Ideas Are Easy

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

Any ideas for a big sporting event based around wizard duelling?

Dueling is fairly specific, so many types of events don't work as well: of your inspiration list, only really pro wrestling lends itself to the format of a duel. What sort of magic you use also matters. You can do a lot by restricting the magic that can be legally used though.

summoner duels: Combat is between summoned or enchanted creatures, not the wizards themselves. There are lots of variants on this. The win condition is one: is it one creature vs. one creature, or are their lots of them. Do you have to defeat a certain number of the creatures, or is there a specific creature to defeat? Or is the target a physical goal the creatures must reach or destroy? Can the wizards cast spells into the arena? Can they target the creatures directly or are they limited to making pits and walls of fire? Can they even shout instructions? A lot of card games are relevant here.

Indirect Battles have lots of possibilities. Two casters display magical strength by fighting over some goal. There are two variants on this. In one there is a object, spell, or other target that must be turned to their side: for example, a mystic fire that must travel to one end or the other of an arena, or they each have a color they're trying to turn the target. In the other, each caster has a target or targets he's defending from attacks of his foe. Perhaps there are three shacks, and the last shack standing wins. Indirect battles may allow the casters in the arena, but quite often the action takes place in a demarcated area they are not allowed to step into.

Shapeshifter Duel: The only spells allowed change the caster themselves. This may be limited to animals, or it may allow invisibility, growing wings and armor, healing spells, and similar. This is a classic in older fiction.

You can always have a direct duel, though these can be messy or deadly. If its a sporting event, many spells are likely to be banned. There is always the no-holds barred option though!