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Just wondering - I am running a Skull & Shackles adventure path and the section calls for a bar-fight. Rather than the straight-forward "a half drunken dock worker gets in your face" are there any good rules on how to handle a bar fight in order to make it memorable rather than simply sticking in a pair of drunken ogre gladiators? I heard there were some ideas in Kobold #8 but I cannot find them. Thank you.
Start with a good reason for the barfight.
Like a drunken dwarf pisses into an elven stein. From the top floor. While his halfling friend distracts the elf. Everybody notices. But the elf. The elf finds out how dwarf piss tasts. The hard way. Throws the stein after the dwarf. Just to miss him. But not the barmaid. Who was carrying some greasy pot of soup. Wich falls on the floor. Unnoticed by the swashbuckler who is so distracted because he laughs about the elf. Who was just stolen his pants. Wich he finds out because he slips in the grease soup.
I think by now... you have a memorable bar fight ready to explore!
It's probably worth reminding the players of any murder/manslaughter rules in the town before throwing a bar fight at them. If the local guards remind them (the day before) that murder is a mandatory hanging but that they'll usually turn a blind eye to a punch-up, then you might get a brawl instead of a massacre. Players can overreact when attacked and pull out a sword when a fist will do.
Give them options for improvised weapons - heavy wooden beer mugs, candlesticks, chairs, goblins, whatever. They might well opt for a more silly, memorable or over-the-top option. Let them do it.
Similarly, drop hints about cool things they can do. The bar has a chandelier made from an old wagon wheel dangling from the centre of the room or long curtains that they could swing from, there's a pile of barrels in the corner that could be rolled across the room, rum that can be set on fire, that sort of thing.
There's a great sequence in one of the PFS specials, the one that entails the competition for entering into the Ruby Phoenix Tournament (the name escapes me).
In it, there's a chaotic bar fight/item acquisition encounter with some interesting rules for limiting movement and such due to the chaotic scrum.
Sorry I can't be more help in tracking it down, but maybe someone else can cue off my description and point you in the right direction.
Also, didn't the sea-based Wayfinder (I think #8) have some bar fight rules in it?
I just happened to run a bar fight encounter of my own not too long ago. My assumption is that as soon as whatever starts the barfight happens, the whole place erupts in chaos - try to stress that chaotic, loud environment.
Simulate a bar full of crazy people with random effects that you'll have to add flavor to. A PC would say what he wants to do, then I would roll on a list of outcomes. If it was intended movement, it could end up as normal, difficult terrain or getting pushed back. If it was a ranged attack, you could be bumped, or it could hit someone else or at least have a hefty negative to hit. If someone was trying to yell to a teammate, they didn't always hear. But, all this applied to the enemies as well. Sometimes I would roll just once for their whole turn, sometimes for each of their (usually two) actions.
For example:
PC: "Ok, I'm moving over to the big guy and take a swing at him."
Me: "Alright, [rolls]...you can make it to him just fine, but as you start to move, a gnome waitress gets thrown in your direction. You can try to catch her with a CMB roll, or dodge it with a reflex or acrobatics check."
PC: "I try to dodge, [rolls] an 18"
Me: "The gnome watches in horror as you dodge her, and are up to the big guy. You hear the gnome hit a table and scream. As you attack...[rolls]... the big guy gets smacked with a beer mug so he'll lose his dex bonus vs. your attack."
PC: "Ok, [rolls], 16?"
Me: "Yep, roll damage."
....later on the gnome waitress was very upset with the PC.
Then, the PCs adjusted and came up with ways to use their abilities to help lessen the effects. You need to sort of make up some trade-offs on the fly for this, but it was fun. It also provides for a lot of improvised weapons. And as with anything, if the PCs really started to get unlucky I would just bestow some equally bad luck on the enemies.
This worked out way better than just tracking every single NPC's/enemy's movement and attack. And I kept the key enemies in there for PCs to target.
I would suggest using the chase scenes in one of the older books. Use the various skill challenges to represent drunken patrons, various problems, etc. I know that part of the adventure and there are certainly other things you can throw into the bar fight, especially if your pc's have gone out of their way to make enemies.