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View Full Version : Pathfinder Running Volleyball with D20 rolls



QuackParker
2017-02-18, 07:15 PM
Hi all,

I have been trying to think of a good set of rules to play volleyball in Pathfinder and would like some help.

I intend to use a 6x12 square grid to represent the court with six players on each team (my campaign has two PCs who will be on opposing teams each with a number of townsfolk npcs).

Skill (or ability/attack) DCs would govern the success of failure of serving, passing, setting, blocking, and hitting.

I imagine the serve as a melee attack roll that must exceed a base DC to go over the net, a DC to aim toward the intended square, and perhaps for higher the roll adds to the DC of a check to successfully make contact with the ball.

Setting i see like an aid another action that (if successful) adds a bonus to the server's roll.

Passing seems somewhat straightforward in that it should have a DC to direct it to the intended player and it should fail by a distance measured by degrees of failure (perhaps a DC 20 is a success and every five below sends the ball 5 or 10 feet further in the wrong direction and a 5 or less results in a dropped ball).

Blocking is trickiest, but i think it would be a series of checks. One to anticipate and move into the ball's path, another to successfully make contact, and another to return the ball over the net. But maybe thats over complicating things.

Characters might also have a Profession(Volleyball) skill that could be used in place of other skills, perhaps.


What really needs to be decided is how to govern each of these checks (i.e. with melee attack, reflex, acrobatics, etc) and then what might constitute reasonable DCs for each.

Kaskus
2017-02-19, 02:19 AM
Totally spitballing and thinking as I write (or writing as I think?)...

Have each side of the court broken up into 6 (3 wide x 2 deep) 15x15 (3 squares x 3 squares) sections with one player in each section.

Play begins with a server that targets a square (ranged attack with an exotic weapon: volley ball - penalties for non-proficiency apply).

Players on the opposing side may make a sense motive check to "read the serve." if successful, they may shift 5 ft within their section.

If the server's attack roll is off by a certain amount, the ball ends up in a square other than the one intended (random direction - distance determined by how badly they missed). If the ball ends up in a square outside the field of play, it is out of bounds.

A player on the team being served to may make an attack roll against a ball coming into their square or an adjacent square. If it is the square they occupy, the difficulty is equal to the server's attack result. If it is an adjacent square, the difficulty (AC I guess?) is equal to the server's attack roll +2. If it is not their square or adjacent to it, they may not make the attempt.

That gives players decisions to make (if & when to shift), multiple skills to use (attack rolls & sense motive) and the difficulty should get harder and harder as the ball goes back and forth until it goes out of bounds or someone misses. You could also "build" a volleyball player by giving them Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Volley Ball), Skill focus (Sense Motive), etc.

You could add special maneuvers for setting and spiking and could allow the server to attempt a bluff check to force opposing players to shift as the server chooses. Just figure your base numbers and you should have a good starting framework i think. Perhaps some options for players that are neither the server nor the target would be good to make it feel more like a team sport and give everyone something to do.

QuackParker
2017-02-19, 02:58 PM
Those are some helpful suggestions, thank you



Totally spitballing and thinking as I write (or writing as I think?)...

Have each side of the court broken up into 6 (3 wide x 2 deep) 15x15 (3 squares x 3 squares) sections with one player in each section.

Play begins with a server that targets a square (ranged attack with an exotic weapon: volley ball - penalties for non-proficiency apply).

Players on the opposing side may make a sense motive check to "read the serve." if successful, they may shift 5 ft within their section.

If the server's attack roll is off by a certain amount, the ball ends up in a square other than the one intended (random direction - distance determined by how badly they missed). If the ball ends up in a square outside the field of play, it is out of bounds.

A player on the team being served to may make an attack roll against a ball coming into their square or an adjacent square. If it is the square they occupy, the difficulty is equal to the server's attack result. If it is an adjacent square, the difficulty (AC I guess?) is equal to the server's attack roll +2. If it is not their square or adjacent to it, they may not make the attempt.

That gives players decisions to make (if & when to shift), multiple skills to use (attack rolls & sense motive) and the difficulty should get harder and harder as the ball goes back and forth until it goes out of bounds or someone misses. You could also "build" a volleyball player by giving them Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Volley Ball), Skill focus (Sense Motive), etc.

You could add special maneuvers for setting and spiking and could allow the server to attempt a bluff check to force opposing players to shift as the server chooses. Just figure your base numbers and you should have a good starting framework i think. Perhaps some options for players that are neither the server nor the target would be good to make it feel more like a team sport and give everyone something to do.

sengmeng
2017-02-19, 06:59 PM
I would still like historical inaccuracy. Selfishly. I have a decent idea for it.

Edit: that was meant for another thread. I'm drunk lol.