched to a simple flow-chart of predetermined clutch moments.

Or, take a look at blood-bowl and strip it down to it's absolute simplest structure, you ought to be able to make a rough soccer/hockey turn based game out of that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Or...just use the rules from some minis combat game.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Or...just use the rules from some minis combat game.

Why not use Blood bowl and make some changes?

 

[jmucchiello]

At 6 seconds a round, a hockey game is 600 rounds. How many game sessions will the "combat" take to play out? This sounds like something built for a series of skill challenges. When you have the puck a successful skill challege gets you an attack on goal. A failure is a turn over. When they have the puck a successful skill challenge steals the puck. Otherwise they get an attack on your goal (whoever contributes the last success makes a ranged attack against the goalie). Have maybe 10 rounds of this per period. Picking the skill for the skill challenges has me a little floundered but I'm sure you can figure something out.