Players want to start a fight club

[RealMarkP]

Like the title says; Fight Club. In a lawful-good town. At this point, they've mentioned this idea to barkeep in a shady part of town. He informed them that he may be pursuaded into hosting such an even in the tavern's cellar.

I'd like to make this happen for my players. It sounds cool. But I also don't want to make it as easy as building a fighting cage and distributing flyers. What kind of challenges or obstacles should I throw at them?

An obvious obstacle would be to have the town's guards try to stop such shenanigans. But This might be at a later point in the game, once the fight club is popular.

[GorinichSerpant]

The first question is where do you find the people who think "an underground get-together where we beat each other up, and isn't completely legal? Yeah, that sounds like a great time!"

Another question is where are you going to do Fight Club, abandon house, Gandma's Basement?

But most importantly is the issue of how do you organise something that you can't talk about.

[RealMarkP]

The first question is where do you find the people who think "an underground get-together where we beat each other up, and isn't completely legal? Yeah, that sounds like a great time!"

Another question is where are you going to do Fight Club, abandon house, Gandma's Basement?

But most importantly is the issue of how do you organise something that you can't talk about.

Those are all good questions. I'll try to spin them into the campaign as objectives.

The town is on the outskirts of an unruly vassal kingdom, which has been pressured into fighting an unpopular war. There are plenty of unscrupulous privateers and crew members that might be willing to fight. There are also plenty of army people in the town that wouldn't mind letting off some steam.

A warehouse or the cellar of a tavern might be where they host it.

[Kornaki]

The people who show up for this are going to be characters that you don't really want to spend time with. Lowlifes, scumbags, and the occasional slimeball. Policing who is allowed to join the club, and maintaining order during the fights can be its own challenge. Have a brawl break out on opening night and see how the players handle it. Have someone OD on drugs while a fight's going on. Have someone sneak a knife into a fight with a rival. Building it from 'a place that criminals go to hang out on Tuesdays' to something even mildly legitimate should be a huge challenge.

[Slipperychicken]

The local Fighter's Guild doesn't already host such events? If that's the case, they need to step their game up.

Also, I find it hard to believe there wouldn't already be some manner of underground fighting scene in a large settlement.


EDIT: If the PCs eventually got enough strong members, and kept taking them on quests, this would be a pretty awesome way to start up a Fighter's Guild.

[RealMarkP]

If the PCs eventually got enough strong members, and kept taking them on quests, this would be a pretty awesome way to start up a Fighter's Guild.

The town doens't have a fighter's guild because it was disbanded (that's the angle that I'm going with). Then when the war started, not too many people wanted to upset the local authorities since they have been heavily fortified by the new government.

Story aside, I'm planning on using this as a source of many of the quests they will get. It's just as social as a tavern and it gives the playes something to do beside order a pint and schmooze up the local bard/noble/plot hook.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Well, it might leave them with some bruises, but sometimes D&D just isn't the right outlet for people...

Oh! You meant in the game.

[Sith_Happens]

Don't forget to have rumors of the club reach the authorities.

[Gavran]

Fight Club aside, I don't see a "fight club" working without prizes and gambling being a factor. What are the laws on that? Maybe someone wants a cut of the action. Or doesn't like that they're stealing gamblers from their own clubs.

[Slipperychicken]

Fight Club aside, I don't see a "fight club" working without prizes and gambling being a factor. What are the laws on that? Maybe someone wants a cut of the action. Or doesn't like that they're stealing gamblers from their own clubs.

You should watch the movie. I don't feel like spoiling it for you, but the stuff you mentioned is addressed to some extent.

[Gavran]

You should watch the movie. I don't feel like spoiling it for you, but the stuff you mentioned is addressed to some extent.

Is it? I haven't seen it in a quite long time. I thought that maybe the book covered that angle more but I wasn't sure. I'd watch it again but it was a favorite of someone who isn't in my life anymore so it's pretty hard to tackle emotionally. Really really hard actually. Wondering if maybe I'd blocked some things out...

But, I remember some of the main character's reasons but I feel like all the people that showed up were sort of taken for granted. Feel free to correct me in PM or spoiler tags though.

Spoiler: Fight Club Spoilers

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Spoiler: Seriously don't spoil it for yourself by mistake

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There were other people, weren't there?

[Slipperychicken]

Spoiler: Fight Club Spoilers

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Spoiler: Seriously don't spoil it for yourself by mistake

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There were other people, weren't there?

I didn't read the book myself, so I wouldn't know.

Spoiler: More Fight Club Spoilers

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Spoiler: Double-Spoilered for Emphasis

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I was wondering about that too. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the bombs and things were also in his head.

The way everyone around him (like the waiters) seemed to be Fight Club members near the end, despite acting like normal people, it would honestly make more sense to me if he was just hallucinating them.

[dramatic flare]

I didn't read the book myself, so I wouldn't know.

Spoiler: More Fight Club Spoilers

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Spoiler: Double-Spoilered for Emphasis

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I was wondering about that too. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the bombs and things were also in his head.

The way everyone around him (like the waiters) seemed to be Fight Club members near the end, despite acting like normal people, it would honestly make more sense to me if he was just hallucinating them.

Spoiler

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Why are we spoilering a book/movie that's pushing 20 years now? seems like it should be past its spoiler date.

Spoiler: Spooky Double Spoilers Away!

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That's the beauty of an unreliable narrator! You don't know what's true anymore! However, considering only one character dies when said narrator shoots himself in the face, its safe to kind of assume the other characters were real people.

For starting up a fight club?
How are they going to maintain and organize any rules they have?
Will there be money involved? Who will protect the money? Who will protect the winners from a shanking in the tavern?
How will they deal with munchkin unruly combatants who don't know when to agree they've lost?
Who has to miss out on the action to be spotter against the town guard? What's the plan for when the fuzz eventually shows up?
Will there be magical healing available? Potions ain't free.
Will they organize into tiers of skill or of weight?, or is lvl 8 barbarian about to smash puny lvl 2 fighter?

Some ideas, at any rate.