BeyBlades for D&D - Revised

Turns out that my kids are into the whole “Beyblade” thing and the only thing the youngest one asked for this year for Christmas was a “Winning Valkyrie” Beyblade.  Aside from knowing that the game is basically a modernized version of battling tops and that there is a cartoon to promote the toy, I knew absolutely nothing about Beyblades up until this weekend.

As I watched the boys play with their new “Beys”, I found myself fascinated by their game and the way they talked about different types of strategies and customized builds for their tops. I gave some thought to a “BeyBlog” that would focus on different combinations of parts, the results of mini-tournaments, product reviews, and maybe a breakdown of individual episodes of the show (although how they managed to wring enough drama out of top-spinning to produce three seasons of the show with over 50 episodes per season confounds me entirely). Given the age of Beyblade’s target demographic I am currently shelving this idea. 

I started to wonder if there was a way to incorporate their hobby into my campaign. 

Turns out, yes there is. 

Beyblade is a battling top game where the goal is to either have your top’s spinning out last your opponent’s or to knock their top out of the ring. Several Eastern countries have traditional versions of this game, from Koma in China, Beigama in Japan, and Gasing Pangkah in Malay. This traditional version of the game could easily be adapted into any of the “Eastern” campaign settings like Kara-Tur or Rokugan.

Beigoma (which I am choosing because there was more about it on the internet than the other two versions of the game) was originally played with spiraled seashells that were filled with sand and sealed with wax. A string would be wrapped around the shell and, when pulled, this string would get the shell spinning. Lead and cast metal would eventually replace the seashells but the rules for the game remained pretty much unchanged. Beigoma can only be used on a hard surface (stone or wood preferred) although the top of a drum is often used as a “ring” as well. 

As a toy, a Beigoma has three statistics: Attack, Defense, and Stability.  The player customizes his beigoma by dividing six points between the attributes (minimum of 1 in each category). The highest attribute score determines the "class" of Beigoma (i.e., high Attack equals Attack type, high Defense equals Defense type, high Stability equals Stability type). A Beigoma with all equal stats is considered "Balanced".

Points are earned by knocking down your opponent’s top (1 point), knocking their top out of the ring (2 points), or simply by remaining spinning longer than your opponent (1 point).  

Beigoma matches are handled by rolling 1d20 + the beigoma’s best stat + ½ the character’s Dex modifier + a bonus based on the opponent’s beigoma (Defense types gain a +2 bonus vs Attack types, Attack types gain a +2 bonus vs Stability types, Stability types gain a +2 bonus vs Defense types. No Beigoma gains a bonus against Balanced types) with the highest result winning a match (if the higher score is double the lower score, the loser suffers a “ring out”). The first player to reach seven points is declared the winner of a match.

Some Beigoma, however, are enchanted as magic items that generate the effects of a 3rd level (or less) Abjuration spell while they spinning. These enchanted beigoma come in three varieties – minor, improved, and greater.  They are activated with a move action. They will spin for 1d4+1 rounds (1d4+2 for improved and 1d4+3 for greater) but the duration is halved on an uneven surface.  Common examples include a Beigoma of Protection from Evil, an Improved Beigoma of Protection from Arrows, or a Greater Beigoma of Wind Wall.  Personal range spells affect the user and area effect spells are centered on the top itself.

Note: After letting this sit for almost six years, I finally revised the Beigoma types to provide a game mechanic to reflect their differences. I would like to extend a thank you to the readers who left comments and made suggestions.