PDA

View Full Version : Area Tournament 26/50 [3.5]



The_Scourge
2010-10-11, 11:29 PM
So I'm running a D&D 3.5 tournament using a ruleset a friend of mine whipped up and used a few years ago. The basic gist of the whole thing is it's an arena fight (arena is a loose term) where all the combatants go at it at once. the basic rules are as follows:
“ARENA 26-50” player versus player combat format rules

ARENA CONVENTIONS:
The arena will be run by an administrator, who will in all respects act as Dungeon Master. The administrator is to settle disputes as necessary and maintain order during the Arena game.

WIZARDS OF THE COAST ONLY: Only up-to-date print sources produced by Wizards of the Coast with any provided errata and updates may be used. Savage Species is not allowed, because someone must have been using hallucinogenic drugs while they proofread those rules. Similarly, the monsters from the Epic level handbook are off-limits, because they make shapechange and similar spells ridiculous. Note that regeneration for undead needs to be changed, as obviously invincible characters are not cool.

ECL 26: No character shall have a total effective character level above 26. This does not represent the appropriate number of experience points. Experience points may not be spent on item creation, spells, or other abilities, either before or during the arena game.

50 POINT BUY: Ability scores will be generated according to the “50 point-buy” method.

1 MILLION GOLD PIECES: Characters may be equipped with objects whose market price monetary value cannot exceed 1 million gold pieces in value. The total weight of items carried must be less than or equal to the maximum carrying capacity of the character. No item without a known monetary value may be used (such as artifacts).

THE CHEESE STANDS ALONE: Only one creature can be used. No character may have a familiar, animal companion, special mount, or other such creature. No steeds, cohorts, followers, companions or any other being may accompany the character (this includes companions that are connected to class abilities as well as constructs such as golems). Abilities that bring creatures into the arena through conjuration (summoning) effects may be used as normal.

CAGE MATCH: The playing field will exist in a non-infinite demiplane NOT coterminous to the Astral Plane. No method is effective at escaping the Arena. It may have its own Plane of Shadow and/or Ethereal Plane according to administrator discretion. This may result in limiting or eliminating the usefulness of some spells and/or abilities that make use of the Astral Plane, such as the “Teleport” spell and spells that provide interplanar travel. A partial list of these spells is in the Manual to the Planes, page 32, and a full list will also be provided by the administrator during the game. Further details are subject to administrator discretion. Entrant characters should be able to function in a variety of terrain forms and environmental conditions. This rule is in effect primarily to prevent the combatants from leaving the arena or escaping enemies simply by having a larger speed.
The administrator determines exactly what is required to qualify for a victory. If a character fails to do anything productive for a long period of time, then that character can be considered to have lost (such as in the case of a vampire or ghost that has been temporarily destroyed).

ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY: Characters will have average hit points per hit die. The total will be rounded down. In general, no dice or randomization methods should be used in character creation.
Non-standard races and templates without known and printed ECLs may not be used. Creatures that have an ECL appropriate only for cohorts may not be used (Mephits, for example).
Creatures and abilities that require DM discretion or extrapolation in order to have functional rules cannot be used, such as the spell “Wish”. Epic class progressions that have not been explicitly printed may not be used. If there is any reasonable doubt as to the meaning of a rule, it may not be used.
An Arena 26-50 character must be of undisputable and unimpeachable legality, and be subject to peer review at any time. This rule exists to make sure that everyone knows the score, and to limit the citing of obscure rules and the abuse of loopholes.

PREPARATION TIME (THERE AIN’T ANY): The character gets as much time as he or she needs to set up items, rest and gain spells, channel spells into spell storing items, and do other similarly time-consuming things. Once the battle begins, though, there will be no spells or abilities active.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: This game is supposed to be fun. When making a character, keep the entertainment value of awesome characters forefront in your mind. Remember that winning is only one means to the goal of making the game fun.


What I'm looking for from you playgrounders are suggestions on what kind of "arenas" would make something like this enjoyable, dynamic and interesting for the players (the arena will "shift" to something new every five turns or so) for example, one idea I had was a floating maze made of walls of force, so they could all see each other but not find each other right away. Also any rediculous builds, character ideas or what have you. Go nuts. *gets popcorn*

Keld Denar
2010-10-12, 12:01 AM
So...kinda like Test of Spite, but at a rediculous level where the game mechanics break down to the point of being nearly non-functional? Hmmmmm...

The_Scourge
2010-10-12, 02:56 AM
Yeah, pretty much. It's more a test of rediculosity and nonsense than anything else.

Rixx
2010-10-12, 04:11 AM
Sounds like a lot of work!