| Kingturnip |
I present, after much work, and a rewrite after the forum ate my post: Pathfinder: Sports Edition!
Yes, it's long (it would be about 3 pages, published) and yes, it's a draft in need of a rewrite, but I present the fantasy sport of Summerstone.
Suggestions on improving the feats,as well as comentary on the rules are welcome.
Summerstone
Summerstone began as a game played by field hands in the orchards of Galt after the long harvest days. The game has changed and spread throughout the Inner Sea, becoming a popular pastime among children and competitive leagues growing in many major cities. As the popularity of the sport has increased, the characteristic Y shaped upright of Summerstone has sprung up in the parks and sporting fields around the Inner Sea.
Summerstone is played on a court, officially a 24 foot square but frequently the width of a street in pickup games. A Y-shaped upright, eight feet to the join with the arms reaching another two feet, is situated in the center of the court. The game is played with a cotton-stuffed leather ball called “the stone.” Teams compete to pass the stone through the upright, scoring one point for each pass, two points if the pass is made from beyond the fifteen-foot mark. Both teams scramble to catch the stone on the far side of the goal, and quickly set up a new drive to score.
Players aren’t allowed to step within five feet of the upright, and can only touch the stone with one hand. Allowing the stone to touch the ground, or touching it with the off-hand results in a fault, granting the opposing team possession of the stone at the sideline.
Play typically goes to the first team to eight points, and teams must win by two. In competitive leagues, winning by two becomes difficult between evenly matched teams, and they typically declare the winner to be first to thirteen points.
Rules
The stone is considered an exotic weapon, causing a -4 non-proficiency penalty on all attack rolls if the player is not proficient in its use.
On Offense:
The players on the team that has the stone have one of three roles: thrower, side, or catcher. The thrower is the player with the stone, the remaining players choose between the other two roles.
On Offense:
The thrower has two actions as part of each drive. First the thrower sets up the throw, then they try to score.
In the setup, the thrower and each of the sides can take one of several options.
• Pass: the thrower passes the ball to another player. The passing player must make a ranged touch attack against AC 10 to pass the stone. The receiving player then becomes the thrower gains +2 to the throw. Neither the thrower nor the receiving player may take an additional setup action. Only the thrower can pass the stone.
• Fake: the player makes an opposed Bluff check against one guard’s Sense Motive. If the offensive player succeeds, the faked guard does not contribute to the defense.
• Charge: the player makes an opposed STR check with one opposing guard, removing him from defense if successful.
After the setup, the thrower makes his throw. Hitting the goal is a ranged touch attack against a basic AC of 12. Throwing the stone from beyond the bonus line incurs a -4 range penalty. Additionally, the defending guards may increase the AC of the goal as part of their defense, see guards below. The thrower may take an additional -4 to hit to give his team a +2 bonus to their team’s recovery checks.
Slamming: the most athletic players are capable of “slamming,” leaping across the five-foot distance to the goal and smashing the ball through the uprights. To slam the stone, the thrower must make DC 23 Acrobatics check.
On Defense:
Players on the team without the stone are either guards or catchers.
Guards try to prevent the thrower from scoring. They may choose one of two options during the setup:
• Defend: The guard makes an aid another check (attack roll against AC 10) to give the goal a +2 bonus to AC. This is an untyped bonus that stacks with itself.
• Steal: The guard makes a disarm attempt against the thrower to steal the stone. This attempt does not incur the usual penalty for being unarmed. The guard gets a +4 interception bonus to this disarm attempt if the thrower passed the stone.
Recovery:
The catchers from both teams attempt to recover the stone after the throw. Each catcher makes a Perception check (DC 12) to be “in the box” to recover the stone. All players in the box make a special opposed Acrobatics check, with the highest total coming away with the stone. Players in the box have the option of making aid another checks rather that attempting to recover the stone. If no player’s total is over 15, the ball is dropped, and the team that most recently was on defense chooses a player to be the thrower.
The player that comes away with the stone becomes the new thrower, and a new drive begins.
New Feats
Weapon Proficiency: The Stone
The character does not suffer non-proficiency penalties with the stone.
Court Vision
Prerequisite: Proficiency with the stone.
The player gains +4 to all Acrobatics and Bluff checks made as part of a game of Summerstone. Additionally, the player gains a +2 bonus to Bluff checks made to feint, regardless of situation.
Summerstone Defender
Prerequisite: Proficiency with the stone.
The player gains +2 to all rolls to disarm someone wielding the stone. The player also increases the benefit of aiding another’s AC to a +4 bonus, on and off the court.