How to make "Gladiator" matches interesting?

[TripleD]

So the city my group is heading too has public "cage matches" for entertainment. These matches rarely result in death. Think more WWE than Ancient Rome. I want one of the quest branches to involve my level 5 characters speaking to the master of the pits and agreeing to become ringers against a popular fighter who's somewhat past her prime.

Now my group has five people. I figure I can let two people fight at once, but then what do the other 3 do? I was thinking something along the line of having them work up the crowd (Bluff to cheer on their teammates, Intimidate to goad rival fans). The guards obviously don't want a riot, so they will have to weave in and out of sections to avoid being thrown out (Disguise to get back in if they are).

I'm curious though, has anyone tried this in the past, and what worked for you?

[Keneth]

Like in normal gladiatorial matches, if the fight is interesting enough, the other players are gonna be satisfied by just being spectators. They can cheer for the player(s) in the ring and shout advice to them.

[animewatcha]

Person making money offa bets.
Person scanning the crowd to find out possible high profile people like nobles ( reserved private booth ) etc.
Person sneaks into barracks/quarters/underground-stuff to 'rig' the fight more into their favor.
While match is going on, there is bound to be unattended valuables, equipment, paintings, etc. just asking to be taken.

[Pickford]

Complete Warrior rules on Gladiatorial matches are opponents have light arms and little armor, make a perform (weapon drill) before the fight to influence the crowd and gains to hit and damage bonuses (or penalties) depending on the crowd's reaction to the fighters. (i.e. positive mood is good things, negative mood is bad things).

It also has a table 4-4 to describe various situations, what the check involved is, and how the crowd reacts (i.e. how they feel towards each combatant).

Kind of neat, pgs. 130-133

There are also rules for archery contests, conjuror's chess, and the alabaster cup (a multi-event sporting contest).

Complete Arcane has rules on Spell Duels and Arcane Tournaments pgs. 175-179

Edit: Had one once where the NPCs are kidnapped and sold into slavery, they face various gladiator pit challenges until the final is a multi-person free for all with each 'contestant' getting some magical benefit from various patron deities. I got the one that let me use Foresight, so not bad.

[stack]

Well, Pathfinder has a set of performance combat rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/performance-combat). Never used them myself, but might be worth a look. At first glance they seem nice.

As for keeping matches interesting, I would vary terrain and opponents quite a bit, bring in different tactics (bull-rushing off platforms, water, a maze that the audience can see over and shout advice (or "advice")).

[00dlez]

Complete Warrior rules on Gladiatorial matches are opponents have light arms and little armor, make a perform (weapon drill) before the fight to influence the crowd and gains to hit and damage bonuses (or penalties) depending on the crowd's reaction to the fighters. (i.e. positive mood is good things, negative mood is bad things).

It also has a table 4-4 to describe various situations, what the check involved is, and how the crowd reacts (i.e. how they feel towards each combatant).


I've not read the CW entry so I apologize if this is already covered explicitly, but like it was mentioned above, the PCs could work the crowd with bluff/intimidate/whatever else checks to win the crowd for their party mates, conferring them a +2 circumstance bonus. This bonus could increase if the party mates take more complex actions beyond simple d20 skill checks.

[XmonkTad]

Well, if everyone is present at the same session, then having all the non -competing characters do things that play to their strengths: let the rogue pickpocket people in the crowd, etc.
If you want to do something a little crazy: the party is sort of split right now, so you can use that to your advantage! Have the non -contestants go first and see what sort of things they do before the match starts. Maybe the rogue sneaked into the barracks and poisons some food that the opponents will eat before the match. Maybe the cleric takes the time to hang out with an influential patron, and entices him to make a certain bet, or saves him from making a bad bet!
This way, while the match is going on, the other players will have already had their influence and may themselves have a vested interest in the outcome. Even if they're not participating at that moment, they'll want to see what happens.

[00dlez]

Well, if everyone is present at the same session, then having all the non -competing characters do things that play to their strengths: let the rogue pickpocket people in the crowd, etc.
If you want to do something a little crazy: the party is sort of split right now, so you can use that to your advantage! Have the non -contestants go first and see what sort of things they do before the match starts. Maybe the rogue sneaked into the barracks and poisons some food that the opponents will eat before the match. Maybe the cleric takes the time to hang out with an influential patron, and entices him to make a certain bet, or saves him from making a bad bet!
This way, while the match is going on, the other players will have already had their influence and may themselves have a vested interest in the outcome. Even if they're not participating at that moment, they'll want to see what happens.
+1
This is what I was meaning by "complex actions"