Hey guys, I've been selected to serve as the best man at my best friend's wedding this summer (which is a huge honor, of course) and one of the traditional duties of this position is of course to plan the bachelor party. Just to get this out of the way, none of us are much interested in strippers, excessive booze, etc. so they "typical" suggestions that you usually hear don't do us much good.
Instead, given that me and my buddy have grown up with D&D, video games, and assorted literature, I've been tossing an idea around in my head for a while now, which I can best sum up as this:
The Quest for Marriage: an adventure for mid-level characters in the reality campaign setting.
See, we've been going on adventures our whole lives within these games, so I figure it'd be pretty cool to give him a chance to go on a "real" adventure for a change, (before he embarks on one of life's biggest, that is), and it's something that I think he'd really get a kick out of.
I've already arranged to rent a cabin from some family friends in the Bend, Oregon area and I'd love to send him off across our lovely pacific northwest environs to take on a series of challenges and adventures that will help him prepare for married life.
What I'm asking from you guys is the opportunity to pick your brains a little, and see if we can come up with a list of suggestions and ideas for "encounters" so to speak. These can be puzzles, riddles, or physical challenges, but all with an emphasis on skills that will aid him in being a good husband to his new wife.
So if anybody's got any suggestions, then let me hear 'em: I'm hoping that we can accumulate enough ideas to get a good "campaign" planned out, and if all goes well, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.
Thanks a lot, folks.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
I'm looking to replicate the epic adventure feel of a D&D campaign in the real world. Example: we give him a GPS and some coordinates that will lead him to a point where he'll undergo a challenge (target shooting to prove he can defend his family, obstacle course w/ the groomsmen to demonstrate he has friends to keep him on the right track, etc.). Basically imagine for a moment that we're sending him on a Baggins-esque adventure before and in preparation for his impending nuptials.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
have a few people show up dressed as giant spiders?
I'm kind of drawing a blank, thats all I got, just make sure that you have a first aid kit cleric there just in case.
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Ultimately what is the point of being a wizard if you can't force the laws of physics to sit in a corner and cry softly?
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If you get lucky you can then sacrifice the paladins. Odds are they are virgins too.
Hell, if you do things right you only need a single virgin to start with. After that, they get home delivered
Stuff like Munchkin is definitely in the running for later in the day, when we're just grilling up some steak and breaking open some scotch.
I'll, uh, I'll run the spider thing past folks. If anybody happens to have such a thing on hand then I'd probably be pretty concerned, actually.
And the groom's brother is a registered nurse so we've got plenty of heals on hand. Hopefully they won't be needed, as I'd rather not have to explain to the bride why her fiance is missing an arm, but y'know. Frodo didn't walk away without a few scratches after all.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
Ok, few quick ideas for obstacles that any husband/father will need to be able to achieve:
1. The ability to pack a car. Have a car, have a massive pile of crap, demand that he pack it all in ASAP and be able to fit himself and 1-2 people in afterwards.
2. Cleaning up. Take him to an area filled pizza boxes, empty bottles of booze (and if possible a couple of piles of puke... fake or real). He needs to clean up after his boy's night before the missus gets home.
3. The gauntlet of insults. Any real husband needs to be able to take a wifes nagging. Sit him in a circles of people and take turns throwing taunts at him "What you can't get it up again?!", "I told you three times to take out the garbage!" etc... he needs to respond in a set time period with an excuse/apology or fail (some sort of "take a drink" tax for each failure).
4. Does my bum look fat in this? He needs to be able to deal with curly questions a wife throws at him with lightning speed. Get all your mates together and put on women's clothing. Take turns asking him ridiculous questions "does my bum look fat in this?", "Do these shoes go with my dress?", etc. Again, tax him for failing.
5. The kid carry. Kids hate walking, and he'll be expected to carry a kid and a pile of other things at once. Set up a really simple obstacle course (some over/unders, side-stepping through poles, balance beam, etc) and have him carry a toy baby, nappy-bag, some grocery shopping, whatever else. He needs to complete the course as fast as possible without killing the kid or causing it massive brain damage.
6. The finances. Leave this one til last and he is appropriately not sober. We all know women can't manage money. Give him a fake income and list of bills (credit card covered with charges for shoes, electricity, food, rent, nappies, etc) and have him ensure he can afford to survive the month. For bonus points get him to determine how many RPG books/dice he can buy with the leftover funds (if any). To add difficulty consistently interrupt him with nagging 'aren't you finished yet?', 'darling can I buy this pair of shoes, they're sooo pretty, and only $150!!'.
All I got for now.
[Edit: added an extra one]
Last edited by Slylizard : 04-15-2013 at 01:12 AM.
I'm thinking this should include softair somewhere in the process.
Most of us are more paintball guys (but let's not get into that old argument) and have sold most of our stuff by now.
Before any kind of imbibing begins, we do have a halfway decent stockpile of real firearms, so I'll probably try to work in some kind of marksmanship challenge.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
Off topic: we actually did this for a friend of mine.
We found a good location (an island in the fjord with ruins of a mediaeval monastery), made or rented costumes, borrowed a ****-load of swords from friends, made 'magic potions' (Aftershock and similarly vile alcoholic beverages), got a few extras to help us (being minor random encounters and a squire), then made a minor 'quest to save the princess' adventure on the island, where he had to fight the black knight, best a wizard in a game of wits, and best the evil cleric, before rescuing the princess from the tower. The princess was the least feminine of us dressed up in a slutty dress, a long blond wig and the most garish pink-orange lipstick we could find.
Then the princes was 'wedded' to his princess by the defeated evil-turned-good cleric.
Making sure he was really hungover from the night before, of course.
On topic, can't really add anything. Except maybe a cooking test (especially if he's a lousy cook already)
Very interesting! I was thinking of having a live-roleplaying scenario for my best friend's bachelors party. It got far too complicated to arrange, and needed more people than was availible (and not all friends were into roleplaying anyway). Still I definitely appreciate the non-stripper+heavy-booze route. I will think about this and see if I can offer any suggestions.
Off topic: we actually did this for a friend of mine.
We found a good location (an island in the fjord with ruins of a mediaeval monastery), made or rented costumes, borrowed a ****-load of swords from friends, made 'magic potions' (Aftershock and similarly vile alcoholic beverages), got a few extras to help us (being minor random encounters and a squire), then made a minor 'quest to save the princess' adventure on the island, where he had to fight the black knight, best a wizard in a game of wits, and best the evil cleric, before rescuing the princess from the tower. The princess was the least feminine of us dressed up in a slutty dress, a long blond wig and the most garish pink-orange lipstick we could find.
Then the princes was 'wedded' to his princess by the defeated evil-turned-good cleric.
Making sure he was really hungover from the night before, of course.
On topic, can't really add anything. Except maybe a cooking test (especially if he's a lousy cook already)
An island with a castle on it?
You win. All the things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorsa
Very interesting! I was thinking of having a live-roleplaying scenario for my best friend's bachelors party. It got far too complicated to arrange, and needed more people than was availible (and not all friends were into roleplaying anyway). Still I definitely appreciate the non-stripper+heavy-booze route.
Yeah, we're not really LARPers, and we wouldn't have the equipment on hand anyway. Just thought something like this would be cool and like you said, booze and strippers aren't really our thing: such is the life when you get about a dozen life-long church goers to plan a bachelor party.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Epic
Come to think of it, a 15 card expansion for Munchkin based on bachelor parties would be AWESOME!!!
How has that not happened already?
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
A small monastery, not a castle, or even a fort. And apart from the semi-ruined tower which is maybe 4 meters high, all that's left are some knee-high walls.
A small monastery, not a castle, or even a fort. And apart from the semi-ruined tower which is maybe 4 meters high, all that's left are some knee-high walls.
Give them time. Considering all the expansions and stand alone games, it's only a matter of time. Munchkin is practically rule 34 but with cards: if it exists, there's a Munchkin version of it.
They seriously need to make an Adventure Time stand alone game. They're doing it for Pathfinder. I will not die happy until I've played Munchkin Adventure Time.
a win it is indeed.. it reminds me painfully of the fact that in the family (sort off.. it's the dad of 2 of my brothers) we actually own a rather dilapidated but still very impressive medieval abbey somewhere in Tuscany that is just standing there collecting debts.. when it could be used for larping, movie making and all sorts of "in period" fun.. makes me angry to think about it
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a triple cheer for Wojiz, for making me my very own Avatar...
a win it is indeed.. it reminds me painfully of the fact that in the family (sort off.. it's the dad of 2 of my brothers) we actually own a rather dilapidated but still very impressive medieval abbey somewhere in Tuscany that is just standing there collecting debts.. when it could be used for larping, movie making and all sorts of "in period" fun.. makes me angry to think about it
... damn, man. I mean, apart from the fact that that's all kinds of awesome as-is, you touch that thing up some and register it with a travel agency as a rental property and you've got potential for some serious bank. Tuscan real estate is crazy valuable what with all the building restrictions.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
... damn, man. I mean, apart from the fact that that's all kinds of awesome as-is, you touch that thing up some and register it with a travel agency as a rental property and you've got potential for some serious bank. Tuscan real estate is crazy valuable what with all the building restrictions.
sadly no.. there are all sorts of issues..
the moron (that is, my brother and sister's dad), is full of debts (mainly taxes) and his business sense has left him when he turned fifty..some 20+ years ago
the whole thing is in shambles but, given the sheer size of it, to get it up to a level where you can actually get permits for running a hotel or any other venue open to the public, would require several million euros worth of investment..the private road to get there is actually only suited for donkeys and has claimed several parts of my little brother and sister's cars already.
you could of course start talking about history-themed tours and such.. in which case, there's the ministry of .. not sure there's an equivalent in english..anyway, it's a ministry that gets involved into the management of items of historic, archaeologic and artistic value..cultural heritage and somesuch..despite the property being privately owned.
their approach is usually "everybody freeze, don't touch a thing.. we'll set up a committee and let you know where to go from here.. in 10 years time.. and with your own money"
anyway, this is the place: italian wikipedia entry
the car in the picture is of the aforementioned moron and I remember getting stuck in it's trunk, whilst playing hide-and-seek as a kid, some 25-26 years ago. someone's blog in english
incidentally, I do seem to remember it is also on one of the historic pilgrimage routes..
sadly the place will stay as is, and slowly fall to pieces until the current owner kicks the bucket and my brother and sister can convince their other half sister (on his side) to sell the damn thing off to some magnate with the resources to put this place on the map the way it deserves
I'll stop derailing the thread though.
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a triple cheer for Wojiz, for making me my very own Avatar...
One of the wedding presents better be a sword, gosh darnit!
I've actually thought about that. Since not everybody is able to make it to the bachelor party and thus it wouldn't be fair to make them pay for the lodging, we're thinking about having them go in on a "quest reward" together. As everybody knows the best quest rewards consist of gear-based loot, we wanna get him a replica of Anduril, which his wife may or may not let him display prominently around the house.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
Ok, here goes, before me someone posted an interesting challenge, but allow me to approach this form a fantasy viewpoint:
The gauntlet.
Whgat is the gauntlet I hear you say?
Well, the gauntlet is a series of tests and trials for the hero to overcome so he can win a boon/prize (in this case marriage with his wife). I see you have access to paintball so I will take that into consideration. The Gauntlet is usually made up form tests for intellect (riddle), insight (puzzle), stamina (run/time based something), strength (defeat a big monster/over come strength challenge) and marksmanship.
So, how do we do this? First: gather a couple of friends. You plus one for each challenge is enough. the first friend won't let the husband to be pass if the riddle is not solved. (granting 1 of 4 paintball gun parts). The second friend initiates the golden triangle: 3 beers in a triangle and one on top of it (glasses that is). the friend and the groom to be will face each other off drinking (stamina being constitution with drinks). If he finishes first he gets the next part for the gun. if he loses he will need to run 3 rounds around the block or something. The third friend will armwrestle the groom for another part of the gun. if the groom loses, he will need to push up 50 times (in total, can be broken up in smaller sets). The fourth will give the groom a matrix equation (5 by 5) to solve, success gives the last part of the gun (or the ammo). You, as the best man, will challenge the groom for a duel for his wife. You each walk 15 steps, turn, and shoot. He will need to hit you to be albe to claim his wife (retries possible). By then he has passed the Gauntlet and will be able to claim his wife on his weddingday.
fantasy/dnd/hero themed? check. Marriage themed? check. Woudl I want this on my bachelorparty(if I ever have one)? Oh yeah!
At the end the groom will probably be starving and thirsty so the grilling and scotch will be great for him.
__________________ "Where do promiscious fillies go?" - Awesome Tyrion Ponytar by Elemental
First: gather a couple of friends. You plus one for each challenge is enough. the first friend won't let the husband to be pass if the riddle is not solved. (granting 1 of 4 paintball gun parts). The second friend initiates the golden triangle: 3 beers in a triangle and one on top of it (glasses that is). the friend and the groom to be will face each other off drinking (stamina being constitution with drinks). If he finishes first he gets the next part for the gun. if he loses he will need to run 3 rounds around the block or something. The third friend will armwrestle the groom for another part of the gun. if the groom loses, he will need to push up 50 times (in total, can be broken up in smaller sets). The fourth will give the groom a matrix equation (5 by 5) to solve, success gives the last part of the gun (or the ammo). You, as the best man, will challenge the groom for a duel for his wife. You each walk 15 steps, turn, and shoot. He will need to hit you to be albe to claim his wife (retries possible). By then he has passed the Gauntlet and will be able to claim his wife on his weddingday.
fantasy/dnd/hero themed? check. Marriage themed? check. Woudl I want this on my bachelorparty(if I ever have one)? Oh yeah!
At the end the groom will probably be starving and thirsty so the grilling and scotch will be great for him.
Okay, I dig this. I'll add a few challenges here and there as my current idea is to have him expand his Fellowship as he goes and there's eight of us combined, not including the groom. (9 companions... how 'bout that?) But yeah, good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Succubus
If you're looking for inspiration, play Skyrim and accept a quest from a guy called "Sam Guinn" in any bar in a major city...
Good plan. Not sure where I'm gonna find a goat, though...
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
So... what's the status on the Marriage gauntlet? Is the groom still alive?
Hah, yeah, he's still breathing. Showtime is one week from today, and I've got just about everything all organized now. For those interested, the quest begins next Saturday mid-morning and will consist of the following:
The Challenge of Strength: Surprisingly enough, entry level physical requirements for the USMC are actually fairly easy: 2 pullups, 35 crunches, and a sub-13 minute 1-mile. Our buddy isn't the most athletic dude around, but he should be able to manage this with a bit of sweat.
The Challenge of Dexterity: As a firearms enthusiast, this seemed the best bet for dex, as it contributes to ranged attack rolls. I ordered a set 12 zombie-themed silhouette targets, and we'll set 4 of them up at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. Behind the 100 yd target I've got a jar of Tannerite that should provide a sufficiently large boom (and a pretty big surprise for him). My Mosin might have a bit of trouble reaching out that far with consistent accuracy but I've got enough ammo to make do, and we'll have enough targets left over for the rest of us to do some plinking with whatever else we have along.
The Challenge of Constitution: Mt. Hood, Oregon, where we'll be staying (had to relocate from Bend as the drive was too far for some guests) has no shortage of pretty cool hikes. With a moderate length and elevation gain, you need to have some level of endurance to stick with it, and it'll provide some good 'ol male bonding time for all of us (along with the obligatory "traveling Fellowship" scene).
The Challenge of Intelligence: There's a series of video games called "You Don't Know Jack" that operate like a trivia game show. One or two episodes of that against three other guests should do the job, and the little I've played of it so far makes me think we can have quite a bit of fun with it the rest of the time we're there, too.
The Challenge of Wisdom: For a good long while I couldn't think of anything beyond "riddles" and that was kinda lame. So instead I turned biblical: the Apostle Paul wrote that when he was a child he acted as a child, but when he became a man he put childish things behind him. This is one of the more commonly-quoted passages when discussing maturation in the Christian faith, and I wanted to emulate that symbolically. Nearly all of these hikes end at either a waterfall, lake, or overlook. I'll have a small rock on hand with the groom's name written on it, along with the word "Bachelor". He'll then chuck it off/into whatever we're standing by at the end there. Apart from being a close parallel to the destruction of the One Ring, it's also a means of symbolizing that he's leaving parts of his old life behind to go on and take on the role of husband and someday father, grandfather, etc.
The Challenge of Charisma: This is another one I stewed on for a while. Ultimately I decided that since he's the one getting married, not us, he's pretty much kicked our collective butts in the charisma department already and more or less give him a pass. That said, some mild ribbing is always needed at these things so making him do the entire gauntlet while wearing a tuxedo t-shirt seemed fitting.
Obviously we'll mix these up a little bit to create the best arc, probably going cha > str > int > dex > con > wis, before heading back for the day and concluding with cigars and a bottle of 10-year-old scotch I picked up for the occasion. The whole thing should take us a few hours and hopefully be a memorable send-off.
In any event, I'd like to extend a thank-you to everybody on here for dishing out ideas, as I never would have gotten the ball rolling on all this on my own. I'll be sure to post back here again and let you know how it turns out. I'm toying with hauling a camera around for the whole thing and mashing it all together into a kind of mock trailer kind of thing, we'll see.
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"Exactly how flammable is this ale?" - Boar, Dwarven Fighter, moments before his own demise.
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