DMs - How do handle the following situations in your games?

[Dr TPK]

I'm just curious as to how would you resolve the following situations and scenarios in your games.

1. A beauty contest. Men and women would be in separate categories. The judges would be impartial, representing all the major races of the major nations, and the objectively most beautiful would, most likely, win the competition.
2. Language proficiency tests with varying degrees competence.
3. Spelling bees.
4. Olympics. There would be several events and the PCs would participate in all of them.

[SinsI]

First one would definitely require the use of Book of Erotic Fantasy.
Second one is a Forgery check.
Don't know what spelling bees are.
Last one is easy, continuous checks of appropriate skills.

[Extra Anchovies]

I'm just curious as to how would you resolve the following situations and scenarios in your games.

1. A beauty contest. Men and women would be in separate categories. The judges would be impartial, representing all the major races of the major nations, and the objectively most beautiful would, most likely, win the competition.
2. Language proficiency tests with varying degrees competence.
3. Spelling bees.
4. Olympics. There would be several events and the PCs would participate in all of them.

1. Roll randomly to determine the species each judge considers "most beautiful", weighted heavily towards their own race. Whoever matches the most of judges' preferred species wins. If there's a tie, each contestant who tied rolls 2d10 and adds their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores (not the modifiers, the scores), and then adds twice their Charisma score. Highest total wins.
2. Multiple Linguistics checks if Pathfinder, or Speak Language/Decipher Script checks if 3.5.
3. Linguistics checks again.
4. What SinsI said.


Don't know what spelling bees are.

Spelling competitions. Participants take turns attempting to spell a word that is spoken to them; if they misspell the word, they are eliminated. Once there are two people left, they keep going until one of them misspells a word and the other spells their next word correctly (so that someone doesn't win by another's mistake).

[Drork]

Build a skill challenge.

If you are doing a mister/misses beauty contest just look at the TV show work out a skill check for each of the categories hey presto, hint charisma is going to be a key skill but int might get you some points.

Language proficient. I would use every skill you can use in a language way used in a skill challenge bluff, diplomacy etc.

Spelling bee is the hardest but you could run it similar to above where the words come from different sections aka knowledge nature is a lower check than any other knowledge or skill check followed by a diplomacy etc. Basically a random order of all skill checks with words you would say are more unique to that area of knowledge. Int check is the catch all but knowledge skills similar could have a slightly higher DC. Then just cycle though them and raise the DC each time.

Olympics is a skill check or skill challenge with the sum result being the victor.

Also with most of these you could include cheating into the skill challenge to make it extra interesting and risky.

[SinsI]

Spelling competitions. Participants take turns attempting to spell a word that is spoken to them; if they misspell the word, they are eliminated. Once there are two people left, they keep going until one of them misspells a word and the other spells their next word correctly (so that someone doesn't win by another's mistake).
Cannot be emulated, since Speak Language or Literacy are binary in D&D.
Plus, "misspelling" is a very novel creation - without widespread television and education languages were far more varied and far less standardized than now. There was no such thing as "misspelling" - what you wrote was always the correct version!
The closest thing is Wizards scribing a new spell into their book.

[Honest Tiefling]

If all else fails, resort to encouraging the PCs to use bribery, intimidation, and sabotage to win. I'm actually being serious, in that if I foresaw a problem with the entertainment value of the event, and given that few of my PCs bother with the law I think it's a good solution. Especially for the beauty pageant.

[Extra Anchovies]

If all else fails, resort to encouraging the PCs to use bribery, intimidation, and sabotage to win. I'm actually being serious, in that if I foresaw a problem with the entertainment value of the event, and given that few of my PCs bother with the law I think it's a good solution. Especially for the beauty pageant.

Excellent idea, actually. Seems a lot more fun than a few simple skill challenges. I'm going to have to echo the quote in your signature :smallsmile:

[Hellborn_Blight]

If all else fails, resort to encouraging the PCs to use bribery, intimidation, and sabotage to win. I'm actually being serious, in that if I foresaw a problem with the entertainment value of the event, and given that few of my PCs bother with the law I think it's a good solution. Especially for the beauty pageant.

A judge with a particular fetish would be hilarious too. You would have to make the NPC's ahead of time and write out commentary from the judges and just turn hilarity to the max. Whenever I think of a beauty pageant now, I think of the one on Baka & Test where the guys had to okama it up and participate and one judge had a thing for the tall guy and kept saying really inappropriate things lol.

As for the other events:

Language proficiency. Spoken or written? An intellect check would basically suffice, but I have always thought ability checks where a bit too swingy. I have a 4 bonus on intellect, but rolled a 2, and the Barbarian has a -2 penalty and rolled a 19 and now I look like the moron and he looks like Newton. wut. So I propose decipher script, even if it is spoken.

Speeling bees. I really like the idea of SinsI's that says they won't really exist, but if you really want to create one, then you would first have to have a basis for what the spelling standards are. If you want to blanket it for your whole world that's fine, but more flavorfully you could do it for just one regional area, almost turning it into a test of local knowledge. As for the check, I'd say Autohypnosis, since you are trying to recall something specific that the tester is gonna wanna know for the test.

The Olympics appears easy on the surface. Swim, Jump, Ride, Tumble and Climb are already out of the way, unless you are dealing with people who have swim or climb speeds). And for archery and distance throwing, a few modified attack roles are all that is needed. But the running presents an interesting problem. If they have feats like run, have traits and racial abilities that increase speed, you could still have the whole field tie if things aligned that way. Although the monk would be like, "My day has finally come!" An initiative check would be helpful, but the whole race would kinda come down to one not really speed related check. Maybe make a dex check each round and give them the result in bonus feet moved until they are one turn away, then allow for the initiative check to see who will give that last surge at the end? Could still fail even, if the don't get enough bonus distance so this one is complicated. Distance running would involve con checks in the same way dex checks worked, just set a certain amount of them and the greatest results (highest total check) wins.

[Jergmo]

Incidentally a beauty contest involving all of the major civilized races would not objectively result in elves winning. Dwarves would give them an automatic "least" score because they got "nothin' to hang onto".

[JDL]

Beauty Pageant

Break it into three separate skill challenges. First would be physical beauty (Charisma check, +2 circumstance bonus with DC 10 Disguise check, +2 for every additional 5 points the check exceeds 10). Second would be talent contest (Perform check, or alternatively any skill which can be used to earn coin such as Tumble). Third would be speaking skill (Diplomacy or Perform: Oratory check, +2 for DC 10 Bluff, +2 for every additional 5 points this check exceeds 10).

[lytokk]

I'm just curious as to how would you resolve the following situations and scenarios in your games.

1. A beauty contest. Men and women would be in separate categories. The judges would be impartial, representing all the major races of the major nations, and the objectively most beautiful would, most likely, win the competition.
2. Language proficiency tests with varying degrees competence.
3. Spelling bees.
4. Olympics. There would be several events and the PCs would participate in all of them.

Well, the first would have to be charisma checks. While looks aren't exactly correlated to charisma, I would say that it is your force of personality, which after having to sit and watch a miss america pageant (thanks to an ex) I would say the only differnce I saw between the women was personality.

Second, um, I have no clue. Spend the two skill points and get the language. I've never thought of haivng proficiency tests.

Third, INT checks.

fourth would depend on the event. STR for sprints, and jumps. DEX for archery and gymnastics, STR + DEX for hurdles, javelin, shotput, CON for distance running. Stuff like that.

[Telonius]

For number 3, Int checks to a given DC, or possibly Bardic Knowledge.

[Honest Tiefling]

A judge with a particular fetish would be hilarious too. You would have to make the NPC's ahead of time and write out commentary from the judges and just turn hilarity to the max. Whenever I think of a beauty pageant now, I think of the one on Baka & Test where the guys had to okama it up and participate and one judge had a thing for the tall guy and kept saying really inappropriate things lol.

I have no idea what you are referring to, but unless this is handled well it could seem very much like bashing certain fetishes. Doable...But needs to be handled carefully to not seem as if having unconventional tastes is a bad thing.

[Nibbens]

I'm just curious as to how would you resolve the following situations and scenarios in your games.

1. A beauty contest. Men and women would be in separate categories. The judges would be impartial, representing all the major races of the major nations, and the objectively most beautiful would, most likely, win the competition.
2. Language proficiency tests with varying degrees competence.
3. Spelling bees.
4. Olympics. There would be several events and the PCs would participate in all of them.

Hmm...

1) All roleplay baby! Have them give me details of how they dress up. That's it. I'd know what the judges like and dislike, etc so they could be fair in the judging.

2) Could it be? A reason to use a Linguistics check... Wait, this is for PF, right? Does 3.X have linguistics?

3) Could you imagine, the party barbarian (with stereotypical low int dump scores) in a spelling bee. HA! "Can you spell Axe?" LOLOL.
Seriously, though, I'd probably make this fall under a INT check, (level+INT+d20+) but add a bonus for # of languages known on a 1:1 ratio.

4) Str/endurance/Con/Survival checks maybe? Those could all be useful here.

[Scorponok]

The SPelling Bee just gave me an idea for a monster - think, a bee, that casts spells! A Spelling Bee!

[Drork]

If all else fails, resort to encouraging the PCs to use bribery, intimidation, and sabotage to win. I'm actually being serious, in that if I foresaw a problem with the entertainment value of the event, and given that few of my PCs bother with the law I think it's a good solution. Especially for the beauty pageant.

I would have added this as an option in the skill challenges.

[Hellborn_Blight]

I have no idea what you are referring to, but unless this is handled well it could seem very much like bashing certain fetishes. Doable...But needs to be handled carefully to not seem as if having unconventional tastes is a bad thing.

First off, here (http://www.watchcartoononline.com/baka-and-test-summon-the-beasts-season-2-episode-2-english-dubbed), that is the episode of the show I was talking about. You don't even really need context, but it is effectively 4 dudes get dragged into cross dressing in beauty contest and can't lose quickly because the creepy judge (that is also the sponsor of the event) keeps advancing them. It is ridiculously funny and starts about halfway through the episode.

I kinda agree with this from what will probably seem like a strange perspective. You are good as long as you are actually being funny. If the structure of the joke is that this judge gives more points to the participants that have exposed feet and less for covered feet, to the point where it is obvious and weird, than that is funny even if you do have a foot fetish. Mostly because being super overt and a creeper about it is the joke, not the particular fetish itself. The fetish is just there as a mechanism. If you were to fail to deliver proper dialog and back and forth, then go, “Well, the BBW won because the judge has a thing for BBW's. I mean, fat chicks right?” you're just being annoying, most likely offensive and certainly not funny. So yeah, Wheaton's Law + you have to actually be funny is my cautionary inclusion for that.

Another way you could go with this is for some meta humor. Normally judges hold up score cards of 0-10. Well, it is kinda based on CHA score, so you could have them hold up cards that represent that number instead. Specifically, making it something like a foot fetish could give an edge to players with a good spot, if they notice is time to take their shoes off.

[Extra Anchovies]

The SPelling Bee just gave me an idea for a monster - think, a bee, that casts spells! A Spelling Bee!

MM2 has a wasp with at-will Magic Missile. How's that for you?

[Honest Tiefling]

First off, here (http://www.watchcartoononline.com/baka-and-test-summon-the-beasts-season-2-episode-2-english-dubbed), that is the episode of the show I was talking about. You don't even really need context, but it is effectively 4 dudes get dragged into cross dressing in beauty contest and can't lose quickly because the creepy judge (that is also the sponsor of the event) keeps advancing them. It is ridiculously funny and starts about halfway through the episode.

-snip-

1. That site is highly illegal, probably not kosher by forum rules.

2. That...Description actually makes me a touch uncomfortable. The joke hinges on the creepy part of the judge.

3. I disagree that a joke works if it was funny. I mean, you could make a funny racist joke, but I'm still not advocating repeating it to your DnD group, nor that the humor helps the joke. I think the difference is the type of humor. Gentle ribbing or using said fetish to put a twist onto a situation is different then having the fetish be the punchline. But perhaps my group is a bit more PC then others. Also, I am willing to bet that I'm going to be a lot more likely (since I do indeed live in San Francisco) to encounter people that are probably going to be really hurt by these jokes.

[Cruiser1]

First one would definitely require the use of Book of Erotic Fantasy.
For the beauty contest, the 3rd party book "Chainmail Bikini" has a section about running beauty contests (involving physical beauty, talent, personality, and sometimes strength, martial ability, and magical ability) including details for a sample beauty contest "The Nereid's Ball".