BECMI High-level Monk rules recycled as Martial Arts Tournaments
by Marc SaindonOne of the old BECMI rules (RC, p.31), is that once you get to level 9, you have to find one of the 7 people that has level 10 and challenge him in personal combat to take his place as level holder (he drops down to 9, you gain level 10). For the next levels, you have to beat one of the 7 available higher-ups, until you reach level 16, when only 3 grand masters are available to challenge. Gaining level 16 would be quite the crowning moment of awesome, but however other Classes (besides the RC Druid) don't have that constraint. I wouldn't advise going back to that BECMI rule, but some relics of that rule should be incorporated in-game as a series of Ochalean martial arts tournaments, with winning the Grand Championship being a potential Trial to reach Immortality (like Ierendi's contest of heroes). Lesser Tournaments would count for eligibility to the final challenge (which should be held anywhere from every 4 years to once per decade).
Tournaments, as gambling opportunities, could give the Rogues something to do, to make these events less of a spectator sports for other PCs who aren't participating Mystics/Monks. Clerics could work as healers between matches.
Ochalea would be the focal point of the major tournaments, but as martial arts spread out and other cultures join in, you could have representatives from (the expected) Sind, Yasuko, but also eventually the Northern Reaches (Glima wrestlers), Nouvelle Averoigne (Savate schools) and other exotic styles, maybe creating a sort of "Mystara Street Fighter" campaign.
(Image from: https://www.deviantart.com/atheistoutcast/art/Martial-Arts-Cat-Tournament-987203822)