Games of Chance? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Games of Chance? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Uratoh
10-30-05, 03:06 PM Has anything been said on Games of Chance in Eberron? particularly Sharn...I'm debating setting up a casino as an adventure site for the PCs, and I need some details on what kinds of games might be found there.
Edymnion
10-30-05, 04:51 PM Yeah, there's a card game that seems to be a bit of a cross between poker and bridge, far as I can tell. It's name escapes me, but it has cards like the King of Fire, the Queen of Water, etc. Four suits, named after the elements instead of hearts and spades, more named "face" cards than a normal poker deck, etc.

Blast, I can't remember what it's name was...
Anyway, there's more stuff in the Sharn: City of Towers book.
blargney the second
10-30-05, 06:34 PM I have a d20 book that has a magic item that teaches a spell to somebody who bleeds on it. I'm contemplating giving the paladin/sorcerer an [Evil] spell like Cheat from Draconomicon.

And then include lots and lots of games of chance in the game. :D

-blarg
Kinger
10-30-05, 08:46 PM There's always the popular Droaamish game of "chance," Six Stones, which involves seven (generally unwilling) contestants and a cockatrice. :)

There's actually a casino in Sharn, in Dragoneyes, called Chance (of all things). Despite being a sophisticated casino, you can bet on almost anything under the sun through Chance. S:CoT gives seducing an Aerenal ambassador and surviving Tarkanen assassination attempts as examples. Plus, the doppelganger (named Chance) that runs the place happens to be one of highest level creatures in Sharn, having 14 class levels on top of being a dop. Granted, most of them are Adept, but that still makes him a very powerful person in Sharn.
zambuka
10-30-05, 11:10 PM Here is one I came up with a while ago that I call Three Fall, it may fit nicely with whatever you want.

Three fall is played with a set of three dice either 4 or 6 sided (4 sided makes for a faster game). 3 or 4 people usually play but you can have more.

Play is simple.
First the players agree on a buy in and put the money in the pot. They then decide on a roll-in that gets added as they go.

The first person rolls.
The next person rolls and must get higher than the previous person.
If they roll lower then they pay the roll-in to the pot (edit: and the dice are passed on ).
If they roll higher then the dice are passed on.
If you equal the previous player's roll you roll again.
If you roll a triple, or a Three Fall as the gamblers call it, you are out, yes even if you are the first roller.
In friendlier games if you can no longer pay the roll-in then you are out. More unscrupulous and serious gamblers don't allow this option.

Last man in gets the pot.

This is a fast paced game that can give very large winnings, it is purely a game of chance with little or no skill involved.

It also has the benefits that your players can actually play this game without worrying about complex rules.

Slight of hand: Inevitably a player will want to cheat and slight of hand is the best skill.
With a DC of 20 the player may tip one dice over by one face in any direction. DC 25 allows the player to tip 2 dice and DC 30 allows all three dice to be tipped. A spot roll versus the Slight of hand roll is needed to catch someone cheating.

Edit: Onlookers typically bet on the outcome on a roll by roll basis.
Thwyvylyn
10-31-05, 12:45 AM Dhakaani Roulette is a goblinoid-devised and thus an inherently dangerous game involving 5 bags of holding and a bag of devouring...
blargney the second
10-31-05, 03:10 PM Zambuka, that's great! I'm totally stealing that!
-blarg
zambuka
10-31-05, 09:27 PM It is quick and simple and very easy to learn.

It is suited to both backstreet gambling and casino gambling.

Variants:
Casino rules 1:
Players ante up their buy-in. Banker rolls first, his roll remains the same through the duration of the game.

Each roller must beat both the previous roller and the Banker's roll or pay the roll-in. The banker matches each roll-in.

The last man standing makes a final roll and must beat the banker and the previous man's roll. If he fails he loses and the casino gets the win. If he succeeds then he gets the pot.

Alley rules: (actually mostly played as an alternate in high stakes casino rooms without a dealer).

Each player rolls a single die and sets it. This die remains the same through the game.

You may not touch your dice until it is your turn.

If you roll double you have the option to set another one of your opponent's dice. To do so their existing set must have the same number as your double. You set one of their free dice to its current face.

You can make a double using one of your free dice and one of your set dice.

You may force a person into Three Fall using this method.

Game play is otherwise the same only you roll 2 or 1 dice depending on your circumstances and you make your total using the free dice and the set dice.
sagesai
10-31-05, 10:51 PM Edymnion the game is called the King of Fire.

Uratoh there is mention of a game called Zilargo darts and the rules I believe are in the 5 nations sourcebook.

Later,
Sagesai
Hellcow
10-31-05, 11:21 PM Edymnion the game is called the King of Fire.
Actually, it's called "Three Stones" (not to be confused with Six Stones); the King of Fire is simply the name of the casino. I have some general ideas about how it is played, but I haven't actually formalized rules. City of Towers also mentions a dice game called Sundown, but that's in the same situation - I'll make rules when I have a chance. And in "Death at Whitehearth" we hear that Jode is a gifted player of a card game called Twelves, which judging from his eventual winnings is apparently a game with variable stakes.
zambuka
10-31-05, 11:57 PM I have some general ideas about how it is played, but I haven't actually formalized rules.
Woot.. be looking forward to that.

Oh.. and the name Three Fall was what I called my game about 2 years before Eberron hit the shelves so please don't think I snurtched the naming idea ;)
Edymnion
11-01-05, 01:07 AM After reading Keith's post there, it got me thinking that I should actually start a thread with some of my ideas for Eberron card games and the like. This way, maybe we can help make a game or two for upcoming Eberron books maybe? :D

Making Eberron Games of Chance
Brastan
11-01-05, 04:54 PM I've considered using a Five suited poker deck using the Five Nations as the theme.
That Blasted Somoflange
11-01-05, 09:15 PM WotC is coming out with a non-collectible card game called three dragon ante or something like that, I know I'm looking into it.
Save-vs-DM
11-09-05, 07:58 AM Twelves: An Eberron Card Game

Note: Twelves was first mentioned in the novel City of Towers by Keith Baker.

The Deck
Twelves can be played with a standard deck of playing cards, without the jokers. In Eberron, the cards have a single small number and a representation of a different dragonmark. A standard deck of playing cards can be used to represent this.
Ace (One): Mark of Detection
Two: Mark of Finding
Three: Mark of Handling
Four: Mark of Healing
Five: Mark of Hospitality
Six: Mark of Making
Seven: Mark of Passage
Eight: Mark of Scribing
Nine: Mark of Sentinel
Ten: Mark of Shadow
Jack (Eleven): Mark of Storm
Queen (Twelve): Mark of Warding
King (Thirteen): Mark of Death

Objective
The objective of the game is to lay down all of your cards on the table in combinations that number twelve. For instance, you could lay down a five and a seven or a two, a four, and a six. Each time you lay down a twelve, you score twelve points. Most games are played to 144 points.

Gameplay
Each player is dealt a hand of seven cards and the rest of the deck is placed in the center of the table. Play proceeds clockwise starting with the player to the left of the dealer. During your turn you first draw a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile, then lay down as many twelves as you can, then discard a card to the discard pile. Gameplay ends when a player has laid all of his cards down on the table.

Scoring
Standard games are played to a total of 144 points. Laying down a twelve scores you 12 points. If you lay down a twelve that is all one suit (such as hearts (fires)), you instead score 24 points. If you manage to lay down all of your cards on your first turn, you score 48 bonus points.
When a player lays down all of his cards and goes out, all remaining players subtract the number of points they still have in their hand from their current score. If a player has a twelve in his hand he may lay it down to avoid loosing points, but does not score any points for that twelve. If a player has a thirteen in his hand when another player goes out, he looses an additional 13 points.

Betting on Twelves
Players can bet on twelves, generally laying down 12 coppers or silvers at the beginning of each hand of cards. The player who wins the round (scoring 144 points) gains the entire pot.

Cheers,
Save vs DM
kiddoc
11-09-05, 09:06 PM WotC is coming out with a non-collectible card game called three dragon ante or something like that, I know I'm looking into it.

I received an early copy of 3 Dragon Ante a couple of months ago, and did some playtesting with it. I wrote up an early preview of what the game is like. Of course, in my early games I played with the wrong victory condition, so take it with a grain of salt.

We currently use it as a tavern activity in my Eberron campaign, it's pretty fun.

Link below to the review.

http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9744
Durmald
11-11-05, 11:48 AM My players play and gamble (a lot) in a game that I named Three Kings, is a card game, but I used a different deck, with 6 suits: Wands, Moons, Swords, Shards, Beasts and Blood. Each suit has thirteen figures, the King or Queen, the Prince or Princes, the Mage, the Councillor, the Guildsman, the Knight, the Spy, the Troubadour, the Guard, the Apprentice, the Priest, the Beggar and the Traveller (that in each suit has his own name: the moon seaman, the wand voyager, the sword scout, the shard prospector, the beast stranger and the Blood ferryman like some special cards in the deck that have their own name as an example the blood spy is called the traitor, the Moon prince is called the Lamplighter and the sword councillor is called the Tax collector).

How to play Three Kings: take just six cards for each player, be sure that you picked the six kings (one for each suite), then shuffle the cards in some versions you use all the deck, but is much longer and you came to gamble so you will use only these.

The Objective of this game is to have three Kings of any suit, but with a twist.

The play order

Each player must pay for his hand (from 1 sp to 10 gp normally, the amount is set by the players).

Then deal 6 cards for each player

Now any player may pay for start the first round of the game, if no one pay to start the player in front of the dealer must start.

To star a round the starting player places one card face down in front of the right player (or the left making the round going to the left)

Then this player will take the card to his hand examine it and place any of his cards in front of the next right player, and so until the player that start the round ends the round by receiving a card.

At any moment a player can pay to take the card that some one left for the next player, taking this card and also making that all players between him and the player that place the card lost their turns in this round and must wait for the next one.

In a player turn, the player can leave the game or bet any amount forcing all the remaining players to pay his bet if a player reuses to pay the bet he must leave the game losing all the money bet in this game.

To leave the game a player must place his hands down (face up or down is a players choice).

When a round ends, any player can pay to start the next round or if any one pay the last player of the round before must start placing a card in front of the left or the right player and so and so...
When a player have three Kings of any suit, he can call out loud “Three Kings!”, then take all the money in the table but if any other player also haves the other three kings in his hand can call again “Three Kings” making the player with the first trio double the amount in the table for the next game.

When we played my players rolled a plane d20 to see how good their hands are, a 20 means 3 kings, a 19 or 18 2 kings, and a 17 or 16 just one king, then I rolled for the NPC in the play, then they can roll bluff or sense motive to try to know what is going in the play, the amount in the middle of the table raised to more than 200 gp. :D Fun

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uratoh 10-30-05, 03:06 PM	Has anything been said on Games of Chance in Eberron? particularly Sharn...I'm debating setting up a casino as an adventure site for the PCs, and I need some details on what kinds of games might be found there.
Edymnion 10-30-05, 04:51 PM	Yeah, there's a card game that seems to be a bit of a cross between poker and bridge, far as I can tell. It's name escapes me, but it has cards like the King of Fire, the Queen of Water, etc. Four suits, named after the elements instead of hearts and spades, more named "face" cards than a normal poker deck, etc. Blast, I can't remember what it's name was... Anyway, there's more stuff in the Sharn: City of Towers book.
blargney the second 10-30-05, 06:34 PM	I have a d20 book that has a magic item that teaches a spell to somebody who bleeds on it. I'm contemplating giving the paladin/sorcerer an [Evil] spell like Cheat from Draconomicon. And then include lots and lots of games of chance in the game. :D -blarg
Kinger 10-30-05, 08:46 PM	There's always the popular Droaamish game of "chance," Six Stones, which involves seven (generally unwilling) contestants and a cockatrice. :) There's actually a casino in Sharn, in Dragoneyes, called Chance (of all things). Despite being a sophisticated casino, you can bet on almost anything under the sun through Chance. S:CoT gives seducing an Aerenal ambassador and surviving Tarkanen assassination attempts as examples. Plus, the doppelganger (named Chance) that runs the place happens to be one of highest level creatures in Sharn, having 14 class levels on top of being a dop. Granted, most of them are Adept, but that still makes him a very powerful person in Sharn.
zambuka 10-30-05, 11:10 PM	Here is one I came up with a while ago that I call Three Fall, it may fit nicely with whatever you want. Three fall is played with a set of three dice either 4 or 6 sided (4 sided makes for a faster game). 3 or 4 people usually play but you can have more. Play is simple. First the players agree on a buy in and put the money in the pot. They then decide on a roll-in that gets added as they go. The first person rolls. The next person rolls and must get higher than the previous person. If they roll lower then they pay the roll-in to the pot (edit: and the dice are passed on ). If they roll higher then the dice are passed on. If you equal the previous player's roll you roll again. If you roll a triple, or a Three Fall as the gamblers call it, you are out, yes even if you are the first roller. In friendlier games if you can no longer pay the roll-in then you are out. More unscrupulous and serious gamblers don't allow this option. Last man in gets the pot. This is a fast paced game that can give very large winnings, it is purely a game of chance with little or no skill involved. It also has the benefits that your players can actually play this game without worrying about complex rules. Slight of hand: Inevitably a player will want to cheat and slight of hand is the best skill. With a DC of 20 the player may tip one dice over by one face in any direction. DC 25 allows the player to tip 2 dice and DC 30 allows all three dice to be tipped. A spot roll versus the Slight of hand roll is needed to catch someone cheating. Edit: Onlookers typically bet on the outcome on a roll by roll basis.
Thwyvylyn 10-31-05, 12:45 AM	Dhakaani Roulette is a goblinoid-devised and thus an inherently dangerous game involving 5 bags of holding and a bag of devouring...
blargney the second 10-31-05, 03:10 PM	Zambuka, that's great! I'm totally stealing that! -blarg
zambuka 10-31-05, 09:27 PM	It is quick and simple and very easy to learn. It is suited to both backstreet gambling and casino gambling. Variants: Casino rules 1: Players ante up their buy-in. Banker rolls first, his roll remains the same through the duration of the game. Each roller must beat both the previous roller and the Banker's roll or pay the roll-in. The banker matches each roll-in. The last man standing makes a final roll and must beat the banker and the previous man's roll. If he fails he loses and the casino gets the win. If he succeeds then he gets the pot. Alley rules: (actually mostly played as an alternate in high stakes casino rooms without a dealer). Each player rolls a single die and sets it. This die remains the same through the game. You may not touch your dice until it is your turn. If you roll double you have the option to set another one of your opponent's dice. To do so their existing set must have the same number as your double. You set one of their free dice to its current face. You can make a double using one of your free dice and one of your set dice. You may force a person into Three Fall using this method. Game play is otherwise the same only you roll 2 or 1 dice depending on your circumstances and you make your total using the free dice and the set dice.
sagesai 10-31-05, 10:51 PM	Edymnion the game is called the King of Fire. Uratoh there is mention of a game called Zilargo darts and the rules I believe are in the 5 nations sourcebook. Later, Sagesai
Hellcow 10-31-05, 11:21 PM	Edymnion the game is called the King of Fire. Actually, it's called "Three Stones" (not to be confused with Six Stones); the King of Fire is simply the name of the casino. I have some general ideas about how it is played, but I haven't actually formalized rules. City of Towers also mentions a dice game called Sundown, but that's in the same situation - I'll make rules when I have a chance. And in "Death at Whitehearth" we hear that Jode is a gifted player of a card game called Twelves, which judging from his eventual winnings is apparently a game with variable stakes.
zambuka 10-31-05, 11:57 PM	I have some general ideas about how it is played, but I haven't actually formalized rules. Woot.. be looking forward to that. Oh.. and the name Three Fall was what I called my game about 2 years before Eberron hit the shelves so please don't think I snurtched the naming idea ;)
Edymnion 11-01-05, 01:07 AM	After reading Keith's post there, it got me thinking that I should actually start a thread with some of my ideas for Eberron card games and the like. This way, maybe we can help make a game or two for upcoming Eberron books maybe? :D Making Eberron Games of Chance
Brastan 11-01-05, 04:54 PM	I've considered using a Five suited poker deck using the Five Nations as the theme.
That Blasted Somoflange 11-01-05, 09:15 PM	WotC is coming out with a non-collectible card game called three dragon ante or something like that, I know I'm looking into it.
Save-vs-DM 11-09-05, 07:58 AM	Twelves: An Eberron Card Game Note: Twelves was first mentioned in the novel City of Towers by Keith Baker. The Deck Twelves can be played with a standard deck of playing cards, without the jokers. In Eberron, the cards have a single small number and a representation of a different dragonmark. A standard deck of playing cards can be used to represent this. Ace (One): Mark of Detection Two: Mark of Finding Three: Mark of Handling Four: Mark of Healing Five: Mark of Hospitality Six: Mark of Making Seven: Mark of Passage Eight: Mark of Scribing Nine: Mark of Sentinel Ten: Mark of Shadow Jack (Eleven): Mark of Storm Queen (Twelve): Mark of Warding King (Thirteen): Mark of Death Objective The objective of the game is to lay down all of your cards on the table in combinations that number twelve. For instance, you could lay down a five and a seven or a two, a four, and a six. Each time you lay down a twelve, you score twelve points. Most games are played to 144 points. Gameplay Each player is dealt a hand of seven cards and the rest of the deck is placed in the center of the table. Play proceeds clockwise starting with the player to the left of the dealer. During your turn you first draw a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile, then lay down as many twelves as you can, then discard a card to the discard pile. Gameplay ends when a player has laid all of his cards down on the table. Scoring Standard games are played to a total of 144 points. Laying down a twelve scores you 12 points. If you lay down a twelve that is all one suit (such as hearts (fires)), you instead score 24 points. If you manage to lay down all of your cards on your first turn, you score 48 bonus points. When a player lays down all of his cards and goes out, all remaining players subtract the number of points they still have in their hand from their current score. If a player has a twelve in his hand he may lay it down to avoid loosing points, but does not score any points for that twelve. If a player has a thirteen in his hand when another player goes out, he looses an additional 13 points. Betting on Twelves Players can bet on twelves, generally laying down 12 coppers or silvers at the beginning of each hand of cards. The player who wins the round (scoring 144 points) gains the entire pot. Cheers, Save vs DM
kiddoc 11-09-05, 09:06 PM	WotC is coming out with a non-collectible card game called three dragon ante or something like that, I know I'm looking into it. I received an early copy of 3 Dragon Ante a couple of months ago, and did some playtesting with it. I wrote up an early preview of what the game is like. Of course, in my early games I played with the wrong victory condition, so take it with a grain of salt. We currently use it as a tavern activity in my Eberron campaign, it's pretty fun. Link below to the review. http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9744
Durmald 11-11-05, 11:48 AM	My players play and gamble (a lot) in a game that I named Three Kings, is a card game, but I used a different deck, with 6 suits: Wands, Moons, Swords, Shards, Beasts and Blood. Each suit has thirteen figures, the King or Queen, the Prince or Princes, the Mage, the Councillor, the Guildsman, the Knight, the Spy, the Troubadour, the Guard, the Apprentice, the Priest, the Beggar and the Traveller (that in each suit has his own name: the moon seaman, the wand voyager, the sword scout, the shard prospector, the beast stranger and the Blood ferryman like some special cards in the deck that have their own name as an example the blood spy is called the traitor, the Moon prince is called the Lamplighter and the sword councillor is called the Tax collector). How to play Three Kings: take just six cards for each player, be sure that you picked the six kings (one for each suite), then shuffle the cards in some versions you use all the deck, but is much longer and you came to gamble so you will use only these. The Objective of this game is to have three Kings of any suit, but with a twist. The play order Each player must pay for his hand (from 1 sp to 10 gp normally, the amount is set by the players). Then deal 6 cards for each player Now any player may pay for start the first round of the game, if no one pay to start the player in front of the dealer must start. To star a round the starting player places one card face down in front of the right player (or the left making the round going to the left) Then this player will take the card to his hand examine it and place any of his cards in front of the next right player, and so until the player that start the round ends the round by receiving a card. At any moment a player can pay to take the card that some one left for the next player, taking this card and also making that all players between him and the player that place the card lost their turns in this round and must wait for the next one. In a player turn, the player can leave the game or bet any amount forcing all the remaining players to pay his bet if a player reuses to pay the bet he must leave the game losing all the money bet in this game. To leave the game a player must place his hands down (face up or down is a players choice). When a round ends, any player can pay to start the next round or if any one pay the last player of the round before must start placing a card in front of the left or the right player and so and so... When a player have three Kings of any suit, he can call out loud “Three Kings!”, then take all the money in the table but if any other player also haves the other three kings in his hand can call again “Three Kings” making the player with the first trio double the amount in the table for the next game. When we played my players rolled a plane d20 to see how good their hands are, a 20 means 3 kings, a 19 or 18 2 kings, and a 17 or 16 just one king, then I rolled for the NPC in the play, then they can roll bluff or sense motive to try to know what is going in the play, the amount in the middle of the table raised to more than 200 gp. :D Fun