1. Consequences at the various stages. These could be mechanical, yes, but they could also be narrative like how the maiden swoons his direction. With the rolls having a tangible impact in the narrative, the duel becomes more than just a numbers game. (Sure, the Nymph/elf/observer swooned for the PC at first, but she gave her scarf to the Satyr! Oh no!)
2. Different areas in which to be victorious. PF2's Perform mushes them all together, but for the NPCs you could divvy it up. For example, the Satyr may be a far superior dancer, easily trouncing the Bard! What a bad way to start, right? (Especially if the player thinks the Satyr is equally skilled across the board!) Yet maybe the Satyr has a weakness doing poetry in Common or singing due to a Griffon wounding his throat. There's now a chance to catch up for our hero!
3. It's a duel. By nature those are hard to run because either they're fair (which isn't necessarily fair to the PCs who have to progress!) or they're not (which the dice may disagree with!) or they're contrived (i.e. plot protection, which means you might as well narrate through, which would steal much of the victory's luster). So prepare to improvise if you need the players to progress.
"Fail forward" is one outlook, where even if the party (or Bard in this case) fails, they can still progress the story. And no, not by tilting the outcome to a victory. Setting that precedent can ruin a campaign's suspense (even if it's fun in other ways).
Instead, if the Bard loses, maybe it's an honorable loss, and with money or a sidequest the party can proceed. Maybe carry a letter, or stick around to teach the Satyr in the skill where the Bard did win before the Satyr lets them go, or do whatever the Satyr wills (*cough, cough*).
There's a whole slew of nonlethal or social consequences that could be incurred.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You can add some actions similar to the ones in a Combat Duel to add some variety to a Performance Duel. Here's my take on one.
Dueling Performance Rules:
This duel is in the style of dueling pianos. The character going first chooses the song and sets the difficulty for the round. They can attempt to throw off their opponents or to play to the crowd. The second character attempts to outperform the first or just play to the crowd. The duel ends on the round either duelist reaches 7 VP. The winner is the character with the highest total at the end of that round.
Each round, roll Deception, Intimidation, or Perception for initiative. If you are trained in the skill, you gain the associated reaction(s) (below). The character who rolls higher may choose to act second instead.
[u]Basic Dueling Actions[/u]
Take Lead (1 action)
requirement: You act first in a round of dueling performance.
You choose a song you know and begin playing. Choose a level within 1 of your own. This determines the DC of Dueling Performance checks this round. (DCs by level pg 503)
Follow Up (1 action)
requirement: your previous action was to Take Lead.
You perform your chosen song and attempt to impress. Make a Dueling Performance check. On a success, gain one VP. On a critical success, also increase the Dueling Performance DC by 2. On a critical failure, reduce the Dueling Performance DC by 2.
Follow Along (1 action)
requirement: you act second in a round of dueling performance.
You keep up with your opponent's performance. Attempt a Dueling Performance check. On a success, gain one VP. On a critical success, gain +2 circumstance bonus to Performance checks this round.
Show Up (1 action)
requirement: you successfully used Follow Along this round.
Having kept up with the song, you attempt an embellishment to impress. Attempt a Dueling Performance check.
Critical Success Gain 2 VP
Success Gain 1 VP
Critical Failure Lose 1 VP
Musical Feint (1 action)
You attempt to fake out your opponent with a sudden key shift. Roll Deception against your opponent's Will DC. On a success, the target takes a -2 circumstance penalty to their next Dueling Performance check. On a critical success, the penalty applies to all Dueling Performance checks the target makes this round.
Perform for the Crowd (1 action)
Instead of focussing on your opponent, you turn to the crowd. Make a Dueling Performance check, ignoring all circumstance modifiers to your roll. On a success, gain 1 VP. On a critical success, gain a +1 circumstance bonus on all checks for 1 round. On a critical failure, suffer a -1 circumstance penalty to all checks for 1 round.
[u]Dueling Reactions[/u]
Roaring Crescendo (reaction)
trigger: you are about to roll a Dueling Performance check either to Follow Up or Show Up
requirement: You are trained in Intimidate and rolled Intimidate for initiative this round.
Make an Intimidate or Performance check against your opponent's Will DC. On a success, they are frightened 1. If they rolled Perception for Initiative, they are frightened 2.
Deceptive Trill (reaction)
trigger: An opponent succeeds, but does not critically succeed to Follow Along
requirement: You are trained in Deception and rolled a Deception check for initiative this round.
You mislead your enemy and change the tune at the last moment. The triggering opponent must roll again and take the second result. If your opponent is using Intimidation for initiative when this ability is used, they also take a –2 circumstance penalty to the second roll.
Tempo Change (reaction)
trigger: you are about to roll a Dueling Performance check to Show Up
requirement: You are trained in Deception and rolled a Deception check for initiative this round.
You change up the tempo on the song you are playing. If you succeed at the roll, gain a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative next round. If your opponent is using Intimidation for initiative when this ability is used, they also take a –2 circumstance penalty to their next initiative roll.
Sense Rhythm (reaction)
trigger: you are about to roll a Dueling Performance check to Follow Along
requirement: You rolled a Perception check for initiative this round.
You listen carefully to gain an edge. You get a +2 circumstance bonus to your check to Follow Along. If your opponent is using Deception for initiative, you also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Show Up this round.
Read the Room (reaction)
trigger: you are about to Take Lead
requirement: You rolled a Perception check for initiative this round.
You read the crowd and select just the right song. You get a +2 circumstance bonus to your check to Follow Up. If your opponent is using Deception for initiative, you also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perform for the Crowd this round.
Dueling Performance Rules:
Each duelist makes a Perform check. The performer with the higher result wins. In the event of a tie, the audience likes both performers and the duel must start again if a victor is to be determined.
Simple. ;) XD
|
Another option would be the "skilled rock paper scizzors" pattern of skill challenge.
The idea of rock paper scizzors is that both parties secretly pick a tactic each turn, and each tactic is better against one other tactic. So if you pick a "rock" tactic, you'll have an advantage that round against an opponent using a "scizzor" tactic.
However, to make it a bit less of a random die fest, you put in an element of trying to guess what the opponent will choose. So you add a skill element: each tactic also requires another skill apart from Performance. For example, songs about animal fables (Nature), ghost stories (Religion), court intrigue (Society), dance moves (Acrobatics) and a few others. If you're Trained in the other skill, you get a +2 to your Performance check, Expert a +4 and so on. So if someone is really good at one tactic, they'd like to use that one a lot. But that makes it easy to target them with the countering tactic. So now it becomes a bit of a bluffing game.