"Bar Fight" scale? [Archive] - Wizards Community

"Bar Fight" scale? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Hugin
10-09-04, 01:05 AM I thought I'd post this to see what ideas/opinions I might be able to get on something we've started to do IMC.

Our group likes to have the odd bar fight. You know, a good old-fashion, mug-tossing, table-turning, chair-poking, bar-jumping, tavern tumble. These are generally weapon-free but sometimes things turn slightly more dangerous.

After a number of these fights it become very clear that a 5 foot scale makes things just too crowded; with over half a dozen PCs and up to well over a dozen pub patrons it becomes like one of those sliding tiles puzzles! So, we decided to change the scale to 1 square is 2.5 feet. We've used this idea a few times already and it so far is a great improvement. We keep all the rules as is in the core books with only slight changes.
- Movement is still the same as far a how many spaces you can move. Essentially, you can move half as far where measuring feet. This is due to obstacles such as furniture and people and the generally tight spaces.
- AoO work the same but again with only half the reach when measured by feet.
- Weapons larger than medium are more difficult to use in such conditions. They receive a penalty to hit and a chance of hitting an unintentional victim that is in an adjacent square to your actual target. This simulates the possibility of hitting a post or a low rafter, etc.

So, I'm looking for some feed-back on what the penalties should be and any other ideas may be out there.
Hugin
10-09-04, 04:50 PM :bump:
What? Nobody else has had a bar fight? They've made for some rather memorable comic relief - Ahh... the stories I could tell :D .
Board_Rider
10-09-04, 06:25 PM Balance checks for those patrons who stand on tables. Also get a +1 to hit due to being on higher "ground". Also, as you may know, that only eight can surround 1 person.
Scaer_Vieliss
10-09-04, 06:49 PM Sounds great, Hugin. I would add a critical fumble chart in addition to the penalties for Med+ weapons as well. Can't help you too much with the weapon size penalties myself, since I use 3.5, but maybe -1 for Medium weaopns with an additional -1 for each size category up.
Hugin
10-09-04, 08:57 PM Just to clarify, we do use 3.5 rules.
Kainy
10-10-04, 04:00 AM Monks and barfights are hilarious.

As long as they're willing to take the jailtime that comes with a barfight.
Purkake
10-10-04, 05:08 AM There's nothing like grabbing a chair and bashin' some poor drunk's head. But it gets better when you find that drunk halfling, thay make good artillary. GO improvised weapons GO.
Decado
10-10-04, 05:47 AM Nothing like a good bar fight. I had not been involved in one until I started playing with a group of relatively new players, which included a monk. It was good times.

Decado
MortalPlague
10-10-04, 06:41 AM I was running a light-hearted pirate themed campaign a little while ago. The bar at the town they started in had the Great Brawl, a bar fight that had been raging for a hundred years without stopping. It was a great point of pride for the town, and especially the bar. It stayed open all night to accomodate. Sure, the fight slowed down at times, but it continued unabated for years.

Players would enter the fight for a few minutes, fight for a little, then leave. Some PCs would be hauled into the fight, others would simply fight their way to the bar, then fight their way to their table, then fight through to the exit. It was great fun. The players loved it, and took every opportunity to join in. Of course, I didn't roll out all the combat, I just let them roll a d20 to indicated generally how well they did.

The most amusing part was that the PCs were constantly thinking up ways to stop the Great Brawl, proving yet again that PCs exist only to screw up the DM's designs. :P

As far as bar fights go, I've found that the rules seem pretty good the way they are. Then again, I don't use miniatures or grids, so I've never encountered spacing difficulties.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hugin 10-09-04, 01:05 AM	I thought I'd post this to see what ideas/opinions I might be able to get on something we've started to do IMC. Our group likes to have the odd bar fight. You know, a good old-fashion, mug-tossing, table-turning, chair-poking, bar-jumping, tavern tumble. These are generally weapon-free but sometimes things turn slightly more dangerous. After a number of these fights it become very clear that a 5 foot scale makes things just too crowded; with over half a dozen PCs and up to well over a dozen pub patrons it becomes like one of those sliding tiles puzzles! So, we decided to change the scale to 1 square is 2.5 feet. We've used this idea a few times already and it so far is a great improvement. We keep all the rules as is in the core books with only slight changes. - Movement is still the same as far a how many spaces you can move. Essentially, you can move half as far where measuring feet. This is due to obstacles such as furniture and people and the generally tight spaces. - AoO work the same but again with only half the reach when measured by feet. - Weapons larger than medium are more difficult to use in such conditions. They receive a penalty to hit and a chance of hitting an unintentional victim that is in an adjacent square to your actual target. This simulates the possibility of hitting a post or a low rafter, etc. So, I'm looking for some feed-back on what the penalties should be and any other ideas may be out there.
Hugin 10-09-04, 04:50 PM	:bump: What? Nobody else has had a bar fight? They've made for some rather memorable comic relief - Ahh... the stories I could tell :D .
Board_Rider 10-09-04, 06:25 PM	Balance checks for those patrons who stand on tables. Also get a +1 to hit due to being on higher "ground". Also, as you may know, that only eight can surround 1 person.
Scaer_Vieliss 10-09-04, 06:49 PM	Sounds great, Hugin. I would add a critical fumble chart in addition to the penalties for Med+ weapons as well. Can't help you too much with the weapon size penalties myself, since I use 3.5, but maybe -1 for Medium weaopns with an additional -1 for each size category up.
Hugin 10-09-04, 08:57 PM	Just to clarify, we do use 3.5 rules.
Kainy 10-10-04, 04:00 AM	Monks and barfights are hilarious. As long as they're willing to take the jailtime that comes with a barfight.
Purkake 10-10-04, 05:08 AM	There's nothing like grabbing a chair and bashin' some poor drunk's head. But it gets better when you find that drunk halfling, thay make good artillary. GO improvised weapons GO.
Decado 10-10-04, 05:47 AM	Nothing like a good bar fight. I had not been involved in one until I started playing with a group of relatively new players, which included a monk. It was good times. Decado
MortalPlague 10-10-04, 06:41 AM	I was running a light-hearted pirate themed campaign a little while ago. The bar at the town they started in had the Great Brawl, a bar fight that had been raging for a hundred years without stopping. It was a great point of pride for the town, and especially the bar. It stayed open all night to accomodate. Sure, the fight slowed down at times, but it continued unabated for years. Players would enter the fight for a few minutes, fight for a little, then leave. Some PCs would be hauled into the fight, others would simply fight their way to the bar, then fight their way to their table, then fight through to the exit. It was great fun. The players loved it, and took every opportunity to join in. Of course, I didn't roll out all the combat, I just let them roll a d20 to indicated generally how well they did. The most amusing part was that the PCs were constantly thinking up ways to stop the Great Brawl, proving yet again that PCs exist only to screw up the DM's designs. :P As far as bar fights go, I've found that the rules seem pretty good the way they are. Then again, I don't use miniatures or grids, so I've never encountered spacing difficulties.