...This is the sign illuminated by a permanent 'faerie fire' spell over the doors of a large, brightly lit mansion. Here, your chances of winning depend on solely the luck of the draw, and the roll of the dice.
Hello fellow adventurers! I'm creating a gambling house, and in it I need ideas for different cards and dice games that are original, and unheard of! I've already created a prototype game resembling "Triple Triad" from Final Fantasy VIII, but it's still has it's problems (I can't figure out how to use the rest of the deck). Anyways, let me know a few of your ideas for card/dice games that PCs may partake in, and perhaps make a few pieces, or even more...
Blessed * Be!
This is a slightly modified gambling game using polyhedron dice in some D&D book. I can't remember the source - sorry.
Each player rolls a d6. Highest roll goes first. Everyone puts in an ante. The player that goes first (Player 1) rolls a d4. Then the player on his left (who is now Player 2) rolls a d6. If the d6 roll is higher then the d4 roll then player 2's turn is over and the player on his left (Player3) rolls a d8 etc.
If a result is lower then the die rolled before it however then the player that rolled the that die wins and collects the pot. So the game only continues as long as each new die roll with a larger die is higher then the last - you win if the guy on your left rolls lower then you.
If the die roll ever ties the old roll everyone must add another ante to the pot and the same die is passed to the next player (so tieing the roll is actually what you want most 'cause now you have a chance to immediately win a bigger pot if the guy beside you rolls lower then the current number).
The game could be played up to a d20 with players rolling d20s again and again keeping the higher number until some one wins. Or you could go on to a d30 or d100 or add multiple d20s as you see fit.
Once a pot is done then the person on the left of the winner gets to start with the rolling after everyone antes in. Note that the house gets nothing from the game so it should either be charging an entry fee or more likely taking a rake from the winning pot.
The game probably works best with 5 or less players arranged in a circle - the relivent die just keeps getting passed to the left and can be passed back to the guy that originally rolled the d4 with no special rules - its just going in a circle.
The sequence of the dice is the fairly obvious d4 then d6 then d8 then d10 then d12 then d20.
Hope I have explained this well enough so that its understandable. Its a pretty simple game and really pure chance - no skill except at making loaded dice will help you here.
Well...
There's the dice game in The Cauldron Adventure Path (I think it's in Zenith Trajectory, if I'm not mistaken) that the players play at the Cusp of Sunrise. I forget the name of the game (I think it's called Gem Snatching). On every round, each participant rolls a dice and tries to get a 1... They start with a d4 and every time they get a one, they 'upgrade' to the next dice (d6,d8,d10,d12 and finally d20). When a player (the winner) ends up by rolling the d20, each other player pays the amount of pieces that appears on the d20 (be it silver, gold, platinum, or even something of greater value).
In the old 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, there's a bunch of gambling dice games that are available. Here are some of those and some of my own as well...
Knucklebones: Plays with 5d12. Works like poker (pair, two pairs, three of a kind, etc). Players rolls once, keep the dice they want and reroll the rest. Highest hand wins.
Bullseye: Plays with 3d20 (two black and one white). Each player on his turn rolls the two black dice, say he gets a 6 and a 14. He then tries to get a number with the white die between 6 and 14. If he succeeds, the other players pay up. Winnings are calculated like so (20 - (difference between the two black dice) x5). Either gold, platinum, or whatever.
Dice Racing: Played with 2d6. On every turn, all players roll 2d6. They simply keep adding until one reaches 100. Doubles give you an extra roll on that turn. Winner takes whatever was bet before the game started.
Deluxe Dice Racing: Played with 2d6. Like dice racing, exept players can roll any amount of times during a turn. When the player decides to stop his turn, he adds whatever he has accumulated on that turn. Should he roll a 7, this automatically stops his turn and he gets no points. First player to get to 200 wins.
Wheel of Fortune: Played with 2d10. Costs 25 pieces to roll. If you roll doubles, you get that number x10 peices.
Well, there's a few more, but I got to get back to work! Have fun gambling!!!
Ultradan
O.o; Do you have any idea how much that helpped?!? THANK YOU! And thank you all for helpin me out! B*B!!!
Three words....
THREE DRAGON ANTE!!!!!
Sometimes I wish Wizards would just STOP SPYING ON ME!!!
Another way to go might be the house hosting competitive "chess" players have to ante up a certain amount to play, others bet on their favorite player, house gets a cut of all bets and referrees ensuring no cheating.
Games could be real chess, 3 side chess, 4, 5, etc.
Variety of games boards, "Rage of Griffons" could be a variation, the pieces and the number of each listed below:
King 1
Queen 1
Seneschal 1
Jester 1 (can move as the Queen but can only block can't take pieces)
Heralds 6
Arch Bishops 2
High Bishops 4
Bishops 8
Mages 4
Scouts 4
Engineers 8
Fortresses 2
Traps 2
Armored Cavalry 8
Air Cavalry (Griffons of course)
Infantry 16
Infantry Captains 4
Boards could be given different shapes.
This might appeal to mages, those who fancy themselves strategists, or those who want to bet on skill rather than luck.
The Casino could also host "sporting" events, fencing, boxing, dog fights, etc.
They could also make odds on various battles, political contests, the book-keepers (if they got to be sophisticated enough) could also make odds on the success of various shipping and adventuring ventures, and offer insurance to backers (insurance is basically a statistical pool of risk anyway) as well as letting people piggy back on adventures and participate vicariously.
My group usually alternates between d20 Star Wars and D&D, and the Sabacc rules for SW have proven to be quite fun. You can also think of it similarly to texas hold 'em, where the rolls are the cards being drawn.
Bets are made around the table from the left of dealer (You can rotate or keep a house dealer). Players should keep their rolls secret (except the d6 roll) as showing rolls is equivalent to showing your cards... you can no longer bluff, etc. During betting, you can choose to bet or fold, and whoever has the highest total at the end of the round wins (unless everyone else has folded due to his awesome hand, or awesome bluffing).
1) <b>Ante.</b> (This should be different for different tables, high stake areas = much higher antes)
2) <b>Each player rolls a d10, and then places bets in turn.</b>(this would be the "flop" or first 3 cards in hold 'em)
3) <b>Each player rolls a d20 +int mod and +2 for having 5 ranks in bluff, intimidate, gamble, and anything else you deem appropriate. Then players place their final bets, in turn.</b> (This would be the "turn" in hold 'em)
4) <b>Each player rolls a d6. If they get a one, the last card has not gone their way... subtract 10 from their total.</b>(This would be the "river" in hold 'em)
The players then add up their totals for the d10, d20, int mod, and skill bonuses, and whoever has the highest wins the hand.
I know it's been a blast to play in game (bluffing is quite fun and viable in sabaac), so I hope you enjoy. You can of course call it Sabaac, hold 'em, or make up some silly d&d name like <i>Dragon's Hoarde</i> depending on your setting.
If my explanation wasn't super clear, just drop a message, I'll be watching this thread. :)