Chess style Encounter help

[sammyp03]

I'm looking for advice on how to set up a chess style encounter with rooks pawns kings queens etc, but am unable to figure out how to do it to where it's not a 12 hour battle. Any ideas ?

[SoraWolf7]

So my suggestion here would to not be so strict with using the chess board and rules as your basis, but instead stick to a motif.

I saw a lovely version in a little-known Dragon Quest manga called Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken. The Chess-pieces ended up being viable golems made from Orichalcum (it was a weird manga adaptation of Dragon Quest 3 mechanics), each with their own fighting style based on the Chess Piece they were designed from.

King: Preferably the tactician character, my suggestion would be a Marshal to spread the auras around and be the commanding face.
Queen: The Most powerful fighter, or at least the fastest, since the Queen can cover literally the entire board in one move. Maybe a Monk or ToB build to cover ground and then punch people hard.
Knight: The agile one, built as the Final Fantasy Dragoon with a special spell-reflecting shield (but wasn't invincible to being heated and cooled rapidly). So a lance-user is a must. If you want to stick to having a mount or just jump on people, that's your decision.
Rook: The heavy-set knight guy, made to smash and not talk. Did a cool one-time thing where he shed his castle-like armor to reveal a smaller form and he swapped places with the King and other members to save their lives while sacrificing his own (an example of the in-game Castling maneuver). So this sounds like a shield-toting knight/paladin character made to block for others and make the opponent pay for threatening his allies.
Pawn: The Pawn was built as a straight puncher with a super-punch, but also became the reincarnation of the King that died in-canon, showing the power of a Pawn to Rank-up to any available position. Not sure how to build that in D&D, so maybe just a foot soldier or a mass of pike men.

That's just my immediate thoughts. You might wanna reveal what we can work with as well as what you're intending by a Chess-style encounter. Is this gonna be like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with life-size Wizard's Chess and the party takes on specific pieces that are missing, or just themed encounter?

[JDL]

Slap a chess board down on the table, DM vs. Players. Done.

[Hytheter]

Like SoraWold said, but also make the enemies move like the chess piece they are based on. I think that would be amusing. Pawns go nowhere fast but the Queen just flies across the battlefield like it's nothing and ruins their day.

[FatherGerminus]

I know that in the old Dragon magazine there was an entire section on chess based monsters and variant ways to do a chesslike encounter

[sammyp03]

I know that in the old Dragon magazine there was an entire section on chess based monsters and variant ways to do a chesslike encounter

Do you know which issue?

[sammyp03]

So my suggestion here would to not be so strict with using the chess board and rules as your basis, but instead stick to a motif.

I saw a lovely version in a little-known Dragon Quest manga called Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken. The Chess-pieces ended up being viable golems made from Orichalcum (it was a weird manga adaptation of Dragon Quest 3 mechanics), each with their own fighting style based on the Chess Piece they were designed from.

King: Preferably the tactician character, my suggestion would be a Marshal to spread the auras around and be the commanding face.
Queen: The Most powerful fighter, or at least the fastest, since the Queen can cover literally the entire board in one move. Maybe a Monk or ToB build to cover ground and then punch people hard.
Knight: The agile one, built as the Final Fantasy Dragoon with a special spell-reflecting shield (but wasn't invincible to being heated and cooled rapidly). So a lance-user is a must. If you want to stick to having a mount or just jump on people, that's your decision.
Rook: The heavy-set knight guy, made to smash and not talk. Did a cool one-time thing where he shed his castle-like armor to reveal a smaller form and he swapped places with the King and other members to save their lives while sacrificing his own (an example of the in-game Castling maneuver). So this sounds like a shield-toting knight/paladin character made to block for others and make the opponent pay for threatening his allies.
Pawn: The Pawn was built as a straight puncher with a super-punch, but also became the reincarnation of the King that died in-canon, showing the power of a Pawn to Rank-up to any available position. Not sure how to build that in D&D, so maybe just a foot soldier or a mass of pike men.

That's just my immediate thoughts. You might wanna reveal what we can work with as well as what you're intending by a Chess-style encounter. Is this gonna be like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with life-size Wizard's Chess and the party takes on specific pieces that are missing, or just themed encounter?

Interesting.
Yes i was going for a more harry potter likeness.
I have a rather large group of 7. I was thinking that each player must abide by the rules of the piece they are playing movement would be restricted to how thier piece moves in real life chess. However, if say a rook wanted to attack a diagonl piece, they would suffer some sort of penelty(say -5 to attack rolls) If a Pc slays a chess piece (with thier pieces correct moves or not) then they take that pieces place just like real chess.

[gorfnab]

Do you know which issue?
Dragon Magazine #358, page 45

[sammyp03]

Dragon Magazine #358, page 45

Thanks. Appreciate it.

[sammyp03]

Anybody have any other ideas?

[Morof Stonehands]

For a faster game you can set up a situation. Have only certain pieces left on the board, and play from that point.

[Amphetryon]

Is this encounter supposed to test Character skill, or Player skill?

[sammyp03]

Is this encounter supposed to test Character skill, or Player skill?

I would say a bit of both