Jackalope 2022 - My Party is Flashier Than Yours

Jackalope 2022: My Party is Flashier Than Yours

My Jackalope entry was for Eeldip, whose request was:

    "Fantasy rules/ procedure for 'Battle of the Bands' or other singing/ performance contests. Class should matter (Bards obviously good to have, but MUs should be able to use magic, and Fighters... fight? (Fight the drums?).".

I'm assuming something as close to systemless as possible is the goal here, but I'm going to work with a few principles and assumptions:

• It uses classes, but it's not just the Bard who gets to show off (as mentioned above).
• Everyone should be able to do something.
• I'm going to avoid modifiers and attributes where I can because no two games in my current rotation share the same attributes.
• I'm currently DMing a 5e game for a group of seven PCs. So I'm going to try and design it to work with bigger groups as well.
• I'd like to incentivise teamwork, as well.
• My smoothest gigs have definitely been ones I've been prepared for, so there's that.
• With my current group of murderhobos, I guarantee one of them will consider bribing the judges, and another would definitely sabotage the competition if there's an important prize. So, that avenue needs to be considered as well.

I'm not entirely sure how amazing and unique I can make this concept in practice, but I'll see what I can do.

The Battle

While the group in a battle of the bands would take it in turns, the judges would decide in the end as to who won. With this in mind, I'm still thinking about framing it like a battle, just one where all sides make their decisions and "fight" at a different time.

So, the procedure starts with members of the group deciding what they're all doing- whether they're cooperating with each other as part of a routine, or if any of them have any cool toys or features they want to use. Let them also know that they will be performing together as a group, and ask how each takes their turn.

Each PC then describes their part of the performance and roll, which could be a Performance check in a system with them. For a system that doesn't use any modifiers (or ones that cap at +3), it might be worth using a d10, as a "lawful roll" is less swingy than the 20-sider. Based on the player's description of the performance and their contribution to the rest of the team, the DM may allow the player to roll a second die and keep the higher result.

What to Add

For a d10 roll like above, I'd let my players add +3 at most to their rolls. I'd let them add a relevant attribute to the roll if it makes thematic sense to do so.

For a 5e-style performance check, I'd let my players add the appropriate attribute roll and their proficiency bonus (if they're using an appropriate skill or tool), or half their proficiency (if they are proficient but the skill's a bit more of a stretch).

Who Won?

To determine the score for a given group, you add up the highest and lowest roll of each performing group, and halve it for the average. Round odd numbers up if more than half of the group have a score higher than this result, otherwise round down.

Because the highest and the lowest totals are ultimately the ones that matter the most, the rest of this ruleset is about manipulating those numbers.

Bards

While any character might have a talent for flair, obviously Bards have an edge. In addition to any re-rolls offered by rehearsing (see below), a group with a bard can roll 1d6 (or 1d3 for a system with a lawful roll) and add this to any one roll of the bard's choice. In systems where Bardic Inspiration and/or performance skills are included, you may instead want to add a bardic inspiration die or a skill bonus to the roll.

Was it Rehearsed? 

The group's chances of successfully putting on a performance can be done by rehearsal. Keep track of which members of the group took part. The group effectively rehearsing before the performance affords the group a single re-roll per two performers (soloists get one re-roll). Anyone who was absent from the most recent rehearsal isn't counted and is unable to use these re-rolls.

Props and Magic - Dangerous Performances

The most memorable performances are those which are both clever and novel. Using fun gimmicks, spells from your list or other creative performances can well steal the show if they're done well. A well-described performance like this might get any of the following results:

If your performance is something eye-catching (such as with an eye-catching illusion spell), this can draw attention away from a clumsier performance elsewhere. Add 1d4 (or 1d2 with a lawful roll) to the groups' lowest performance score, although it cannot match or exceed yours.

You're a team, and sometimes the best thing you can do is back the leads with some decent rhythm, or join the backline. If you're actively supporting a frontman, then you can reduce your score by 1d4 and increase the lead performer's score by 2. If more than one of you take this option, then each increase is only 1 instead- of course a well-choreographed group is impressive, but there's not that much of a difference between six and seven backup dancers.

I've not put any limits for buffs here because you may or may not be using lawful rolls for it, but I would recommend putting an upper limit in how high the boost you can receive from a backline, for obvious reasons.

In a system with GLOG-style spell dice, you might want to add [dice] to the performance score. If a mishap occurs, you may be asked to roll your performance check twice and take the worse result, as while the magic is exciting, its instability complicates things a bit.

It also goes without saying that most audiences don't appreciate being burned alive by a careless wizard. If a PCs' reckless use of dangerous spells, items or abilities causes problems, then being disqualified is likely. Even if no harm is done, a mishap causing any kind of distress lowers your final average score. The amount is decided by the GM, based on how out of hand your performance got.

Drunkenness

Contrary to what some rock stars claim, alcohol is usually not a performance enhancer. 

Any character intoxicated before the beginning of their performance rolls twice and takes the worse result. If you roll the same number twice, congratulations- you're the exception.

Final Thoughts

It's not ideal, but I'm not really sure how you can measure the performance of a group with anything other than an average result. It does mean that larger groups will trend more towards average results, but high skills, good prep and/or the right skills could sway the results in your favour.

The only alternative I see is one roll per group, but that takes some rolling out of the hands of the players, so I'm less convinced by that.

I'll update this if I end up play-testing it in a game, with a complete summary of how it all went.