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Okay, so, this was a terrible idea that actually seems to be working. I wanted an alternative to random encounters while the PCs were moving around in the ruins that would:
- Put the PC in a bit more control over their encounters by allowing them to risk tougher encounters in exchange for greater rewards
- Give the whole experience of being sent out on patrols into the ruins a sort of vietnam flavor -- PCs are sent out during the day to try to find out what the drow are up to, etc.
I normally am dead set against gimicky meta game mechanics that require the PCs to learn a new mechanic to try to simulate some game/story element. But in this case, by using poker to create the sort of risk/reward tension, it seems like less of a sin (though it's still gimicky) because the players already understand poker mechanics pretty well.
Basically, the PCs get a minimum of 5 cards -- each one determines something about the encounter (setting, mission, starting opponents, special environmental conditions and complications). They start with three cards (the party shares a single hand for each encounter) and get the environmental condition after the first round, and the first complication after the second.
Every round after the second, the PCs can elect to add a complication by drawing another card.
Then, at the end of the encounter, if they completed the mission, they earn a reward based on the poker hand they've built with (best 5 card hand out of all the cards they've drawn).
I should note that we're converting this to 4e, so combats run a little longer (if you tried to run this in 35/PF, you might want to offer complications sooner)
I'll put my detailed notes for the system in spoilers, below, just in case anyone is actually interested.
Player Handout:
Celwynvian Poker (Player handout)
This system is intended to model the sorts of encounters your team will have while out on patrol as a part of the effort to drive the Drow out of Celwynvian. You are tempted to take greater risks to try to force better, more decisive results out of volatile, dangerous encounters.
The Goal: You will have driven the Drow back far enough to enter the Academy once you have earned 10 Battle Points.
Basically, you determine how many points you earn in a given encounter as you build the encounter. Each hand of poker is an encounter the party will have to complete. A hand will have at least 5 cards in it, but it may have more, depending upon fate and the number of complication draws you decide to risk as you work your way through the encounter. Each card tells us something different about the encounter.
1. The Setting Determines which set of tiles is used to create the map.
2. The Mission - Determines what the players have orders to do (orders are usually delivered by animal messenger). To earn the results for the hand (below), the mission must be completed. Also, there will be an initial skill check to earn an advantage in the encounter.
3. The Base Encounter
4. Special (drawn after one round of combat)
5. The Complication (drawn after two rounds of combat, and an option at the start of every round of combat after that. once the Pcs elect not to draw an encounter, they may not draw additional encounters.)
* NOTE: A complication draw of a Heart represents the arrival of Elven/Eladrin reinforcements, which ends the encounter.
You'll see what each draw determines as we play through. Not everything that you draw will be bad (but most of it is).
* Face Cards: In almost all cases, face cards mean things are tougher than they would be given a normal card.
* Junk Cards: A few of the results you draw may require another draw to determine the real effect. Those extra cards are not part of your hand.
* Jokers. There are two jokers in the deck. When those appear, in any position, something you won't like is going to happen (you now know that this means the Dragon will appear briefly in the encounter). The joker becomes a junk card (there are no wilds) and a fresh card is drawn to replace the joker in the array.
* The DM Shuffles the deck only after a joker appears.
Results: The hand you end up with at the end of the encounter determines your rewards:
* Nothing - No time for a rest, go on to the next encounter (or return to base)
* Pair- Earn 1 BP or a short rest
* Two Pair- Earn 1 BP and one short rest
* Three of a Kind- Earn 1 BP. You find a bolt-hole to take a breather. Take as many short rests as you want. This is a milestone.
* Straight - Earn 2 BP. Multiple Short Rests + Milestone, each PC regains 1 healing surge
* Flush - Earn 2 BP. Short Rests, Milestone, and each PC regains 1 daily power
* Full House - Earn 2 BP, Short Rests, Milestone, and each PC regains 1 healing Surge and 1 Daily power.
* Four of a Kind - This contributes to a decisive victory in this quarter of the city. You gain 3 BP and may take a free extended rest.
Return to Base: After any encounter, no matter the result, the PCs have the option to return to base and take an extended rest.
Every time you take an extended rest, you lose two Battle Points.
DM Notes:
Five cards.
Encounter - determines the starting opponents in the encounter
Complication - determines what makes stuff worse
Setting - Four options: Ruin, wild, wet (??) blended?
Special - Some new hazard or environmental effect
Mission - stealth (observe and report), killing, ritual magic work, rescue
1. The Setting - The settings is created using dungeon tiles -- the DM will have several bags of tiles for each encounter types.
* Spade - Clearing
* Heart - Ruined building(s)
* Diamond - Intact buliding(s)
* Club - Mixed
* Face Cards - A face card indicates that the encounter also includes a hazard (DM will add the hazard)
* J: Darkness. Drow sorceries dampen light sources in the area. All light sources shed dim illumination, and non shed light beyond 4 spaces. This effect can be countered with a skill challenge (arcana/religion/nature DC medium, 4 successes before 3 failures -- each success adds 1 to the area illuminated by light sources.)
* Q: Sleet. The grow seem to be winning the struggle to control the weather in the ruins. Everything is cold and wet. PCs gain Vulnerable Cold 5 and Resist 5 Fire.
* K: The Smell of Brimstone - Demonic influence sends a cloud of noxious, sulfurous fumes through the area. All PCs must save or start the encounter dazed (save ends)
* A: The Dragon Flies By. At the beginning of the encounter all PCs are subject to the Dragon's fear attack.
2. The Mission - The mission determines the type of encounter the PCs are jumping in to. They'll need to make a group skill check to get an advantage in the scene. Skill DCS are Medium (see Face Cards, below)
* Spade - Skirmish (just killing enemies)
* Skill check for advantage: Check: Stealth, Acrobatics, Perception
* Advantage: Set up first, gain surprise round
* Win: Bloody or Kill 5 Non-minion opponents
* Heart - Capture & Hold Location (Special: must draw complications until they draw a heart)
* Skill Check: Endurance, Nature, or Streetwise
* Advantage: Once, when drawing a complication card, the PCs can elect to discard the complication and draw a new one.
* Win: Hold Out until you draw a heart as a complication card
* Diamond - Ritual magic Node (Special)
* Skill Check: Arcana, Religion, Nature
* Advantage: PCs start the encounter knowing where the nodes are. Otherwise, they must be discovered during the encounter
* Win: Complete the ritual task
* Club - Resources
* Skill Check: Insight, History, Thievery
* Advantage:
* Win: Destroy or Capture 8 Resources
* Face Cards - A face card indicates that the skill check is hard.
3. The Encounter
* Spade - Drow Patrol
* Heart - Unallied Monster
* Diamond - Undead
* Club - Drow Allies
* Face Cards - A face card indicates that the encounter also includes an elite, named opponent.
4. Special - This card adds a new wrinkle to the encounter (to try to bring out the setting). It's drawn after the first round of combat. In this case the numerical value of the card determines the result.
* 2 - Font of Temporary HP: a space appears on the board that will grant 5 temporary HP to anyone who starts their turn in that space. If they start their turn in that space and already have temporary hit points, they are weakened until the start of their next turn
* 3 - Elven Preparations: Kaerishiel and his elves have been through here and prepared the ground for fighting. Each PC gains one reroll, which must be used during this encounter (or it is discarded)
* 4 - Magic Circle: Defense. A magic circle is revealed by the fighting. Any combatant standing on the circle gains +2 to all defenses.
* 5 - Magic Circle: Healing. A magic circle is revealed by the fighting. Any combatant standing on the circle heals may add +5 to it's healing surge value
* 6 - Magic Circle: Blood. A magic circle is revealed by the fighting. Any combatant standing on the circle scores a critical on a 19-20.
* 7 - Silence. An area of magical silence covers the battlefield. Communication that depends on speech is impossible, and all combatants gain Resist 5 thunder
* 8 - Demon Pox. A cloud of biting insects (3x3) starts at one edge and moves across the battlefield at a speed of 6. The DM controls it's movement, but must always move towards the opposite edge (a la push). Any combatant that enters or starts it's turn in the cloud takes 5 damage, is dazed, and is exposed to a vile disease of demonic origin.
* 9 - Drow Balista has the Range - At the start of every round, an off-map balista fires a bolt at a visible random PC +10 vs AC, 3d8+7 damage
* 10 - Broken Glass & Sharp Edges: The ground is treacherous. Anyone who starts their turn prone takes 5 points of damage (4x4 area)
* J - Rising Sleet - The weather turns cold & ugly with driving rain & snow. All creatures are treated as lightly obscured
* Q - Blood Rage: Any time a creature (PC or NPC) becomes bloodied in the encounter they may make a free melee basic attack
* K- Firestorm: An Alchemical Firebomb strikes a space on the battlefield (burst 0). Any creature that enters or starts it's turn in the space takes 10 fire damage. At the start of every round, the area of flame grows by 1, becoming burst 1, burst 2, then burst 3. The round after burst three, the fire burns out. The heat and smoke from the fire obscures vision (lightly obscured)
* A - Demonic influence touches the battlefield. All combatants enter a combat fugue (save ends). While affected by the fugue, combatants may not ready or delay actions, may not fight defensively, take a -2 penalty to hit and gain a +5 bonus to damage.
5. The Complication (drawn after 2 full rounds of combat. After the first complication (so starting on round 3), the PCs can elect to draw a new complication card after each full round of combat, but once they decide not to draw a new complication, they can draw no more.)
* Spade - Drow Arrive
* Heart - Allies arrive! (no more complications after this one)
* Diamond - New Special (as the card value)
* Club - Draw another Encounter card (this card is NOT included in the hand)
* Face Cards - a face card indicates either a hard DC hazard or challenge (if the card is a diamond) or the inclusion of an elite, named NPC in the new NPCs joining the encounter.
Results:
* Nothing - No time for a rest, go on to the next encounter
* Pair- Earn 1 BP or a short rest
* Two Pair- Earn 1 BP and one short rest
* Three of a Kind- Earn 1 BP. You find a bolt-hole to take a breather. Take as many short rests as you want. This is a milestone.
* Straight - Earn 2 BP. Multiple Short Rests + Milestone, each PC regains 1 healing surge
* Flush - Earn 2 BP. Short Rests, Milestone, and each PC regains 1 daily power
* Full House - Earn 2 BP, Short Rests, Milestone, and each PC regains 1 healing Surge and 1 Daily power.
* Four of a Kind - This contributes to a decisive victory in this quarter of the city. You gain 3 BP and may take an extended rest.
The rewards are based on a sorta careful study of the odds -- the PCs are about 85% likely to get at least a pair if they draw 7 cards -- assuming those extra complications both result in additional enemies, the encounter should only end up being APL+2, so tough, but not impossible. (Also, those long, tougher encounters are not quite so bad because the enemies don't all appear at once)
In one session in which we've used this system so far, the PCs had one very long encounter that developed into a Full House (lots of nice rewards), then two shorter ones that ended when reinforcements arrived -- but the third one was complicated by two flyby attacks by the dragon (drew a joker).
All in all, although our sample is pretty small, we're having a good time with this.
-rg