Manaball
Work in Progress Mini-Game Rules
- Manaball is a game played with two teams of equal size, minimum of 3 (usually 6 players in the "pro leagues," haven't decided yet).
- The game is played via zipper initiative, and the winner of Initiative (the coin toss) becomes the Offense team and the other becomes the Defense team.
- The Offense team chooses one unit to make the first play. The plays for everyone are Move Position and Make a Play.
- The first unit chosen is the one who has the Manaball in possession. When the ball is in possession, it can only be stolen after the possessor Makes a Play.
- For Offense, Make a Play is passing or shooting the ball in a Line. Any Defense team member that is near (usually adjacent or inside) the line can use a Reaction (which uses their Turn this Round) to Make a Play to attempt to defend/steal the ball.
- When the Offense Makes a Play, they spend Mana to roll a number of associated die of their spell school (d4 for Wind, d10 for Fire, etc) equal to Mana spent. The ball moves down the Line a number of spaces equal to the total + KEY (and Crits explode, just like normal). On a Primary Die 1, you Fumble the Ball (it still moves the total number of spaces down the Line) and the Defense team has an opportunity to become the Offense team by Moving a space adjacent to it.
- When the Defense team Makes a Play, they spend Mana to build a Blocking Shield a number of squares equal to the same die roll as the Offense (dice number equal to the Mana spent). They can spend it all to beef up the space they're in, or they can extend the shield to one or both sides, but the Defense roll is evenly divided among all chosen spaces. A Defender can use this to defend from further away from the line, but it will have reduced effect. The number of spaces left on the ball's path at the point of the Defender is reduced by the value of the shield. If the number is zero, the ball stops adjacent to the Defender, and if it's negative, the ball bounces back that many spaces toward the unit that passed/shot the ball. The ball only gains the Defending team's type if it is fully blocked.
- While in possession of the ball, it moves with you (like Grappled) and you have Advantage on the Make a Play. If the ball is not in possession, anyone can use Make a Play to make a Ranged Play (Range 8), but the roll is with Disadvantage, and the Line is predetermined based on the Line between the unit and the ball.
- Each time the ball is passed/shot, it gains the type of the die used, denoting who is on Offense.
- Scoring: A ball must be the Offense team's type and move into the goal zone of the Defense Team in order to score points.
- The spaces immediately next to the Goalie (who doesn't move) are worth 3 points, the spaces next to those are worth 2, and the spaces after that are worth 1. The goal zone is a 7 space Line. Halftime Rest: At halftime (a certain number of Turns that would be revealed through testing), players take a 10 minute break, regaining Mana equal to their Hit Die + Key.
To play the game, you may need to make extra "characters," but it should be quick and simple, since the only factors that are relevant to know are:
- KEY
- Hit die size and number
- Mana pool/available Spell schools
- Move speed
Due to the play by play nature of the game, it is recommended that players on the same team work together to decide each action so that one doesn't end up sitting on the sidelines uninvolved.