Goatball

Goatball is a traditional Goliath competitive game. Two teams of between four and eight players each compete on a playing field consisting of a number of raised platforms or stumps. Each team begins with a weighted ball and the winning team is the first to knock all members of the opposing team off their platforms with the ball. The traditional ball is made out of goat hide, with two loops on either side to assist in handling. Original goatballs were made of an entire goat hide, the fore and hind legs knotted to make the loops and the the hide stuffed with goat fleece and rocks.
Goatball as a sport has great cultural significance to the goliaths of Dyrn. Most goliaths are taught to play the game and it has been used to settle disputes between tribes as a non-lethal alternative to combat.

Mechanics

A game of Goatball is played as a combat encounter using a battlemap designed with stumps or raised platforms spaced 5 feet apart. It is played using the following item:

World of Dyrn

Goatball

Gaming Set

Common

This heavy ball is fashioned out of goat hide and stuffed with small rocks and goat fur.It has two knotted loops of hide on either side to assist in handing. It is used to play Goatball. Proficiency with the Goatball allows you to add your proficiency bonus to skill checks and attack rolls made with the Goatball.

Cost: 2sp
Weight: 20lb

Goatball is traditionally played without armour. As armour is generally of little value in preventing the momentum of the goatball from knocking creatures prone, for the purposes of the game, armour bonuses to AC are disregarded. The base calculation for AC is 10 + Dexterity Modifer. Both teams may choose which of their players commences play with the ball. All players take their places on their chosen platforms and the game begins.
A game of goatball is played as a combat encounter. All players roll intiative and play begins in initiative order.

Actions

All actions open to players during combat are available during a gae of goatball. Several actions have special rules applied, and they are summarised here. The first is throwing the goatball.

Throwing

If you are holding the goatball you may attempt to throw it at another person. If you do, it is treated as a special weapon with the Heavy, Thrown, Versatile and Finesse properties. Make an attack roll. If the attacker has a strength score of 13 or less, the attack is rolled at disadvantage. If you are proficient with the Goatball, you may add your proficiency modifier to the attack. On a successful hit, the Goatball does special damage of 1d4 (1d6) Bludgeoning damage and the target must make a constitution saving throw. The DC for this save is 8 + the amount of damage dealt by the Goatball. On a fail, the target is knocked five feet in a straight line away from the attacker.
Unless specified by a thrower, damage from a goatball is non-lethal. A creature who is reduced to 0 HP by the goatball does not become unconscious, but takes a level of exhaustion.
A thrown ball lands on the ground at the base of the target if it connects and knocks the target off their stump. It is otherwise considered caught by the target and remains in their possession until they throw it at a target or otherwise pass it to another player. Passes are assumed to succeed. In the event that external circumstances cause the ball to be dropped, it will be returned to the nearest player. This is often a role for goliath children who may run between the stumps to assist.
If there are players between the thrower and the target, the target is considered to have half cover (a +2 bonus to AC)

Moving

Jumping from stump to stump is considered difficult terrain (every 5 feet requires 10 feet of movement). Unless otherwise specified, a creature may make a stationary jump equal to their strength score in feet. To avoid falling prone and missing the stump, a creature must make a DC10 acrobatics check. If a player has sufficient movement remaining they may continue to jump from stump to stump.
A player who falls from their stump by accident or as a result of rough and tumble may not touch the ball or take part in play until they have returned to a stump. Climbing onto a stump requires an action.

Dodge Action

A player may take the Dodge action to decrease the likelihood of being hit by a goatball.

Readying Actions

A player who does not have possession of the ball may Ready an action to throw it should they receieve possession later in the round. See the Holding an Action rules in the PHB. Should they receive the ball they may the use their Reaction to complete a throw.
A player who would like to intercept a thrown ball may move to a favourable position and Ready an action to intercept the ball. If the ball would pass through their space or an adjacent space, they may make an opposed Acrobaics check against the Attack Roll of the attacker. On a success, they take possession of the ball.
Play continues until all members of a team have been knocked from their platforms.

Other Combat Features

Rough and tumble is encouraged during a game of goatball. While players are not knocked out if they leave their stumps as a result of any contact other than from the goatball, it does generally cost them an action during the next round to return to a stump, and so knockdowns can be a viable strategy. Most goatball matches are not intended to be lethal, and for this reason, weapons are usually not permitted.
Interceptors are often built with dirty tricks in mind. Spellcasting is not necessarily banned on the goatball pitch. Just as effectice as a good spell can be a pocket full of sand. Any effect which would distract or confuse an opponent may impose disadvantage on their next attack or save, at the DM's discretion.

Building Players

There are three distinct roles in Goatball - throwing, tanking, and intercepting. Each focuses on a different attribute. Throwers maximise strength (or in rare cases, dexterity) to try and maximise the impact of a succesful throw. Tanks aim to protect throwers by maximising their constitution, making it tough to knock them down. And interceptors maximise dexterity and acrobatics, in order to maximise the chance of an interception and return the ball to their throwers.
For the purposes of fair play, goatball is ideally played with PCs in Tier 1 - levels 1-4. Tier 2 introduces area of effect and powerful attack spells which may be very disruptive to play. Tier 1 PCs are also most ideally matched against most CR1/4 - 4 humanoids. Goatball can be played by higher level PCs but you may wish to consider banning spells of levels 3 and above, and also buffing the HP of opponents to match those of the PCs.