DM-Nastics #113: Score A Goal, Unit, Basket!

1. What is the name of the game?

Küllgraga (Old-Amorían for “King’s Tree”)

A full-contact sport where one tries to steal the chakrams of the opposing team and place them atop the great King’s Tree.

2. How many teams and what size?

Normally Played with 2-6 teams though some games are played as a free-for-all.

Teams consist of Brawlers (6), Crawlers (2) and as many Outsiders as they wish.

Each team may only have 8 players on the field at a time. Those outside the field (Outsiders) are considered inactive participants but still have other means of contributing (see #9).

Features:
Brawlers: Should be high in strength and ready to grapple.
Crawlers: Should be high in dexterity and moderate in strength.
Outsiders: Should be high in Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and potentially strength and dexterity.

3. What equipment is used?

First, the field:

Traditionally, the field is a large circle 300’ in diameter. In the center resides the Küllgraga itself: a 50’ tall pole that is 3’ thick.

Each team has their own pole referred to as the Player’s Totem: a 25’ tall pole 75’ from the center of the field. Each Player Totem is equidistant from the next.

Each Player Totem and the Küllgraga have the following features.
- first 10’ from the ground, the poles are smooth wood.
- from 10’ to the top the pylons are littered with handholds of various sorts. Some may be carved into the wood, others may be poles or rods that are attached. 
- Atop Each Players Totem resides a Team banner. Atop the Küllgraga is a banner of the local town, city, or nation. Just below that, there is a ring of Iron Hooks referred to as the Iron Claw, one for each team competing.
- Finally, a thick rope or chain runs from the top of the Küllgraga to the top of each Player’s totem. This ropeway is referred to as the Fool’s Folly.

Equipment:
- Wailers: a 10lb leather ball about the size of a large head. Each Brawler carries one as on offensive weapon.
- Chakrams: A flat metal ring that is either thrown (near impossible shot) or hooked onto the Iron Claw atop the Küllgraga. Each team starts with 10 that reside at the top of each Players Totem on their own hooks.

4. How is scoring achieved?

The game is broken into 4 rounds. Each round has 2 parts.
- 15 minutes - The Raid: each teascorringm tries to acquire as many Chakrams as possible, or defend their own.
- 5 minutes - Küllgraga - A great horn blows signaling the Küllgraga to be open. During this time and this time alone, players try to place as many chakrams as they can on their team’s Iron Claw, while trying to keep the other teams from scoring on their own.
- At the end of the round, the game resets. Those with the most chakrams tallied on their Iron Hook are the victors.

5. How does the game end?

The game ends at the end of the 4th round, no matter how far ahead one team may be.

6. Any other rules, strategies, or commentary?

Basic Rules:
- No spells can be cast either on the field or affect anything on the field (though spells are out, feats ARE allowed). Spells may be cast ONLY on the outside.
- Only 8 players may be on the field for each team at any time. If a player is unable to play, it is up to the other team members to get them off the field.
- Penalties result in teams playing with 1 less brawler for the remainder of the round for each infraction.
- Once a Chakram is on a Players Totem, it may still be stolen, but one may not remove Chakrams from an Iron Hook.
- There are no Time Outs.


Strategies:
- Crawlers will either climb the totems or run the Fool’s Folly in an attempt to score points.
- Some teams will send their Crawlers to defensive positions atop the Küllgraga during the Raid and attempt to steal the Chakrams from other players as they attempt to score.
- Brawlers will attempt to protect their own crawlers by throwing their wailers at the opposing team(s).
- Some teams will create alliances to defeat long held nemesis's.

7. How long has the game existed?

The game was founded 237 years ago when all the Suitors of Amoria, noble and common alike, flocked to the Capitol in the hopes of winning the hand of Princess Abygail.

She herself grew tired of the normal challenges, gifts, and promises that had been made aplenty. Instead, she greeted the horde of nuptial hopefuls all at once in the grand square.

She threw her loyal pet pseudodragon, Snapper, into the air and he flew to the top of the tallest pine standing proud in the square.

“He who brings me back my pet shall have my hand,” she said, and so the quad turned into a free for all as the mass suddenly surged on the great tree.

In the end, she was wed to Williby Sprocket, a local gnomish arborist who, as it turns out, was a tyrannical ruler with a thirst for blood.... those were dark, dark times.

After he was “removed from power”, the story of Abigail’s Challenge was told yearly with a competitive re-enactment that was so enjoyable, the populous began to do it on its own. The “play” was referred to as “King’s Tree” though the game was called Küllgraga by the outer clans who began to play it recreationally.


8. What is a contest of historic proportions and why?

The game is played yearly to celebrate breaking free from the tyranny of Emperor Williby Sprocket. During such events, cities form across the nation send their team in hopes of wining the contest for glory.

With that said, the game is most commonly played wherever a child is able to get friends together to scale a tree.

9. Anything else!

For the most part, the game is a contest of strength and dexterity, though there are features that can be done from behind the lines.

Outsiders:
- Attempt to intimidate or inspire peers or opponents (charisma checks).
- Can create plays (intelligence checks).
- Can analyze opponents and read moves (wisdom checks).
- Can be subbed in when another player is removed.
- Can heal any conscious or unconscious player not actively participating through normal or magical means.


The crowd tends to be rowdy and will continuously throw any lost Wailers onto the field.

Another great episode! I really liked the concept of "multi-bull" with the animal release penalty, and the throw back to Legends of the Hidden Temple was just fantastic. I think that a challenge like LotHT would be great for a party to run through - there would be a good variety of challenges for all the classes and the layout still would provide easy viewing for a gallery of onlookers. Inspired by "multi-bull" I think releasing a troop of baboons would be equal parts fun and terrifying! Defiantly something I'll look to flesh out in the future.


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The years have made the details a bit fuzzy, but here is an arena-combat type game I had some players participate in:

Each team is comprised of two parts (exact number of participants in either group can fluctuate), on-field and off-field. The two groups can communicate telepathically, but DM prerogative could remove/alter that.

The on-field portion is armed and armored for combat. This can be with or without magic, maybe using training weapons only in exhibitions, etc. - it's up to the DM how they want to run it and can vary.

The goal is simple - last man/team standing (be it a fight to the death, scored hits, etc) wins

The arena is a series of halls and rooms with color coordinated doors (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow). Players on the off-field can manipulate the doors on their turn to alter the battlefield to give their teammates an advantage (or use the doors as weapons, dealing 2d6 damage if you can catch an opponent in them). Players can isolate their team and let the others weaken one another, they can separate other teams to gang up on weaker members and dispatch them more quickly, etc.

Off-field players can manipulate one door of each color every round, or 2 doors of the same color.