CONTEST - Create an American Football team using 3.5/Pathfinder

[Gallowglass]

CONTEST - Create an American Football team using 3.5/Pathfinder

Anyone interested in a contest for building an American Football team using 3.5/Pathfinder.

An american football team is composed of many different roles with unique and distinct skillset. How would you emulate that and fill in the positions using D&D3.5/Pathfinder?

Here are the positions to be filled and the relevant skillsets:

Quarterback -
Leadership qualities
Good evasion
Ability to throw accurately over long distances
Ability to discern enemy intent and movements

Runningback
Burst speed
Ability to break tackles
Good hands, resistance to being disarmed
Ability to charge in a non-straight line

Offensive Lineman
Ability to not be moved, resistance to bullrush
Quick lateral movements (i.e. longer than normal 5' step, ability to make multiple 5' steps)
Ability to block movement through threatened squares
Strength, ability to win opposed strength checks

Wide Receiver
Speed over distance
Ability to change direction quickly
Ability to confuse or throw off pursuit
Ability to catch thrown objects while on the run
Good eyesight
Ability to discern what the quarterback is doing or communicate changes to the quarterback
Resistance to being disarmed

Tight End
Ability to both block and catch - expected to be both an offensive lineman AND a wide receiver on any given play
Ability to confuse or distract the enemy
Ability to lend aid/action to teammates (pick plays, coordination, teamwork feats?)



Defensive linemen
Ability to bullrush, to move opposing enemies
Ability to get through threatened squares unmolested
Ability to intercept movement past them.

Edge Rusher
Quick, non linear movement
Ability to get someone onto the ground (grapple, throwdown)
Fast response, always win initiative

Line backers
Ability to respond to enemy movement
Strong side to side movement
Ability to halt charges
Ability to intercept missiles

Safeties
Everything a Line Backer does only better. Trade speed for mass (i.e. lighter, but quicker than normal linebackers)

Cornerback
Speed
Ability to stay close to an enemy unit
Abililty to intercept missiles or knock them away.
Ability to tackle

Note: I'm leaving out special teams, but if you want to include a Kicker or Punter, go for it.

For the sake of an even playfield, let's say you can build a team at 5th, 10th and/or 15th level. You can do any or all of these level marks.

You can also, if you so desire, make a team out of Monsters using the baseline stats and no class levels.

Will you go for all monks?

The contest will be judged on the same criteria as the other build contests.

Any interest in this?

[StevenC21]

I haste-ready Sorcerer and a bunch of Whirling Frenzy Barbarians is pretty much as good as it gets.

[zfs]

Are we assuming this still adheres, as much as possible, to NFL rules?

Or is it now totally kosher to have your Middle Linebacker cast Solid Fog on the opposing offense to slow them down?

[Gallowglass]

Good question:

My first thought was limiting this to non-magic casters, but that would leave out druids and druids are too much fun.

I also thought about saying that only the coach can be a spell caster and he can only start casting at the hike of the ball, to eliminate most prep spells. But Not sure.

I would say that spells should be allowed with some obvious qualifications (can't just teleport to the endzone) , but it may be quickly proven that doing so will completely invalidate the exercise.

Perhaps the pigskin has a 5' AMF bubble around it so that the ball carrier is immune to spells?

I think filling the middle linebackers with spell casters may be a strong strategy.

At this point, I"m as much looking for suggestions on how to run the contest as well as interest in it.

[StevenC21]

What about early access Time Stop shenanigans?

[zfs]

Well I'd say for sure you want your offensive line to be buff bots, especially the center. While the QB is under center and doing snap count, that's easily enough time for one round of spells (6 seconds), and if you have enough time you may even get a 2nd round before delay of game is called.

Some of the spells that make you virtually immune to bull rush effects might give you a QB that is almost impossible to tackle. He could still have the ball stripped from him, though. My view is that throwing a forward pass is going to be something like a ranged touch attack - load up on Dex boosters and things that buff a single attack roll.

Edit: As for running the contest, the obvious things you need to set up are what checks are going to be used for the standard football interactions. What check is made to tackle, and to evade/oppose a tackle? How about stripping the ball? Going for an interception? Catching a pass vs. defending a pass?

[daremetoidareyo]

Each 10 yard line is an AMF wall? Spells cast before the snap result in penalties?


Some of the spells that make you virtually immune to bull rush effects might give you a QB that is almost impossible to tackle. He could still have the ball stripped from him, though. My view is that throwing a forward pass is going to be something like a ranged touch attack - load up on Dex boosters and things that buff a single attack roll.

Dragon compendiums jester can make the QB rush like every play, unless there's a countersong bard on the offensive line. Lol

[weckar]

Not knowing the sport at all and only going by your descriptions, it looks like a mix of scouts and knights should pull off most of the roles just fine.

[Gallowglass]

Well I'd say for sure you want your offensive line to be buff bots, especially the center. While the QB is under center and doing snap count, that's easily enough time for one round of spells (6 seconds), and if you have enough time you may even get a 2nd round before delay of game is called.

Some of the spells that make you virtually immune to bull rush effects might give you a QB that is almost impossible to tackle. He could still have the ball stripped from him, though. My view is that throwing a forward pass is going to be something like a ranged touch attack - load up on Dex boosters and things that buff a single attack roll.

Edit: As for running the contest, the obvious things you need to set up are what checks are going to be used for the standard football interactions. What check is made to tackle, and to evade/oppose a tackle? How about stripping the ball? Going for an interception? Catching a pass vs. defending a pass?

I guess I hestitate to define the mechanic for each interaction because, the way I see it, half the fun of the contest is seeing what people come up with to EMULATE the action more than giving them a standard to meet.

For example. If I define that you have to use snatch arrows to "intercept" the ball, then I've extremely limited the builds some people might come up with. Someone might've decided their cornerback is going to be a sorcerer with a monkey familiar so they can use their double move action to stay with the wide receiver and the monkey would still have an action to make a grab for the ball or something until I came along and cemented the one way they have to do it.

If I define that tackling requires use of grappling rules, then I've similarly limited the fun.

Part of the creativity of this challenge is in both defining how you are playing the game and how you are best at it.

Maybe that's non functional, I'm not very experienced at the contests.

And the contest would have to be judged on creativity. Sure someone could come on with a 15th level wizard and say "time stop, do this, do this, do this and I've got a touchdown" but that's not as creative as the guy who comes long and explains why his White Raven Center and Marshall Quarterback work together to give the running back two extra actions and a +10 bonus to acrobatics to get through the defensive line and halfway down the field in round 1.

[Endarire]

What's our target ECL for this? What monetary budget do we have for each player and our team? How active can our sideline coaches be via Divinations, etc.?

[Calthropstu]

If we're allowing spellcasting, we're not going to have tackled linemen, we're gonna have dead linemen.

Wall of stone at the end zone.

Cloudkill at scrimmage

Dominate the enemy qb.

Hold person.

I'd say no magic for something like this.

[Silvercrys]

Yeah, I think you'll need to either ban spells altogether and make it a martials-only contest or just ban spells that target the opposing team.

Maybe there's an Epic Wizard or ROB that has enchanted the field so offensive magic and area denial spells fail, or they have a bunch of immediate actions by fiat and counterspell with a massive caster level.

Using Solid Fog, Cloudkill, or a Wall spell would be the equivalent of a modern team bringing a hastily erectable barricade to funnel the other team down a predictable path.

Would it be a fun exercise? Probably, I'd go see a football game where the teams were full of spellcasters trying to disable the other team to get touchdowns.

But it wouldn't really be football, it'd just be a contest between teams of spellcasters trying to disable each other.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

If you could make the ball into a warforged component, then a warforged totemist 2/psychic warrior with the soulbound weapon ACF would be impossible to disarm, impossible to bull rush (with the shedu crown), impossible to trip (with catfall), and he could summon the ball from across the field if he has it as his soulbonded weapon.

Of course, a swiftblade could simply skip down to the endzone and go around everyone while they're frozen due to his casting of haste...

[SirNibbles]

I'm pretty sure casting most offensive spells would result in a penalty as 'unsportsmanlike conduct' in the same way that just clobbering them in the face with your fist would. Invisible Spell is dumb so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist.

The refs would probably have True Seeing anyhow.

[Calthropstu]

The real question though:
Do the Giants have reach?

[upho]

Love the idea. A few questions:

Since ToB is allowed, is PoW also on the table field? (Much PoW melee stuff would be ideal for this, perhaps too ideal.)
Flight speeds? Burrow? (Or do for example the NFL rules say you're not allowed to make holes in the field or advance below it?)
Can you start with continuous buffs in place, like say psionic collectives or stuff with a duration of days? Or is say at least 8h enough?
Are all forms of non-damage and non-magic offense OK? (Are my line backers allowed to make the opposing team pee their pants and leave the field in panic?)
Is any amount of nonlethal damage OK? How 'bout if it's not caused by an actual attack but by say a successful bull rush?
Any size limitations? (Wikipedia tells me an American football field is merely 360' x 60'...)
Are all non-magical methods to carry the ball acceptable? (Will my Gluttonous Gobbler ogre get shown off the field just 'cause he's suffering from certain impulse control deficiencies? Does he score a touchdown if he happens to lumber off into the end zone after snacking? And if so, can my team then I kick him instead of just the ball for my PAT, or do we have to give him laxatives and wait for a second different kind of "touchdown"? Which probably won't be met with much cheering, much less help promote future ticket sales...)

And most importantly: how big a score bonus will my team start with for being "culturally disadvantaged"? I mean, surely there must be a pretty hefty compensation for me being Swedish and my players imaginary pseudo-medieval-Europe glam-fantasy heroes, the sum of our American football-fu therefore being practically non-existent. Right?

[SangoProduction]

I'm just imagining the QB being that stereotypical nerd who carries a book to the field. And then casts Bigby's [insert adjective/verb] Hand and then returns to the bench after winning the game to read his book again.

[Endarire]

Why not just grab the ball and teleport (including via Shadow Jaunt/Shadow Stride/Shadow Blink) to the endzone?

[SirNibbles]

Why not just grab the ball and teleport (including via Shadow Jaunt/Shadow Stride/Shadow Blink) to the endzone?


I would say that spells should be allowed with some obvious qualifications (can't just teleport to the endzone)

hmmmmmmmmm

[Calthropstu]

I made an elven sport called arrowball.

You take a ball size large with 3 targets on it. Each team has a ball. Along the balls route there are 12 pillars, 6 on each side. Each has an opposing team archer on it. Getting the ball to the end scores a point for each target without an arrow in the bullseye. If all 3 have arrows, the ball is teleported back to start.

If no points are scored (or equal points), the team with the most distance traveled wins. The game runs for 1 hour each match. Spells, spell like, supernatural abilities and prohibited extra-ordinary abilities are banned.