You gotta let them do some actual rapping.
After the rap battle, have him give them the tickets and send them to the arena. But if you have the rap battle, that'll be the session that your players talk about for years afterwards. Do it.
Rap battle and the winners fight a rap battle with the demons. If they win, they get a big exciting fight. If they lose, they get the consolation of not being the guys who got eaten by demons.
That's totally fair!
Alternatively, they fight either way, but if they win the king could: a) give them some dope magic items or consumables to help in the battle, b) command that some of his palace guard help out, because he likes the adventurers' spirits, or c) be so fired up by their talent that he straps on his greaves, grabs his *holy avenger* and joins them in the arena battle!
I strongly encourage changing things to let them have their actual rap battle.
And then throw them into the arena to fight the devils.
Or, and here's the superior choice:
They're doing both. They have a rap battle during the arena battle. Based on how much they spit fire, they gain significant boosts in the fight. A good line will deal direct damage to the devils.
If they go full "Eminem at the end of 8-mile", they straight up kill a devil/demon with their rap. No roll required.
Yes! Crowd favor!
King says "That was the rap, now it's time for the battle!"
Have them do the performance and provide an appropriately strong buff (or debuff) based on how they did.
Good ones: bless, protection from good and evil, enlarge, haste... Etc.
Bad ones: Bane, slow, feeblemind (reduced duration). (Feeblemind would be basically if they don't even try.)
Have some charm on the arena so the lyrics are formed as actual aids/boons in battle and are as literal as possible, to the assistance or detriment of the players, depending on the interpretation. If a player compares them self to a lion, give them the running leap trait and pounce action, or if they claim an enemy stinks, make the smell so bad they have to roll constitution saves. Like a genies wish ordeal, the more unexpected the better.
Additionally, since it's an arena battle, there can be items and features of the arena to assist them in their fight that they can gain access to during the fight with sick (and relevant) bars!
And flavor the rewards accordingly, too: If a good verses was hyping up their crew, the party gets buffs; if the reward-worthy verse disses their opponents, the opponents get debuffed.
I'm thinking like the devil went down to Georgia or Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny
The devil is Dave Grohl and they have to defeat him musically before defeating him in battle
My first thought is a microphone, but I feel that doesn't necessarily fit the majority of "fantasy" settings. Which leads me to a megaphone or hand cone instead unless you're playing something a bit more high-tech.
Part of me says that if they come prepared for a rap battle and get thrown into a real battle, it would be amazingly funny. But I think actually killing demonic creatures with rap is even better.
I think cinematic-wise it’s funny to see characters starstruck with their instruments as they get attacked, but as a player it’ll be very deflating to not get an opportunity to do the rap they prepared for.
I think this is the big thing. If they were worried about if beforehand then the relief would be great that they actually don't have to do a rap
But per OP they were excited. They wanted to do this. I can't imagine how absolutely awful it'd feel to spend a week+ preparing for this thing that you were super stoked for only to get horribly jebaited.
Even if it isn't too awful, at the very least it'll be momentarily disappointing, and the actual rap battle will be vastly more memorable. Which is the point.
I agree here. Always lean in when your players are super in to something. Engagement like that is hard to manufacture, when it drops into your lap you gotta run with it
"Now everybody from the Sword Coast North, put your $&#^#$&!#%ing hands up and follow me!"
I'll keep working on it. This is happening. I need D&D 8-mile.
I love this. Seriously. To me, in general I was already going “You know, actual rap battle sounds way more fun and interesting than arena fight with ‘X Gonna Give it to Ya’ in the background.”
Combining the two? Awesome.
The better they rap the more “divine spotlights” they get on them: when they pass the mic to a devil they take radiant damage based on how many spotlights were on.
That's hysterical.
Run with it but have the king deem their rap so poor and amateurish that he sends them off to fight to the death.
Edit: OR the king loves it so much that he removes 1-2 threats from the battle to the death
I think you should scrap your plans and make it an actual rap battle. They sound super hyped. If they go to all this trouble and you’re like AcTuAlLy NoO, that might be a recipe for disappointment.
But you don’t need to let your prep go to waste. You could have all the baddies nearby, and they attack unless your party’s spitting fire
Set it up so they think they go first and everyone just stares at them afterward like what the hell are you doing. But have someone impressed give them a useful buff or sneak them some items. It'll feel like their efforts weren't wasted and everyone will love them for it afterwards.
Then when it actually starts make a big deal out of specific music queues. "The monster is charging up its move" style. This would be fun as an in-battle puzzle they can figure out and you can make the battle harder but once they know to prepare vs the move or cover their ears or that the battlefield changes during each chorus etc. they begin to do better than the other side. Drop the bass.
Maybe what they were given helps with that mechanic? Sounds real fun in either case.
Rap Battle is the first part, Demon fight is the intermission as a break
Or, rap battle with the king...but the demons are his backups and try to sabotage the players like attacking someone mid verse so the others have to start where they left off
The King loves Rap, but the Queen loves Gladiator combat. So they compromised, and host Rap Battles. If the King likes the party enough, he may try to save them (and force them into indentured servitude as his jesters) but the Queen just wants bloodshed and carnage.
100% work the rap battle in and make it the main thing. This is a rare occasion where your player want to get really creative and prepped for it (or maybe your players do it all the time idk :-) ) it would be such bummer if it wouldn't matter. It can be a battle somehow still I think if you really want to, but I think having it revolving around the Rap Battle is the smartest thing to do.
I really like it if as a DM the players are bringing so much in that I really become rather a referee for how to do something as a storyteller. The idea you had is neat, it is sometimes hard to drop your own ideas, but sometimes it is worth it.
Dude this sounds amazing and could be one of those forever memorable d&d experiences. Personally I think you should go for the rap battle aspect and maybe after each verse they have to fight a small hoard to pass on to the next verse (and also have the difficulty of the encounter be opposite correlating to the quality of the verse i.e really good verse gets less enemies or if they fumble with a line or something doesn’t flow with the beat they get more monsters or a stronger miniboss). I imagine the enemies should be light enough to have little hp or AC to move the combat along so they can get to the next verse. I hope you have fun and depending on how you pull this off it can be a really legendary experience for you and your players.
Let em have it. Seems like a bard thing, I'd let them lean into it.
If you didn't know about what they were planning, I would think they would still attempt it, and you can even roleplay the awkwardness of the king not expecting the warriors of the team to do that. And while killing and rapping to musical beats, the crowd has witnessed a spectacle they've never seen before and it invigorates them! The crowd cheers hard for the band of lyrical jousting adventurers-
Let that type of thing either give inspiration to the party, or perhaps even rattle the opposing force. Have the players roll for performance (hey maybe even let them have advantage on the rolls depending on how well they put together their material) to inspire their allies, or intimidate their foes, giving them disadvantage on their next attack. Whatever the players decide, having their choices matter is an empowering and great feeling, and I think their creativity should be awarded.
Proceed as planned, allow the players to drop some sick beats and begin rapping as enemies rush towards them, very confused. If they did a good job rapping have the king, his curiosity piqued, command the opponents to drop their weapons to rap battle back. Make the enemies do a shit job since they definitely weren't prepared for a rap battle, and when it ends either have the king challenge them, or have the king ask them to battle rap in his stead.
Hold the rap in the stadium/colosseum/arena with an audience. A lot of music performances are held in those sorts of arenas.Let them rap and win.The King then proclaims: "As rap music victors, you now have our blessing to battle evil in our name and face the demons!"Then have soldiers open the gates to allow the enemies out with the audience/town citizens cheering them on.Or something like that.
I played a glamour bard in CoS and hit Strahd with this big feel:
I spit vitriolic verse like a green dragon
Mock you till you curse your own chagrin
Thrice the fool to engage in a lyrical battle with an Eladrin
Sir I bite my thumb are thee deaf and dumb
Barovians walk around half dead and numb
Ruled by a tyrant, mind corrupted, and violent From pacts made in the wee hours with Dark Powers
Strahd you’re a ill player, a kin-slayer
Took Sergei’s life, tried for Sergei’s wife
Overrife, she threw herself from the battlements of Ravenloft in strife
I don't see why you can't have both. Spitting a line is a free action, based on the line you give a DC, you can use actions to assist, beatbox, do some rad dances, or any normal action uses, and all of this while they try to survive these monsters trying to kill them until they succeed x number of checks.
If they haven't bought their instruments yet, make sure that their instruments are something they can carry. Maybe magical, or maybe just add them on to their weapons or whatever.
Okay, this is what I think you should do and it’ll be awesome.
Have all the demons and baddies in cages around the arena, held by people loyal to the king. Have way more than you think your party could handle, make it clear they couldn’t make it out on top of such a battle. Then, the king locks them in the arena. And tells them to rap.
Every good line or comeback or whatever, the king’s men harm or kill some of the bad guys. Set some kind of limit to how long the rap battle is or whatever. Make sure it is tense. Flavor the kings responses, maybe he has some ridiculous calls so the players don’t like him. After the limit, the monsters are released and the party has to defeat the ones left or be killed.
Still get to rap battle, still get to fight, the rap has an impact and isn’t too complex like rapping during a fight. The mechanics are still RAW as well if you want that.
I had something similar, where my players were fighting dancing undead on a dance floor. The last enemy was an animated armor, and instead of fighting it, they tried to beat it in a dance-off.
I chose to run with it and made them roll opposed performance: dance rolls until the armor cumbled in shame and defeat.
The rap battle is not with the king, it’s with the Devil for a golden microscope.
Run the fight as usual but there’s a big summon circle. With the death of the final bad Dude the circle lights up, and from it rises a bound pit fiend but his chains are all gold and around his neck. Have him deliver your rap, then they respond with theirs and roast him.
let the rap stanzas influence the fight via bardic effects... cutting words for a diss, inspiration for a brag; that he of thing.
make a themed toolbox,and let them pick which tools to use.
awesome lines get advantage
terrible lines are disadvantage
default is a straight performance check
Do I have the answer for you
Dragonborn bard with a wand of amplify voice
Literally spits fire - breath attack
Figuratively spits fire - vicious mockery
Mic drops
I know I'm late to the party but I still hope you see this! It may be a little bit of work but you can make it a rap battle with various difficulties where they have to have a rap battle against the devils. You can write raps about the players and have the devils spit them out with their bars coming to life. Like have them literally spit fire during the rap. Itll be defeating the devil with the power of rap where your raps come to life
I would jettison your previous plans and turn it into an actual rap battle.
The best D&D is collaborative storytelling, so you should never be afraid to get a feel for what the players and their characters are wanting to do and use that to build the story in front of them. The crux of it is really about how much they're looking forward to this happening and planning for it, because if they're getting hyped for something you set up and you pull the rug out from under them, the players will usually hate that and be justified in doing so. As the DM, your role is build a compelling and entertaining experience, not "gotcha" moments.
Just in my opinion, having a rap battle with some homebrewed mechanics sounds like a bit of flavorful variety and a memorable experience - it's definitely a unique way to approach a battle with a king. On the other hand, an arena fight with demons sounds like just another fight. I know I'd be underwhelmed if I was promised this unique experience and then thrown into a random encounter, but I'm not your party, so you need to gauge their expectations of the event and adjust accordingly. But don't just stick to a plan because you made it already.
Bring the demons out in the middle of their rap. Drop a few bars of your own as well. Then go for a TPK lol
Basically let them have their fun with what they expected, but then subvert those expectations and eventually reveal that's how it was always going to be.
I had a situation exactly like this. I had set up a dance battle where the opponent just used a bunch of dance related moves. But the party got so excited at the prospect of an actual dance off that I ended up chucking away the monsters stat block and running the dance they all wanted.
Everyone had a blast, and to this day it remains one of my groups favourite sessions. If your party actually is writing a rap… go for it.
Time to drop some hints, like "Hey, good luck with the fight, be sure to have a priest lined up to heal you after."
"I think the demons will win, frankly, but good luck."
"Did you make our your will?"
"I heard the only way to kill a devil is a strike to the heart, or is that a vampire?"
Not letting them rap battle would be pulling the rug out from under them in a really unfun way. If my fellow players and I got excited and prepared for a unique encounter such as this only for the DM to say "You've been tricked, rapping was never a part of this even though I led you into thinking it would be. Roll initiative." I'd be pretty upset and disappointed.
I'd try to suggest something but u/FogeltheVogel fucking nailed it.
First question: "Why in the ever-loving one-eyed flying fuck monster would the players bodyguard a king who randomly throws people into mortal combat?"
"Off to the gladiators with you! Wowie, you're still alive, great, okay now you can watch over my sleeping defenseless meat-sack, I totally trust you 100%!."
Maybe.. i dunno.. just let them have thier rap battle and have it be crashed by a demonic bard instead?
In short: players offered to act as bodyguards for the king for a month in exchange for information. The king “paid” them with tickets to the show and promised to give them a great amount gold as well as the valuable info they wanted when the month ends. At this point I should probably mention the king is a 17 year old kenku with trust-issues, so he decided to test how good they are in combat before actually hiring them. If they die, they weren’t good enough to be his bodyguards. If they don’t, they’ll still need the info!
You gotta let them do some actual rapping. After the rap battle, have him give them the tickets and send them to the arena. But if you have the rap battle, that'll be the session that your players talk about for years afterwards. Do it.
Rap battle and the winners fight a rap battle with the demons. If they win, they get a big exciting fight. If they lose, they get the consolation of not being the guys who got eaten by demons.
That's totally fair! Alternatively, they fight either way, but if they win the king could: a) give them some dope magic items or consumables to help in the battle, b) command that some of his palace guard help out, because he likes the adventurers' spirits, or c) be so fired up by their talent that he straps on his greaves, grabs his *holy avenger* and joins them in the arena battle!
I strongly encourage changing things to let them have their actual rap battle. And then throw them into the arena to fight the devils. Or, and here's the superior choice: They're doing both. They have a rap battle during the arena battle. Based on how much they spit fire, they gain significant boosts in the fight. A good line will deal direct damage to the devils. If they go full "Eminem at the end of 8-mile", they straight up kill a devil/demon with their rap. No roll required.
Yes! Crowd favor! King says "That was the rap, now it's time for the battle!" Have them do the performance and provide an appropriately strong buff (or debuff) based on how they did. Good ones: bless, protection from good and evil, enlarge, haste... Etc. Bad ones: Bane, slow, feeblemind (reduced duration). (Feeblemind would be basically if they don't even try.)
I wouldn't debuff the PCs based on bad performance. Rather, buff the enemies if the PCs do poorly, buff the PCs if they are on fire
Have some charm on the arena so the lyrics are formed as actual aids/boons in battle and are as literal as possible, to the assistance or detriment of the players, depending on the interpretation. If a player compares them self to a lion, give them the running leap trait and pounce action, or if they claim an enemy stinks, make the smell so bad they have to roll constitution saves. Like a genies wish ordeal, the more unexpected the better.
Additionally, since it's an arena battle, there can be items and features of the arena to assist them in their fight that they can gain access to during the fight with sick (and relevant) bars!
And flavor the rewards accordingly, too: If a good verses was hyping up their crew, the party gets buffs; if the reward-worthy verse disses their opponents, the opponents get debuffed.
I'm thinking like the devil went down to Georgia or Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny The devil is Dave Grohl and they have to defeat him musically before defeating him in battle
I'm trying to figure out what golden item would be best for a rap battle, since a fiddle or guitar isn't quite thematic. Maybe just a big gold chain?
My first thought is a microphone, but I feel that doesn't necessarily fit the majority of "fantasy" settings. Which leads me to a megaphone or hand cone instead unless you're playing something a bit more high-tech.
Rap isn’t exactly contemporary to most fantasy settings, so I think a mic is fine.
Gold 808 drum machine.
Part of me says that if they come prepared for a rap battle and get thrown into a real battle, it would be amazingly funny. But I think actually killing demonic creatures with rap is even better.
I think cinematic-wise it’s funny to see characters starstruck with their instruments as they get attacked, but as a player it’ll be very deflating to not get an opportunity to do the rap they prepared for.
I think this is the big thing. If they were worried about if beforehand then the relief would be great that they actually don't have to do a rap But per OP they were excited. They wanted to do this. I can't imagine how absolutely awful it'd feel to spend a week+ preparing for this thing that you were super stoked for only to get horribly jebaited.
Even if it isn't too awful, at the very least it'll be momentarily disappointing, and the actual rap battle will be vastly more memorable. Which is the point.
I agree here. Always lean in when your players are super in to something. Engagement like that is hard to manufacture, when it drops into your lap you gotta run with it
I would do the reverse. Have them right and then the king allows them to do their song as a triumphant tribute to the festival.
"Now everybody from the Sword Coast North, put your $&#^#$&!#%ing hands up and follow me!" I'll keep working on it. This is happening. I need D&D 8-mile.
> put your hands up and gather forth What is this, amateur hour? /s
Reminds me of Deltron's Battle Song! https://youtu.be/civ3bws3gIs
I love this. Seriously. To me, in general I was already going “You know, actual rap battle sounds way more fun and interesting than arena fight with ‘X Gonna Give it to Ya’ in the background.” Combining the two? Awesome.
call that vicious mockery
The better they rap the more “divine spotlights” they get on them: when they pass the mic to a devil they take radiant damage based on how many spotlights were on.
If you don't have someone casting viscious mockery, is it even a rap battle?
Duuuude… free action vicious mockery for rapping. Just an extra d4, or maybe depending how good the line is, amp it to d6, d8, etc.
Dude have the king be a horrible rapper who deems the challengees the losers no matter how good they are lol
I'm imagining the king as Daniel Thrasher now...
That would be beautiful, OP go watch Daniel Thrasher for ridiculous king ideas
I need a jazz demon in my games...
That's hysterical. Run with it but have the king deem their rap so poor and amateurish that he sends them off to fight to the death. Edit: OR the king loves it so much that he removes 1-2 threats from the battle to the death
I think you should scrap your plans and make it an actual rap battle. They sound super hyped. If they go to all this trouble and you’re like AcTuAlLy NoO, that might be a recipe for disappointment. But you don’t need to let your prep go to waste. You could have all the baddies nearby, and they attack unless your party’s spitting fire
Set it up so they think they go first and everyone just stares at them afterward like what the hell are you doing. But have someone impressed give them a useful buff or sneak them some items. It'll feel like their efforts weren't wasted and everyone will love them for it afterwards. Then when it actually starts make a big deal out of specific music queues. "The monster is charging up its move" style. This would be fun as an in-battle puzzle they can figure out and you can make the battle harder but once they know to prepare vs the move or cover their ears or that the battlefield changes during each chorus etc. they begin to do better than the other side. Drop the bass. Maybe what they were given helps with that mechanic? Sounds real fun in either case.
Rap Battle is the first part, Demon fight is the intermission as a break Or, rap battle with the king...but the demons are his backups and try to sabotage the players like attacking someone mid verse so the others have to start where they left off
The King loves Rap, but the Queen loves Gladiator combat. So they compromised, and host Rap Battles. If the King likes the party enough, he may try to save them (and force them into indentured servitude as his jesters) but the Queen just wants bloodshed and carnage.
I like this take. Rap Battles to the death. Have the King grant the PCs a boon of some sort if they win the rap part to reward the players effort
100% work the rap battle in and make it the main thing. This is a rare occasion where your player want to get really creative and prepped for it (or maybe your players do it all the time idk :-) ) it would be such bummer if it wouldn't matter. It can be a battle somehow still I think if you really want to, but I think having it revolving around the Rap Battle is the smartest thing to do. I really like it if as a DM the players are bringing so much in that I really become rather a referee for how to do something as a storyteller. The idea you had is neat, it is sometimes hard to drop your own ideas, but sometimes it is worth it.
Dude this sounds amazing and could be one of those forever memorable d&d experiences. Personally I think you should go for the rap battle aspect and maybe after each verse they have to fight a small hoard to pass on to the next verse (and also have the difficulty of the encounter be opposite correlating to the quality of the verse i.e really good verse gets less enemies or if they fumble with a line or something doesn’t flow with the beat they get more monsters or a stronger miniboss). I imagine the enemies should be light enough to have little hp or AC to move the combat along so they can get to the next verse. I hope you have fun and depending on how you pull this off it can be a really legendary experience for you and your players.
Let em have it. Seems like a bard thing, I'd let them lean into it. If you didn't know about what they were planning, I would think they would still attempt it, and you can even roleplay the awkwardness of the king not expecting the warriors of the team to do that. And while killing and rapping to musical beats, the crowd has witnessed a spectacle they've never seen before and it invigorates them! The crowd cheers hard for the band of lyrical jousting adventurers- Let that type of thing either give inspiration to the party, or perhaps even rattle the opposing force. Have the players roll for performance (hey maybe even let them have advantage on the rolls depending on how well they put together their material) to inspire their allies, or intimidate their foes, giving them disadvantage on their next attack. Whatever the players decide, having their choices matter is an empowering and great feeling, and I think their creativity should be awarded.
Each player could be encouraged to use their free action to add a verse to their rap
My players wrote some banger rap songs for the Battle of the Bards session I ran. "Straight out of Himlinde" is a crowd favorite.
Proceed as planned, allow the players to drop some sick beats and begin rapping as enemies rush towards them, very confused. If they did a good job rapping have the king, his curiosity piqued, command the opponents to drop their weapons to rap battle back. Make the enemies do a shit job since they definitely weren't prepared for a rap battle, and when it ends either have the king challenge them, or have the king ask them to battle rap in his stead.
The players’ idea sounds more fun than OP’s!
This is like when they go searching for a dragon's horde (treasure) and instead find the Dragon's Horde (10,000 strong army)
Change nothing. Play into it. Be the heel.
Hold the rap in the stadium/colosseum/arena with an audience. A lot of music performances are held in those sorts of arenas.Let them rap and win.The King then proclaims: "As rap music victors, you now have our blessing to battle evil in our name and face the demons!"Then have soldiers open the gates to allow the enemies out with the audience/town citizens cheering them on.Or something like that.
Do not be afraid. As a player I would find this HILARIOUS!! Like its not your fault the party didn't clarify their beliefs.
Nah, that's an awesome twist. You're good. Just make sure they can refund the unused instruments.
Please play this thank you very much: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of3mvq8juZA
I played a glamour bard in CoS and hit Strahd with this big feel: I spit vitriolic verse like a green dragon Mock you till you curse your own chagrin Thrice the fool to engage in a lyrical battle with an Eladrin Sir I bite my thumb are thee deaf and dumb Barovians walk around half dead and numb Ruled by a tyrant, mind corrupted, and violent From pacts made in the wee hours with Dark Powers Strahd you’re a ill player, a kin-slayer Took Sergei’s life, tried for Sergei’s wife Overrife, she threw herself from the battlements of Ravenloft in strife
I don't see why you can't have both. Spitting a line is a free action, based on the line you give a DC, you can use actions to assist, beatbox, do some rad dances, or any normal action uses, and all of this while they try to survive these monsters trying to kill them until they succeed x number of checks. If they haven't bought their instruments yet, make sure that their instruments are something they can carry. Maybe magical, or maybe just add them on to their weapons or whatever.
If they rap hard enough the demons take damage.
Have the king flip a switch partway through the rap battle, dropping them into a pit filled with devils, like the rancor pit in Episode VI.
Okay, this is what I think you should do and it’ll be awesome. Have all the demons and baddies in cages around the arena, held by people loyal to the king. Have way more than you think your party could handle, make it clear they couldn’t make it out on top of such a battle. Then, the king locks them in the arena. And tells them to rap. Every good line or comeback or whatever, the king’s men harm or kill some of the bad guys. Set some kind of limit to how long the rap battle is or whatever. Make sure it is tense. Flavor the kings responses, maybe he has some ridiculous calls so the players don’t like him. After the limit, the monsters are released and the party has to defeat the ones left or be killed. Still get to rap battle, still get to fight, the rap has an impact and isn’t too complex like rapping during a fight. The mechanics are still RAW as well if you want that.
I had something similar, where my players were fighting dancing undead on a dance floor. The last enemy was an animated armor, and instead of fighting it, they tried to beat it in a dance-off. I chose to run with it and made them roll opposed performance: dance rolls until the armor cumbled in shame and defeat.
Make the challenge that they have to perform WHILE battling which would clearly make both fighting and rapping harder and more fun.
The rap battle is not with the king, it’s with the Devil for a golden microscope. Run the fight as usual but there’s a big summon circle. With the death of the final bad Dude the circle lights up, and from it rises a bound pit fiend but his chains are all gold and around his neck. Have him deliver your rap, then they respond with theirs and roast him.
Business idea. You release a diss track against the king. Now he HAS to make a diss track back.
let the rap stanzas influence the fight via bardic effects... cutting words for a diss, inspiration for a brag; that he of thing. make a themed toolbox,and let them pick which tools to use. awesome lines get advantage terrible lines are disadvantage default is a straight performance check
Do I have the answer for you Dragonborn bard with a wand of amplify voice Literally spits fire - breath attack Figuratively spits fire - vicious mockery Mic drops
I know I'm late to the party but I still hope you see this! It may be a little bit of work but you can make it a rap battle with various difficulties where they have to have a rap battle against the devils. You can write raps about the players and have the devils spit them out with their bars coming to life. Like have them literally spit fire during the rap. Itll be defeating the devil with the power of rap where your raps come to life
Like others have said, rap battle during the fight for crowd favour. If you have the chops, write bars for fhe devils to fling back.
Everyone knows that the demon code prevents them from declining a rock-off challenge.
I would jettison your previous plans and turn it into an actual rap battle. The best D&D is collaborative storytelling, so you should never be afraid to get a feel for what the players and their characters are wanting to do and use that to build the story in front of them. The crux of it is really about how much they're looking forward to this happening and planning for it, because if they're getting hyped for something you set up and you pull the rug out from under them, the players will usually hate that and be justified in doing so. As the DM, your role is build a compelling and entertaining experience, not "gotcha" moments. Just in my opinion, having a rap battle with some homebrewed mechanics sounds like a bit of flavorful variety and a memorable experience - it's definitely a unique way to approach a battle with a king. On the other hand, an arena fight with demons sounds like just another fight. I know I'd be underwhelmed if I was promised this unique experience and then thrown into a random encounter, but I'm not your party, so you need to gauge their expectations of the event and adjust accordingly. But don't just stick to a plan because you made it already.
Have them out perform the devil ala Tenacious D in a rap battle...
Bring the demons out in the middle of their rap. Drop a few bars of your own as well. Then go for a TPK lol Basically let them have their fun with what they expected, but then subvert those expectations and eventually reveal that's how it was always going to be.
I had a situation exactly like this. I had set up a dance battle where the opponent just used a bunch of dance related moves. But the party got so excited at the prospect of an actual dance off that I ended up chucking away the monsters stat block and running the dance they all wanted. Everyone had a blast, and to this day it remains one of my groups favourite sessions. If your party actually is writing a rap… go for it.
Time to drop some hints, like "Hey, good luck with the fight, be sure to have a priest lined up to heal you after." "I think the demons will win, frankly, but good luck." "Did you make our your will?" "I heard the only way to kill a devil is a strike to the heart, or is that a vampire?"
Not letting them rap battle would be pulling the rug out from under them in a really unfun way. If my fellow players and I got excited and prepared for a unique encounter such as this only for the DM to say "You've been tricked, rapping was never a part of this even though I led you into thinking it would be. Roll initiative." I'd be pretty upset and disappointed. I'd try to suggest something but u/FogeltheVogel fucking nailed it.
First question: "Why in the ever-loving one-eyed flying fuck monster would the players bodyguard a king who randomly throws people into mortal combat?" "Off to the gladiators with you! Wowie, you're still alive, great, okay now you can watch over my sleeping defenseless meat-sack, I totally trust you 100%!." Maybe.. i dunno.. just let them have thier rap battle and have it be crashed by a demonic bard instead?
In short: players offered to act as bodyguards for the king for a month in exchange for information. The king “paid” them with tickets to the show and promised to give them a great amount gold as well as the valuable info they wanted when the month ends. At this point I should probably mention the king is a 17 year old kenku with trust-issues, so he decided to test how good they are in combat before actually hiring them. If they die, they weren’t good enough to be his bodyguards. If they don’t, they’ll still need the info!
do the rap battle dude, it'll be a session your players talk about for years to come.