A Spectacular Smashing Brotherhood Some fights are for revenge, some are for justice, others are for the fate of the world. But sometimes, there are fights that simply exist to be bouts of brawns and skill. The members of Spectacular Smashing Brotherhood have such a mission: to demonstrate to the world the best in technical combat.

The goal of a Smash-sanctioned fight is to drop their opponent to 0 HP non-lethally, or else to SMASH them off the side of the stage such that the opponent cannot stay in the ring. The spirit of the Brotherhood says not to kill the opponent - but of course, the GM might decide that some opponents don’t play by the rules.

Smash fights would be relatively quick. Each individual fight should only be 5-10 rounds total. If fights drag on, use stage hazards or items to accelerate the fight. Combat should be fast and tense.

GMs should be flexible with rulings, and err towards Rule of Cool. If a player wants to use a non-combat ability during these fights for example, ask them to justify it. If it sounds cool, allow it. Setting the Stage A great Smash fight requires a legendary arena, surrounded by an eager audience and against a striking landscape.

The only hard and fast rule is that there should be no less than 60 feet from any given edge to another. Difficult terrain like water traps, vines, or boulders could limit player mobility, while Lair actions or Stage Hazards may be spells that both fighters are forced to evade.

If DMing with a battlemap (recommended, especially if you have Amiibo to use as minis), mark off rings 20ft from the edge, 10ft from the edge, and 5ft from the edge. The distance from the edge affects how easy it is to throw an opponent off. Battlefield A large, floating jagged rock, 70 feet in diameter. The surface is accessable by rope ladders. Through means unknown, this rock hovers 20 feet above the ground. Smaller rocks float 10 feet over the battlefield, providing ledges and platforms for fighters to utilize. Stadium A rectangular, sculpted arena, 80 by 60 feet in size. Curated to have columns, trap doors, hidden bombs, and magical Lair actions, this arena is nearly a fighter in its own right. Final Destination A shifting platform that exists between Planes, the ultimate arena for legendary fighters. Veering through time and space such that worlds are created and destroyed in the background of the fight, a combatant thrown from this platform risks drifting in the void between planes for eternity. General Rules Each round of fighting has three phases: Movement, Attack, and Bonus Action/Smash. These are described in detail on the next section.

Fights can be 1v1, 2v2, Crews, or any other combination. Crews, in which a team of fighters take turns fighting 1v1 against another team, are a great idea for engaging the whole table in combat.



All regular weapons, armor, items, and magic rules apply.



Spell-casters can cast only one spell upon themselves before the start of a fight - but it must be their own spell. For example, a cleric cannot cast Bless on a barbarian who is about to fight. However, the cleric can cast Bless on themselves before a fight.



Spell slots, channel divinities, ki points, etc are depleted as normal.

Outside spells cast directly on the combatants are not allowed - the only outside spells allowed are the Stage Hazards, which must be cast on unoccupied portions of the Battlefield

...But of course, players can cheat and use spells when they are not supposed to. Nobody can stop players from cheating. But they have to be sneaky enough about it that neither the audience nor the other fighter notices. The Spectacular Smashing Brotherhood has a strict code of honor, and the regulars might up-smash your PCs right out of the arena if they suspect foul play.

Credit: Cecil Kim Credits Ruleset by /u/wintersage

Formatting via The Homebrewery

Combat Phases Initiative is rolled as normal. The faster player takes their turn first. Each character's turn has three phases: Movement Phase Regular movement rules and distances apply. Can occur at any time during the combatant’s turn. Use of Stage Hazards or Lair Actions might create difficult terrain, at the GM’s discretion. Attack Phase Attacks and Actions. Anything that you could normally do in your Action phase is done now. Attacks are rolled against the target's AC, and damage applied as normal. This phase must occur before the Bonus Action/Smash phase. Actions like Grappling could make it harder for an opponent to recover from a Smash, increasing the Smash save DC by +2. Bonus Action/Smash Phase In this phase, you can either use a bonus action, OR you can SMASH. This phase must occur after the Attack phase. A Smash is an attempt to shove, attack, or toss the other person off of the stage.



Smashing does not require an AC check - it can be attempted automatically during this phase if you have not already done a bonus action. No damage is inflicted in Smash. Smashing is only be successful within 20 feet of the edge, otherwise you simply toss your opponent 20 feet and render them Prone.

The person being Launched can either save via Dexterity, Athletics, or any other relevant skills or magic, at the GM’s discretion. The more injured the Smashed person is, the harder their save DC will be. If the Smashed character makes their DC save, they recover mid-air and land in a location of their choosing, within 10 feet of where they were thrown. If they fail their save, they are thrown off the edge and lose.

The DC of a Smash is determined by at least two factors: HP Remaining and Distance from Edge. Base Smash Difficulty Values Base DC HP Remaining 10 67-100% 15 34-66% 20 1-33% Distance from Edge Added Difficulty Added DC Feet from Edge - 20+ feet - cannot be thrown off 0 11-20 feet 2 10-6 feet 5 5-0 feet Reaction Phase Reactions can be used in response either to the Attack OR Bonus/Smash Phases, not both. You cannot use the same Reaction type twice in within an opponent’s single turn. A Smashing Example Samaran, the Aasimar paladin, is attacking Linus, the elven bard. After Samaran's attack, Linus is down to 15 HP - only half of his max HP - and is 10 feet from the edge. Instead of a Bonus Action, Samaran declares that she will Smash Linus off the stage. Her player describes how the Smash occurs - she coils Linus with a chain whip and throws him. Linus's player rolls a Dexterity Save. Because Linus is at 50% HP, his base save DC is 15, with a +2 difficulty for being 10 feet from the edge. So he must clear a 17 DC to stay in the fight.



Linus rolls a 19 save. Even though Samaran threw him, the bard is able to recover mid-air and land safely.

Optional Rules Taunting Taunting and speech as free actions are encouraged to add dramatic tension to fights and to create investiment. Ham it up, build drama! Encourage Taunts and Speech by putting an important NPC in the crowd that combatants want to impress, like a general or a princess.

You can choose to apply Intimidate/Performance rolls to see how successful Taunts are. A very successful Taunt might make the audience cheer the character’s name, might impose disadvantage on an opponent, or might make an NPC gain interest in the character. But poor Taunt attempts should have consequences, like exposing the taunter to an attack of opportunity, or turning the crowd against them.

Items For extra chaos, throw in some Items, literately! The audience can toss random healing items, scrolls, and even weapons onto the field to be used by the fighters. Items are generally used during the Attack Phase. This is a useful rule to force more movement in the fight, especially if fighters aren’t succeeding in pushing each other towards the edge.

Stage Hazards You can introduce stage hazards to also encourage more movement around a stage. These may be static features of the arena, like water pools or wobbling columns, or they can be magical Lair Actions. Walls of fire and ice, ball bearings being thrown from audience members, strong gusts of wind, all make for a more dynamic field.

2v2 Alternative Initiative In a 2v2 fight, all four fighters roll initiative like normal, but each team only counts the highest initiative rolled on their side. In rounds, both fighters on each side act at the same time. Each character can do their Movement, Attack, and Bonus Action/Smash phases as normal, but because they are both moving in the same ‘round’, the characters can help each other or coordinate the sequence of their actions.