Conan D20 Bar Brawl

[Amiria]

Hi, the system is Mongoose Publishing's Conan D20 2nd Edition. Rules are quite similar to D&D 3.5, but changes are i.e. that you are more mobile in a fight (i.e move action can be split before and after after attack/action, drawing AoOs as usual, but you can tumble to avoid and many classes have Mobility).

I need some ideas for a wild, interesting Bar Brawl in a big tavern/inn.

There are two player characters, a male Zingaran Thief 3 / Pirate 2 and a female Brythunian Thief 3 / Temptress 2. Both don't have any feats related to unarmed combat ... yet (i.e. Brawl, Improved Unarmed Strike) but they have both Improved Feint to land dirty sneak attack hits.

The barkeep likes brawls (the tavern has built its reputation on them) but he and his bouncers enforce a strict weapon ban (however, improvised bludgeoning weapons like drinking vessels, tavern decor, furniture, other people, etc are allowed).

There is a big main bar room with many tables, the bar covers the left wall as seen from the entrance. Above the entrance and on the opposite wall are wooden stair cases that lead to the first floor where a U-shaped corridor with a wooden balustrade overlooks the main room and leads to guest rooms. Along the wall beneath the stairs are also some private niches with tables. Four strong wooden pillars support the upper corridor and the high ceiling form which two chandeliers hang. Ropes to swing from should also be attached to the pillars for whatever reasons.
Opposite the bar the room opens into another room which is a suterrain with stone walls and a stone barrel vault. Two short stone stairs lead into this room. There are also tables, but no private niches. On the far end of the room is the stage where skimpily clad or nude dancing girls entertain the guests.

The barkeep is a huge Vanir who often expertly throws small axes into pillars and furniture next to people who are about to draw a weapon.

The tavern is in Agraphur, Turan. The usual guests are foreign (mainly western) merchants, mercenaries and adventurers, but also local dandys who want a taste of danger and the 'exotic' west. There is carousing and gambling and betting and wenching, think of the tavern scenes from Conan or worse barbarian movies, pirate movies, Korgoth of Barbaria, etc.

So what I need is some ideas for interesting fighters and fighting maneuvers. Most enemies should only be 1st or 2nd level mooks so that a PC shouldn't need more than 1 or 2 hits to knock them out, but of course also some big bad brawlers that might require teamwork or a clever idea to overcome. It will not be be a fight of all against the PCs, rather pure chaos, dog eat dog, maybe some spontanous alliances based on race, occupation or other reasons.

[Grynning]

IIRC, Conan D20 has some maneuvers built into the system that don't require any feats to use. Not sure how many of them work with unarmed attacks though.

Your Temptress could have some fun picking out a big lug and tricking him into doing the fighting for her. Both characters could take advantage of the general chaos and try to bring new people into the fight so they can escape or get set up for a sneak attack. You might allow them to use Feint and/or Tumbling to make other people hit each other when they miss the heroes.

[Amiria]

Yes, there are some good combat maneuvres that everyone can use as long as he meets the (often easy) prerequisites and we know them. The Temptress is sadly a bit to weak yet for the Improvised Attack maneuver.

[Edit]The Temptress is actually quite bloodthirsty and has more hp than the Pirate (Zingarans have a racial Con penalty) but of course she's averse of getting more scars than necessary and fights usually very defensive.
During a battle between their pirate ship and a stygian war galley she spurred on the pirates by loudly promising a night of passion for the pirate who slays the most Stygians but in the end it was herself who racked up the highest body count.

Trying to stay near people who broadly might qualify as 'allies' for more flanking and sneak attacks is a good idea.[/Edit]

There is actually a combat maneuver - Pantherish Twist - to accomplish your last advice (both characters don't meet the prerequisites for it), but with appropriate skill checks it might yet be possible.

[Matthew]

Some Pictish mercenaries would probably be good fun; plenty of breakable objects, which is to say weapons that are good for one hit should also be incorporated.

Teamwork manoeuvres are definitely a good idea. A lot depends on how "comedy" you are wanting to go with it, though.