Mini-Game : Gambling

[Roughtrade]

Was going through old material on Myth Site in preparation for moving and ran across some house rules I had developed for common situations in games which there are no official rules, or for which the rules in place were ones I thought did not work the way I desired.

This is what I came up for Gambling Games. The intent was, Players could actually do this to waste time if I was busy with something involving only one other Player. This was for In Person gaming mostly, but it works in Play by Post as well.

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Gambling Game

There was a period on Mythweavers where it seemed every game start up included a "Semi-IC" thread where potential players were in a tavern, goofing off and essentially waiting on the GM to choose players. Nearly all of them had some sort of card game going. For my own stage of this, I created some simple rules for gambling to allow Players a chance to Role Play.

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One Round of Play is assumed to be several hands, tosses of the dice, or whatever format the game is being played in. This is important. It is not one round of cards, it is multiple rounds over anything from five to fifteen minutes, to allow some Role Play as hands are exchanged or dice are rolled.

New Round of Play starts when everyone has had a chance to post.

In a 'Friendly Game' : No Money Changes Character Sheets
In a 'Serious Game' : Players Decide at the Beginning of Each Round how much Money will be at Stake. Winner gets Two Thirds of the Pot. Runner Up gets One Third of the Pot. Fractions are lost, consider it tipping the waitress. A tie for first place splits the pot fifty-fifty. This is because the round is considered to be multiple hands.

No Privacy Tags : Even if you try to cheat. Keep Player Knowledge and Character Knowledge separated.

Each Round Consists of the Players making a single D20 Check.

Each Player Chooses a 'Stance' or 'Style' of Play for the Round.

Betting Bold : Player is using his Bluff Skill
Playing Close to the Vest : Player is using his Diplomacy Skill
Staring Down the Competition : Player is using his Intimidate Skill
Looking for Tells : Player is using his Sense Motive Skill

These stances represent the general attitude towards play which the PC is using.

Lady Luck : To simulate the Whims of Luck, each player also rolls a D6 at the same time. If both rolls come up the same (as in both even or both odd numbers) then luck is with you and you add them together. If the dice come up different (as in one even and one odd) then luck is against you and you subtract the D6 from your roll.

To Clarify : Roll One d20 and One d6. If they are both even or both odd, add them together. If they are not, then subtract the d6 from the d20. Then add your Stance Skill to provide your final result.

To keep the game from becoming Stale : Players Cannot Use the Same Stance Twice in a Row. You can go back and forth, but the idea is that if you keep playing the same way then you become predictable. This is to prevent someone who sunk all of their points into a single social skill from dominating the game.

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Optional Modifiers

Stale Bread : A Player may repeat Stances but after using the same Stance twice in a row, further uses of that Stance cut your skill bonus in half as other players catch on to your tactics. After four rounds of not using that Stance, the skill bonus is no longer halved.

Buying the Pot : A Player may choose to throw in more money in an attempt to 'Buy the Pot' and force others out because they cannot match the bets he is making. This adds a +5 to your d20 roll, but if you lose, your character puts in double the amount of the current round of betting. This goes only to the winner and is not split in thirds. In a Friendly Game, where no actual money is changing character sheets, you cannot Buy the Pot unless you have won the previous two rounds in a row.

Cheating : Make a slight of hand check. DC 10 adds a d4 to your roll. DC 15 adds a d6 and DC 20 adds a D6 and means your luck is considered good even if your numbers are not matching. A Player must state how much they are cheating and establish their DC before the roll. If you fail the check by less than five, only someone using the Looking for Tells stance will notice. If you fail the check by more than five, everyone at the table notices.

[cailano]

Hey, this is great! I was just wondering about how to add gambling to my new campaign...