Gambling
Did I ever tell you guys that I was in the SCA? Well it’s true. I was never any good with a sword, but my time in the Society for Creative Anachronism taught me some important lessons about pseudo medieval fantasy worlds. For example, did you know that armor is heavy? And another little known fact: getting hit with sticks hurts! But perhaps most relevant to today’s heads up showdown between Barbarian and Thief is this: gambling is not about gambling.
This is going to take some explaining. Let me start with the duct tape cheese wheel.
You see, there’s this game you play at SCA tourneys called “You Dirty Bastards.” Nobody is allowed to bring the usual swords or spears or shields. Instead you plop yourself down on a hay bail and then keep a careful watch on the other fighters around the table. For there is a table, and it is laden with all manner of “food.” There’s a heavy duct tape cheese wheel. There are various and sundry “sausages” built for stabbing. There are even tankards of duct tape ale perfect for punching your rivals in the schnoz. Nobody makes a move, however, until one of the marshals taps somebody on the shoulder. The chosen fighter screams out, “You dirty bastards!” Then the circle erupts into an extremely violent game of duck duck goose. The table is knocked over, everyone dives for the weapons, and you beat your buddies about the face and head until there’s only one man left standing. I have a distinct memory of grabbing the same tankard as another fighter, then jointly punching the rest of the table in the world’s least coordinated team attack.
It was good times, but by now I’m sure you’re wondering what any of this has to do with gambling. Dice and coins weren’t involved in this game, but here’s the thing: my head canon for You Dirty Bastards always involved a game of chance gone bad.
When gambling comes up in an RPG, there’s always a temptation to go for a bit of actual gambling. You’re already sitting down at a table. You’ve already got gaming gear scattered around the room. Why not have the players enjoy a round or three of liar’s dice or Texas hold ’em? And I mean sure, it can work out OK. But for my money, it’s a bit of a waste of time. That’s because, when gambling comes up in an RPG, gaining or losing a few gold isn’t the point. It isn’t interesting. This is one of those cases where I’d much rather roll a few opposed checks (Deception vs. Insight, Bluff vs. Sleight of Hand, etc.) and simply move the story along based on the abstract results. Sure you lose out on a little immersion, but you get to the meaty stuff so much sooner. What meaty stuff? Well I’m talking about the accusations of cheating. I’m talking about knocking over the table. Grabbing the money and running. The inevitable tavern brawl. For me, the game within the game isn’t important. The real gambler’s thrill comes from shouting, “You dirty bastards!” and throwing that first cheese wheel.
How about the rest of you guys? How do you handle gambling scenes in your games? Let’s hear it in the comments!
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We rarely engage in this sort of scenario, and when we do, we typically do it as more of a fun downtime between quests than something meant to incite more drama. However, your idea does sound like fun, so I think i’ll give it a go sometime soon. =)
I think maybe Wizard is my spirit animal. EVERYTHING is a chance to incite more drama!
Out of curiosity, how do you actually handle the gambling in your game?
The few times we’ve done it have all been different. One group did it as a downtime activity where you just rolled to see how much you made or lost. Another group did it with skill checks. Yet another actually broke out the playing cards.
Which did you prefer?
If it’s to make money, let’s just roll something and get on with it. If we’re there to relax or this is an important game of cards for whatever reason, I don’t mind roleplaying it out.
Winning or losing a few gold is pretty pointless. But what if you raise the stakes? Our GM stumbled across a gigantic casino tent full of lifelike statues run by a djinni. He could grant nearly any wish, but you had to put an equivalent thing on the table to wager. Those statues? Yeah, people who bet their lives and lost.
Our party was in desperate need of a ship to cross the ocean, so we decided to try our luck at a variety of games. I don’t remember everything that people put up for wager, but I know that I was feeling lucky that day, so I bet my left arm in exchange for the ship. And I won! Pretty tense though.
Also, it looks like the alt-text might be missing on this comic?
Snap! Thanks for the catch. Also, I apologize for today’s alt text being a pun.
Anywho, stakes like you describe sound like an excellent example of making gambling work in-game. The gameplay of the gambling isn’t the point, but the situation that arises from gambling is. Win a ship or lose an arm, the results of the game will be interesting.
One of my players has a character that ostensibly likes playing Dragon Chess (or something) so he carries around the board. First session he challenged an innkeeper to a game for some info. I just had him roll INT checks against the guy a couple (maybe 5?) times to play through the game. He hasn’t brought it up since, despite some opportunities. I wonder if I could have made it more interesting or intense somehow.
Here’s an idea. What if you change up the game to represent a slightly more advanced version of “gather information?”
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/gatherInformation.htm
The board counts as masterwork tools for the purpose, so it grants a +2 to the check. The mechanical benefit is more likely to make the player remember this aspect of his character.
Then as you go move / counter-move, have the PC’s opponent give up a piece of info for each opposed roll he loses. I’m picturing something like the following.
PC: I roll. Crap, it’s only an 11.
Innkeeper: “Queen’s gambit, eh? I’ve seen that one a few times in my day.”
GM: The innkeeper quickly checkmates you. He knocks your expertly carved Crimson Tyrant over with a flick of his finger.
PC: Rematch! Ha! 21.
GM: The innkeeper frowns down at the board. He shakes his head in frustration.
Innkeeper: “You’re nearly as devious a bastard as that Lord Mayor Maguffin.”
PC: “Lord Mayor Maguffin you say? He must be a devilishly handsome and plot-centric fellow. Why don’t you tell me something of the man while I reset the board?”
The PC might have to give up gold to get a rematch, but this form of gambling becomes a means to pay for information. Then you have somebody attempt a sleight of hand check to cheat the PC out of a win, pulling the old “look over there!” while he rearranges the board. Then the fun really begins as the PC decides whether or not to leap across the table, pretend not to notice, or gather up the rest of the party and ask the cheat a few hard questions in a back alley.
Anywho, I would say to write down 3-4 “board game encounters” like the above. The goal is to help make this interesting quirk actually interesting. Having a few ideas in your back pocket can make that happen. I’m talking opponents like “the cheat,” “the foppish and overconfident noble,” and “the blind kid that plays the game by memory in the corner.” All of them can become interesting character moments.
Good luck out there, and happy gaming.
In our games we had gambling on tournament matches so we bet on ourselves, which was pretty high stakes…
The most dangerous gambling in the games so far has been a Rod of Wonder or Deck of Many Things.
Those be scary waters yo.
Dangerous gambling indeed! Any especially terrible results from the rod or the deck?
Not so far. But a scare or two.
Basically house ruling that harrow points in the Crimson Thrown campaign can be spent normally or on “Wild Magic”, which is just Rod of Wonder.
The first test roll to demonstrate what could happen was target’s home turns into volcano… Lucky it was test as “Home” was currently Corvosa where major plot is happening.
Another roll created a GM-ruled-temporary Anti-magic Zone that covered most of Corvosa which would have been significantly game altering, if plot hadn’t had us leaving as we did it.
Most recent scare was our newest player had one used on her and she turned into a pile of dust. Well we just killed one of our newcomers… The following morning, the mug we had the dust collected in exploded and she was sitting there fine as ever. A quick inspection revealed her hands, which were already blackened from her Oracle Curse, were now hard as stone, though still pliable as skin is. My lil magic-shy Kobold does not like this use of such uncontrollable forces in his direct vicinity and has threatened everyone who has offered. To spend one on him.
Jesus. The harrow deck in your campaign has some crazy powers. Somebody needs to tell that old gypsy lady to calm her tits. :/
Heh yeah it was added as a fun way to spend extra points durring or at the end of the chapter.
It’s an interesting house rule that has resulted in fun shenanigans a time or two.
More Barbarian art? Yes this is good.
As for Gambling, I don’t do it much. It’s only come up in PFS about once or twice, and no one had the skill. I feel like that kind of thing is more at home in a homebrew game that can take its time and get involved with character development and free time.
Now I’m wondering how you would do gambling quickly and efficiently in a PFS scenario? Maybe a contact complains about a gambling den that’s really a front for black market weapons. They bilk their customers of their best gear, then turn around and sell it to [insert evil organization] at a discount. To prove these shenanigans, the PCs have to pony up some of their own magic gear. But never fear! The society can scry on it free of charge…
Afterwards the PCs have to bust into the warehouse and retrieve their stuff. Depending on how well they did on their Bluff vs. Sense Motive, they get the drop on the baddies or they get fingered as narcs and ambushed.
Could be a nice way to set up a “meet the bad guys before you punch them” situation too.
Man… I need to get around to submitting some PFS scenarios. Too busy on other projects.
Gaming not being the purpose might be very tru in most RPG’s, but somethimes the gambling is part of the game. And so there is a “gaming\gambling” mechanic in the James Bond 007 RPGs, because sitting in casinos, and beating (or cheating) the odds is part of what you are supposed to do in the game. And no, this does not actually involve getting the blackjack cards, and the roulette wheel out.
What’s the system like?
My character routinely cheats at games of chance in taverns — to ensure that he doesn’t win too often. Because if it was the money I was after, it’s quicker and easier to just take it from their pockets. I’m gambling in a tavern because I want information, and people are much happier spending time with strangers who are bad at cards…
Winning at cards by losing at cards. 🙂
My paladin likes to gamble. I like to gamble inside games, because virtual money is not as valuable as real money, but it still gives me a rush of dopamine.
So I like to find honourable gamblers in game and play road to one-hundred with them. The rules are simple: the challenger rolls a d100. The result rolled of that dice is then rolled by the challenged and so on. The first to roll 1 loses.
In-game we flavor this as a regular game of cards or dice. Last time my GM informed me that we would not be rolling d100 and instead insight: the NPC was trying to cheat.
This made my character paranoid of playing with anyone else: after knocking the guy out with a few well-placed strikes, he decided that from then on, he’d always use Zone of Truth to determine if someone was honourable in gambling or not.