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vonklaude 08-21-07, 09:13 AM

Five Bends: Rules for introducing The Great Game to your Campaign A subdued bunch of gnomes and men assembled on the muddy bank, as watery sun leaked a few rays through early mist. Rushes around them trembled and swayed – mud stained their legs to the hip. All but two hefted big tan duffle bags. Of the two the taller, a human, swung a whistle on a cord; arcing it so it wound and unwound around his fist. The shorter, a gnome, clutched an elaborate dialled clockwork in both hands, which she focussed on intently. She wore a navy blue cap and smart coat with shining buttons. Making spirited progress away from them up river was the Uncommon Fortune, their riverboat. The mate sighed loudly – exhaling like a boiler vent – and caught his whistle at the end of its arc with an audible ‘click’ of the pea. He addressed the air above his captain’s head “Doubled? To a gambit?! With the Fortune on the table? Oh brave, Sir. I’ve another right here in my pocket!” and swung on his heel to make some distance before he struck a superior. ‘I’ve won one before’ she replied quietly ‘I’ll do it again’. How to use Five Bends in you Campaign Five Bends is a simulated boardgame - something like Chess or Backgammon. The rules presented here do not allow play of Five Bends outside of a role-playing game; that is, they are not the actual rules of the game. Rather they allow you to role-play The Great Game as an event within your campaign. The Great Game can be used as a background device, whereby an NPC’s actions are motivated in anticipation of a game involving them, or on account of which they have entered into a debt; but an ideal use of Five Bends is where a combat would otherwise have occurred. Role-playing games tend to contain few detailed rules to simulate non-violent conflict, in part due to an absence of excitement due to a lack of risk. So the key thing is to introduce tension via a doubling stake (as explained below) that can get quite out of hand. A trivial opening bet can escalate quite suddenly to include valuable magic items or promises. For example a vow of a year’s service would be considered a perfectly acceptable Five Bends wager. History Five Bends was introduced to Faerun from Calimshan, who had it first from records of daily life found with the collection containing the far more significant Nether Scrolls. Aided by illustrations, and at first in hope that the game represented a magic ritual, the brightly coloured mandala board was recreated and pieces turned from wood and bone. The Netheril cosm revolved around the flow of magic via the mythallar, that sinuous flow of energy pouring upwards to sustain flying cities and other such wonders. It is from this flow that the game acquires its appellation of 'Five Bends' (although it may readily be pointed out that the flow had either a hundred bends or none, depending on how you looked at it.) The game itself incorporates concepts of courage, destiny, and balance. Cheating is allowed, but not mandatory, while the placement of bets, in money or kind, is demanded by both rules and tradition. It would be rare to find a game in the Northern regions, and yet not impossible. It is said some Dragons are fierce opponents, with an acute accuracy in measuring stake vs. chances, while even Drow may play for cuts and minions. The Five Bends Skill Five Bends is a Skill based on Charisma. It cannot be used untrained and is cross-class to all core classes. Players are unlikely to have this skill, of course. Five Bends has simple rules: anyone can pick it up in a minute and substitute ranks in Bluffing and Sense Motive for formal understanding. The formal skill is used to play successfully, detect cheating, and display an appropriate sense of etiquette. Aficionados take Five Bends as a Knowledge Skill, to keep them informed of the top players, the classic games, the style of the better schools of play, and, perhaps most usefully, who to bet on. The rules below are explained using skills PCs typically have, but a player who has mastered the game may substitute their Five Bends skill for any roll they need to make related to it. Bluffing and Sense Motive are synergistic with Five Bends skill: 5 ranks in either gives +2 to the effective level of Five Bends skill, and 5 ranks in Five Bends skill gives +2 to each of them. Rules Five Bends is a game for 2 players. Players may agree on who takes first turn, or they can roll d6 for it. 1. Before play, players agree on a stake. Typically 50 pieces of whatever coin matches the social class: coppers for peasants, platinum for nobility, silver and gold in between. An acceptable alternative stake in Calimshan and Amn is a ten-day’s service, which is considered equivalent to 50 pieces of coin at any class. 2. Spectators are permitted to raise the stake, naming the player with whom they will bear losses or gain winnings. The other player can refuse this stake unless they or other spectators are prepared to balance the raise. 3. Once the stake is settled upon, the two players must decide if they are playing for ‘Reeds’ (see below). The game is then resolved as contests of skill between the players 4. On their own turn, players have the opportunity to ‘play onto a bend’ before making the test. If they do, their opponent receives a +2 circumstantial bonus. Playing onto a bend doubles the current stake, e.g. on the third bend, a stake which started at 50 silver pieces is raised from 200 silver pieces to 400. There are a total of five such bends available to play on. You cannot play onto a bend if it is the very first turn of the game. 5. The contest of skills is Bluff (by the player whose turn it is) vs. Sense Motive, by their opponent. Remember Five Bends skill can substitute for either. You may take 10 on this roll, but you cannot take 20. 6. Whoever first wins the contest of skills on their turn gains ‘advantage’. 7. When a player with advantage wins the contest on their turn, they win the game. 8. When a player with advantage loses the contest on any turn, they lose advantage. Although the contest is a simple simultaneous test, turns alternate between the players. Only the player whose turn it is can play on bends, give reeds or make gambits (see below), or win. Reeds Playing for reeds increases the stakes and introduces an element of bluff, using the additional rules below. 1. After settling the stake, but before starting play, participants must agree upon the base value of a reed. Traditionally, this is one tenth of the stake. 2. During play, whenever a player has advantage, and after the turn holder has decided whether or not to play on a bend or try a gambit (see below), they may give their opponent a d10. 3. For the contest they then secretly roll one d10 while their opponent secretly rolls the other. Each keeps their roll concealed. Their opponent then rolls the d20 for their side of the contest, also keeping that roll secret. 4. These rolls are followed by rounds of negotiation wherein the current player may bid to purchase the d10 their opponent has rolled, while their opponent counter-bids to retain the roll, i.e. to prevent it being counted towards the contest. 5. Bidding starts with the current player either opening by bidding a number of reeds, or standing (meaning they will use only their own hidden die in the contest). All bids are added to the base stake, i.e. they are doubled and redoubled according to how many bends have been played on! 6. If the bidding was opened, their opponent can respond by adding reeds to the bid, or they can 'give' (meaning they will surrender their hidden die and it will count in the contest). Bidding continues back and forth until either player folds, at which point dice will be revealed and added to determine the result. 7. Players are permitted to ask questions and make statements about the number on their dice, arbitrated by ad-hoc Bluff and Sense Motive checks. Again, Five Bends skill may substitute for either. You cannot take 10 or 20 on these rolls. When revealing dice at the showdown, tradition dictates that the d20 held by the opponent is revealed first, and then the d10 only if the current player purchased it. The current player’s die is only revealed if they did not purchase the other, or if the d10 was purchased and when revealed does not alone constitute a win. Gambits On their turn, before their roll, a player can try a gambit. If pulled off this will give them a +1 circumstance bonus for the rest of the game, at the expense of a -2 circumstance penalty next turn (i.e. their opponent's turn). Due to the nature of the game it is obvious that ‘something is up’ when a player tries a gambit; the skill being to conceal exactly what. 1. Make a test of Bluff vs. Sense Motive when the gambit is declared (before the test that will be made for the play itself). As usual Five Bends skill can substitute. You cannot take 10 or 20 on this roll. 2. If the Bluffer fails, their gambit is seen through. The opponent may now choose to decline it: no bonuses or penalties arise on either side. Or they may accept it in the hope of securing an advantage or win in their coming turn. 3. If the gambit is not seen through, then it cannot be declined and the bonuses apply. Bonuses from gambits accumulate over the game. Four-player Game An emerging fashion is to play Five Bends in two teams of two players. One taking the turns (i.e. making the Bluff checks), while the other performs analysis (i.e. makes Sense Motive checks). These players can help each other’s rolls in the normal way, i.e. grant a +2 circumstance bonus by making a DC10 check. You cannot take 10 or 20 on such rolls. Audience The state of the audience plays a significant role in Five Bends games, making the game harder for one side or the other with whistling, catcalls, and other such distractions. Give a -2 circumstance penalty to the side the audience are hostile to. Audiences tend to be hostile to the side they are not betting on. Players can make a Concentration check at DC10+1 per 3 members of the audience to ignore this penalty. Five Bends skill can substitute for Concentration. You may take 10 on this roll, but you cannot take 20. Cheating Cheating means gaining a small advantage on your next and subsequent rolls by shifting a piece when no one is looking. This is very difficult to accomplish. 1. Make a Sleight of Hand check to set a DC for Spot checks by opponents and onlookers. Five Bends skill can substitute on either side. You cannot take 10 or 20 on this roll. 2. If someone notices the shift, they might speak out of they might not, depending on their stake in the game. 3. If no one speaks out, gain a +1 circumstance bonus until you next lose the contest of skills for a turn. Other forms of cheating typically being to bribe the audience (see above) or to use Perform as follows. 1. Make a Perform check to set a DC for Concentration checks which, if higher, replaces any audience distractions, or otherwise is resolved in the same way. You cannot take 10 or 20 on this roll. Five Bends skill cannot substitute for Perform done to distract. You cannot create two sets of distractions, use only the higher, but you can choose to help the audience with their distractions instead of creating your own: Make a DC10 Perform check to add 2 to the Concentration DC set by them. Perform can also be used defensively, to win over a hostile audience through winning smiles and charming play. Resolve this as if the audience were a hostile NPC. Five Bends or Diplomacy can substitute for Perform in this roll. In Conclusion Simulating a game within a game needs rules that are fairly quick to resolve, but that lead to proper risk being taken. Five Bends is an attempt at such rules. -vk