Mini-Game: Beetle Wrestling

 I like festivals and mini-games in RPGs. They're a fun way to have a change of pace, add character to down-time activities, and introduce another mechanical way to interact with the game world in a non-violent way. They also add character to a setting by showing what these people do for fun.

A good mini-game should I think be 1) pretty short to play, 2) simpler than the main game, and 3) create opportunities for further engagement in the main game. After all, if it's too long or complex, you might as well play a board or card game that night instead of an RPG (or perhaps Labyrinth: the Adventure Game, which is basically a collection of little puzzles and party games with an RPG as a frame narrative). 

So: Beetle Wrestling. Adapted from Brian's Grub-Tumbling over at Goatman's Goblet, it's meant to encourage exploration as players scour the dungeon and wilderness for rare bugs to sell, breed, or battle with against local beetle enthusiasts.

Grub-Tumbling

As a mini-game for gambling purposes, the system is rather simple. Beetles have a Strength score, represented as a pool of dice. Some bugs also have Size or Quality modifiers. When two bugs have a tumble, the pool of dice are rolled and any modifiers are applied to the total. Whoever has the highest sum wins. The payout rate is the difference between dice pools and bonuses to one. So if a beetle with 3d6+2 is pitted against a beetle with 2d6, the payout would be 1-to-3, with the weaker bug paying out 3 times the amount gambled.

Finding Bugs

While in a dungeon or wilderness, you can spend some time searching for beetles. Systems vary in how they represent searching and how they track time - in 5e this is probably a Search check of moderate DC, while in B/X you might roll-under Wisdom or use the procedure for spotting secret doors. For tracking time I would use one exploration turn in a dungeon and one "watch" when outdoors.

If you find a beetle, roll 1d4, stepping up the die size for each level of dungeon depth (so 1d4 on the first floor, 1d6 on the second floor, etc). You'll have to approximate this for wilderness areas, but it should be relatively easy to do, based on the encounter table for the region. The deeper into the dungeon or further away from town, the more magical and/or dangerous the area, the better the bugs.

Dungeon Beetles

1. White Ringmouth: 1d6
2. Poolblind Stirker: 1d6
3. Chirping Cavegrig: 1d6
4. Peddler's Lantern-Beetle: 2d4
5. Penny Coinbug: 2d6
6. Precious Stonebeetle: 2d6
7. Sovereign Coinbug: 3d6
8. Pink-Eyed Staghorn: 3d6
9. Blue Zudokorn: 3d6
10. Pearl Centipede: 4d6
11. Jeweled Amulet-Beetle: 4d6
12. Nightmare Imago: 5d6

Forest Beetles

1. Tumbling Bumbo: 1d6
2. Trundling Hedgebug: 1d6
3. Hissing Elkhorn: 1d6
4. Brown Kuwago: 1d8
5. Peddler's Lantern-Beetle: 2d4
6. Cat's-Eye Woodworm: 2d6
7. Gurning Briarmouth: 2d6
8. Jade Spickleback: 2d6
9. Crosshorn Mugger: 2d8
10. King Horncap: 3d6
11. Greater Staghorn: 3d6
12. Crimson Plousehorn: 4d4

Field Beetles

1. Tumbling Bumbo: 1d6
2. Trundling Hedgebug: 1d6
3. Oilback Barrowbeetle: 1d6
4. Brown Kuwago: 1d8
5. Burrowing Bumbo: 2d4
6. Yellow Mugger: 1d10
7. Lucky-Star Ladybird: 1d12
8. Spotted Kuno: 2d6
9. King Horncap: 3d4
10. Blue Zudokorn: 3d6
11. Fighting Heracross: 3d8
12. Sparkling Fireblum: 4d6

Swamp Beetles

1. Tumbling Bumbo: 1d6
2. White Ringmouth: 1d6
3. Hissing Elkhorn: 1d6
4. Brown Kuwago: 1d6
5. Bogsap Pigbeetle: 1d6 + 1d4
6. Common Frogeater: 2d6
7. Spotted Kuno: 2d6
8. Speckled Wormspittle: 2d6
9. Bootling Pikebug: 2d8
10. Screeching Hornswattle: 3d6
11. Blue Zudokorn: 3d6
12. False Basil-Hen: 4d6

Beetle Traits

Roll 2d6 for each to determine a beetle's Size and Temperament.

Size: 2d6

2. Tiny: -2

3-5. Small: -1

6-8. Average: +0

9-11. Large: +1

12. Gold: +3

Temperament: 2d6

2. Timid: Roll one extra dice & drop highest

3-5. Sluggish: -1

6-8. Surly: +0

9-11. Aggressive: +1d3

12. Ferocious: +1d4

Beetle Breeding

Average the sum of the parents' Size scores +1. Do the same for Temperament. The name of the new beetle is determined by [father's adjective] [mother's species]. For example, a Crimson Plousehorn sired to a Blue Zudokorn yields a Crimson Zudokorn

Selling Beetles

Roll the beetle's combat dice (CD), modified by Size and Temperament, to determine the sales price of any given bug on the beetle market.

Beetles 1-4 sell for [CD + modifiers]

Beetles 5-8 sell for [CD + modifiers] x10

Beetles 9-12 sell for [CD + modifiers] x100

Thus a Tumbling Bumbo of average Size and Temperament would sell for 1d6, while a large, ferocious Sparkling Fireblum would sell for [4d6+1+1d4] x100.