Siegeball
#Worldbuilding
Siegeball is a game played between two teams. Each team consists of 5 players. One player of each team is the team's goalkeeper. Players must be unarmed, except for the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper gets a special bat, which counts as a unique Club (Simple Weapon, Versatile, Finesse, 1d6 Dmg, 3lb. Weight, Bludgeoning) and has advantage when hitting the ball.
The team's goalkeeper is whoever is holding the team's bat at the time, but there must be one goalkeeper, so players can pass the goalkeeper bat to other players, but they are not allowed to drop it. If the bat is dropped, a teammate must immediately pick it up. The goalkeeper is unable to leave their goalkeeper’s area..
Despite the official ruling that players must be unarmed, some arenas turn a blind eye to, or actively encourage the use of weapons and magic. Sneaking them into the field or having people in the crowd throw them in for the players is severely frowned upon.
Players may wear whatever clothing or armour they want, though most teams will have a uniform or theme.
Officially only attacks dealing non-lethal damage are allowed during play. Players may freely attack players of the other team, so long as they only do non-lethal damage.
Most cities do not allow magic on the field. Other cities only allow magic that 'buffs' or 'debuffs' fellow players, with flying and levitation usually being forbidden. There are some cities which allow free use of magic in any form.
The Arena
A standard Siegeball arena
Games of Siegeball require a special arena to be played in.
The arena is a 155ft by 65ft field (31 squares by 13 squares), which narrows down to 35ft wide (7 squares) in the middle. It is divided into two halves by a 35ft square 'neutral zone' in the middle. The tip-off point for the ball is in the exact centre of the arena. The entire arena is surrounded by a wall.
Near the back of each team's half is their goal, a 5ft diameter pillar, known as the 'tower'. By official rules the tower should be made of wood or loose stone though the material changes depending on the local rulings.
Most towns and cities use the standard arena, but some use smaller or larger arenas, or different shaped arenas, according to local rules.
Each team starts in their respective halves of the arena, outside the neutral area. The goalkeeper must start inside their team's goalkeeper area and is unable to leave it.
The Ball
The ball is possibly the most important part of a game of Siegeball. The ball is a magically enchanted orb of rubber-like material. It glows so it can be seen easily at nighttime, and it floats around 3 to 4 ft above the ground, making it easy to punch or kick.
The most important part of the ball is its 'momentum points'. These points dictate how far the ball moves, how much damage it does, and how hard it is to hit. The ball counts as a small creature, with an AC equal to 8 + its current 'momentum points'. The ball cannot be moved, except by attacking it.
When attacking the ball, the player attacking must decide in what cardinal direction to hit it in. If the attack hits, instead of taking damage, the ball gains 'momentum points' equal to the amount of damage it would have taken.
While the ball has any 'momentum points', it moves forward in a straight line one 5ft square and loses one 'momentum point'. When it has no more 'momentum points' left, it stops. Yes, that's all in one turn. If it collides with an arena wall, it bounces off without losing any 'momentum points'.
If the ball hits a tower, it deals damage equal to its current 'momentum points', and rebounds as though it hit a wall.
If the ball hits a player, they can take an attack of opportunity against the ball. If the attack succeeds, any damage they inflict gets added to the ball's 'momentum points' and the ball changes direction to the direction the player chooses. If the player does not attack the ball, if their attack fails, or if the player has no attacks of opportunity remaining, the ball 'attacks' them with a bonus equal to half of its current 'momentum points'. If this attack succeeds, the player takes non-lethal damage equal to the 'momentum points' of the ball and must make a STR save to avoid being knocked prone, with the DC being equal to the 'momentum points' of the ball. The ball then loses half of its 'momentum points' and bounces in a random direction. If the player dodges successfully, the ball continues on its current course without interference.
If the ball passes through a square adjacent to a player, they can take an attack of opportunity against the ball. This is the same as above, except failing to hit the ball does not cause the player any damage or affect the ball's 'momentum points' or direction.
Playing the Game
The game lasts for 30 minutes. Though many games do not go this long, if a game reaches full time the Arbitrator will make a judgement based on which team did more damage to their opponent’s tower.
The game begins with a tip-off in the centre of the arena. A player from each team makes an attack roll against the ball at centre field. If both players beat the ball's AC of 8, the damage from both attacks gets added to the ball's momentum points. The player with the higher attack roll successfully decides the direction of the ball. If both players miss, or if they tie their attack rolls, the ball continues to float between them. Neither tip-off player gets a reaction until the start of their first turn after tip-off. The other players begin anywhere on the field except for the neutral area.
After the tip-off and subsequent reactions, players act in initiative order. A game ends when a tower is reduced to 0 hp. A game of Siegeball can also end on a "Brutality" if one team injures out more than 50% of the opposing team, officially the team that caused the injuries will lose for brutality though many cities play it the other way round.
Siegeball is a widely-played sport and the exact rules and standards change wherever the game is played. The only concrete rule of Siegeball is not to attack your opponent's tower directly. In most arenas, using magic is also considered cheating (though this doesn't stop some witches and wizards from influencing the games anyway).
Substitutions
For games involving substitutes, a substitution can happen anytime during or between plays. Substitutes roll into Initiative order and may enter the play area from anywhere along the neutral area sides. If a team has more than 5 players on the field at any point in time, that team will incur a penalty.
Penalties
Each game of Siegeball is assigned an Arbitrator who is solely in charge of making sure the rules are followed. The Arbitrator watches from the sidelines with a magical whistle that, when blown, can flash a colored message or even bring the ball to a complete stop. The Arbitrator may hand out three levels of penalty: Orange Dings, Green Shots, and Purple Outs.
While Arbitrators are trained to spot magic items and spells/cantrips, which are all usually outright outlawed, other magical effects, such as certain non-spell class features, or mana-hidden items can sometimes slip by. Martial features, such as Battle Master Manoeuvres, Barbarian Rage, or non-magic Ki effects are entirely legal. The legality of any particular effect is entirely up to the Arbitrator and will change based on their preferences. This includes dirty fighting moves such as low blows and throwing dirt in opponents eyes; these may be allowed or disallowed by the current Arbitrator/ League.
If a feature allows you to have multiple attacks, you may take them but the ball will travel at least 5 feet between each strike attempt. You can split up your movement between each strike attempt to accomplish this.
Orange Dings
Orange Dings are warnings for minor infractions that do not need a cease to play to resolve. Things like accidentally improper player substitutions or weapon changes or arguing with an Arbitrator's call. Repeated infractions after receiving an Orange Ding can lead to higher penalties.
Green Shots
Green Shots are handed out for repeated, blatant, or major violations of the rules. Attacking the opponent’s tower directly, popping the ball out of the game area, or using spells to influence the game are prime examples (depending on local rules).
The opponents of the rule violators are awarded a free shot: play stops and the team given the free shot places the ball from the tip-off point. The offended team assigns a player to attack the ball with all opposing players being forced to line up at least 35 feet away.
Purple Outs
Purple Outs are only given to players or teams for the most serious of rule offences. Examples include dealing lethal damage or repeated and blatant offences of the rules.
A Purple Out carries a number of consequences. The offended team is awarded a free shot. The offending player(s) are removed from eligibility to play the game. Also, any team that receives a Purple Out loses the grace of the Brutality rule and will lose if their roster drops below 50% eligibility. A team that wins via Brutality after the other team receives a Purple Out should suffer no shame; the Brutality is justified.
A team loses 50% of their team and will win due to Brutality. If a purple out is given to their team, they will lose the game instead if the prior occurs.
Scoring
Winning a game is simple. The first team to destroy their opponent's tower is the winner. However, the tower cannot be attacked directly by the players; all damage must be dealt to it using the ball.