Dungeon Reality Show

8/9/2019 Dungeon Reality Show

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The Dungeon Reality Show!

Somewhere, in the countless worlds of the Astral Sea, resides a millennial Lich whose near limitless

resources and intense dislike for boredom lead him to discover an alternate world where

entertainment rules supreme and is broadcast over a wide range of non-magical energy frequencies.

The citien of this world capture, decode and en!oy these energy signals on various technological

instruments, preferably sitting down in some plushy furniture and gorging themselves of various

types of greasy foods and alcoholic beverages.

"ne type of entertainment caught the Lich#s attention in particular. $t was a category of competitive

events, often serialied, that the local version of %common# called &'eality Shows(.

Thinking it over, the Lich decided that he could adapt the concept to his low-technology)high-magic

corner of the *ultiverse. The Astral Sea was awash with bored, powerful and, more importantly,

mind-bogglingly rich +owers that would likely take to this new form of entertainment like fire does

to dried kindling.

arnessing its considerable power, the lich went and build a new plane in the Astral Sea and named

it, quite simply enough, the +lane of ames. The +lane is filled with countless arenas, theaters, set-

piece sets, dungeons and anything that the twisted minds of the multiverse could conceive withenough magic and the abundant cheap labour offered by the diabolic allies of the lich.

hen his /very few0 detractors challenged the lich by asking who would be cray or desperate

enough to participate in such games, it dismissed them non-nonchalantly, responding that the

material world linked to the Astral Sea was awash with the best possible source of &willing(

participants

Adventurers

The Infernal Contract

The easiest way to get a near limitless supply of participants for what was to become the insanely

popular phenomenon called %The 1ungeon 'eality Show# /1S' to the initiate0 was to open a chainof taverns aimed at down on their luck adventurers on the material world.

$n most civilied areas of the world, adventurers can now count on finding a welcome smile, a

warm meal and a tankard of cool frothing ale at The Unsung Hero. All of this, free of charge,

provided that down-on-their-luck adventurers spin an entertaining tale of their recent adventures

and that they sign a bill attesting the e2change of food for %entertainment services#.

Said bill is in fact a contract with a L"T of tiny, hidden, magically encrypted script, yet it is still

binding in most courts of Astral Laws. The 3ontract stipulates that the adventurers can be

transported, at any point in their lives, and without prior notice, to the +lane of ames to participate

in a series of deadly events that comprise one %episode# of 1S'.

4pon successful completion of the games, any living participants are discharged of any further

participation unless they agree to continue to be %on the list# or sign a new contract for a full

%season# of one of the many parallel shows that 1S' has spawned such as %3an you 5at a hole

Troll 6efore 7ou 52plode8# or &A visit to ight 3astle( /credit top!stonsonon Twitter for the idea0.

$t#s important to note that the rewards for successfully completing an episode of one of those shows

largely make up for the risks one takes in participating in the first place. +lus the Lich offers some

very affordable Life insurance policies that make participating in shows more lucrative /and

survivable0 than e2ploring lost ruins or following some insignificant quest for the local 9eedy

+rofessional 3onsultant.

hile many adventurers have decried the abusive nature of the contract and have tried to warn

young, broke adventurers from going to the 4nsung ero, 1S' is not going to run out of

participants anytime soon, particularity since many of the most successful participants choose to

stay %on the list#.
http://twitter.com/pjstonesonhttp://twitter.com/pjstoneson


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Designer Notes

$ started playing with the idea of the 1ungeon 'eality Show when $ prepped for a one session game

set in the 1ungeon *aster uide#s :obold all for some of my friends who wanted to try 1;1

crawlconcept, but framing it ?@@ into a 1;1#s default

setting, the 1ungeon 'eality Show saw the light.

$sn#t awesome that as players)1* we can shamelessly borrow ideas from all over the place to

create cool concepts8

The response of my players was so positive that $ decided to keep the concept as a possibility

whenever a one-shot game came up. hile it leads to silly games, they are also intensely fun to play

and helps players who are uncomfortable roleplaying in front of others embrace the silliness of a

'eality Shows.

$ think that the familiar elements of such shows help players identify with the setting and it helps

loosen their tongue.

$#ll discuss this in more detail in the ne2t post, where $#ll introduce the concept of Sponsored

*agical $tems and how they can be used to increase hilarity and make the challenges of the games

easier on +3s. After that, $#ll use the 6loodbowl)


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The goal of the 1* is to get the players to go from e2pectant, to T=B8B to the %this is going to be

so cool# stages.

And one of the surest way to achieve this isF

AnnouncerE &"kay guys, we#re done with the sound bites, so head up to the Sponsor#s tents !ust

over there and pick up your free gear(B

".o

Weapons of Mass Adertising

"ne of the e2ceedingly successful gimmicks $ stumbled upon was to give each +3 a piece of

magical equipment they could use /usually ?-G levels higher than their own0. "nce the items are

chosen, the +3s are told that if they plug the manufacturer of said items to the Dision-orbs, the

show#s 3hronomancers /or, as1ave the amecalls them, +roduceamancers0 will alter the flow of

time to allow an e2tra action with the item.

$n other words, players get one free action point, using the sponsored item, once in the session.

This idea was insanely successful in the games and it motivated players to try for their best Dince

Shlomi /The Sham-ow guy0 impressions to get their free action.

ere#s a few e2amples created by my good friend 5ricfor last week#s


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were trying to stop +3s from passing through their room, was to voice the opponents as third-rate

actors with inflated egos. hen a +3 impales a monster with an awesome critical hit /replayed G

times to the viewers0, $ have the monster scream &call my agent( or go into some sort of

Shatneresquedeath scene.

+eppering every few rounds of each scene with quips and complaints that remind everyone that the

whole thing is a low-quality show helps maintain the silly ambiance that this type of game thrives

on.

0n Death

"ne of the ideas of doing such games is to use +3s from your current campaign and drop them in a

series of deathtraps and insanely evil encounters. Thus, character death should not be permanent

unless the player decides to allow his)her +3 to die.

hen a character dies, feel free to have them raised at whatever point feels more convenient in the

session so the player can re!oin the fun. Alternatively, if you feel creative enough, you may have a

different role for the player of the deceased character. hile the +3 will be returned to full life

after the &Show( feel free to give the +layer another character to play. aving a doppelganger stunt

double move in and replace the +3 may give the player a kick, especially if the player uses thepotential of a shape shifter in a TD showB

Conclusion

The idea behind the 1ungeon 'eality Show is to confuse players /when they play the first time0 and

then immerse them in a world of silly TD cliches and product-placement insanity. The goal is to

have players laughing out loud as often as possible while at the same time having the +3s go

through hard, creative encounters.

4p ne2t, $#ll go into the nuts and bolts of the


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?. +3s get whisked to the set, given weapons and told thier task.

C. The +3s must play a game against team of :obolds

G. alf-Time ShowE The +3s must entertain the crowd while various undead are sent to get

them off the stage


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$f asked what the pries are, inform the +3s that it consists of keeping the *agic $tem they will be

given shortly, freedom from future contractual participation to 1'S and a moneytary prie

equivalent to C or G treasure parcels for the appropriate level.

$f you intend to make the 1'S one-shot game part of your campaig, $ suggest that you pool the

value of all treasure parcels for the party#s current level, substract the cost of the sponsored magic

items they#ll get and award the rest as prie money. $ would also suggest letting players level up

after the e2perience.

"therwise, feel free to award whatever you feel like.

"nce the +3s have accepted their predicament, e2plain to themhow equipment sponsorship works

and have each +3 choose one *agic item of their levelK?. Alternatively, you can pre-select some

items and hand them out.

"nce equipment is done, e2plain the game#s ob!ective to the +3sE

Teams alternate playing "ffense and 1efense

The "ffense team must try to get a player with the ball passed the goal line through running

with the ball or catching it once behind the line.

The 1efense tries to prevent the offense from scoring and tries to pry the ball out of their

hands.

The game#s first half will end after one %out-of game# hour or when a team scores G more

points than the other.

Tomorrow $#ll describe Scene C, including all rules needed to play the game of


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action that players can do during their turns.

/icking up the ballM *inor Action, 1e2terity or Strength attack vs 'efle2 of the ball /?H0.

Running &ith the ballE *ove Action. 9o rolls necessary, ignore the &drag a grabbed creature( rule.

/assing the ball 0i$e$ landing it in the targeted s1uare2E Std Action, Acrobatics)1e2 check vs 13

equal to distance thrown squares. "n a miss, ball lands in a random /?d0 square ad!acent to target,

roll again if square is occupied.

3icking the ballE Std Action, Athletics)Str check vs 13 equal to distance thrown squares. "n a miss,

ball lands in a random /?d0 square ad!acent to target, roll again if square is occupied.

Catching the ballM $mmediate 'eactionE 1e2 attack vs ball#s refle2 defense /?H0, on a miss, ball

tumbles in a random /?d0 ad!acent square, roll again if square is occupied.

Intercepting an in,'light ballM Same as catching e2ceptE must be in path of ball and have immediate

action available.

Dropping the ballE =ree Action. hen a ball drops, it tumbles in a random /?d0 ad!acent square,

roll again if square is occupied. A carrier automatically drops the ball whenever it is immobilied,

:nocked +rone, Stunned and 1aed.

4pportunity TackleE henever a player could make an attack of opportunity, a tackle attack /Str vs

=ort, itE Target falls prone0 can be made instead.

Running TackleE Like a 6ull 'ush, e2cept that tackler has the choice of pushing target ? square or

knocking it prone.

The 6allE "n its initiative, the ball will attack its carrier. $f free, the ball will move /ma2 C, it is

slowed0 toward the center of the field.

hen a goal is scored, the scoring team gets ? point, becomes the 1efensive team and sets up as

described above.

Also, the scoring team chooses one of the following scoring bonusesE

"ne player spends a ealing Surge

"ne player recovers an 5ncounter +ower

Star +owerB "ne +layer gains a K? bonus to all dC@ rolls until another goal is scored or the

game ends

hile armour, weapons and implements are allowed on the field, using an attack or a power against

an opponent is not allowed during the gameF

Funless you can manage to slip one past the refB

henever a player decides to make use any attack powers /including any basic attacks0, the 'efereespots the attack and calls for a penalty /see below0 unless the attack roll is higher than ?H

/including all rolls of an Area effect, those are hard to hide0. The use of %aid another# is a good way

to help a teammate land a good one on an opponent without getting spotted.

The 'eferee can also be distracted with a 6luff check or any creative use of other skills /13 ?H0.

hen distracted, the 'ef will ignore fouls until the end of the distractor#s ne2t turn.

$f a penalty is called on a player, that player is instantly teleported off the field and appears on the

sidelines. The player is allowed to talk to teammates, argue with the ref, spot fouls from the

opposing team, etc. owever the player can#t return to the field /the chronomancers freee the

player in place if need be0 until the end of his ne2t turn. At that point, the player is teleported back

on its original square /or an ad!acent one if occupied0.

:illing the 'ef sends the offending player off the field as described above e2cept that the effect is

ended by a saving Throw. The referee is instantly replaced. The ne2t ref#s perceptions are sharper


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so 13 to sneak a foul play becomes ?N /each successive 'ef have a 13 that#s C higher than the last

one0 .

=eel free to invent your own fiendish penalties.

:.". or killed players are not replaced.

After one hour of play, or when one team takes a G point lead, the first half of the game ends. *ove

on to the ne2t scene.

Designer"s Notes

$nitially the 6loodbowl game allowed attacks. hile my players spent a lot of time playing the

game, it rapidly became evident that it was more efficient to !ust get rid of players than play around

them to score points.

*aking attacks forbidden /but with a way to cheat0 makes the encounter into something more than

!ust a combat with football elements. $t creates a mini-game that#s interesting and showcases how

strong


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9ere we are now) 4ntertain us!

.our task is to provide entertainment" in any 'orm" 'or a cro&d o' several thousand cheering 'ans$

.ou must keep the energy level high or you%ll 'ace the &rath o' some grouchy 5ecromancers$

3omple2ity < Skill challenge, get ?@ successes before G failures.

+rimary Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, 6luff, 1iplomacy, etc /let +layer be as creative as they feel

like0

All Skill checks are Standard Actions and must beat a base 13 of ?H /moderate difficulty0.

SuccessE The crowd goes wildB 7ou can either add a success to your total, or cancel a failure. $f a

+3 beats 13 C@ the +3 is granted a free standard action by the show#s 3hronomancers /limit one

free action per +3 per round0.

?@ SuccessesE The crowd makes a standing ovation, all undead monsters are destroyed and the +3s

gain a new Sponsored item Action +oint. igh =ive your group, it#s well deservedB

=ailureE =or each failure, an irate 9ecromancer stands up and heckles the +3s and something rises

from the field. +lace an undead /or < minions0 of level ?-< /roll a d+


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6onegrinder JomboniLevel H 5lite 6rute

Large 9atural Animate>+

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Dungeon Reality Show