IC: Dichotomy's Age of Worms Redux, Part VI

TiCaudata · Feb 28, 2012

[sblock=oc]10,000 is pretty good. If the group we are up against aren't so good, we could try to just barely win and keep our odds favorable. That might be a little too tricky to manage though...

I'll wait to see the rest before posting more.[/sblock]

Dichotomy · Feb 28, 2012

Once the wagers are completed, and there seems little left to do but mingle, a beautiful elven woman, dressed in stunning soirée attire, approaches the trio with a grin on her face and (presumably) business on her mind.
[sblock=OOC]She's the elf from the picture I posted earlier. And why would a D&D adventure use a French word to describe evening wear, instead of saying "evening wear"?[/sblock][sblock=Ti]Seeing the elf woman, a jarring memory still in Erdolliel's mind. She suddenly realizes that this elf, Auric, and Khellek were the three people she "saw" in her "vision" of Diamond Lake before she was resurrected.[/sblock]"You must be the Iron Salamanders, though the name doesn't seem to fit," the elf playfully banters. "My name is Tirra, and I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time."

TiCaudata · Mar 1, 2012

Erdolliel smiles "Well met Tirra, we are indeed the Iron Salamanders and let me tell you, we are looking forward to the games tomorrow. Will you be competing? she asks, "Ah! but where are my manners, it was YOU who wanted a moment of OUR time. How can we help you?"

Dichotomy · Mar 3, 2012

Tirra shakes her head and chuckles. "Brawling with gladiators is bad for... business. Business is why I'm here.

"It is getting a bit late, so I'm going to dive right in. I know that you've managed to convince the nobles that betting against you is a sure thing. Now, don't worry. I'm not going to convince anyone otherwise. But the Guild knows that you are much better than that. The Master Thief, in fact, thinks that you three have the best chance of making it to the final bout and dethroning Auric. In the final round, the Thieves' Guild has managed to negotiate substantial bidding odds for bids against Auric's Warband.

"Here's where you come in, the Guild will finance a substantial wager in your favor against Auric's Warband in the final fight. But the Guild needs to know that you are truly serious, that you aren't going to throw the match. If you give us 2,500 gold, we will back you. If you win, will give you 7,500 back, plus the Guild's gratitude.

"I know you've managed to get a better return than three to one for the first match, but your odds will even out once the people see you in action."

TiCaudata · Mar 7, 2012

Erdolliel quickly wipes the smile off her face when Tirra starts to negotiate business. "So, three to one? I suppose we have to agree now or the offer will lapse?" She waits for confirmation

"On the day of the final match, will you be in the warband working against them? Or do you only keep Auric's company outside of the competition?

"We are serious about this competition, but we would like to know that the Guild won't just be stabbing us in the back while promising a sizable wager."

Dichotomy · Mar 12, 2012

Tirra nods. "I can only keep the offer open until the end of dinner. The odds will change as soon as you've had your first battle."

In response to Erdolliel second inquiry, Tirra appears overtly offended. "Look, I told you that I don't play gladiator. I meant it. So, no, I won't be in the warband for the final match. And... If you meant something when you insinuated that I keep Auric's 'company'... Well, I don't. Not that it's any of your business."

o3caudata · Mar 12, 2012

[sblock=oc]
I wonder about this. You'd think that the it'd be relatively easy to get 3:1 odds on a 'we'll win everything' bet when you're not the established leader. Like horse racing or something. We don't need to digress too much, but i'd at least like to ask what the going odds are for us to win it all. (maybe people won't take bets like that or something weird)

Anyway, we don't actually have 2500 gold liquid afaik. Not sure we're earmarking any of the money we do have for other bets we've already made. But yeah.

[/sblock]

Kushnak shakes his head. "So you bet our money with someone else? I wonder what the going odds are for us to win it all."

TiCaudata · Mar 13, 2012

Erdolliel snorts at Tirra's response. "No insinuations from here, Tirra. And I wouldn't particularly care either way, we just need to make sure we aren't being duped before entering into a bargain. I can't say that most guild members have a... stellar... reputation.

"As you say though. Business is business."

Dichotomy · Mar 14, 2012

[sblock=OOC]I have to admit, had I considered this more critically, I'd probably have decided that the entire betting scheme they devised should be rewritten. I don't want to 'hide the ball' and I don't want to spend more time on this than it deserves.

Aside from Tirra's 'offer,' no bookies take bets on anything except the next day's bouts. Why? I dunno. They wrote it that way. I think that was, partly at least, to stop the PCs from getting filthy rich if you were able to bet on the whole thing. (If you could bet on the whole thing now, without having the odds adjust as you win, you guys could potentially clear WAY more cash than would be reasonable.)

Depending upon how well you guys perform (including winning bouts, but also things like landing critical hits) a fictional "rank" will go up. As your rank goes up, the suspected odds of you winning increase, and wagers in your favor become less profitable. It is possible (though not VERY likely) that, if you make it to the final bout, payouts on bets for you to win could be as crappy as 1:10.

As noted, in considering this more, it probably doesn't make a great deal of sense, but I don't know that I want to take the effort to fix it.[/sblock]

TiCaudata · Mar 18, 2012

"We'll be in touch before the night is over my lady." Erdolliel comments as she leaves with the others to discuss the options.

Once away, she lovers her voice. "Our odds will likely hold better than 3:1 for at least another round, however, there MAY be advantages to playing nice with the guild in town.

"Maybe Ekyam could be convinced to front them the money, eh Nethezar?"[sblock=oc]I tried going back and seeing how many rounds there are, but failed. Single elimination would give us 5 or 6 rounds, but I con't remember if it's single e either. Could we get another primer about how the tourney works? Sorry. Either way, I gather that we'd be able to do better than 3:1 for at least another round or two.

However, it might not be a bad idea to make a deal with the local thieves' guild in case we need them in the future. Is convincing Ekyam to front the loan for us a possibility?[/sblock]