One of my players has a background in drinking. Her character is well versed in beers and is known to be able to drink anyone under the table. With that information, I took it upon myself to create a simple drinking game for the characters whenever they get into a drinking contest in game. It's a little more complicated than a simple CON challenge and adds some choice to the players.
I wanted to share for anyone interested (or for feedback for improvement). We've only played this once and all the players had a good time with it. With that said, here is Drunk Quest 5th Edition:
The following rules describe a potential standoff in the bar between 2 or more characters. The goal here is to enjoy a night of drinking! And to drink everyone else under the table! To begin, all participants start with a round of basic ale/mead. Characters level of intoxication is tracked with each new round until a winner is decided on (typically when everyone else falls over in a drunken stupor).
Important terms within the game:
Characters: This refers to PCs and NPCs alike.
DT = Drunk Threshold: A characters DT is 10 + their CON modifier (only if positive). This stat measures a characters ability to drink more before they are severely affected by their drunken state.
Drink Roll: A Drink Roll is made after each drink is taken. This roll is the characters CON save compared to the Drink difficulty values (listed with each drink). A Drink Roll determines how each drink affects the characters TL (Toxicity Level).
TL = Toxicity Level: This value indicates a characters current level of intoxication. The higher this value is, the more drunk the character is. If a characters TL reaches the characters DT or exceeds it, he must make a CON saving throw against his TL level or fall over after each drink while he remains in the game.
TC = Toxicity Change: This value measures the change in a characters drunken state when they have a drink. For example, a TC of +1 increases a characters TL level by 1. These values are used in the Drinks of the Realm table.
Recovery (Optional): This is the characters ability to drop/stabilize their TL. If a Drink Roll ever equals or exceeds the value stated in the Recovery column, the character subtracts 1 from his TL, but only if this reduction does not change their Drunk Category.
Drunk Category: This is an indication of the characters intoxication level.
Categories are ->
Not feeling it yet (TL levels 0-2)
Buzzed (TL levels 3-4)
Tipsy (TL levels 5-7)
s**t Faced (8-x)
Wasted (DT+)
TL levels for s**t Faced are from 8 up to just below the characters DT, while TL levels for Wasted are equal to the characters DT and higher.
------------------------
Toxicity Levels
0-2 Not feeling it yet
3-4 Buzzed 5-7
Tipsy 8-below DT
S**t Faced DT and higher
Wasted
Drinks of the Realm (examples):
Basic Ale/Mead, Recover roll 15+, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+3, 2-4=TC+2, 5-9=TC+1, 10+ = no change. No classes, races, or alignments have bonuses or penalties with Basic Ale/Mead
A lot stronger drink:
Tea Fling Whiskey, Recovery Roll 20+, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+7, 2-4=TC+5, 5-9=TC+3, 10-14=TC+2, 15-19=TC+1, 20+ = no change. Tieflings, 1/2 Orcs, and Dragonborn have bonus +2 to drunk rolls with this drink. Humans, Elves, and 1/2 Elves have -2 to drunk rolls with this drink.
Drink at your own risk (Titans Grave inspired):
Grandma's Sweaty Stout, Recovery roll N/A, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+15, 2-4=TC+11, 5-9=TC+9, 10-14=TC+7, 15-19=TC+5, 20-29=TC+3, 30+ = no change. No bonuses or penalties with this drink, except Grandma has bonus +2 to drunk rolls.
I have a list of other drinks with values ranging everywhere in between. Basic Mead/Ale is the weakest drink I've created while Grandma's Stout is the strongest (not recommended for lower level players or anyone without a CON proficiency!). Note that players are not allowed to know the bonuses/penalties information unless they succeed in an INT (Brewery) check before the game begins.
Before the first round is served, players may make an Intelligence (Brewery) skill check to see what kind of drinks they know works best for them. DM can assign bonuses to this check based on character background or just use INT modifier for check. Based on roll, DM can provide individual players information about the drink list, such as what works best for them or what might be bad for other participants.
Beginning the game:
Round 1 is started with Basic Ale/Mead. First round of drinks is on the house. Each character bottoms up and rolls a CON save against the Ale/Mead DC values listed above. For Ale/Mead, a roll of 10-14 or higher means the character does not gain any TL. A roll of 15 or higher also means there is no TL change (this is the Recovery range, which can potentially lower the characters TL by a point, but never below 0). Since a character at this stage has TL = 0, there is no change. A roll of 6-9 means the character gains TL = 1. A roll of 2-5 means TL now = 2, and a roll of a Natural 1 means TL jumps to 4 (on the first drink, player is already buzzed!! Sucker!).
The player with the highest Drink Roll after each round of drinks is the one who downed the drink the fastest and is the start character for the next round of drinks. This character gets to decide which drink is taken for the next round and (optionally, if drinks are taken in order) is the last to drink for the round.
Optional payment rule: Drinks must be purchased by the character for each participant. Half of each payment goes to the house, the other half goes into the center/winnings pot. If all characters are drinking simultaneously, everyone rolls together and modifies their TL levels. Anyone who reaches Wasted status must then (after everyone modifies TL levels) make a CON save for being Wasted.
If characters are taking turns drinking, they take their drinks in order around the table (starting left of the character who had the best Drink Roll). All characters make their drink rolls immediately upon their turn and make any saves required by the Wasted status category. If a character is knocked out, they are immediately out of the game. If only 1 character remains, they do not have to drink and are declared winner.
Drinks continue round after round until all but one player drops out of the competition.
Any player who reaches TL equal to or greater than their DT+20 immediately falls unconscious.
Bets (Optional)
If characters agree to allow bets, they can do so before the game begins and may increase their bets after each round of drinks. All bets are placed on the table for the eventual winner. Anyone dropping out forfeits all winnings. If drinks are taken simultaneously and nobody remains at the end, the winnings go to the Barkeeper. Characters may agree to share winnings evenly among all remaining participants after any round completes. Bets can also take the form of the payment for the drinks: ie. all drinks purchased require players pay 1/2 to the barkeep for the drinks, the other half in the pot.
That's it...I printed out little cards for each player with their Drunk Threshold printed on it, a place to write their current TL and the categories underneath.
As you may suspect, fighters have an advantage here due to their natural CON proficiency and typically higher CON, but characters who know more about the drinks may be able to tip the scales with informed choices.
The player in my game who has the drinking background is a Tiefling Wizard. Not exactly the type of character you'd think could outdrink anyone, so I gave her a double CON proficiency bonus with "drinking games." So, ya...she's pretty bad ass with the beers. Knows her s**t and can drink it too!
I wanted to share for anyone interested (or for feedback for improvement). We've only played this once and all the players had a good time with it. With that said, here is Drunk Quest 5th Edition:
The following rules describe a potential standoff in the bar between 2 or more characters. The goal here is to enjoy a night of drinking! And to drink everyone else under the table! To begin, all participants start with a round of basic ale/mead. Characters level of intoxication is tracked with each new round until a winner is decided on (typically when everyone else falls over in a drunken stupor).
Important terms within the game:
Characters: This refers to PCs and NPCs alike.
DT = Drunk Threshold: A characters DT is 10 + their CON modifier (only if positive). This stat measures a characters ability to drink more before they are severely affected by their drunken state.
Drink Roll: A Drink Roll is made after each drink is taken. This roll is the characters CON save compared to the Drink difficulty values (listed with each drink). A Drink Roll determines how each drink affects the characters TL (Toxicity Level).
TL = Toxicity Level: This value indicates a characters current level of intoxication. The higher this value is, the more drunk the character is. If a characters TL reaches the characters DT or exceeds it, he must make a CON saving throw against his TL level or fall over after each drink while he remains in the game.
TC = Toxicity Change: This value measures the change in a characters drunken state when they have a drink. For example, a TC of +1 increases a characters TL level by 1. These values are used in the Drinks of the Realm table.
Recovery (Optional): This is the characters ability to drop/stabilize their TL. If a Drink Roll ever equals or exceeds the value stated in the Recovery column, the character subtracts 1 from his TL, but only if this reduction does not change their Drunk Category.
Drunk Category: This is an indication of the characters intoxication level.
Categories are ->
Not feeling it yet (TL levels 0-2)
Buzzed (TL levels 3-4)
Tipsy (TL levels 5-7)
s**t Faced (8-x)
Wasted (DT+)
TL levels for s**t Faced are from 8 up to just below the characters DT, while TL levels for Wasted are equal to the characters DT and higher.
------------------------
Toxicity Levels
0-2 Not feeling it yet
3-4 Buzzed 5-7
Tipsy 8-below DT
S**t Faced DT and higher
Wasted
Drinks of the Realm (examples):
Basic Ale/Mead, Recover roll 15+, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+3, 2-4=TC+2, 5-9=TC+1, 10+ = no change. No classes, races, or alignments have bonuses or penalties with Basic Ale/Mead
A lot stronger drink:
Tea Fling Whiskey, Recovery Roll 20+, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+7, 2-4=TC+5, 5-9=TC+3, 10-14=TC+2, 15-19=TC+1, 20+ = no change. Tieflings, 1/2 Orcs, and Dragonborn have bonus +2 to drunk rolls with this drink. Humans, Elves, and 1/2 Elves have -2 to drunk rolls with this drink.
Drink at your own risk (Titans Grave inspired):
Grandma's Sweaty Stout, Recovery roll N/A, Drunk roll nat 1=TC+15, 2-4=TC+11, 5-9=TC+9, 10-14=TC+7, 15-19=TC+5, 20-29=TC+3, 30+ = no change. No bonuses or penalties with this drink, except Grandma has bonus +2 to drunk rolls.
I have a list of other drinks with values ranging everywhere in between. Basic Mead/Ale is the weakest drink I've created while Grandma's Stout is the strongest (not recommended for lower level players or anyone without a CON proficiency!). Note that players are not allowed to know the bonuses/penalties information unless they succeed in an INT (Brewery) check before the game begins.
Before the first round is served, players may make an Intelligence (Brewery) skill check to see what kind of drinks they know works best for them. DM can assign bonuses to this check based on character background or just use INT modifier for check. Based on roll, DM can provide individual players information about the drink list, such as what works best for them or what might be bad for other participants.
Beginning the game:
Round 1 is started with Basic Ale/Mead. First round of drinks is on the house. Each character bottoms up and rolls a CON save against the Ale/Mead DC values listed above. For Ale/Mead, a roll of 10-14 or higher means the character does not gain any TL. A roll of 15 or higher also means there is no TL change (this is the Recovery range, which can potentially lower the characters TL by a point, but never below 0). Since a character at this stage has TL = 0, there is no change. A roll of 6-9 means the character gains TL = 1. A roll of 2-5 means TL now = 2, and a roll of a Natural 1 means TL jumps to 4 (on the first drink, player is already buzzed!! Sucker!).
The player with the highest Drink Roll after each round of drinks is the one who downed the drink the fastest and is the start character for the next round of drinks. This character gets to decide which drink is taken for the next round and (optionally, if drinks are taken in order) is the last to drink for the round.
Optional payment rule: Drinks must be purchased by the character for each participant. Half of each payment goes to the house, the other half goes into the center/winnings pot. If all characters are drinking simultaneously, everyone rolls together and modifies their TL levels. Anyone who reaches Wasted status must then (after everyone modifies TL levels) make a CON save for being Wasted.
If characters are taking turns drinking, they take their drinks in order around the table (starting left of the character who had the best Drink Roll). All characters make their drink rolls immediately upon their turn and make any saves required by the Wasted status category. If a character is knocked out, they are immediately out of the game. If only 1 character remains, they do not have to drink and are declared winner.
Drinks continue round after round until all but one player drops out of the competition.
Any player who reaches TL equal to or greater than their DT+20 immediately falls unconscious.
Bets (Optional)
If characters agree to allow bets, they can do so before the game begins and may increase their bets after each round of drinks. All bets are placed on the table for the eventual winner. Anyone dropping out forfeits all winnings. If drinks are taken simultaneously and nobody remains at the end, the winnings go to the Barkeeper. Characters may agree to share winnings evenly among all remaining participants after any round completes. Bets can also take the form of the payment for the drinks: ie. all drinks purchased require players pay 1/2 to the barkeep for the drinks, the other half in the pot.
That's it...I printed out little cards for each player with their Drunk Threshold printed on it, a place to write their current TL and the categories underneath.
As you may suspect, fighters have an advantage here due to their natural CON proficiency and typically higher CON, but characters who know more about the drinks may be able to tip the scales with informed choices.
The player in my game who has the drinking background is a Tiefling Wizard. Not exactly the type of character you'd think could outdrink anyone, so I gave her a double CON proficiency bonus with "drinking games." So, ya...she's pretty bad ass with the beers. Knows her s**t and can drink it too!
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