Football is the greatest thing humanity has ever invented. The wheel? Make it a sphere instead of a circle and kick it around mate. Electricity? All the better to watch the footy with. That’s why I recently decided to add football to my upcomingDungeons & Dragonsadventure. It started out as a play on words, that the party would need to look for a famous sorcerer, they’d meet someone who didn’t speak their language, and be pointed towards a famous soccer-er, but I ended up cutting that joke for a much cleaner run up to the game.
As with most things I add to my own adventures in D&D, I tend to look around online first to see what other people have done, then tweak it to fit my DM style, my party, or my story. While others have attempted to make a version of football before, I didn’t find a version where the rules were in enough depth for my liking, so mostly I ignored what was out there and started from scratch. Sorry, random Reddit users from five years ago. In any case, these are the rules I landed on.
Related:Creating Your Own Adventure Is The Ultimate Dungeons & Dragons DM Experience
To keep things relatively simple, I made the rules for 5-a-side, and there’s no magic or ‘I roll a Persuasion check to convince the other team to let me score’. That’s just not cricket. Or football. Magical items like rings that offer bonuses on checks can be permitted at the DM’s discretion, but actually casting spells will not be allowed in the rules. The pitch is 100ft long and 60ft wide, or can be shrunk down to 50ft by 30ft with all movement speeds reduced by half. The first 30ft of that 100ft is considered Defence, the middle 40ft is considered Midfield, and the final 30ft is Upfront - this will matter when it comes to passing and shooting.
We’re also going to be using ATK rolls, so all players should be holding no weapons and should be rolling Unarmed Strike. A specific Football Boots item with associated bonuses could be added if needed, but for ease, just a simple Unarmed Strike should do the trick.
Passing
Now we get into passing. One player will be the Goalkeeper, and can either pass to a player in Defence (which is deemed a Square Pass), to a player in Midfield (a Forward Pass), or to a player Upfront (a Long Pass). In Defence, you’re able to pass to the Goalkeeper (Backwards Pass), another Defender (Square), a Midfielder (Forward), or a Striker (Long). Midfielders can pass to Defenders (Backwards) or Strikers (Forward), and Strikers can pass to Midfielders (Backwards).
If the roll is unsuccessful, the ball will instead go to an opposition player within 15ft of the intended target, and if no opposition player is within 15ft, the ball goes loose 15ft beyond the intended target in the angle it was passed from. If it hits the edge of the pitch it will bounce back into play.
Dribbling & Tackling
Of course, passing is not the only option - players can also dribble. If in possession of the ball players can move up to 2/3 of their movement speed (rounded up), provided they make an Athletics roll of +10. Failure to make this roll will cause them to knock the ball forward 15ft and lose the ball. Any opposition player who is within 5ft of the dribbler at any point of this move will also make an Athletics roll, and if it is higher than the dribbler they win possession. If it is the same, both players make an Acrobatics check and the highest keeps the ball. If these rolls also match, the ball bounces away to the nearest player not involved in the tackle. Players can pass or shoot at the end of a dribble.
Shooting & Saving
Shooting is the final option for players in possession, which can be done at the start of a turn or the end of a successful dribble (but not always a pass, which we’ll cover in Movement & Turns below). Shooting is based on a simple equation: Players roll an ATK roll + either an Athletics roll (for a driven shot, colloquially known as a blammer) or an Acrobatics roll (for a finesse shot).
Goalkeepers then roll 3 Acrobatics checks and discard the middle one, keeping the lowest and highest rolls. For every Defender between the Striker and the goal, Goalkeepers can add +1 to their roll, and for every 5ft square Strikers are from goal Goalkeepers can add +1, or +2 if the player shooting is in the Midfield zone. If the shooting player’s rolls are higher, they score. If the Goalkeeper’s rolls are higher, they save it, taking possession of the ball if they roll three or more higher than the shooting player. If the rolls are the same number (or the Goalkeeper’s roll is less than three higher), the ball bounces out 10ft into open play.
Tackling & Marking
Tackling players who are dribbling was covered above, and is simple enough - both players make Athletics checks. Tackling stationary players, ie those who have just received passes, works exactly the same way but tacklers get Advantage on their Athletics rolls. Man-marking is also present, and occurs automatically when an opposition player is within 5ft of a player receiving a pass or shooting. In this case, the passer or shooter will get -3 to their total roll score.
Movement & Turns
Rather than Initiative checks, the player in possession of the ball will always move first. They can dribble (during which time they may be dispossessed if they dribble within 5ft of an opposition player), and then pass or shoot. If they pass, the player who receives the ball will not be able to move until the next round. Instead, all other players can move, beginning with the team out of possession and going back and forth, in an order of the team’s own choosing.
They can either move to tackle, to block a potential pass or shot, track back, or create a passing opportunity, but cannot dispossess their own teammate. They may also choose to hold their position. Once all of these moves have been completed, if the original pass receiver still has the ball, the turn resets and follows the same pattern. If they are ever dispossessed, the turns reset and the player with the ball will make their move.
If the player receiving a pass decides to pass again or shoot immediately, this will occur before any other movements but all rolls will be with Disadvantage. If the dribbler decides to shoot, they will do this without any other turns occurring, but opposition players within 5ft of the ball’s intended path can use a Reaction to attempt to block the shot, which will take -1 away from the shooting player’s roll.
Finally, if any player moves for three consecutive turns, they will need to make a +12 CON Saving Throw or will be too tired (not Exhausted, which will not feature) and will be unable to move until the next turn. A Saving Throw is not required the second time.
And that’s football. It’s definitely a more involved ruleset, but if you’re looking to add The World’s Game to The World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, I couldn’t find a version that made it feel like actual football and not just adding some football aesthetics or adapting something that was very obviously not football with a little bit of flavour text. If anyone else searched the internet for a ruleset on adding football into D&D as much as I did, I hope I’ve at least provided you with a comprehensive guide for them to adapt.
Next:Baldur’s Gate 3’s Bear Romance Feels Childish And Purile
