Welcome to the sixth game of Arena, hosted by me,
Gerrick taulover! I've decided to experiment with this game a bit by adding another dimension (or more accurately, two): a battle grid and movement!
As I've made a some rather major changes to the game, please read through the rules even if you've played before. Some of the more important changes include:The addition of a battle grid, movement, Opportunity Attacks (and disengaging), and Ranged vs. Melee Attacks. These are perhaps the most important changes, and for those unused to similar movement systems, there may be some surprising results, so please read carefully.
To simplify complications resulting from the added movement, the two teams will take separate alternating turns.
This allows us to remove initiative rolls: a team decides combat order/initiative amongst themselves, and effects that affected initiative now affect movement instead.
Most attack and ability rolls now use multiple smaller dice instead of a single large die, which will create a bell curve probability distribution. For those unused to dice notation for multiple dice, see
Wikipedia.
Potions and blocking are back, and because this is a two-team deathmatch game, starting HP is back to 100.
The Rules
1.
Players will be randomly sorted into two teams of equal size, which will take alternating turns. If there are an odd number of players, the team with fewer players goes first. If there are an even number of players, the team going second will have their first standard attack rolls be the highest 3 dice of a 5d6 roll.
2. After teams are chosen and before the game starts, players will finish signing up in this thread. Each player will choose a class, whether to perform regular ranged or melee attacks (subject to class restrictions), two of that class's abilities, and two potions. The potions players may choose from include health, strength, defense, agility, and luck, but players may not start with two health potions.
3. Spectators may place bets on players at this point like so:
Team Name: Wager. Please open an account at the Bank before betting. When the game begins, all bets will be locked in.
4. Each player will start with 100 health points.
A player may not be healed over the 100 HP cap.5. At the start of the match, the Host will ask for all players on the first team to Personal Message him what their stances and actions will be like so:
Stance, Action, Target (if applicable), Potion Action (if applicable), Movement. The players will have roughly 24 hours to PM their action. Each player in the first team will start in the stance they send for the first round, while each player in the second team will start in defensive stance.
6.
A player may choose the order in which they perform their Action, Potion Action, and Movement, which will be carried out in the order they are sent. Movement may be broken up into multiple orders, as long as only 10 tiles are used. Stance change will always occur first.
7. Each player’s action will literally occur in the combat order.
If the effects of two players’ turns change depending on combat order, the players will clarify which one goes first. The Host will ask the players for clarification if necessary.
8.
There are two Stances: Offensive and Defensive. Stances are set/changed right before an action is performed and will stay the same until changed again before another action.
a. Offensive Stance is the default stance and has no effect on damage given or received.
Regular Attacks and some abilities must be performed in Offensive Stance. In the Classes section below, abilities with an asterisk* must be performed in Offensive Stance.
b. Defensive Stance reduces damage taken by
2d4.
Blocking requires players to be in defensive stance to perform.9.
There are six basic actions: attack, block, use an ability, scavenge potions, dash, and disengage. Only one action may be performed per turn.
a. The Regular Attack is a
3d6 roll, which the Host will perform.
Regular Attacks can only be performed while in Offensive Stance. b. Blocking reduces all damage targeted at the player by half (rounded down). Blocking will last until another action is performed on the next round. Blocking can only be performed while in defensive stance. Players may not block two rounds in a row.
c. Each class has two special abilities which only it can perform. Each ability can only be performed once every three rounds, and each ability has a separate cooldown. For example, if a player uses one ability on round 1 and the other ability on round 2, they may use the abilities again on rounds 4 and 5, respectively. Passive abilities last until the player performs another action on the next round. Again, some abilities require one to be in offensive stance to perform.
d. Scavenging potions allows a player to collect all unused potions from a single dead player target within melee range of the player.
e.
Dashing increases the player's movement by 10 tiles. f.
Disengaging allows a player to move out of melee range without triggering Opportunity Attacks.10.
There are two types of Regular Attacks: Melee and Ranged. A player must choose at the start of the game which of the two types they will use. The type of Regular Attack a player is allowed to perform is restricted by class.
a.
A Melee Attack may only be performed if the player is on one of the eight adjacent tiles to the target (I will refer to this elsewhere as "in melee range"). b. A Ranged Attack may target any other player within direct line of sight, but also has the drawback of triggering opportunity attacks if performed while in melee range of another enemy player.
11. There are five types of potions: health, strength, defense, agility, and luck. Players may only hold up to two potions at once.
a. The health potion heals the player for 10 HP.
b. The strength potion increases the player's next attack by 5 damage.
c. The defense potion decreases the player's damage received from each attack for one turn by 2 damage.
d.
The agility potion increases the player's movement by 10 tiles. e. The luck potion allows for a reroll for a specified action, and the higher roll is used.
12. Potion actions may be performed separately from the regular actions (attack/block/ability/scavenge/dash/disengage). There are two basic potion actions: consume potion and pass potion. Only one potion action may be performed per turn.
a. Consuming a potion immediately gives the player the benefits of the potion, which lasts one turn.
b. Passing a potion allows a player to pass a single potion to another player within melee range of them as long as the receiving player has an empty potion slot. The receiving player may consume the received potion as soon as their next turn. This means if a player passes a potion to another player who has not yet performed their turn in the combat order, the receiving player may consume the potion on that same round.
13.
Movement will take place on a 20x30 grid. This will be represented using a Google Sheet, with each cell representing a tile. Colored-in tiles may represent impassable terrain such as trees. Each player will be represented by a colored tile, with each team having similar colors among its players. A color key will be released with the map. If you have colorblindness or have difficulty distinguishing colors, please let me know ASAP and I will change my map representation method.
14.
A player may move 10 tiles each turn. (The agility potion, dash action, and some class abilities may affect this movement amount.) Moving one tile diagonally will cost the same amount of movement as moving one tile along the axes. (In other words, the movement used is the same as the longer distance of the two axes if there are no barriers to your movement.)
15. The Movement command can be broken up into multiple commands (as long as only 10 tiles are traversed), and
may take two forms: the destination coordinate (using the cell name) or a landmark/player location.
a. If the last/only Movement command uses a destination coordinate, that tile must be unoccupied by another player.
b. If the Movement command is given relative to a landmark/player location, the Host will move that player as close to that location as possible without ending the player's turn in an occupied tile or using more than 10 tiles of movement.
16.
An Opportunity Attack is an automatic melee attack (3d6 roll) triggered by two conditions. A player may only perform up to one Opportunity Attack per round.
a.
If a player moves out of melee range of an enemy player, that enemy player will automatically perform an Opportunity Attack on this player.
b.
If a player makes a Ranged Attack or any ranged ability that requires Offensive Stance (denoted by both asterisk* and dagger† in the Classes section) while in melee range of an enemy player, that enemy player will automatically perform an Opportunity Attack on this player.
17.
If a player does not perform an action when they are capable of doing so, they will receive 1d5 damage. Each subsequent turn of inactivity will
add another d5 of damage, meaning the second turn would be 2d5, the third 3d5, etc.
18. The results of the round will be posted by the Host at his discretion, though in a timely manner. The game then shifts to the next team's next round, and so on. The process will repeat until only one team remains.
19. At the end of the battle, the winning team will receive their prizes, and the betting spectators will either gain or lose credits depending on their wagers. This will all be recorded in a post at the Bank, and the relevant Bank accounts will be updated.
Classes
There are 15 classes in this game, adapted from Gerrick's Arena Game 4. There are large changes to the classes, largely to reflect the addition of movement and alternating team combat order. Dice numbers are also changed to multiple smaller dice, and one new class, the Swashbuckler, is added, so make sure to read through each and not assume they'll all be the same. The type(s) of Regular Attacks players can choose from is listed first, followed by the class abilities. Abilities with an asterisk* must be performed in offensive stance. Abilities with a dagger† are ranged and can target anyone in line of sight; all other abilities with a target require melee range. I adapted the classes from Gerrick's with his help, so if you have any feedback on their balance, please let us know.
Classes
Alchemist
Regular Attack: Ranged or Melee
Make Health Potion: Creates a health potion. May be used once every four turns.
Make Strength/Defense/Agility/Luck Potion: Creates a strength/defense/agility/luck potion of the Alchemist's choice. May be used once every two turns.
*†Throw Bomb: Deals 4d4 damage to the target and 2d4 damage to anyone adjacent to the target.
The Alchemist can only give potions to players who have an empty potion spot, and may also keep them for their own use if they have empty potion spots.
Bard
Regular Attack: Ranged
†Charm: The target cannot perform an action for two turns or until they are dealt damage by an attack/ability of an enemy (not including opportunity attacks).
†Confuse: For the target's next two turns, their targets are chosen at random from those within their reach, and if the target moves, they move in a random direction.
†Fear: Decreases the target's offensive attacks/abilities on their next two turns by 4 damage, and the target cannot move closer to you during these two turns.
Berzerker
Regular Attack: Melee
Dodge: You have a 50% chance to not be affected by each action targeted at you for two turns.
*Rage: Deals 4d6 damage. Reduces your movement on next round by 3 tiles.
*Sprint Attack: Increases movement by 8 tiles and deals 2d12 damage to the target.
Cleric
Regular Attack: Ranged or Melee
†Bless: Increases the target’s attacks/abilities on their next two turns by 1d8 damage.
†Heal Other: Heals the target for 1d10 HP.
Resurrect: Brings a dead player back to life with 1d15 HP. May only be performed once every 5 turns.
Commander
Regular Attack: Ranged or Melee
*†Call to Arms: For up to three targets, increases their next attacks/abilities by 4 damage each and increases their movement by 4 tiles.
*†Rally: For up to three targets, decreases their damage received from each attack/ability by 4 for one turn.
*†Rout: For up to three targets, decreases their next attacks/abilities by 4 damage each and decreases their movement by 4 tiles.
Death Knight
Regular Attack: Melee
*Cursed Blade: Deals 6d5 damage to target and 1d5 damage to self.
†Sacrificial Healing: Heals the target for 3d5 HP, and deals 1d5 damage to self.
Unholy Wrath: Takes two turns. All damage you receive on the first turn, you deal to a single target on the second turn. Is not affected by target's defensive stance. *Must be in offensive stance on second turn.
Druid
Regular Attack: Ranged or Melee
*Beast Form: Causes you to turn into a beast that may only perform melee attack actions, which do 3d6+5 damage, and must stay in offensive stance. May attack on the same turn that you transform. You cannot control when you return to human form, but at the end of each turn, has a 50% chance to automatically return to human form.
Call Wolf Companion: Calls a wolf companion for one turn. You may have the wolf attack a target within 15 tiles of you for 6d4 damage, or you may use it to absorb up to 20 damage targeted at you.
*Leech Life: Deals 3d4 damage, and heals you 1d4 HP. †Is ranged if Regular Attack is ranged.
Mystic
Regular Attack: may perform both Ranged and Melee
Receives two random abilities at start. After the use of each ability, it is replaced with a new random ability. The two ability slots have separate cooldowns, and abilities will be given to the Mystic through PM.
Paladin
Regular Attack: Melee
†Holy Ward: Decreases the target’s damage received from each attack/ability by 3 for two turns.
Pray: Increases your damage dealt and decreases damage received by 2 for two turns.
*Smite: Deals 3d8 damage if the target's last action dealt damage to another player. Deals 3d4 damage, otherwise.
Ranger
Regular Attack: Ranged
*†Volley: Deals 1d10 damage to any enemies within a 4x4 square.
*†Precise Shot: Deals 4d4 damage and reduces the target's movement by 6 tiles on their next turn.
*†Rapid Shot: Increases movement by 8 tiles and deals 2d10 damage. Increases movement on next round by 8 tiles.
Rogue
Regular Attack: Ranged or Melee
Evade: You vanish from sight. Your enemies no longer know your location, you cannot be targeted, and nobody can make an Opportunity Attack against you. However, any area-of-effect abilities that reach your location will still affect you.
†Set Trap: Choose an unoccupied square up to 4x4 large. Sets a trap that is triggered by the first enemy that walks within this square, dealing 1d8+5 damage and preventing them from performing an action or moving. Acts as a separate entity from the Rogue, so is not affected by damage-altering abilities.
*Sneak Attack: Deals 5d6 damage if you were not targeted on your last turn, or if another enemy of the target is in melee range of the target. Deals 1d10 damage, otherwise. †Is ranged if Regular Attack is ranged.
Sorcerer
Regular Attack: Ranged
*†Acid Spray: Deals 4d4 damage, then on the next round deals 2d4 damage that is not affected by the target's defensive stance or ability. Also deals 1d4 damage to anyone in melee range of the target.
Flame Cloak: Deals 3d6 damage to anyone who damages you from melee range. Any ranged damage is reduced to 0.
*†Lightning Bolt: Forms a bolt of lightning from your hands 1 tile wide and continuing in a straight line until it hits a barrier. Deals 2d10 damage to anyone in its path.
Swashbuckler
Regular Attack: Melee
*Nimble Attack: Deals 3d6 damage, and the target cannot make an Opportunity Attack against you.
*Duel Attack: Deals 5d6 damage if you are the only person in melee range of your target. Deals 1d10 damage, otherwise.
†Panache: For the target's next two turns, the target can only attack or use abilities on you.
Warrior
Regular Attack: Melee
Counterattack: Reduces damage taken by half. Deals 1d10 damage to anyone who damages you (including both melee and ranged).
*Power Attack: Deals 5d4+2 damage.
*Whirlwind Attack: Deals 2d6 damage to any enemies in your melee range.
Wizard
Regular Attack: Ranged
†Fortify Willpower: Reduces the current cooldown for a specified ability of the target by 2 turns.
Reflect: Any damage or abilities done to you, you do back.
†Slow/Hasten: Decreases or increases target's movement by 10 tiles for one round, 5 for two rounds, or 3 for three rounds.
Application
Signups will stay open until around Saturday, January 5. I may split everyone into the two teams before that, however, so that we can get classes/abilities chosen and get started faster. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
When you're ready to sign up, post below!
List of Players:Orange TeamSkorri Thadsdottir (Katie) - Berzerker:
Melee, Dodge, RageThaddeus the Raddeus (Doc) - Bard:
Ranged, Charm, ConfuseBrother Maynard (BraveSirRobin) - Cleric:
Ranged, Heal Other, ResurrectCardinal Spadroon (Crushita) - Commander:
Ranged, Call to Arms, RoutBordryg (Red Mones) - Paladin:
Melee, Holy Ward, SmiteBlue TeamSyraj - Cleric:
Ranged, Bless, Heal OtherHydrae de Lernaea - Mystic
Sarith Feuraldrin (Wintermoot) - Sorcerer:
Ranged, Acid Spray, Lightning BoltAhmad al-Khemis (Gerrick) - Alchemist:
Ranged, Make Health Potion, Make Other PotionNobody (Kane lives) - Mystic
