Harrowing Festival II - 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

Continued from previous thread. Three threads I need to pick up-:

1. Seadu's visit to the fortune-teller (delayed because I lost the tool I was using for these readings, but have managed to replace it)

2. The dart throwing contest

3. The dinner, dance, and formal portion of our event

More to come soon.

[Keehnelf]

Ghrym calls for his daughter to get some darts and a board out of the common room, and hands a handful of darts over to Lug and Seadu with a smile once the girl has hung the board on the back wall of the tavern that abuts the festival ground.

It's up to you guys how you adjudicate the throwing and scoring on this--as for targeting, however: from standard distance, the bull's eye is AC 2, the inner bailey is AC 5, the inner wall is AC 6, the outer bailey is AC 8, and the outer wall is AC 9. Basically you would hit closer to the center depending how accurate your throw is. You can roll a d20 to determine what number you strike if you get a result other than a bull's eye. If you're aiming for a specific spot, hitting a bailey is 1 AC harder, hitting a ring is 2 AC harder, and picking your number is a further 2 AC harder. If you call your shot and miss, the dart is assumed to miss the board entirely just to make life easier.

Reference AC charts

Aiming for the bull's eye:
Bull's Eye: 2
Inner Bailey: 5
Inner Wall: 6
Outer Bailey: 8
Outer Wall: 9

Aiming for a Zone:
Inner Bailey: 4
Inner Wall: 4
Outer Bailey: 7
Outer Wall: 7

Aiming for a Number in a Zone:
Inner Bailey: 2
Inner Wall: 2
Outer Bailey: 5
Outer Wall: 5

[Starbeard]

'I'll endure the embarrassment of first toss,' says Seadu, and takes some darts into his hand. He checks his distance and make a toss for the bullseye.


Are we throwing one or three darts at a time? Also, does aiming for a specific area count as a called shot (and thus misses entirely if missing), or is that just when calling your number?

[Keehnelf]

Either way is a called shot. And it's totally up to you how many darts you throw, etc.

[Zhym]

I'm not familiar with the "Bailey" and "Wall" terminology and can't find it on the Internet. Which term applies to which part of the board? And what's a "Zone?" A labeled diagram would really help me figure out what's what.

Also, since the point of the modern dartboard layout is that aiming for a particular number and missing will likely result in scoring a different number—which can be a real pain depending on the game you're playing—it might be worth having a mechanic for a near miss hitting some other part of the board. For example, we could say that if the target is a specific number, a miss within 4 of the number needed to hit hits some area other than the intended target, with a d12 determining what that area is depending on the intended target:

Target is a ring:
1: left, same ring
2: right, same ring
3-4: left single
5-6: right single
7-9: same number, miss inside
10-12: same number, miss outside (single value if target is triple ring, miss if target is double ring)

Target is a single number:
1-4: Left single
5-8: Right single
9: Left double
10: Right double
11: Left triple
12: Right triple

"Left" and "Right" would be determined by the following wrap-around number line:

3 19 7 16 8 11 14 9 12 5 20 1 18 4 13 6 10 15 2 17 3 19

Example: Lug aims for triple-20, which is AC 2 (right?). He rolls a d12 with his to-hit roll. He hits AC 5, which is a near miss. His roll on the d12 is 2, so he hits triple 1 instead.

Maybe it's complicated, but what's D&D without complicated random tables?

[Keehnelf]

Ok, you're welcome to your complicated rules the bailey and wall terms are tossed in to be properly medieval: they're the outer ring and middle ring (walls) and the main zones (baileys).

[Zhym]

So walls are rings? I still don't understand what the baileys/zones are, though.

[Keehnelf]

The non-ring scoring areas. The parts of the castle between the walls

[Starbeard]

I'm guessing it's something like this, right?

[Keehnelf]

Correct--I'm posting from my phone so can't manage marking up image myself.

[Zhym]

Okay. So let me see if I have this straight.

A player could target :

• The bull's eye. AC 2 hits the bull's eye, AC 5 hits a random single number, AC 6 hits a random triple ring, AC 8 hits a random single number, and AC 9 hits a random double ring.
• A particular number. AC 5 hits, anything above misses, with near-misses scored per the complicated tables above. Note that there's no reason to aim for an inner bailey since the outer bailey scores the same amount and is easier to hit.
• A particular ring for a particular number. AC 3 hits. Anything else misses and is scored per the complicated miss tables.

Is that right (or, if not, is it acceptable)?

The rules as you lay them out allow for targeting a ring without targeting a number (i.e., aiming for a random triple number); I'd suggest that this is unrealistic and disallow it. I'd also use the double-ring bullseye in most modern boards, so that the outer bullseye ring is AC 2 and scores 25 and the inner ring is AC 0 and scores 50.

As for the game itself, I'd suggest 301. Double in to start scoring. Scores count down from 301. To win, a player must hit 0 exactly on a double. http://www.nicedarts.com/how_to_301.html. Sound good?

[Keehnelf]

Whatever works for you guys: the mechanics of darts aren't going to break anything in my game world so we'll do with what works for you guys

[Zhym]

Then it's up to Starbeard to say whether that's okay.

And in answer to the question earlier, I'd say we take turns throwing three darts each per turn (i.e., no need to alternate each shot within the turn).

[Starbeard]

Yep, all that sounds fine to me. Double in, double out is the only way to play.

Seadu takes his three darts and spends a few moments weighing each between his fingers. He then takes his stance and throws all three in fairly rapid succession. 'Doubles, 14.' Unfortunately, all three fly wide of their mark, and the dejected cleric steps back to let Lug have his go.

1. 14, outer wall (AC 3=16+): [1d20] = 6 miss
2. 14, outer wall (AC 3=16+): [1d20] = 3 miss
3. 14, outer wall (AC 3=16+): [1d20] = 12 miss

[Zhym]

Lug also aims for the outer ring on 14. His first shot hits the wall. The second strikes the ring, opening scoring for the big man. Feeling cocky, he aims for triple 20 with his last dart of the round, but the dart lands just inside the ring.

Target : Dbl 14 (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 7+1 = 8 Miss: [1d12] = 1
Target : Dbl 14 (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17 Miss: [1d12] = 9
Target : Tpl 20 (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 14+1 = 15 Miss: [1d12] = 7

Lug: 301-28-20=253

If we apply the complicated miss tables, Seadu's third shot could still hit the double ring on an adjacent number depending on the results of a d12 roll.

[Starbeard]

You're right!
Dart miss from double 14 [1d12] = 12 miss anyway

Not to be shown up by a man with a single-syllable name, Seadu rolls up his right sleeve and wriggles his fingers to get the blood flowing. He aims carefully on his first throw, calling out, 'Double 14', again. The dart slaps against the metal ring with a sharp twang and goes flying off at an oblique angle, before finally embedding itself with a thud into a timber support beam, some inches directly over the head of an innocent bystander, who remains unaware. Seadu's completely straight face twitches at the corner, showing the weary lines of someone who gets all the bad luck.

His second toss hits the wall just below the board. Discouraged, he takes up the third dart and tosses it carelessly toward the board, unsurprised when it too bounces off without making a mark.


1. 14, outer wall (AC 3): [1d20] = 1 (Miss: [1d12] = 11) miss
2. 14, outer wall (AC 3): [1d20] = 9 (Miss: [1d12] = 7) miss
3. 14, outer wall (AC 3): [1d20] = 3 (Miss: [1d12] = 3) miss

[Zhym]

Lug tries to stifle a laugh at Seadu's ricochet shot, but can't avoid blurting out a loud snort. "Sorry. That was...that was awesome!" he says. The man with the one-syllable name tosses three darts towards the bullseye, but he's still shaking with laughter and none of his throws even hit the board.

Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 5+1 = 6 (Miss: [1d12] = 6)
Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9 (Miss: [1d12] = 2)
Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 6+1 = 7 (Miss: [1d12] = 9)

Lug: Still at 253.

[Starbeard]

'You know, I used to make a living as a trick-shot. The problem is I never learned to make a normal throw!' The cleric takes up his darts and throws again. The first dart tumbles point over flight, spinning toward the board without a chance. The second, however, zips straight and true to its mark, sinking into the Double 14 spot and opening Seadu into the game. The cleric himself seems most surprised at this turn of events, and barely stifles a little 'Yahoo!' a he clicks his heels together.

Feeling much better about the game, the cleric takes a confident pose and aims straight for the bullseye. The dart sails beautifully through the air as if in slow motion. The small crowd of onlookers suck in their breath at how graceful the throw is, and watch the dart as it hits a perfect bullseye on the other dart board hanging up a few feet to the left, where another pair are playing their own game. 'Well, I don't suppose that counts.'

14, outer wall (AC 3): [1d20] = 2 (Miss: [1d12] = 6)
14, outer wall (AC 3): [1d20] = 18 (Miss: [1d12] = 6)
Bullseye (AC 2; 17+): [1d20] = 1 (miss: [1d12] = 6)

Wow. Just, wow.
I'm starting to come to terms with Seadu's knack for making awful rolls.

That should put Seadu at 301-28 = 273 points.

[Zhym]

"Game's over here," says Lug with a wink and a grin. "Still, that's pretty impressive!"

He steps up and tosses three darts at the board, hitting a 5, and 8, and the wall.

Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 14+1 = 15, Num: [1d20] = 5 (Miss: [1d12] = 1) Hit AC 4: 5
Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 14+1 = 15, Num: [1d20] = 8 (Miss: [1d12] = 2) Hit AC 4: 8
Bullseye (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 5+1 = 6, Num: [1d20] = 16 (Miss: [1d12] = 4)

Lug: 253-5-8=240. Ooh, nice round number there...

[Scott308]

Wow, Seadu throws darts like I do!