# Siegeball Players' Guide
The [Royal Siegeball Rulebook](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/40DQ3qsIs-vT) is the full rules for DMs. This document is meant to examine the game from the view of a first-time player of the game; options and advice for anyone who has played 5e D&D in the past. If you are interested in playing Siegeball or signing your party up for the League, please join [the Discord! It very new! Playtesting now!](https://discord.gg/dg4VfPFGyu) 

## Playing the Game
The game of Siegeball moves quickly and in a slightly more predictable way than in the wide world of fantasy. This allows actions and reactions to work slightly differently than in normal D&D play. 

Gameplay always starts with a tip-off at center field. A player is selected from each team to attack the ball, with the one rolling the higher attack determining the direction of the ball. During tip-off the other players place themselves on either side, anywhere between the Tip-Off Line and the Midfield lines. 

Every successful hit on the ball will move the ball at least 5 feet in the direction (using the 8 compass rose directions) the hitter specifies before other actions or reactions can be taken and the tip-off players will not get reactions until their first turn starts. The goal is to get the ball to hit the opponents tower enough to cause it to topple without causing too much injury to the opposing team. Players will be removed from play with "injuries" when they drop below 25% health and your team will lose for Brutality if they injure out more than 50% of the opposing teams roster. 
### Between Turns
#### Reactions
The "more predictable" nature of Siegeball allows players to take reactions more readily. It is important to remember that each player only gets one reaction during a round, which resets at the start of your turn.

When an opponent or the ball enters your threat range (and every space it moves through your threat range), you may use your reaction to make a single attack against that opponent or ball. This can be used in any number of ways, from changing the course of the ball to grappling an opponent to stop them chasing the ball if they get too close to you.

 <div class='descriptive'>
#### Special Siegeball Feat available:
  **Childhood Dream**
  
Years of studying Siegeball has given you an edge on the competition. You gain the following benefits:
<ul><li>Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
</li><li>You gain proficiency with a Thin Bat.
</li><li>You have advantage on Dexterity Saves when avoiding the Siegeball.
</li><li>You may use your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier for attacks and damage rolls using a Thin Bat. </div> 
  
Additionally, Siegeball allows for certain special reactions:
<ul><li>**Push the Tower:** Players may do this as a reaction to prevent the ball from hitting the tower they are defending if they are within range of the tower. To do so, they must succeed a Strength save against the ball's current Momentum Points.</li><li>**Take a Held Turn:** If you held your turn, you may use your reaction to declare your turn, which will occur immediately after the last declared movement, action, bonus action, or reaction of the current player's turn. At that point you may do any two of the following (you may not make the same choice twice): move up to half your movement, make one skill check, make a single attack on the ball or a player, or push your tower. You may do this in between parts of another players' turn, which will move you to directly before them in initiative order.</li><li>**Skill Check:** Instead of your one attack, you may make a skill check to try to influence the game. See the Bonus Action section for details. </li></ul>
  
#### Ball Dodge
Whenever the ball is going to collide with you (and you haven't just made an attack against it), you will get a Dexterity Save against the current Momentum Points of the ball. If you fail, the ball attacks you. However, if you pass the check to dodge the ball, you get a chance to slightly influence the direction of the ball. This takes no action economy to accomplish. 
### On Your Turn
As with standard D&D, your turn usually consists of three components: Movement, a Bonus Action, and an Action. The Siegeball setting allows players to use these in some slightly different ways, listed below. You should also consider all the different tools that your particular character has: skills, class features, and feats can all come into play, as can more basic attacks like Shoving and Grappling and hitting your opponent. Attacking the ball isn't the only option. 

Also, consider your Arbitrator and how they've been making their judgements to determine what magic and dirty fighting you might be able to get away with (if you don't mind cheating a bit). 
#### Bonus Actions
Within the unique conditions of the Siegeball game, you may use a Bonus Action on your turn to make a skill check to influence the game. Examples of this may be an Athletics check to jump within reach of a popped-up ball or a Sleight of Hand check to throw dirt in an opponent's eyes to try to cause the Disadvantage. An opponent may get an opposing skill check to negate these effects at the DM's discretion. The DM also decides what effect these skill checks have on the game, though may take the player's stated intentions into account. 

\page
#### Actions
##### Attack the Ball 
When you attack the ball, you choose to hit it in one of the eight cardinal directions. The ball has an AC 8 + its current Momentum Points. On a hit, the ball gains a number of Momentum Points equal to the damage dealt to it. The ball moves 5 feet in the chosen direction for each Momentum Point it has and will move at least five feet after any successful attack before another attack can be made on it. As it moves, the ball subtracts one Momentum Point for each 5 feet it moves until it stops. By splitting up your movement between attacks or "juggling" the ball around yourself, you may attack the ball multiple times on your turn if you have a feature that allows for multiple attacks.
###### Pop-Ups
If your attack roll against the ball totals more than 20, you may choose to "pop it up"; hitting the ball on the underside to make it travel at a higher elevation, out of reach of most players. When you choose to do a pop-up, the ball travels at an elevation of 20 feet starting from where you hit it. It remains at that elevation until it travels 20 feet from the place it was hit, at which point it drops to its normal elevation. The ball subtracts 2 momentum points for every 5 feet it travels while at the 20-foot elevation.
###### Passing
You may also choose to "pass" the ball upon any successful hit: this reduces the AC to hit the ball by 5 for the next ball attacker after you successfully hit it but has no effect on momentum.
##### Push The Tower
You may use your action to push either tower 5 feet. 
##### Holding your Turn
At the very beginning of your turn in initiative, you may instead choose to "hold" your turn; your turn ends before you make any actions, bonus actions, or movement. At any point before your next turn, you may use your reaction to declare your turn, which will occur immediately after the last declared movement, action, bonus action, or reaction of the current player's turn. At that point you may do any two of the following (you may not make the same choice twice): move up to half your movement, make one skill check, make a single attack on the ball or a player, or push your tower. You may do this in between parts of another players' turn, which will move you to directly before them in initiative order.

Doing this strategically may allow you to interrupt an opponent's approach to a hit, let you get in the way of a popped up ball, or even arrange it so that your team takes all of their turns in a row. 
### Penalties
There are three levels of penalty in Siegeball which are judged by the assigned Arbitrator. The Arbitrator may hand out three levels of penalty: Orange Dings, Green Shots, and Purple Outs. Orange Dings are just warnings that don't stop the game. Green Shot violations result in a penalty shot for the opposing team. Purple Outs will result in the ejection of the offender, a penalty shot for the opposing team, and the end of the grace of the Brutality rule, opening your team up for physical punishment from the other team. 

Listed here are examples of penalties and their levels of offense:
<ul><li>**Orange Dings:** first offenses for most transgressions, using spells, accidental substitution violations, arguing with the Arbitrator</li><li>**Green Shots:** continued or ongoing transgressions, popping the ball out of the field of play, attacking a tower directly, pushing a tower outside of the tower zone</li><li>**Purple Outs:** repeated or blatant transgressions, doing lethal damage</li></ul>
## Player Creation
Due to the wide variety of possibilities for player characters (especially when homebrew is included), these rules must be followed when creating a character:
<ol><li>Standard point buy from the 5e PHB must be used to determine stats and average HP must be taken.</li><li> Character options are limited to the Player's Handbook, Xanathar's Guide, and Tasha's Cauldron.</li><li> The custom backgrounds from PHB and custom lineages from Tasha's may be used, as can the feats from the allowed source books.</li><li> Attempting to smuggle magic items or armors or additional weapons into the game will result in a penalty if caught by the Arbitrator. Remember that all "cheating" must be done in-character and declared to the DM/Arbitrator.</li></ol>
### Bats
Choosing a bat is a big decision in Siegeballers career. While the decision can be changed at any time, the two bats tend to be played by two different types of player. Thickbatters tend to be all about the direct approach and stunning attacks, while thinbatters tend to play a more strategic game with curving Englished approaches. 

> ##### **Options** 
**Thick Bat:** Simple Weapon, Two-Handed Melee Weapon, 1d8 Bludgeoning, 5ft.  17 lb. Weight, Stunning: unless the batter chooses to "pass" the ball, if a thick bat was the last bat used to hit the ball, any player that takes damage from the ball must make a Constitution save to avoid being stunned until the beginning of their next turn, with the DC being equal to the Momentum Points of the ball.
>
>**Thin Bat:** Simple Weapon, One-Handed Melee Weapon, 1d4 Bludgeoning, 10ft. Range, 11 lb. Weight, finesse, English: when you make successful attack, you may tweak the direction you've sent the ball (once after it travels more than 10 ft. from you but before it hits any other players, bats, walls, or towers) by one "tick" of the compass rose (ie. if it's going N, you can make it start to travel NE or NW; if it's heading SW, you can turn it W or S).