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Arena
Rules |
The Games of Saberhaven
Arena Rules of Engagement
Rules to follow during the fights
Arena
Description
The Arena
is an oval shaped stadium measuring 450 feet (150 yards) long and 225
feet (75 yards) wide. A pair of double stone doors sits at either far
end of the Arena. Side doors exist on both short sides where the healing
priests wait for the end of the matches.
The spectators'
seating area of the stadium rises 300 feet in the air. The entire Arena
is domed by a Dome of Force that extends up 150 feet into the air. Like
a Cube of Force, it keeps all things from going out into the crowd. It
keeps most things from coming in as well. Typically, it will keep out
everything from the outside (magic, rotten fruit aimed at out-of-favor
competitors, etc.) but it allows the weather to come through (rain, lightning,
etc.).
The
floor is made of hard-packed dirt with some residual dust on top of it,
though not enough to track an invisible opponent by footprint. Fights
are usually during daylight hours.
During
the occasional nighttime fight, the Arena walls are studded with eight
Continual Light spells at regular intervals: one above each door, and
three along each side, at approximately 125' distance from one another.
The radius of a Continual Light is 60', leaving 5' of shadow between each
along the wall, and an area of darkness of about 105' x 330' in the middle.
The stands are fitted with glass globes with Continual Light beads at
their center every 20' along the back wall.
The
Lord Mayor's Box
The Lord
Mayor's Box is reserved for His Honor himself or those few he grants permission
to occupy it during the fights he does not attend. The four corners are
fitted with glass globes with Continual Light spells at their center for
night fights. Walls of Force surround the entire box and the interior
is magically climate controlled.
His
Honor's Box has a screen in front of it that allows those in the box to
see anyone invisible, ethereal or out of phase (similar to a long range
True Seeing). It's magnification can be zoomed in or out to see minute
details or broad action. On the table in front at the front of the box
is a permanent illusion miniature version of the Arena that runs a programmed
illusion within, duplicating the Arena action. The programmed illusions
can be re-run, acting as a replay mechanism for His Honor.
Judges
The
judges are positions filled by friends of the Lord Mayor. It's a political
position more than one recognizing power. It's a great honor to be a judge
(they use panels of three) and many people know you if you are a judge.
The regular judges tend to rotate in 4-5 hour periods during the weekly
fights. During tournaments, celebrity judges are brought it such as leaders
of powerful local guilds, foreign heads of state, emissaries and those
government leaders who've done special favors for the Lord Mayor.
The
Judges Box is a level below and in front of His Honor's box. The judges
have a screen in front of them that uses a True Seeing type spell to allow
them to see all the action, and a magnification to bring the action closer
to them when it is far away.
Guards/Priests
During regular
fights they come in groups of four, two guards and two priests. During
tournaments and fights where they expect problems, they bring in 6 or
8. The priests are mainly healers, clerics of Hardshale or Realanna, or
demi-human priests of healing gods or gods of combat and war. The guards
are tough and supplied with items to help disable crazed competitors.
Guards try not to harm competitors, just subdue them and save the loser.
The
priests are located at the entry doors and the guards are located behind
the secret doors along the sides of the Arena, half way between each end.
If a contestant injures a guard, he is fined. If he kills a guard, he
is fined heavier. If the judges believe he killed with malicious intent
(as opposed to something like a berserker rage) then he may be banned
from the Games or even imprisoned.
Summoned/Controlled
Creatures
Contestants
may not summon or control any creature when within the Arena. This includes
but is not limited to: Elementals, Tanar'ri, normal trained animals, Figurines
of Wondrous Power. Familiars are allowed for mages, however, they are
not allowed to attack unless the opposing side attacks them.
Intelligent
Items
Psionic items
that can initiate powers on their own are not allowed. Other intelligent
items (such as swords) which have powers, but need the contestant to activate
them, are allowed.
Preparation
Preparation
is strictly controlled. Contestant may not enter the staging area with
any spells running. They may not drink potions or otherwise activate magic
items before entering.
Contestants
will enter the Arena staging area though a series of Dispel Magic screens
(magely and priestly), to keep out any pre-cast prep spells. They will
be led to an empty room where they have 5 rounds to prep themselves with
spells, psionics, items, etc. They will walk for one round to the end
of the hall where the doors will open, they will be announced and the
fight will begin. This end of this last round of walking is considered
the "surprise phase".
Initial
Entering
A contestant
must be seen walking through the doors by everyone in the Arena, including
their opponent, at the announcement of his name for the judges to officially
begin the fight.
Surprise
Phase
For the purposes
of the Arena, contestants may be "ready for action" upon the
opening of the doors. This "surprise phase" is not a round,
but merely a moment - perhaps a second or less in duration - in which
archers can loose pre-cocked/drawn missiles, spellcasters can utter the
final syllable of a spell, magic item holders can speak a command word
or press a button, etc. It is not a full round in duration. Spells finished
in the surprise phase must have been cast in the round previous and "held"
until the beginning of combat is announced, at which point they are finished.
There is not enough time to move in the surprise phase.
Combat
When
the doors open and the names are announced, the combat starts. Contestants
start 150 yards apart. Immediately comes the "surprise phase".
The fight progresses round-by-round until one character is knocked out
or submits. The Judges can also rule that a contestant has no recourse
and declare him the loser (example: trapped in a spherical Wall of Force
with no way to get out).
(Note:
Players should email his actions for the current round to the DM running
the fight. The DM will reply and the player sends another round's worth
of actions. And so on until the fight is done. Please don't send more
than one round's action at a time since you don't know your opponent's
actions may change the fight form round to round.)
Response
Deadline
Players and DMs must respond within a reasonable amount of time so
the fights do not dragon on for months. This is a hazard in play by email games which rely on the free time of
the player and DM to move forwards. The following times guidelines should be followed:
| Response: |
Player: |
DM: |
Consequence: |
| Challenges: |
4 days |
-- |
Challenge ignored |
| Prep/First Round: |
1 week |
3 days |
Fight forfeited |
| Subsequent Rounds: |
3 days |
3 days |
Fight finished as if PC were NPC |
Mutilation/item filching:
The judges realize the sometimes a grisly death is inevitable in the
Arena, however they forbid any continued damage dealing after a winner has been declared. A lot of money is spent
on insurance and the Lord Mayor would prefer the priests expend as little magic as possible to keep costs down
and profits high.
Similarly,
item filching is against the law. Items of the downed contestant belong to that contestant, assuming he is going
to be healed to fight again. If there is no expectation of healing, the items are forfeit to either his sponsor
or his next of kin (if he left names), in that order. If none of those are represent, the items belong to the state.
Arena officials will protect items from theft. Fines are enforced for stealing: double the gold piece value of
the item.
Insurance
When
you go unconscious, the priests will bring you awake with minor healing spells. More powerful restorative spells
can be purchased, but must be paid for in advance. If the spell is not used, it can be carried over to the next
fight, but the money will not be returned. The cost for spells is as follows:
| Raise Dead |
9,000 |
| Resurrection |
12,500 |
| Regeneration |
15,000 |
| Restoration |
20,000 |
| Clone |
35,000 |
| Stone to Flesh |
15,000 |
Once
the character is alive and awake, he can then choose to buy more healing spells from the Arena priests, find other
outside priests or magic items, get help from their contingency or heal naturally. Prices for other healing spells:
| Cure Light Wounds |
100 |
| Cure Moderate Wounds |
250 |
| Cure Serious Wounds |
350 |
| Cure Critical Wounds |
600 |
| Cure Blindness |
1,000 |
| Cure Disease |
1,000 |
| Neutralize Poison |
1,000 |
| Heal |
10,000 |
| Remove Curse |
6,000 |
Character Advancement
Characters will gain additional "Points" for each combat
they win, which can then be cashed in for xp towards level advancement or credit towards magic items. Winner gain
10 points. A bonus will be awarded for defeating a ranked competitor. A further bonus will be given for good writing
and creative role playing, at the DMs discretion. The formula for points won is as follows:
10 + (50/rank) + (1 to 5 RP bonus) = points won (rounded to nearest tenth
of a point)
PC
and NPC point values and ranks will be posted to the Web site.
Spending Earned Points
Points can be saved as long as the character wants, but once they
are spent cannot be recovered. These points can be used to boost the character's experience point totals, for gold
or credit towards purchasing magic items. The breakdown is as follows:
| 1
Point |
|
|
| |
= |
1,500
xp |
| |
= |
50
xp in magic items |
| |
= |
1,500
gold pieces |
Current
Earned Point and gold piece totals are posted on this Web site. Additional
spells can also be bought for .75 CP/level of spell to be bought.
Multiple Characters
Players may have multiple characters in the Games. Characters are
required to finish at least one fight before a player can submit a new character for consideration. (So don't flood
us with characters
;-) During tournaments, the top characters will be chosen, regardless of player. If a situation arises that two
characters with the same player are to fight, the player may choose which one he wants to run and the other will
be run by the DM as an NPC for that fight.
Tournaments
When
tournament time comes around, the Top 8 automatically advance to the round of champions. For the pleasure of meeting
these eight in combat, 64 contestants will compete for eight spots. The Top 50 ranked competitors automatically
make it. The last 14 slots are filled when the judges confer and choose the 14 most promising non-ranked competitors.
The
rounds unfold as follows:
| Round |
Competitors |
| 1 |
64 (50 ranks + 14 wild cards competitors) |
| 2 |
32 |
| 3 |
16 |
| 4 |
16 (One of the Elite 8 matches against one of the Top
8) |
| 5 |
8 (Quarterfinals - New Top 8) |
| 6 |
4 (Semifinals) |
| 7 |
2 (Finals) |
Time Between Matches
You can take as long as you want between
qualifying matches. However, in the tournament, you will be fighting at least one fight per day if you advance.
Rank-and-Challenge System
After each tournament, a ranking will be posted, first of the Top
8 finalists, then of the next 50 competitors (spots 9 - 58). The Judges (DMs) base the rankings on performance
in the tournament, strength of opponents and ease of wins. Any contestants retiring or having lost their life will
not be considered for the rankings.
Once
the list is posted, a new off-season can begin, which runs until the next tournament. When tournament time rolls
around, those people who hold the Top 8 and 50 ranks are automatically qualified. Fourteen "wild card"
spots will be assigned to those expressing interest in the tournament and whom the judges feel to be worthy contestants,
making the overall tournament of the highest quality.
In
the off-season, competitors can make challenges to other Arena fighters. Several rules have been established for
the challenges.
- The Top 8 are not allowed to make or accept any
challenges during the off-season.
- Any competitors ranked 9 - 53 can challenge the
person directly above him in the ranks. This is called a "ranking challenge" or "official challenge".
The person cannot refuse. If the person is unavailable at the time of the challenge, he can defer, but must respond
in combat before the next tournament. If he does not, he drops one rank and the challenger moves up one rank.
Note that the challenger is making his request for
a fight to the rank, not the specific person. So if you challenge someone directly above you and while waiting
that person switches places with the person above him, the new resident of the slot directly above you must answer
your challenge.
- The holder of the number 53 spot must defend his
spot against a rotating cycle of ranks 54 - 58. This is considered a ranking challenge. Number 53 has the option
to challenge number 52 to try and move up, but only once between each challenge from below. For example, 53 starts
by fighting 54. Assuming 53 wins, he can now challenge 52. Whoever is number 53 after that fight must then fight
55. Then 53 can again challenge 52. The after that fight is done, whoever holds the number 53 spot will fight 56.
And so on.
- Any non-ranked contestant can challenge the holders
of ranks 54 - 58. Characters must have at least two wins before they can issue a challenge to a ranked competitor.
- The rankings can only change after a ranking challenge
has taken place or if a contestant retires or dies (removing him from the contestant pool). If a contestant dies
but is brought back to life within a week of his death, he retains his place in the rankings.
- Anyone can challenge any ranked competitor at any
time. If this does not fall under the "ranking challenge" rules (meaning the person is more than one
spot above you or below you at all or the challenger is not ranked at all) then it is considered a "non-ranking
challenge". The person being challenged is not obligated to accept, and regardless of the outcome of the fight,
the rankings do not change.
- No challenges can be made during tournament season,
to or by characters involved in the tournament. Rankings do not change during the tournament season.
ICQ
Option
You are encouraged
to use ICQ if possible to make the fights finish faster, which also means
your character can advance and grow faster.
Several
of the DMs are on the ICQ instant messaging/chat software. Any player
who wants to run with ICQ will be allowed. Those who do not want to don't
have to. It's just an option, not a requirement. If you'd like to download
ICQ, go to www.ICQ.com.
Banned
Spells
Prohibited
spell include:
- Dwoemerbanish
(9th level
wizard spell)
- Enhance
(8th level wizard spell)
- Lifeproof
(7th level
wizard spell)
- Mordenkainen's
Disjunction (9th level wizard spell)
- Mystra's
Unraveling (9th level wizard spell)
- Reflection
(5th level
wizard spell)
- Vaporise
(9th level
wizard spell)
- Wish
(9th level
wizard spell)
- All spells
that conjure or summon other creatures
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