Gambling [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Gambling [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Llathos
07-27-07, 09:28 AM So a few things:

-where can I find information about gambling in D&D
-what kind of skill checks would be involved
-what kind of games are played
bobothechimp
07-27-07, 09:37 AM Profession: Gambling, the rules are in the PHB.
Llathos
07-27-07, 09:43 AM I, sir, am blind.
RobbyPants
07-27-07, 11:36 AM There are all sorts of house-rules people have come up with to represent various games in D&D without taking the time to play them. The biggest thing is to figure out how complicated you want to make it. You can probably work other skills in for various reasons:

Bluff - If you're playing a game like poker where you can bluff
Sense Motive - To spot bluffers
Sleight of Hand - To cheat
Spot - To catch other cheaters.

Of course, each of these requires rules for how to abjucate the situation. How complicated do you want it?
Mindolin
07-27-07, 12:07 PM I'ld work with using a synergy bonus on the checks, getting a +2 bonus on Prof. Gambler, for five ranks in Bluff, and maybe another +2 for five ranks in Sense Motive.
Llathos
07-27-07, 12:38 PM I want it complicated enough to be a mini-game of sorts. Involve some die rolling, some skill checks, etc.

A combination of luck and skill to yield a humble profit to the player who invests in such skills.
RobbyPants
07-27-07, 12:44 PM I want it complicated enough to be a mini-game of sorts. Involve some die rolling, some skill checks, etc.

A combination of luck and skill to yield a humble profit to the player who invests in such skills.
Are you trying to mimic any specific game (RL or made up)? Are they playing against other players or the house? Sometimes, you can come up with a real simple game to just estimate some other probabilities. Here's one I came up with real fast on the spot (but it didn't require any skill checks):
The players are playing aginst the house. The house has a minor statistical advantage. In this case, they should win a bit more than 50% of the time, so a 1 to 1 payout works nicely (you win your bet and an equal amount if you win, you lose your bet if you lose). Each player rolls a die and the house rolls a die. The player has to beat the house (house wins on a tie) in order to win.
This could represent something as simple as rolling the same dice, or hard hands, or whatever else you want to use. In here, skills like Bluff and Sense Motive would be pointless. Perhaps Sleight of Hand (and then Spot too) would be appropriate for cheating. Maybe if they pull off a certain DC, they can roll twice and keep the best result. Maybe they have a weighted die that rolls better (roll 1d4+2 to simulate a loaded d6).

There are all sorts of ways to do this. The trick is to keep it from getting too complicated.
ADHadh
07-27-07, 12:45 PM There are many games that consist of multiple d6 rolling. They were very popular among bar commoners. Just find the rules.

Now you have a minigame and nothing very complicated. Two birds with one stone!

EDIT. I've just remembered a simple dice game that I believe has been played in Japan.

There's a guy with 2d6 in a cup. Whenever he rolls and puts the cup down, the gamblers place their bets on the result: half (odd number) or full (even number). That's it. Watch out - gambling is addictive! :evilaugh:
Breetai
07-27-07, 01:00 PM There is some sort of rule on gabling. But I think there shoud be some synergies added. I see it as other have stated with the Spot, Slight of Hand, sense motive and bluff granting a +2 synergy each. and standard money making rules for the "professional" gambler. This game does have to have balance dispite the fact that gamblers in this game/setting like this have to the potinetal to make a ton of dough. (But then we get into Profession Thief which could make a crapload and be uber annoying.)

but most fun of all are the high stakes single games. A card game with the kingdom as the Stakes! Throw your bet on the table make it an opposed professional gambing checks and winner take all just to keep it simple.
Kyoti00
07-27-07, 01:14 PM I played a professional gambler in one campaign and we used a variation of the rules in D20 Modern. They have a very good, detailed system in there that can easily be made to fit the D&D world.
Llathos
07-27-07, 01:51 PM Hm, I don't have the d20 modern books to reference for that system.

The player(s) in question will be playing against NPCs. I'd like it to be a combination of rolling dice between me the DM and the player. The 2d6 game for even or odd is an easy and good choice.

I'm struggling to figure out how to wiggle the other skills in there though. Where do his skill points in profession gambling come into play when he and I are rolling on the gaming table?
Traverse
07-27-07, 02:04 PM Dice Games (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/dg) has some good 'DnD' flavored games you can apply betting and skill rolls to.
RobbyPants
07-27-07, 02:08 PM The player(s) in question will be playing against NPCs. I'd like it to be a combination of rolling dice between me the DM and the player. The 2d6 game for even or odd is an easy and good choice.

I'm struggling to figure out how to wiggle the other skills in there though. Where do his skill points in profession gambling come into play when he and I are rolling on the gaming table?
In this case, I don't know that they would. It's a flat-out 50-50 chance of odd or even, so it's not like there's some fancy complex math to figure out. It seem like your best bet is either catching cheaters, or cheating yourself.
Llathos
07-27-07, 02:13 PM I'd hate for my players to think their valuable skill points were wasted on profession(gambling) due to my implementation choice of how the game was run...

Profession(gambling) isn't going to allow you to cheat or to spot a cheater. That would be slight of hand or spot, I'd imagine. How can I use profession gambling to influence the game?
RobbyPants
07-27-07, 02:17 PM I'd hate for my players to think their valuable skill points were wasted on profession(gambling) due to my implementation choice of how the game was run...

Profession(gambling) isn't going to allow you to cheat or to spot a cheater. That would be slight of hand or spot, I'd imagine. How can I use profession gambling to influence the game?
The long haul. What you do at this point is just make a check (or series of checks) and ignore the game mechanics completely. That's all that Profession(Gambling) is meant to handle. It's similar to any other Profession or Craft skill: you don't worry about the nitty-gritty details. You just get a simple pass/fail, and perhaps, a measure of how well you passed or failed.

In this case give certain games a DC, have the players state how much they're willing to bet for the check (maybe every hour of play) and have them roll. Depending on how well the succeed or how badly they fail they win or lose certain percentages of their max wager.

EDIT:
Very high ranks makes this childs-play, but maybe that's what you want. A way to keep from abusing it is to have certain tables have max stakes. Increase the DC as the stakes increase, so if a player wants to play at a really easy table (where they can't lose), then they'll just win something measly like 1 sp. If they want to win 100 gp, then they have to compete agaisnt higher DCs.
NobodyRemembersThis
07-27-07, 06:46 PM Hm, I don't have the d20 modern books to reference for that system.Look no further! >GAMBLE SKILL FROM D20 MODERN SRD< (http://www.12tomidnight.com/d20modernsrd/Skills.php?Name=Gamble) :ayyyy!:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Llathos 07-27-07, 09:28 AM	So a few things: -where can I find information about gambling in D&D -what kind of skill checks would be involved -what kind of games are played
bobothechimp 07-27-07, 09:37 AM	Profession: Gambling, the rules are in the PHB.
Llathos 07-27-07, 09:43 AM	I, sir, am blind.
RobbyPants 07-27-07, 11:36 AM	There are all sorts of house-rules people have come up with to represent various games in D&D without taking the time to play them. The biggest thing is to figure out how complicated you want to make it. You can probably work other skills in for various reasons: Bluff - If you're playing a game like poker where you can bluff Sense Motive - To spot bluffers Sleight of Hand - To cheat Spot - To catch other cheaters. Of course, each of these requires rules for how to abjucate the situation. How complicated do you want it?
Mindolin 07-27-07, 12:07 PM	I'ld work with using a synergy bonus on the checks, getting a +2 bonus on Prof. Gambler, for five ranks in Bluff, and maybe another +2 for five ranks in Sense Motive.
Llathos 07-27-07, 12:38 PM	I want it complicated enough to be a mini-game of sorts. Involve some die rolling, some skill checks, etc. A combination of luck and skill to yield a humble profit to the player who invests in such skills.
RobbyPants 07-27-07, 12:44 PM	I want it complicated enough to be a mini-game of sorts. Involve some die rolling, some skill checks, etc. A combination of luck and skill to yield a humble profit to the player who invests in such skills. Are you trying to mimic any specific game (RL or made up)? Are they playing against other players or the house? Sometimes, you can come up with a real simple game to just estimate some other probabilities. Here's one I came up with real fast on the spot (but it didn't require any skill checks): The players are playing aginst the house. The house has a minor statistical advantage. In this case, they should win a bit more than 50% of the time, so a 1 to 1 payout works nicely (you win your bet and an equal amount if you win, you lose your bet if you lose). Each player rolls a die and the house rolls a die. The player has to beat the house (house wins on a tie) in order to win. This could represent something as simple as rolling the same dice, or hard hands, or whatever else you want to use. In here, skills like Bluff and Sense Motive would be pointless. Perhaps Sleight of Hand (and then Spot too) would be appropriate for cheating. Maybe if they pull off a certain DC, they can roll twice and keep the best result. Maybe they have a weighted die that rolls better (roll 1d4+2 to simulate a loaded d6). There are all sorts of ways to do this. The trick is to keep it from getting too complicated.
ADHadh 07-27-07, 12:45 PM	There are many games that consist of multiple d6 rolling. They were very popular among bar commoners. Just find the rules. Now you have a minigame and nothing very complicated. Two birds with one stone! EDIT. I've just remembered a simple dice game that I believe has been played in Japan. There's a guy with 2d6 in a cup. Whenever he rolls and puts the cup down, the gamblers place their bets on the result: half (odd number) or full (even number). That's it. Watch out - gambling is addictive! :evilaugh:
Breetai 07-27-07, 01:00 PM	There is some sort of rule on gabling. But I think there shoud be some synergies added. I see it as other have stated with the Spot, Slight of Hand, sense motive and bluff granting a +2 synergy each. and standard money making rules for the "professional" gambler. This game does have to have balance dispite the fact that gamblers in this game/setting like this have to the potinetal to make a ton of dough. (But then we get into Profession Thief which could make a crapload and be uber annoying.) but most fun of all are the high stakes single games. A card game with the kingdom as the Stakes! Throw your bet on the table make it an opposed professional gambing checks and winner take all just to keep it simple.
Kyoti00 07-27-07, 01:14 PM	I played a professional gambler in one campaign and we used a variation of the rules in D20 Modern. They have a very good, detailed system in there that can easily be made to fit the D&D world.
Llathos 07-27-07, 01:51 PM	Hm, I don't have the d20 modern books to reference for that system. The player(s) in question will be playing against NPCs. I'd like it to be a combination of rolling dice between me the DM and the player. The 2d6 game for even or odd is an easy and good choice. I'm struggling to figure out how to wiggle the other skills in there though. Where do his skill points in profession gambling come into play when he and I are rolling on the gaming table?
Traverse 07-27-07, 02:04 PM	Dice Games (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/dg) has some good 'DnD' flavored games you can apply betting and skill rolls to.
RobbyPants 07-27-07, 02:08 PM	The player(s) in question will be playing against NPCs. I'd like it to be a combination of rolling dice between me the DM and the player. The 2d6 game for even or odd is an easy and good choice. I'm struggling to figure out how to wiggle the other skills in there though. Where do his skill points in profession gambling come into play when he and I are rolling on the gaming table? In this case, I don't know that they would. It's a flat-out 50-50 chance of odd or even, so it's not like there's some fancy complex math to figure out. It seem like your best bet is either catching cheaters, or cheating yourself.
Llathos 07-27-07, 02:13 PM	I'd hate for my players to think their valuable skill points were wasted on profession(gambling) due to my implementation choice of how the game was run... Profession(gambling) isn't going to allow you to cheat or to spot a cheater. That would be slight of hand or spot, I'd imagine. How can I use profession gambling to influence the game?
RobbyPants 07-27-07, 02:17 PM	I'd hate for my players to think their valuable skill points were wasted on profession(gambling) due to my implementation choice of how the game was run... Profession(gambling) isn't going to allow you to cheat or to spot a cheater. That would be slight of hand or spot, I'd imagine. How can I use profession gambling to influence the game? The long haul. What you do at this point is just make a check (or series of checks) and ignore the game mechanics completely. That's all that Profession(Gambling) is meant to handle. It's similar to any other Profession or Craft skill: you don't worry about the nitty-gritty details. You just get a simple pass/fail, and perhaps, a measure of how well you passed or failed. In this case give certain games a DC, have the players state how much they're willing to bet for the check (maybe every hour of play) and have them roll. Depending on how well the succeed or how badly they fail they win or lose certain percentages of their max wager. EDIT: Very high ranks makes this childs-play, but maybe that's what you want. A way to keep from abusing it is to have certain tables have max stakes. Increase the DC as the stakes increase, so if a player wants to play at a really easy table (where they can't lose), then they'll just win something measly like 1 sp. If they want to win 100 gp, then they have to compete agaisnt higher DCs.
NobodyRemembersThis 07-27-07, 06:46 PM	Hm, I don't have the d20 modern books to reference for that system.Look no further! >GAMBLE SKILL FROM D20 MODERN SRD< (http://www.12tomidnight.com/d20modernsrd/Skills.php?Name=Gamble) :ayyyy!: