Running an impromptu archery contest in game?

[NewJeffCT]

I was planning on having a moment in the coming sessions for each of the PCs to have a moment where they are the star of the show (not all 6 each session, but one per session) - the "all eyes on them" type of solo moment.

One of the PCs plays a human cleric of a goddess termed "The Great Huntress" - think Artemis/Diana. But, clerics of this goddess sponsor archery contests around the world and a way for clerics to gain status within the church is to win a contest vs a higher ranked cleric. This goddess is pretty popular among the elves.

The situation in-game calls for our PCs to run into a group of wood elves in the next session and I was hoping to give our cleric of the Great Huntress her moment in the sun in the next session by having a higher ranked cleric of this goddess there among the elves. I would like the contest to be close - if the human PC loses a close contest, she will gain respect. If she wins it will give her another rank in the church (which is not always tied to your level) and also even more respect.

The NPC cleric will be an elf and be a higher level than the PC, so will have the advantage of a higher BAB. I also make all my "to hit" rolls on the table, so I can't suddenly change to fudge the rolls behind the screen.

For an impromptu contest, would you rule that the PC and the NPC use their own bows (it's very typical for clerics of this goddess to fashion their own bows) or would the two clerics use the same non-magical bow? The PC has a Longbow of Distance, so if the target is beyond a range increment, she would have an advantage that would help to offset the NPC cleric's higher BAB and Dex.

I was going to keep the contest fairly short, like five arrows. While I want each PC to have their moment in the sun, I also realize I have six players and five of them will be sitting by twiddling their thumbs (I could have one of them work as a judge, I suppose) during the contest.

Any ideas/hints?

Thanks

 

[blargney the second]

1) Tournaments, Fairs, and Taverns has some cool archery contests.
2) I can't stress the fun of this enough: animated targets. Works best if the target gets moved farther away in successive rounds of the tourney to make range increments come into effect.
3) Eyes of the Lich Queen has a very basic dagger-throwing competition in the section dealing with Prince Ryger. Basically add up a few attack rolls with some mundane daggers - highest total wins.

 

[Crothian]

I would make the ceremony/ archer contest something of note within the church. For these contests and after a ceremony in honor of the goddess two bows appear that are both master work but non magical. It is these weapons that they will use to test their skill. The ceremony could also make five separate targets known to the contestants and the judges. One arrow for each target, or just do one target with 5 arrows.

To include the 5 other players you can have each one of them make a roll for the NPC instead of you.

 

[Sollir Furryfoot]

I think allowing the characters to use their own bows could make things interesting. If you want to involve the other PCs, how about a scenario where each of the contestants pick 5 friends who have to either carry the target (ala a shield) or have it on their head (the classic arrow in the apple)-its the friend's job to remain still (perhaps a Will check, modified by the target's own BAB with Fighters being more at ease than Wizards or Rogues).

Definitely a distance test (3 arrows at different distances), a damage test of some sort (Shooting clay discs out of the air? You have to hit them but also do enough damage to break them) and maybe splitting your own arrow (Firing two shots with the second being better than the original attack roll) for extra points. I would include skill checks in addition to attack rolls, more obviously Spot but maybe even Listen (if the contestants are blind-folded for a portion-maybe the clay disc event), Knowledge: Nature, and/or Survival. Perhaps there are 8 different contests of strength but 4 rounds, written on a tablet and put into a bag. The contestant's friends alternate each round, picking two tablets and choosing one among them, discarding the other.

Maybe the event is done in a sacred place where only the two archers can enter. You can have someone attempt to attack the group while the event is going on, but both archers are oathbound (or otherwise
obligated in some manner, perhaps magical) to continue the event.

Edit-If you need the AC of a target, as a rule of thumb make it = 10 + Distance modifier. Hitting that # means you hit on the edge of it, using size modifiers you need to hit 11 + Distance for the first ring, 12 + Distance for the second ring, 14 + Distance for the third ring and finally 18 + Distance for the bullseye (Fine objects have a +8 size modifier to AC)

Hope this helps!

 

[blargney the second]

For extra fun, throw an unscrupulous hexblade gambler into the crowd. That curse can really make things interesting.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Complete Warrior does have archery contest rules, though I like Sollir's ideas.

 

[NewJeffCT]

IEdit-If you need the AC of a target, as a rule of thumb make it = 10 + Distance modifier. Hitting that # means you hit on the edge of it, using size modifiers you need to hit 11 + Distance for the first ring, 12 + Distance for the second ring, 14 + Distance for the third ring and finally 18 + Distance for the bullseye (Fine objects have a +8 size modifier to AC)

Hope this helps!

Thanks - I was thinking something long those lines, and awarding 1 point for the first ring, 2 points for the second ring, 3 points for the third ring and 4 or 5 points for the bullseye.

Good idea on the damage as well.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Complete Warrior does have archery contest rules, though I like Sollir's ideas.

Thanks - got the book a long time ago, so I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[divinenathanica]

One thing you can do is give the other pc's something to do while the cleric is shining. I agree with the ideas of the other characters holding the targets (especially the part about the holders making a will check to be still), or the hexblade gambler in the crowd.

Off the top of my head:
Not only is the cleric vying for recognition, but the pcs need a favor from the elves.

The Archery contest gives the other pcs time and a reasonable distracting to do something they need done. For example, a good time for the rogue to get his thieve on.

Let the other pcs have some sort of aid another to cheer on the cleric -- this might steal too much of his limelight though.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

If you want it to be a close contest, you probably don't want to do a standard 1-3-5-7-9 competition at a ringed target. The discrepancy between the shooters is likely to be very great (and impossible to disguise, because you're tracking points so closely). This is just a function of D20's linear resolution. And BTW, that discrepancy will surprisingly often favor the inferior archer. Again, a function of the d20.

It would be better to have a trinary target. Something like a deer silhouette, with the heart-shot highlighted. Set the AC for the target as a whole low, but the AC for the heart-shot pretty high. (I'd suggest making the AC high enough that the superior archer needs a natural 18+ to hit it; this is easily justifiable by means of setting the range. You should set the AC of the whole target in relation to the inferior shooter, by making him or her miss only on, say, a natural 1 to 3.)

Then score the match very simply:

Three misses (of the entire target), and the archer is eliminated. Three (maybe two) heart-shots, and the archer is victorious. In a set-up like this, the superior archer is very likely to win (less skilled archers will often need natural 20s for heart-shots, if you calibrate high based on the superior archer), but there's always the possibility of the less skilled archer getting lucky. More importantly, with the victory conditions (and a low AC for the target as a whole) a less skilled archer is likely to compete closely, at least from all appearances, which is what you want.