Ambrus
Explorer
Walking around the crowded gaming hall, Girri dodges boisterous gamblers as they cluster around the twelve game tables. From all around she hears the dealers and players excitedly voicing statements intended to bolster interest or to bring luck. Observing a few rounds of play, Girri can garner an idea of how the various games are played.
“Bounder, bounder, bounder! No doubles, no doubles!”[sblock=Bounder]How to Play: Bounder is unique among gambling games in that both the players and dealer use dice. The dealer gets three 6-sided dice, and each player gets two 20-siders. To start, each player bets a stake (minimum 1 tooth). Each player rolls his first d20, making his “point.” After all players have rolled their points, each player may double his stake if desired. Then the dealer rolls 3d6. Anyone whose point the dealer matches loses his stake. Then each player rolls his second d20. If the player’s two dice results are on either side of the dealer’s result—one greater than and one less than the dealer’s number—he “bounds” the dealer and wins an amount equal to the amount he bet. Otherwise, he loses his stake. If a player rolls a 1 and a 20 (or a 20 and a 1), he wins double his bet.[/sblock]“It’s you verses the greedy golem! Test your skill and take the monster’s pot!”[sblock=Golem]How to Play: Golem is played with a gilded amulet and a deck of cards divided into four suits of thirteen cards, each depicting a type of golem: flesh, clay, stone and iron. Golem is a player-vs.-player card game similar to five-card draw poker, but with a “golem hand.” Golem is played in a series of games; one game must be completely resolved before the next begins. The player to the right of the dealer gets the amulet to start the night. The dealer deals five cards to each player. Starting at the amulet, each player can bet, raise one coin, or fold. Anyone who folds is out of the game, and can’t come back in until a new game begins. Next, each player may discard up to two cards and receive that many back from the dealer. These discarded cards go facedown on the center of the table. Another round of betting occurs, starting at the amulet. If, at any point, only one player hasn’t folded, he wins the pot—the house taking 5 percent—and the game is over. If at least two players are still in after all bets are called, those players reveal their hands. Then the dealer “ups the golem.” The golem hand—those cards discarded when players had the chance to draw new cards—is revealed, and if the player with the best hand beats the golem, he wins the pot, and the game is over. But if the player with the best hand does not beat the golem, that player must put into the pot an amount of coins equal to what’s already in the pot, and all cards are collected so that a new hand can be dealt for the players who were still in at the end. This continues until someone wins the pot. The house takes 5 percent of the final pot, and then the amulet moves one position to the right and a new game is dealt.[/sblock]“Step up to the lake and get your racers ready! There’s a storm a’comin’!”[sblock=Skiffs]How to Play:Arrayed on a table is a three-by-three grid of small lidless boxes next to a large wooden bowl containing a set of twenty-five identical ship tokens. Skiffs is a halfling gambling game played on a three-by-three board or set of boxes (the “lake”). Each player takes an equal number of tokens from the pool (“skiffs”). The dealer takes one skiff (the “racer”) from each player and then places the rest in a bowl called the “storm.” The storm is flipped over the lake in one smooth motion, so each of the skiffs falls into one of the 9 boxes. (If a skiff falls between parts of the lake, the dealer places it where more than half of it lies, choosing randomly between the two boxes if it isn’t clear.) The dealer places the racers in the bowl. Then the dealer pulls out one racer at a time, and that player takes a turn.
On your turn you must do exactly one of the following, if you can: • Remove any one skiff. • Remove one of your skiffs and any one skiff from anywhere on the board. • Remove one of your skiffs and any two skiffs from the same box. • Move one skiff to an adjacent box. When a box contains exactly one skiff, that skiff is “anchored.” An anchored skiff can’t be removed except by its owner, and no one can move a skiff into that box except the anchored skiff’s owner. In all cases, each skiff you remove is worth one coin, regardless of whose it is. After everyone has taken a turn, the dealer puts the racers back in the bowl, and starts a new round of turns. The game can end in two ways. The first way is if anyone has the only skiffs in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. In this case, that player wins all the skiffs still on the board. The house keeps the racers. The second way is if each box contains skiffs of just one color, or none at all. In that case, the game ends, the house keeps the racers, and points are counted. You get one point for each skiff on the board, and one point for every box in which you have the only skiff(s). Whoever has the most points on the board takes all the remaining skiffs. In the case of a tie, those skiffs are split evenly between the tied players.[/sblock]"And a black makes for a colored flight; that hoard is mine!"[sblock=Three Dragon Ante]How to Play: Three Dragon Ante is played with a deck of 70 cards divided into five suits of chromatic dragons, five suits of metallic dragons and a handful of dragon gods cards and mortal cards. Each card in the deck has a strength between 1 and 13, and a special ability or power. Six cards are initially dealt to each player. There is a maximum hand size of ten cards and players are not allowed to have more than the maximum at any time. Players keep their hands secret from the other players. The undealt cards are placed face-down into a draw pile from which players take new cards. The game is divided into gambits in which gold is added and detracted from the stakes (similar to the pot in poker). Each gambit normally has three rounds (four or more can break ties). In each round, players play cards in front of them (comprising their flight). The strongest flight is the one with cards summing the highest numerical value. After each gambit, each player draws two cards. All ante cards and flights are then discarded.
In a gambit, players initially choose a card from their hand to ante-up (see poker). The highest ante determines the amount of gold every player must pay to the stakes.
The player with the highest ante plays first, triggering the special ability of her dragon. The special powers of each card varies from allowing players to draw more cards or steal money - from the stakes or other players. In general, good dragons allow players to gain cards, whereas evil dragons allow players to get more gold from the pot or other players. Mortals are especially powerful, so players often maneuver to trigger their mortals' special power.
After the first card in the round is played, players play cards in clockwise order. If the value of the card is less than or equal to the one played before it in the round, it triggers. Otherwise, it does not. The highest dragon in a given round determines the leader of the next round. The first card played in every round always triggers.
Most gambits end after three rounds, though occasionally a tie extends it to four or more rounds. In either case, the strongest flight (sum of the values of each player's three cards) wins. Additionally, special flights (color or strength) allow players to earn extra gold or cards. Players must buy cards from the deck if they run out of cards. The cost of new cards is determined randomly by flipping the top card of the draw pile; the player pays its cost in gold. This commonly happens, since replacing cards can be difficult.
The game ends when one player's hoard runs out at the end of a gambit. The house takes 5% from each hoard.[/sblock]"Six great towers, which will you raise?"[sblock=Towers]How to play:This game is played with a Harrow; a practice considered abhorrent by Varisian Harrowers. The deck is divided into six suits of nine cards apiece with each suit representing an antribute: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Play centers around six figurative "towers". Each turn, you try to build on those towers. When you can’t build, you incur debt to the other players. At some point, your debt comes due, and when it does, you want everyone else’s debts to you to be far greater.
Setup: Separate out the neutral cards—those with the symbol in the center. Lay out these six cards in a row across the table, each more than two full cards’ width away from the others. These represent the foundations of towers: the Tower of Strength, the Tower of Dexterity, and so on. Shuffle the rest of the deck. Deal three cards to each player, face up in front of him—this is the player’s cache. Players must sit along opposite sides of the row of towers, with their caches parallel to the row of towers. Each player also has a balance—a pile of cards off to the side of the player. All players start with zero cards in their balance. Each player’s balance is his debt to the other players in the game, and this debt must be paid by that player as he leaves the game. Whoever has the card that is alphabetically first among all the players’ cache cards goes first.
Taking a Turn: On your turn, you may either flee or play any one of your cache cards onto one of the towers. If you flee, put all your cache cards into your balance, and immediately pay that balance in coins to each of the players still in the game. Turn your balance facedown to show you are out of the game. You do not get any more cards, nor incur any more debt. If you don’t flee, you must play a card so that:
1. The card’s title is toward you.
2. The card’s symbol covers one of the eight alignment positions surrounding the foundation’s symbol.
3. The card doesn’t cover any symbols.
4. The card’s symbol is next to the symbol of a card on the tower (not including the foundation), if any are on that foundation.
That last rule means that if one or more cards have been placed on the tower, their symbols are all connected to each other. If the card you played matches the foundation’s symbol, you may play another one of your cards on any tower. If that symbol matches, you can play your last card as well. Any card you can’t play goes into your balance. When you are done, draw three cards to replace your cache and pass the turn to the player to your left.
Closing a Tower: If you play a card in a way that makes it impossible to play another card on the tower, the tower is closed. Starting with the opponent on your left, give one card from the tower to each opponent still in the game, continuing around until all the cards from the tower (including the foundation) are distributed. Those cards go in the opponents’ balances. (If you face only one remaining opponent, that opponent gets all the cards from that tower.)
Ending the Game: The game ends when no more cards can be played by anyone. All cards in players’ caches go into their balances. Each player’s balance is his debt to each of the remaining players. Unlike debts in fleeing, debts at the end of the game can cancel each other out, so if you owe a player nine coins, and that player owes you five coins, you owe that player four coins.
The house collects 5% from the stakes.[/sblock]
While disgustedly watching a game of Towers being played Girri feels a light touch on the small of her back. Turning, she sees one of the scantily clad succubi waitresses deftly holding up a tray clustered with empty glasses and tankards over her head with an upturned hand. "Can I get ya somethin from the bar sweety?"
OOC: Sorry for the tardy reply; I wanted to compile this info for you but have been rather busy this past week with a hectic move into a new condo.
Note that many of the games described above are rather slow to play through in a PbP format so, if you're interested in trying some of them we can opt for a quick gambling resolution system done by rolling either a profession (gambler) skill check or a Charisma check; whichever has a higher bonus.
“Bounder, bounder, bounder! No doubles, no doubles!”[sblock=Bounder]How to Play: Bounder is unique among gambling games in that both the players and dealer use dice. The dealer gets three 6-sided dice, and each player gets two 20-siders. To start, each player bets a stake (minimum 1 tooth). Each player rolls his first d20, making his “point.” After all players have rolled their points, each player may double his stake if desired. Then the dealer rolls 3d6. Anyone whose point the dealer matches loses his stake. Then each player rolls his second d20. If the player’s two dice results are on either side of the dealer’s result—one greater than and one less than the dealer’s number—he “bounds” the dealer and wins an amount equal to the amount he bet. Otherwise, he loses his stake. If a player rolls a 1 and a 20 (or a 20 and a 1), he wins double his bet.[/sblock]“It’s you verses the greedy golem! Test your skill and take the monster’s pot!”[sblock=Golem]How to Play: Golem is played with a gilded amulet and a deck of cards divided into four suits of thirteen cards, each depicting a type of golem: flesh, clay, stone and iron. Golem is a player-vs.-player card game similar to five-card draw poker, but with a “golem hand.” Golem is played in a series of games; one game must be completely resolved before the next begins. The player to the right of the dealer gets the amulet to start the night. The dealer deals five cards to each player. Starting at the amulet, each player can bet, raise one coin, or fold. Anyone who folds is out of the game, and can’t come back in until a new game begins. Next, each player may discard up to two cards and receive that many back from the dealer. These discarded cards go facedown on the center of the table. Another round of betting occurs, starting at the amulet. If, at any point, only one player hasn’t folded, he wins the pot—the house taking 5 percent—and the game is over. If at least two players are still in after all bets are called, those players reveal their hands. Then the dealer “ups the golem.” The golem hand—those cards discarded when players had the chance to draw new cards—is revealed, and if the player with the best hand beats the golem, he wins the pot, and the game is over. But if the player with the best hand does not beat the golem, that player must put into the pot an amount of coins equal to what’s already in the pot, and all cards are collected so that a new hand can be dealt for the players who were still in at the end. This continues until someone wins the pot. The house takes 5 percent of the final pot, and then the amulet moves one position to the right and a new game is dealt.[/sblock]“Step up to the lake and get your racers ready! There’s a storm a’comin’!”[sblock=Skiffs]How to Play:Arrayed on a table is a three-by-three grid of small lidless boxes next to a large wooden bowl containing a set of twenty-five identical ship tokens. Skiffs is a halfling gambling game played on a three-by-three board or set of boxes (the “lake”). Each player takes an equal number of tokens from the pool (“skiffs”). The dealer takes one skiff (the “racer”) from each player and then places the rest in a bowl called the “storm.” The storm is flipped over the lake in one smooth motion, so each of the skiffs falls into one of the 9 boxes. (If a skiff falls between parts of the lake, the dealer places it where more than half of it lies, choosing randomly between the two boxes if it isn’t clear.) The dealer places the racers in the bowl. Then the dealer pulls out one racer at a time, and that player takes a turn.
On your turn you must do exactly one of the following, if you can: • Remove any one skiff. • Remove one of your skiffs and any one skiff from anywhere on the board. • Remove one of your skiffs and any two skiffs from the same box. • Move one skiff to an adjacent box. When a box contains exactly one skiff, that skiff is “anchored.” An anchored skiff can’t be removed except by its owner, and no one can move a skiff into that box except the anchored skiff’s owner. In all cases, each skiff you remove is worth one coin, regardless of whose it is. After everyone has taken a turn, the dealer puts the racers back in the bowl, and starts a new round of turns. The game can end in two ways. The first way is if anyone has the only skiffs in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. In this case, that player wins all the skiffs still on the board. The house keeps the racers. The second way is if each box contains skiffs of just one color, or none at all. In that case, the game ends, the house keeps the racers, and points are counted. You get one point for each skiff on the board, and one point for every box in which you have the only skiff(s). Whoever has the most points on the board takes all the remaining skiffs. In the case of a tie, those skiffs are split evenly between the tied players.[/sblock]"And a black makes for a colored flight; that hoard is mine!"[sblock=Three Dragon Ante]How to Play: Three Dragon Ante is played with a deck of 70 cards divided into five suits of chromatic dragons, five suits of metallic dragons and a handful of dragon gods cards and mortal cards. Each card in the deck has a strength between 1 and 13, and a special ability or power. Six cards are initially dealt to each player. There is a maximum hand size of ten cards and players are not allowed to have more than the maximum at any time. Players keep their hands secret from the other players. The undealt cards are placed face-down into a draw pile from which players take new cards. The game is divided into gambits in which gold is added and detracted from the stakes (similar to the pot in poker). Each gambit normally has three rounds (four or more can break ties). In each round, players play cards in front of them (comprising their flight). The strongest flight is the one with cards summing the highest numerical value. After each gambit, each player draws two cards. All ante cards and flights are then discarded.
In a gambit, players initially choose a card from their hand to ante-up (see poker). The highest ante determines the amount of gold every player must pay to the stakes.
The player with the highest ante plays first, triggering the special ability of her dragon. The special powers of each card varies from allowing players to draw more cards or steal money - from the stakes or other players. In general, good dragons allow players to gain cards, whereas evil dragons allow players to get more gold from the pot or other players. Mortals are especially powerful, so players often maneuver to trigger their mortals' special power.
After the first card in the round is played, players play cards in clockwise order. If the value of the card is less than or equal to the one played before it in the round, it triggers. Otherwise, it does not. The highest dragon in a given round determines the leader of the next round. The first card played in every round always triggers.
Most gambits end after three rounds, though occasionally a tie extends it to four or more rounds. In either case, the strongest flight (sum of the values of each player's three cards) wins. Additionally, special flights (color or strength) allow players to earn extra gold or cards. Players must buy cards from the deck if they run out of cards. The cost of new cards is determined randomly by flipping the top card of the draw pile; the player pays its cost in gold. This commonly happens, since replacing cards can be difficult.
The game ends when one player's hoard runs out at the end of a gambit. The house takes 5% from each hoard.[/sblock]"Six great towers, which will you raise?"[sblock=Towers]How to play:This game is played with a Harrow; a practice considered abhorrent by Varisian Harrowers. The deck is divided into six suits of nine cards apiece with each suit representing an antribute: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Play centers around six figurative "towers". Each turn, you try to build on those towers. When you can’t build, you incur debt to the other players. At some point, your debt comes due, and when it does, you want everyone else’s debts to you to be far greater.
Setup: Separate out the neutral cards—those with the symbol in the center. Lay out these six cards in a row across the table, each more than two full cards’ width away from the others. These represent the foundations of towers: the Tower of Strength, the Tower of Dexterity, and so on. Shuffle the rest of the deck. Deal three cards to each player, face up in front of him—this is the player’s cache. Players must sit along opposite sides of the row of towers, with their caches parallel to the row of towers. Each player also has a balance—a pile of cards off to the side of the player. All players start with zero cards in their balance. Each player’s balance is his debt to the other players in the game, and this debt must be paid by that player as he leaves the game. Whoever has the card that is alphabetically first among all the players’ cache cards goes first.
Taking a Turn: On your turn, you may either flee or play any one of your cache cards onto one of the towers. If you flee, put all your cache cards into your balance, and immediately pay that balance in coins to each of the players still in the game. Turn your balance facedown to show you are out of the game. You do not get any more cards, nor incur any more debt. If you don’t flee, you must play a card so that:
1. The card’s title is toward you.
2. The card’s symbol covers one of the eight alignment positions surrounding the foundation’s symbol.
3. The card doesn’t cover any symbols.
4. The card’s symbol is next to the symbol of a card on the tower (not including the foundation), if any are on that foundation.
That last rule means that if one or more cards have been placed on the tower, their symbols are all connected to each other. If the card you played matches the foundation’s symbol, you may play another one of your cards on any tower. If that symbol matches, you can play your last card as well. Any card you can’t play goes into your balance. When you are done, draw three cards to replace your cache and pass the turn to the player to your left.
Closing a Tower: If you play a card in a way that makes it impossible to play another card on the tower, the tower is closed. Starting with the opponent on your left, give one card from the tower to each opponent still in the game, continuing around until all the cards from the tower (including the foundation) are distributed. Those cards go in the opponents’ balances. (If you face only one remaining opponent, that opponent gets all the cards from that tower.)
Ending the Game: The game ends when no more cards can be played by anyone. All cards in players’ caches go into their balances. Each player’s balance is his debt to each of the remaining players. Unlike debts in fleeing, debts at the end of the game can cancel each other out, so if you owe a player nine coins, and that player owes you five coins, you owe that player four coins.
The house collects 5% from the stakes.[/sblock]
While disgustedly watching a game of Towers being played Girri feels a light touch on the small of her back. Turning, she sees one of the scantily clad succubi waitresses deftly holding up a tray clustered with empty glasses and tankards over her head with an upturned hand. "Can I get ya somethin from the bar sweety?"
OOC: Sorry for the tardy reply; I wanted to compile this info for you but have been rather busy this past week with a hectic move into a new condo.
Note that many of the games described above are rather slow to play through in a PbP format so, if you're interested in trying some of them we can opt for a quick gambling resolution system done by rolling either a profession (gambler) skill check or a Charisma check; whichever has a higher bonus.
Last edited:
