fantasy military obstacle course

[Lameth]

Hello all

I am running a fantasy game, and in the players will be faced with a fantasy version of a military obstacle course to test their skills to the very limit, ala the film Camelot with Richard Gear, or Kung Fu Panda. Such things as spinning towers with dulled blades, walls to climb, fire gouts, climbing through mud, crushing padded crossbows to dodge, etc.

I was wondering how this is played out in the game. I don't want a simple roll and you get through, but I also don't want hundreds of rolls. Is there a good half way point? Should each part of the course have its own set of rolls to get passed it, then the course is broken down into parts?

Ideas? help?

[thedanster7000]

I'd have different skills for each obstacle to keep it interesting, perhaps treat some of them, like the spinning blades as an attack that they have to dodge (with the blades you could make a physical map of the different blade towers and make it a balancing act between retreat/sidestep dodge bonuses and avoiding walking into the path of other towers to reach the other side).

[gruundehn]

Originally Posted by Lameth

Hello all

I am running a fantasy game, and in the players will be faced with a fantasy version of a military obstacle course to test their skills to the very limit, ala the film Camelot with Richard Gear, or Kung Fu Panda. Such things as spinning towers with dulled blades, walls to climb, fire gouts, climbing through mud, crushing padded crossbows to dodge, etc.

I was wondering how this is played out in the game. I don't want a simple roll and you get through, but I also don't want hundreds of rolls. Is there a good half way point? Should each part of the course have its own set of rolls to get passed it, then the course is broken down into parts?

Ideas? help?

Breaking the course into parts should work. I would suggest three parts and an overall roll. Going on my decades old experience with two different USAF obstacle courses, the harder you make each one then the fewer you need.

In Basic we ran the obstacle course and there were the usual types of tests, climbing over a barrier, swing over water, get through a tear gas chamber, etc. In Survival School the course was shorter but harder. You had to crawl under barbed wire and avoid tripping flares and so forth. Plus, that one was timed so you had to hurry.

I would suggest three obstacles of moderately hard difficulty and an overall test to account for time, general course hardness, and whatever. Pick obstacles to test DX, INT, and STR and then the overall test based upon health. If you want to simulate a timed run, give a base time and then subtract or add seconds based upon margin of success or failure. Set the base time at a failure point, but don't tell the players, so that they need to succeed at the tests in order to succeed at the course. This way you can keep the tests the same but vary the time needed to succeed as you wish. The characters, not knowing the time required, will push to cut their tie as much as they can which simulates reality.

You can also avoid the time factor and just use the margins of success / failure to determine if the character passes the course or not. If you do, I suggest putting the roll for each test one or two points higher than the times runs. You can mix the timed and untimed tests to keep the characters guessing. In survival school we were told that the test was timed in the briefing but when we were to take the course, the ground was frozen and a lot of the trip wires were frozen to the ground so we could not take the test. But you don't have to simulate that aspect.

[Nymdok]

I LOVE the idea.

I am curious however as to WHAT skills/abilities you would like to see tested? That might help us narrow down what kind of tests we are looking to build.

Also, just to be clear, is it to test successful mastery or to educate?

Should a Fighter, Mage, Rouge be sent to climb a wall? Pick a Lock?

Are they allowed to succeed each to his talents? If ther is a door for example, is a thief allowed to piock the lock, the fighter allowed to kick it down and the mage allowed to burn through it? Or must they ALL pick the lock?

Should there be seperate courses for each profession? Race?

Nymdok

[Lameth]

This is how I am picturing it.

On the fantasy world, the players are within an area that contains knights, wizards, etc. The lord (a powerful elven wizard, who has newly returned after being gone for 40 years, and is using this even as a "coming out" for his family and land) they are staying with. He is having a knight tournament for the best of the best, along with a spring festival and carnival, While his main advisor and designer of the event is a modern day military man from Earth (now destroyed) that trained men for decades and has a skill in designing and engineer. So he came up with the idea to use his knowledge of mechanics, pop culture (films he has seen), and his military background to make the most cinematic and elaborate course he could for this event to really give his a lord a leg up among the other lords and to really showcase his lands.

This part of the event will be secret up to the unveiling, and will put their land on the map as a place that had the most odd and unique test the lands have seen. So the course will be built by master builders and with the help of modern knowledge, along with maybe a touch of magic here and there.

So I see it being cinematic, yet within the realms of the possible. So spinning arms that swing to try to knock you off. Moving bridges. Mud pits along with bars to crawl over and under. Walls to climb. Balancing on columns of wood over water or mud. walls to bust through. Ropes to swing. weapons that launch bolts or arrows that can knock you down, maybe even do minor damage to slow you down. Minor poison gas to blind or make you sick. etc.

The players, A wizard, Monk, and Druid, who will be there as the lords eyes and ears and to make sure all goes well (one of the PCs is his daughter, the wizard), will odds are want to also run it, and due to their merit and renown, will odds are be allowed to. Or maybe I will have a knight run, and then a open run afterwards for anyone that wishes to run it. This will be the main event and will thrill crowds and start maybe a tradition of the land.

As far as the types, there is only one run course, but with many parts. I like your idea of picking locks and stuff like that. Maybe "get through this door", and its up to you to do that and how you do it. Not sure if "powers" will be allowed, or only skills and normal abilities of the non-supernatural. Also im not sure if all run at one time, or its one person at a time, or maybe in small groups.

I imagine the course being very long (maybe 300 feet ) and elaborate with areas that are concealed with darkness, or tents, or large closed in areas, so you don't see what's coming, and then open areas as well for the crowds to see and cheer. all in all, its also to be fun for the world, as well as the players. So instead of Battle of the Network Stars, its Battle of the Knights of Ismyth, lol. But I would like to add odd stuff as well that a knight would not suspect, but other classes may. So tests of Strength, Dex, Intelligence, etc.

[VariousRen]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

If you want to simulate a timed run, give a base time and then subtract or add seconds based upon margin of success or failure. Set the base time at a failure point, but don't tell the players, so that they need to succeed at the tests in order to succeed at the course. This way you can keep the tests the same but vary the time needed to succeed as you wish. The characters, not knowing the time required, will push to cut their tie as much as they can which simulates reality.

This seems like a good starting point. I would also suggest letting them trade their skill before the roll at a 2 to 1 ratio, so that they have to decide to push themselves and risk screwing up or just coast on their skill. Otherwise it's just going to be a series of rolls that the PC's can't really interact with. Hiding the time needed will make it more difficult for the players to make moderately informed decisions about when to push or not, so I would give a Per check with a success giving them a rough feeling for how they're doing.

[VariousRen]

Originally Posted by Lameth

As far as the types, there is only one run course, but with many parts. I like your idea of picking locks and stuff like that. Maybe "get through this door", and its up to you to do that and how you do it. Not sure if "powers" will be allowed, or only skills and normal abilities of the non-supernatural. Also im not sure if all run at one time, or its one person at a time, or maybe in small groups.

Perhaps have some sections where there are multiple paths that get through a particular obstacle. Pick this lock, climb over this bladed wall, or dodge your way past the archers firing padded arrows. Another option is adding a judging portion of the score in addition to time and then allowing powers. A wizard who casts levitate and floats past 90% of the stuff will do well on time, but horribly on style because they haven't demonstrated the types of abilities the test is looking for. The same wizard might want to use a dozen different spells to show how many they know and how powerful they are.

[Donny Brook]

I would suggest that you imagine what the obstacles are, then let the players choose what skills they try to apply when they confront them.

[starslayer]

Of note- military obstacle courses are normally NOT actually individual challenges; instead they attempt to refine your ability to work as a team and do 'scary' things (most individual challenges are set up to be high enough/uncomfortable enough to trigger fear response, but not high enough to cause more than bruised ego if you screw up).

While there will inevitably be some penis waving and bragging about 'who's the fastest', or even 'what team is the fastest'- its not the point, and the former earth military man would be actively aware of this. If he wanted to test skill he'd have a series of skill tests, possibly some combined ones- like a dynamic shooting range[1].

A series of contests like the olympics would be a better way to determine the 'best' candidates.

With that said, as a showcase of training an obstacle course may still be a great way to showcase. The most applicable skills that would emulate a modern obstacle course are LIKELY (and that likely is because, doubly so in a fantasy world, people may find interesting ways to solve things) going to be leadership (to encourage on your teammates) tactics/strategy (to find ways to get a team through), climbing, running, digging, will checks, and general athletics (DX checks).




[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_shooting

[fredtheobviouspseudonym]

put in one or more golems to "fight" the characters -- again, dodging, maneuvering, and using various improvised devices (see Thorin Oakenshield) to block or parry. The golem is instructed to pull his/her/its punches enough not to kill the player character but enough to hurt and to teach.

Perhaps one of the golems is instructed to respond well to efforts to negotiate/deal ("What kind of a deal? A deal deal.") Let a successful Diplomacy/Fast Talk roll actually work, even on a golem -- the idea is to teach the character (and through him/her, the player) that sometimes there are non-violent ways to cope with conflicts.

At the end, of course, you can shamelessly steal from the opening episode of "Kung Fu" and have the players have to move a heavy red-hot cauldron away from the exit -- and the only way to do so is to brand an emblem into the inside of each forearm. (Alternatively, you arrange for this test to take place in a small room that is slowly filling up with water -- and the clever players should realize that you can figure out a way to knock the cauldron into the water -- lots of steam and an exit . . .)

Just some thoughts.