Alternative Rules: Tavern Brawls

When a Tavern Brawl is initiated, each participating creature must roll initiative as normal. Then, the following combat rules replace the standard ruleset:

Stat Changes

Health Points:

Each character’s HP is replaced with Constitution Modifier + 3 Vigor (Minimum 1). When a creature reaches 0 Vigor, they become incapacitated and are unable to continue the brawl.

Armor Class:

All characters are considered unarmored for the duration, replacing their AC with this standard unarmored formula: 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Constitution Modifier

Brawl Specific Actions

During each character's turn, they have 5 options available:

Strike: Make an unarmed strike. If you beat the target’s AC, deal 1 Vigor damage. All alternative unarmed strike methods remain available to your character. (Unarmed strikes: 1d20 + Str mod + Proficiency bonus)

Grapple: Make an Athletics check (Str). Then, your target must make a contesting Athletics (Str), Acrobatics (Dex), or Sleight of Hand (Dex) check against your result to avoid your grapple. If they fail, the target creature takes 1 Vigor damage.

Counter: Make a private attack roll. If your result is higher than your opponent’s next attack roll, you deal 1 Vigor damage and their attack misses. However, if your opponent’s roll attack is higher than your roll, you take 2 Vigor damage. Any attempt to counter a counter will instead be treated as a normal strike.

Dodge: You devote all your attention on evading the next attack. Any creature targeting you must make their next roll with disadvantage.

Special: Instead of selecting one of the above options, you may cast certain non-lethal spells or interact with the environment to participate in the brawl in unique ways.

Additional Notes

Special Opponents:

Certain NPCs may have alternative rules or speciality moves they can utilize in a tavern brawl to spice things up. However, overcoming these difficult opponents will be a surefire way to garner a special title… and bragging rights.

Disclosure:

The most important element of the tavern brawl, however, is to have fun! While an action may not perfectly fit into one of the actions listed above, describing specific actions you wish to take or specific moves you want to make can grant special bonuses to your attack or even result in negatives being applied to an opponent. Feel free to get creative in your combat and strategy!