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The Archives => Campaign Elements and Design (Archived) => Topic started by: Cheomesh on February 23, 2012, 09:57:56 AM

Title: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Cheomesh on February 23, 2012, 09:57:56 AM
So here's something that doesn't come up often in things I've read here or on other world building places.  What kind of sports or games are played by people in your settings?  These do not have to be completely original or new variants on known games to qualify though if they're a sport existing in real life a bit of context on the race / species / culture in question is probably handy.

For example:

In my modern setting, there are two sports of interest.  One is basically rugby but you can brawl.  It's far more popular with the lower classes than the upper ones and features a lot of MMA-like stuff.  The other is basically lacrosse, except the sticks have taser-like stunners on them.  It's generally popular with the upper classes and features a lot of stick fencing; it is famous for rivalries between players.

M.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: LordVreeg on February 23, 2012, 12:28:36 PM
I have something called, "BrokenBall" in Celtricia.  It's on the skill list.
It's a team sport that came out of the school yards of the Collegium Arcana.  Rugby-esque, but after moving down the field, the team with the ball has to advance without a forward pass but to score has to kick the ball into a wide basket set 5 yards behind the end of the field. 

Fencing is very popular, though dueling is illegal in most areas.
"Dueling, and combats of honor, have a long history in Celtricia.  From the Klaxik 'Walk of Honor' to the Vicorian arcane dueling codes, life has often been seen as cheaper than honor.

The Empire of Argus' Balendjen is hundreds of years old (indeed, it is a variant of the old Hagenos Balendjen duels, also incorporating some features of the Omnian codes of Honor), and since Trabler is only a generation removed from the yoke of the Gryphon Empire, duelling is still part of daily life.  In the Argussian areas, Duelling was a great equailizer, sponsored by the Fane of the Rod and Axe.  Centuries ago, a person of lesser social stature could challenge one of greater stature, and it was cowardly not to fight.  Today, in Argus, the use of proxies protects the wealthy from the more baseborn.

In Igbar, it was made illegal in 879 by the Upper House of the Unicorn.  However, Dueling is still rampant, and many Istar families hold those that hide behind the law as contemptable.  As an illegal act, most of the dueling is actually done up at the North Docks, the dock area north of the walls.  There is also some duelling in Southtown and tentmeet, and a little on the Dockside.

Duelling today is normally only done with the uper classes, or those that pretend to them.  Wealthy merchants and guildsmen will resort to them, as will some of the warrior guilds, though most of the churches follow the word of the law.

The instigator of the duel had best be certain, as the challenged party has choice of weapons and armor, though the challenger does have the right to press for the terms (first blood, until yielding, to the death, etc).  Personal weapons, including magical ones, are allowed, though any spells at all are not.  This means that proxies have seperate prices based on if they are being hired for a challenger or challenged position, and many proxies will not take a contract on anything but 'first blood' for the challenged position.

Lately, heavier one handed swords and fransisca are all the rage amonth the serious duelist, and so the teaching of these weapons is also in demand.

As a quick note, the Duel Arcane, rare in most areas, has been seen a few times in Igbar recently, with the trouble between the Alternative school and the Collegium Arcana.  Still illegal, this is a sight that draws spectators quickly"


 

I like your tasers on the lacrosse sticks.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Matt Larkin (author) on February 24, 2012, 08:29:50 AM
Your question probably refers to made-up sports in our settings, but Eclipse/Children of Sun and Moon features a real, exotic sport: Sepak Takraw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw).
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Superfluous Crow on February 24, 2012, 09:29:00 AM
There is this old medieval "sport" I was considering adopting which basically takes place on the streets (ALL the streets) of a town. An awkward ball-of-sorts has to be ferried from some arbitrary starting point to a "goal point". These games were infamous for having next-to-zero rules and I can imagine a good fantasy setting taking this game to the next level with parkour and murder.  
That being said, no I don't have any regular sports invented so far. Maybe it should be the next forum contest?

EDIT: found a link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_football)
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Cheomesh on February 25, 2012, 09:31:52 AM
Quote from: LordVreeg
Dueling!
Approvado; If I ever play in that region, I wish to be one of these duellists.  Props for having unusual dueling arms.

Quote from: LordVreeg
I like your tasers on the lacrosse sticks.
Thanks; it was something I threw together for an old throw-away setting for background color (an NPC was a down-and-out player) but it kind of stuck around into a more recent rendition.  At some point with my players perhaps I'll run a game of it.

Quote from: Phoenix
Your question probably refers to made-up sports in our settings, but Eclipse/Children of Sun and Moon features a real, exotic sport: Sepak Takraw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw).

Nope, it can be any sport, real or imagined.  If the Bak'tar'i of Rygol 9 play Chess, then they play chess.  If they play "Chess, but with dice" then let us in the know!

M.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Xeviat on February 25, 2012, 11:18:02 PM
In my setting, Ifrit are big on wrestling. Valkyrie like to race, especially through storm clouds which make the races more chaotic and dangerous. They play a basketball/quiddich style game involving balls and hoop-goals, but it's yet unnamed. Otherwise, I haven't put too much thought into things, but I definitely am thinking on it now.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Hibou on February 26, 2012, 12:00:15 AM
I wanted a game for my setting that was basically one-third chess, one-third swordplay, and one-third a test of wits and endurance mixed together, so there's this somewhat Olympic-like marathon deal that is quite popular throughout Haveneast as a competition.

I like all of the ideas for rugby/football-like games here. I feel like a setting should have a vibrant martial arts thing going. There should really be an emphasis on the way people compete in martial arts as a sport, in a lot of settings.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: Kindling on February 26, 2012, 05:43:45 AM
Although I haven't written about it yet, and may never do so, I imagine that the peoples of the North (and possibly the South too) in Dark Silver would enjoy contests of wrestling, running, spear-throwing, archery, weight-lifting, and other manly, psuedo-martial activities. The idea being that these "friendly" contests help hone skills that will one day be needed in battle.
There are also honour-duels, but these are deadly serious affairs, and thus considered neither sport nor game.
Title: Re: Sports and Games in your worlds
Post by: LordVreeg on February 26, 2012, 12:23:05 PM
Quote from: The Horse
I wanted a game for my setting that was basically one-third chess, one-third swordplay, and one-third a test of wits and endurance mixed together, so there's this somewhat Olympic-like marathon deal that is quite popular throughout Haveneast as a competition.

I like all of the ideas for rugby/football-like games here. I feel like a setting should have a vibrant martial arts thing going. There should really be an emphasis on the way people compete in martial arts as a sport, in a lot of settings.
Good point at the end.  In general this is a great flavor-question.