THE NEW UPCOMING PRODUCT - Questing Heroes Festival Grounds.
Here are a few excerpts from this new piece. I've translated them into HeroQuest terms, so you can
use them as is. These go along with a piece I posted quite a while ago...found here - go down to the fourth
post of the thread for the Tournament rules (This has rules for jousting and archery).
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=1212&p=12572#p12572I'm in the process of creating an entire festival for Questing Heroes...and as I said, these are going to be
a few excerpts from that piece. These are some of the games that characters can play while at the
festival.
1
Game: Pins (Bowling Lane)
General Description: The vendor sets up ten pins in a triangle at the end of the lane. Participants pay 1 gold to roll a smooth sphere (usually made from some sort of rock or other hard material), attempting to knock down all ten pins (usually made from some sort of hard wood). If a participant does so, he wins 3 gold coins. In some cases, the vendor will let each participant roll up to 3 spheres at the pins.
How To Run Game: Have the player roll ten combat dice. For each skull rolled, one pin has been knocked down. Alternatively, you may have the player roll one die for each pin separately. If the player’s character has any training in throwing and/or archery, you may choose to allow the player to reroll a certain number of dice (typically allow one reroll of one die for every 2 or 3 levels of training). If more than one roll is allowed, have the player reroll only those dice that do not show skulls.
Vendor: Neral Varseriff. Neral Varseriff is a gnome merchant by trade. He discovered the game of Pins several years ago and thought it would be a great idea for festivals and fairs. He now spends a large portion of his time traveling from festival to festival with his game. He has gathered a loyal
following among peasants, laborers, and nobles alike. Folks all around become very excited when they learn a festival
will be held, and they quickly seek out Neral and his game as soon as they enter the fair grounds.
Neral uses a special material for his pins and “pins balls” - Ironwood. Ironwood is really a simple name for any variety of hard wood. In Neral’s case, however, there is a specific tree that is considered true Ironwood. If characters talk to him about his game long enough, they may discover that he has run out of his supply of Ironwood, and he may be willing to commission a trip for the characters to get more for him.
2
Game: Bobbing (Bob for apples/pears/peaches/etc.)
General Description: Participants attempt to pick as many objects from a water-filled trough as possible, typically trying to pick more objects than other participants. The prize usually consists of a portion of the gold coins taken in from all participants during any single game session, along with whatever objects the participant was able to pick (all participants are allowed to keep. Payment to play is usually 1 gold. The vendor will usually wait for 5 or more participants before running the game, and will pay out 1/2 to 3/4 of the gold coins taken in (keep the other 1/4 to 1/2 of the gold coins for himself or herself).
How To Run Game: Have each player decide if their character will participate in the game. You, as the GM, can add several more participants if you wish, up to a typical maximum of 10 per game. Give each participant their own combat die, and allowing rolling to continue for 20 to 30 seconds. Players should roll their combat die, and if a skull is rolled, they should take a ITEM Token. At the end of the time, each player participating should count how many tokens they have. You, as the GM, should count the tokens for each GMC participant, as well. The winner gets the gold, and each player should be sure to include the fruit (or whatever other item was “picked”) on their Character Sheet inventory.
NOTE: The characters and other participants will be wet after this game, unless they have a change of clothing or other way to dry off. Wetness will persist for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the weather conditions.
Vendor: Gwylinn Sunlet. Gwylinn Sunlet is the eldest daughter of a human farming family. Her mother and father send her to the local Festival every time it is held with a wagon full of fruit from their orchards. Their family orchard contains a variety of trees - several types of apple trees, pear
trees, and peach trees. (GM NOTE - Since the Sunlet family typically charges 1 gold coin for a small basket of fruit, which hold roughly 5 to 8 of these types of fruit, they are not making any more gold than normal by running this game. It is, however, a much more efficient way of “selling” their fruit.) Gwylinn’s mother has minor druidic abilities, and has learned how to cast a preserving spell over the family fruit when it is picked, so that it will stay good until it is first bitten (though this bite can come from any source, human, animal, or insect).
If the characters get into a conversation with Gwylinn, she will speak highly of nature and the world around them all. This is because of her mother. Gwylinn might also divulge that the family orchard is having some problems. In one distant corner of the orchard, the trees, along with the grounds around them, are starting to die and turn grayish-black. The family would be willing to compensate anyone who can solve the problem. There could be a variety of causes: large bugs have nested under the orchard, a witch or evil druidic-type GMC has cursed the area, a disease has taken hold and the family needs to find a cure, or any other situation you might be able to create.
3
Game: Arm Wrestling
General Description: The vendor of this game will typically have 3 to 6 individuals who work with him or her. A participant can choose from these individuals and arm wrestle that opponent. The opponents will vary in size and strength, though the participants must choose who to arm wrestle based on their appearance alone. Sometimes, the opponents wear baggy clothing to hide their physical appearance as much as possible. Participants pay 1 gold to arm wrestle and are paid 2 gold if they win. Normally, the vendor will only allow participants to play once per day, if he or she is able to remember their faces well enough.
How To Run Game: You, as the GM, should offer some description of the opponents, based on the descriptions below (feel free to add some minor points of physical looks, and embellish some, if you wish). Once a player has their character choose an opponent, the player and you, the GM, both make Body Checks. The player rolls a number of combat dice equal to his or her character’s current Body Points. You, the GM, should do the same for the opponent. Each participant is trying to roll skulls, and whoever rolls the most skulls is the winner.
(GM NOTE - The individuals who work with the vendor get an equal portion of all profits gained at the end of the festival, and they typically do so knowing that there could, possibly, be no profits, though this is extremely rare. At the end of the festival, you, as the GM, might decide that there are no profits and that one or two of these individuals are not happy about it.)
Opponents:
1 - A pale human male with blonde hair and blue eyes. Roughly 5’8” tall. Medium build. This man does not look horribly strong, but he works out often and is solid. His Body Points are 6. If he has been chosen a lot through the day, he might be a little tired, and so use a Body Point score of 5, instead.
2 - A tanned human female with brown hair and brown eyes. Roughly 5’2”tall. A bit squat and heavy looking. This woman has spent a lot of time tilling fields behind mules and ox, and is strong. Her Body Points are 5, and she will not really tire as the day continues, no matter how many times she has been chosen.
3 - A dark-skinned male with black hair and brown eyes. Roughly 6’3” tall. Tall, broad shoulders, and very muscular. This man’s Body Points are 7, but because of his broad shoulders and long arms, he gets to roll 9 combat dice. He has a tendency to grit his teeth and growl during the contest, though it really doesn’t take much effort on his part - it is all for show.
4 - A thick-bearded dwarf with red and gray hair and steel-blue eyes. Roughly 4’6”. Broad shoulders and thick muscles. This dwarf’s Body Points are 7. Because dwarf’s are slightly smaller than humans (medium-sized creatures), when arm wrestling against a medium-sized creature he may only roll 6 combat dice. However, because he is exceptionally strong, and because dwarves have such strong willpower, he may reroll 2 of those dice during a contest. For a dwarf, he is very well-mannered and almost gentleman-like.
5 - A tanned human male with brown hair and brown eyes. Roughly 5’7” tall. Fairly heavily built, with a good-sized stomach and what could be large muscles all around. This man used to be very strong, but has since stopped most of his physically activity. Dagmar has him work out just enough to keep from looking flabby and fat. His Body Points are 5, but because his stamina is a bit on the low side, a character may reroll 1 die during the contest.
6 - A normal-looking elven female with blonde hair and green eyes. Roughly 4’10”. Though she is thinly built compared to the other opponents, she is somewhat more muscular than a normal elf might be, as if she is a fighter or archer. Her Body Points are 4. She, unbeknownst to contestants, wears a magical sash around her dress. This offers her greater strength and she may roll 8 combat dice during the contest. Dagmar denies that she cheats, and in reality, he does not know for certain how she is so strong. She always wears the sash, and claims it reminds her of her deceased grandmother. Dagmar does not question her. “If I don’t know, I can’t lie”, he simply tells himself. This elf maid has trained herself to produce tears on command, and will start to sob if asked to remove her sash, but if the issue is pushed, she will do so.
Vendor: Dagmar Rustrim. Dagmar Rustrim comes from a wealthy Dwarven merchant family, and has little need for money, really. Many of his family members are not particularly happy with his current choice of work, as they do not think it very honorable. Ignoring the familial protests, Dagmar carries his “strongmen”, as he calls them, around to numerous festivals and fairs. During the game, he spends a lot of time berating and demeaning the contestants, trying to make them lose focus so they will lose. His voice is deep and gravely, and his laughter is most annoying when his “strongmen” win the contest.
Despite the fact that Dagmar’s family members do not like what he does, this middle-aged dwarf still serves his family in a number of facets. When he is not running his Arm Wrestling game, he moves around the festivals and fairs seeking out other merchants, then will talk business with them and try to persuade them to work with the Rustrim family. Dagmar is quite a good salesman, and has gotten many trade deals for his family. As such, Dagmar can serve as quite a nice pool of information, should the characters need to find out anything while they are visiting the festival.