                             Player vs. Player
 
                             CAPTURE THE FLAG

                             by Thomas Nesges

         Capture the enemy flag with your team and bring it home!
        Rules supplement for a player vs. player experience in 5e
                 incl. example maps, tokens and statblocks.


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PREPARATION

# Playing Field

The game can be played on any map. Maps that are divided into square fields 
representing 5ft x 5ft in the game world are considered the most convenient.


# Teams

At least two teams compete against each other. A team has three or more player 
characters (PCs). All PCs have the same level. A team can be played by one or 
more players.

Example: Team Red is made up of a rogue, a paladin and a bard. Team Black has a 
ranger, a cleric and a wizard. All of them are 1st level characters.


# Headquarters and Flag

Every team is assigned a marked area on the map as headquarters. The teams flag 
is located in their headquarters initially. The teams flag can be carried by any 
creature with a free hand. The teams flag is immune to damage and magic. It 
can't be removed from the playing field.

Hint: Place the headquarters so that all teams have equal chances and roll dice 
at the beginning of the match to determine who will move into which headquarter.


# Non Player Characters

Hostile non player characters (NPCs) are spread over the playing field. Their 
number is up to twice the number of all PCs summed up. The difficulty level of 
the NPCs is low.

Hint: Distribute NPCs evenly on the map and make sure that PCs don't have to 
fight many NPCs at once. As a guideline for difficulty you can plan an encounter 
between all NPCs and all PCs that has a difficulty level of "hard".

Example: Team Red and Team Black together have 6 PCs of 1st level. You can place 
up to 12 NPCs on the map. 6 Commoners and 4 Bandits have the ideal difficulty 
level. View in Kampfrechner (german):
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/kampfrechner-ctf-haeuserkampf


# Treasure

Three or more treasures can be found on the playing field.

Hint: Highlight positions of treasure clearly, so that players don't spend much 
time on finding treasure, but rather try to snatch them away from each other.

Hint: It can be exciting to determine treasure randomly when it's found. Here 
are a table with 12 potions and the random tables from the Dungeon Master's 
Guide.

https://www.dnddeutsch.de/wuerfeltabelle-12-traenke
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/zufaellige-magische-gegenstaende/



PS: Sure it's tempting to prepare a playing field with nasty traps, dangerous 
monsters, complex puzzles and well-hidden treasures. Just don't lose sight of 
the real goal: It's all about the competition between the players. A little 
distraction can be worthwhile, but that's just what gives it that extra 
something.


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RULES

# Goal

Capture the opposing team's flag and bring it to your headquarters.


# Starting

Each team starts rested in its own headquarters. Their flag is there as well.


# Gameplay

Teams take turns one PC at a time. All PCs roll initiative. The PC with the 
highest initiative starts. Then its the next PC on another team with the second 
highest initiative and so on.
NPCs roll initiative when they are spotted by an PC and are played on their 
initiative as normal.

# NPCs & Inspiration

NPCs are hostile. If a PC fights an NPC until the beginning of the PCs next turn 
without another PC attacking the same NPC, the PC gains inspiration.


# Special Actions

Any creature can perform the following special actions:

* [Movement] Pick up the Flag. When a creature walks over the square of the flag 
with a free hand, they can use half their movement speed to pick up the flag.

* [Action] Slap the Flag away. Slapping the flag from a creature's hand requires 
a successfull attack roll. This attack does no damage to the target creature. 
The flag is placed 5ft next to the flag bearer in an empty space of the 
attackers choice.

* [Action] Loot. One item of an unconscious creature's equipment may be taken by 
another creature as an action. Worn armor must first be doffed from the looted 
creature first (light and medium armor: 1 minute, heavy armor: 5 minutes, 
shield: 1 action)

* [Dropping] the flag doesn't require an action. The flag is placed 5ft next to 
the flag bearer in an empty space. Incapacitated creatures drop the flag 
automatically on a randomly chosen empty space 5ft next to the flag bearer.


# Treasure

Treasure can be used by PCs directly without the need to identify them first. 
PCs don't need to take a short rest to attune to magic items that need 
attunement.

# Resting

If a PC is within 5ft of their own flag in their own headquarters and does not 
perform any movement, action or bonus action until the end of their following 
turn, they may roll 1 hit die to regenerate hit points. If half of their hit 
dice are used in this way, that PC is granted the effects of a short rest. If 
all hit dice are used in this way, that PC is granted the effects of a long 
rest.


# Death Saving Throws

If a PC is unconscious, its player can decide whether to discard death saving 
throws or remove the PC from the game. A PC that has been removed from the game 
is eliminated. A PC with three failed death saving throws cannot be resurrected 
or healed, but the player may continue to make death saving throws to disguise 
this.

Hint: Show your death saving throws only to the game master and keep rolling. 
This way, the other team can't tell if a PC is just unconscious. Important: 
Practice your poker face!


# Winning

If a PC holds the enemies flag and is within 5ft of their own flag at the end of 
their following turn at their own headquarters, their team wins. If all but PCs 
of one team are unconscious or eliminated at the end of one PCs turn, the team 
of the active SC wins. The game ends immediately when a team wins.


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VARIANTS

# Special environments

The following rules are suggestions. Adapt them to your playing field and expand 
them to your taste. Just don't make it complicated.

* Doors

Exterior doors of buildings are locked. As an action they can be opened with a 
skill roll with thief's tools against DC 10 or kicked in with an attribute roll 
on strength against DC 15 or destroyed with attacks (a door has AC 15 and 15 
HP). Kicked-in and destroyed doors cannot be closed again. Doors in interior 
rooms are usually not locked. The outer doors of your own headquarters are 
considered unlocked for your own team.

* Windows

Window shutters can be opened and closed only from the inside. As an action they 
can be smashed from the outside with an attribute roll on strength against DC 15 
or destroyed by attacks (a window has AC 15 and 10 HP). Broken and destroyed 
windows cannot be closed again.

* Climbing

Walls can be climbed. Each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot when you’re 
climbing. At half of the climbed distance a skill roll on strength (athletics) 
against DC 15 has to be made. If the roll fails, the creature falls and suffers 
the corresponding fall damage (1d6 per 10 ft).

* The floor is lava

Walking through a lava flow deals 10d10 fire damage to a creature at the end of 
their turn. Submerging in lava deals 18d10 fire damage to a creature at the end 
of their turn.



# Game Variants

Some variants with changes to the goal or gameplay

## Raise the Flag
* Goal. Bring your flag to the headquarters of the opposing team.
* Winning. If a PC holds their own flag at the enemy headquarters until the end 
of their following turn, their team wins.

## Small Raid
* Goal. Capture a neutral flag and bring it to your headquarters along with your 
own flag.

## Large Raid
* Goal. Capture three of five neutral flags and bring them to your headquarters 
along with your own flag.
* Winning. The team that first holds three neutral flags and its own flag at its 
own headquarters wins.

## Team-Deathmatch
* Goal. Eliminiate the opposing team.

## Ghostmatch

* Goal. Eliminate the opposing team. Eliminated PCs are replaced by undead NPCs 
controlled by the eliminated PC's player.

PC-Level    NPC
1-2         Zombie
3-4         Spectre
5-10        Wight
11-16       Ghost
17-20       Wraith

https://www.dnddeutsch.de/srd/gamemaster_rules/monsters/zombie/
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/srd/gamemaster_rules/monsters/spectre/
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/srd/gamemaster_rules/monsters/wight/
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/srd/gamemaster_rules/monsters/ghost/
https://www.dnddeutsch.de/srd/gamemaster_rules/monsters/wraith/

## King of the Hill
* Goal. Defend your flag in the target area.
* Winning. If a PC holds its own flag in the designated target area for three 
rounds without interruption, its team wins.


Most variants can be played without a game master, if NPCs and complex 
environment effects are omitted. Teamdeathmatch and Ghostmatch also work well 
with more than two teams. Try things that are not described here. And if you 
find a cool variant, share it with the #pnpde community!