A friend and myself have been working on a gladiator style of campaign which we call "The Gauntlet".
We're struggling to find enough players really for full proper campaigns, and this is a way for us to play with a less than optimal number of players. It can be run with as low as two people, and also it isn't as time consuming as regular games, so we can play a round every weeknight or so.
Introduction.
The gauntlet is a series of combat encounters set in various different situations. A powerful and potentially insane Wizard has set up the gauntlet for reasons unknown, and adventurers can compete in order to seek fame and fortune. Spectators from far and wide across the land come to watch the teams try and make it through alive.
The Participants.
Each team is made up of 12 individuals, one of each class. Each character can be of any subclass, but the only constraint is one main class type per individual. The participants start off at level 1, and their goal is to survive 21 challenges, emerging at the other end victorious. Each team fields no more and no less than four participants for each challenge, and they can pick and choose which participants they field before each battle.
Death is permanent however in this challenge, and if at any one time a team finds themselves unable to field the required four, they are disqualified.
The Challenges.
Each challenge is unique, and a mix of combat and non combat challenges. Instead of just a straight up arena fight, each battlefield usually has a unique defining feature, hazard, or obstacle. Not only must the participants defeat the opposing force, but they also must survive the hazards each battlefield presents to them.
There is also usually a secondary objective to complete. Completing this objective pushes the participants harder, and is completely optional, but completing it offers greater rewards. Secondary objectives are usually such things as rescuing NPCs in time, bypassing a dangerous hazard, and things of that nature.
Each challenge is very difficult, starting off as deadly x2, and then at each tier of playing increasing up to deadly x5 at level 17-20.
The Rewards.
Completing a challenge rewards the participants who actively partook in that challenge enough experience to level. All other team members who did not participant gain XP as well, but at 0.5 the rate. Completing the primary objective of destroying the other team grants a reward chest, which is a roll on the hoard treasure table (with all loot completely random).
If secondary objectives are completed an additional chest is rewarded.
Gold can be spent on the equipment table in the players handbook between fights, and other spell casting services between may be required.
Injury and Death.
If a participant is dropped to 0hp during a fight, but is stablized or healed, they suffer a lingering injury. These injuries can be healed for gold between challenges, with regeneration services being the most costly.
If a participant is killed outright, they are dead permanently. There is no resurrection. Participants will have to ensure they rotate enough combatants through each challenge to ensure that they don't lose all their veteran members. Attrition is to be expected.
Roleplaying and Exploration.
Obviously this campaign focuses on the combat pillar of D&D, but we are looking at ways of adding more exploration and roleplay (particularly in between challenges) into the mix.
Victory.
Completing 20 challenges will bring he participants up to level 20 (provided they have their original team members still alive). There will be one final challenge at level 20, passing that means victory.
Conclusion.
I am the player in this campaign, with one DM. So far he has put a couple of very interesting challenges, and surviving through the first couple has felt very rewarding (and challenging at the same time!). What I enjoy about this is I get to experiment with all the classes across all the levels, which will help my own DM skills in the long run. However this could easily support more players and such (even rotating through 12 players!).
We're struggling to find enough players really for full proper campaigns, and this is a way for us to play with a less than optimal number of players. It can be run with as low as two people, and also it isn't as time consuming as regular games, so we can play a round every weeknight or so.
Introduction.
The gauntlet is a series of combat encounters set in various different situations. A powerful and potentially insane Wizard has set up the gauntlet for reasons unknown, and adventurers can compete in order to seek fame and fortune. Spectators from far and wide across the land come to watch the teams try and make it through alive.
The Participants.
Each team is made up of 12 individuals, one of each class. Each character can be of any subclass, but the only constraint is one main class type per individual. The participants start off at level 1, and their goal is to survive 21 challenges, emerging at the other end victorious. Each team fields no more and no less than four participants for each challenge, and they can pick and choose which participants they field before each battle.
Death is permanent however in this challenge, and if at any one time a team finds themselves unable to field the required four, they are disqualified.
The Challenges.
Each challenge is unique, and a mix of combat and non combat challenges. Instead of just a straight up arena fight, each battlefield usually has a unique defining feature, hazard, or obstacle. Not only must the participants defeat the opposing force, but they also must survive the hazards each battlefield presents to them.
There is also usually a secondary objective to complete. Completing this objective pushes the participants harder, and is completely optional, but completing it offers greater rewards. Secondary objectives are usually such things as rescuing NPCs in time, bypassing a dangerous hazard, and things of that nature.
Each challenge is very difficult, starting off as deadly x2, and then at each tier of playing increasing up to deadly x5 at level 17-20.
The Rewards.
Completing a challenge rewards the participants who actively partook in that challenge enough experience to level. All other team members who did not participant gain XP as well, but at 0.5 the rate. Completing the primary objective of destroying the other team grants a reward chest, which is a roll on the hoard treasure table (with all loot completely random).
If secondary objectives are completed an additional chest is rewarded.
Gold can be spent on the equipment table in the players handbook between fights, and other spell casting services between may be required.
Injury and Death.
If a participant is dropped to 0hp during a fight, but is stablized or healed, they suffer a lingering injury. These injuries can be healed for gold between challenges, with regeneration services being the most costly.
If a participant is killed outright, they are dead permanently. There is no resurrection. Participants will have to ensure they rotate enough combatants through each challenge to ensure that they don't lose all their veteran members. Attrition is to be expected.
Roleplaying and Exploration.
Obviously this campaign focuses on the combat pillar of D&D, but we are looking at ways of adding more exploration and roleplay (particularly in between challenges) into the mix.
Victory.
Completing 20 challenges will bring he participants up to level 20 (provided they have their original team members still alive). There will be one final challenge at level 20, passing that means victory.
Conclusion.
I am the player in this campaign, with one DM. So far he has put a couple of very interesting challenges, and surviving through the first couple has felt very rewarding (and challenging at the same time!). What I enjoy about this is I get to experiment with all the classes across all the levels, which will help my own DM skills in the long run. However this could easily support more players and such (even rotating through 12 players!).
