A gambling scene?

[bennyhobo]

At Gencon I picked up a deck of fantasy-themed playing cards. The set is called "Gambling? I'm in!" and I think is an expansion for "The Red Dragon Inn". It's from Slugfest games. I don't know what the Red Dragon Inn is. I was just really taken by the deck. The cards come with a booklet explaining how to play 9 different card games, including instructions on how to gamble with them.

The different card games are pretty fun. If there's anyone out there who likes normal card games (blackjack/poker/whatever) and wants to try some new stuff, I recommend it. My friends and I have spent some time just playing with the cards while hanging out. But now I want to incorporate them into my 4E game by giving the players a scene where they have to gamble and win something from an NPC.

Right now they've arrived at Nenlast. It's the last stop on their journey to Shadewynne, a town besieged by evil far to the north. They're going there to take two lenses carved out of the head of a slain white dragon to a pair of sorceress sisters, who will hopefully be able to use them to focus their powers and destroy the evil force. They have a guide who is taking them there. Nenlast is their last chance to resupply and talk to villagers before they start the last leg of the journey.

So like I said, I want to give them a story reason to gamble what little gold they have, and not just for fun.

The one idea I have so far is that their guide will be killed. And they have to find someone new in Nenlast to take them to Shadewynne. But that person wants more money than they have as payment for the journey. So they're going to have to either challenge him to a game, or go to the tavern and try to win the gold.

But I'm not sure I like that. I think there's something more interesting that can be done.

Ideas?

 

[Hand of Evil]

• Tavern or stable fire where they loose a number of items and things.
• Tourist Trap - no toll to enter town, just one to leave it. Paperwork needed, a bribe or two, stuff like that. Good for a military group in the area. It trap most players do not see.
• There be gold in the hills - because of a gold strike, prices of good have jumped 5 times to meet the demand of people entering the town.
• Damn goblins - hit and run, goblins raid the party on the road. This is a rush, stab, stab, stab, then run away. They target animals and goods of the party; they can come back for a dead horse or pony. Party will kill a few but they most will make off with supplies.

 

[bennyhobo]

That's good stuff. I like the gold rush idea, so far as to say that there's some kind of big event happening in town that they didn't expect to bump into. See, at the end of our last session I told them to level up their characters and go ahead and buy whatever goods they wanted with the gold they'd accumulated so far. I justified that by saying that they're going to start the next game having arrived in Nenlast, and the first thing they'd do is resupply. And that would save us time on game day so they weren't shopping from the PHB or character builder.

So they will have already spent some money when we start the game, and will already be a little low on cash.

A couple weeks ago (in game time) the party was in Fallcrest during a big fall harvest festival. Maybe Nenlast is having a similar party?

Oh, how about this: A group of fishermen have just pulled a giant and rare fish from Lake Nen. The capture of a creature this size is a blessing to the town, because it's preserved meat will help the people survive the coming winter with plenty of food. So there's a big party going on across the village. The party can come into town during this.

But the party's guide sees it differently. This giant and rare creature is too giant and too rare for these villagers to have caught by chance. This is an indication of danger... a threat from the evil force that I've introduced previously. Late at night, after all the drunks have stumbled to wherever they will sleep off the ale, hundreds of evil creatures burst from the corpse of the great fish and swarm the town. The party can either fight legions of minions, or flee.

I like that, but how can I take that toward gambling, and how can that push the plot forward? And what giant beast would they have caught? Maybe an Aboleth (I keep trying to come up with some way to use that stupid-looking mini)?

 

[Cor_Malek]

Hidden escort: PC's are hired to watch over a man who underestimates the danger he might be in(maybe a son of a mobster posing as a powerful merchant(PC's don't need to know the mob part, at least not initially)). He will be attending a not-so-legal gambling tournament, organized by a local crimelord (who you know to be one of the two, and opponent of party's boss). No spectators or bodyguards allowed, only players. If PC's want to watch over their target, they have to stay in the tournament at least as long as he does.
This kind of job calls for some special credentials, he won't send total newbies in. At it's base it's a security job, so fighting skills are required. After one job/quest done in the area, the party will be asked to attend a dinner at merchant's house. They will be one of two groups of mercenaries there. After the meal, everyone will be asked to a study, where the Boss will ask them to indulge him in a game of cards. At this point, one of the mercenaries will get impatient, and burst into a short and quite calm rant about being asked for a job interview, not a 4 course meal followed by cards, and perhaps some dancing. "This is the interview, mr. Guffin. It's last, and most crucial part, in fact. Now please sit down, we're ready to start", says he, smiling at our party.
This should hint the PC's that there's something at stake, which you know to be job offer. If they press, the merchant will reveal only that he needs a group of men and women (there's a gal in the other group if there's none at yours) who can mind themselves, and have at least some prowess at games of chance.

If they win the first game, they get the job, straight up. If they loose, in two days time they'll be asked to meet some bloke in the basement of inn they're staying in. To their surprise (or not) it's the same merchant. The group he hired, he doesn't trust no more, they disappear for a few hours a day, and lay about it, they drink too much for his taste. He wants the party in the tournament to keep eye on both his son and his newly acquired escort.
Surely enough, while trying to fence some silvers stolen at the dinner, their opponent's got an offer they couldn't refuse. At the tournament, when the S hit's the fan, they're to help subdue the target (and essentially make PC's job harder). At that point, figuring the job's a piss, only two will be present (one if your group is small), and drunken as lords (the meta-objective here is to penalize party for losing the game, without making the fight suicidal). There's also the risk of being exposed.

As to the tournament itself. It's hard for me to give too much details, not knowing the games, or party wealth. A knock out system would be to hard to maintain. I suggest similar to poker: you've got cash, you can play; you've got cash, you must play. The only way to leave the table is to leave the cash behind. In that event, a minimal stake will be taken from left stash until the tournament ends, rest will be delivered to a trusted banker (if you'd plan to go more with the organized crime angle, this would also reveal a banker that helps in laundering cash for this gang).

The place is heavily (at least the best of their power) warded against any divination spells, to protect players from cheating and unwanted eyes. All players will be initially talked through baselines of tournament next to a tank with floating hands and tongues, where they'll be reminded politely not to try and cheat.

K., got to go, I'll get back on it if there are some holes you'd like filled.

Cheers!

 

[Hand of Evil]

A big event, mmmm - nothing better than a holy festival. Time it with a harvest, like the running of the bulls or the tomatoe throwning one, people come from all over. The town sees it has 60% to 80% of their income and so do thieves, who also come from all over.

I would just have the players, join in on the party and dealing with NPCs that push them into the action around town.

 

[bennyhobo]

I think I'm going to be pushing the gambling part back a little bit in the plot. I can't make it work with the next game day in a way that I feel serves the story. So what about gambling to gain entrance to a castle or tower? In that case maybe it's not just winning money. What if the goal is to win permission to enter? In that way, it could be a card game rather than solving a riddle or puzzle...?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Another is a prize - an item that the players need for something, IF they don't win, they then have to come up with a plot to get it another way! Also, maybe a guild membership.

You can also do this as a requirement for some prestige class or special skill.

 

[bennyhobo]

That's not a bad idea. They have to win some kind of item. And maybe it could be one unique thing that they all want for their character to give them an edge over everyone else? That way they're not just playing against the NPC, but against each other too. I might like that, and it gives them a reason to interact with each other and make deals and so on. Anything that encourages them to role play with each other is a good thing (thankfully my group has that philosophy). So the main challenge for me is to come up with a good item that they all want for themselves, an NPC that has it right now, and some way for them to find out about it and want it.

I suppose I could make it something that their guide is already carrying, and they've been traveling with him for about a week, so they've probably seen that he has it. Maybe some kind of a magic protective item?