I've got a bit coming up where the party is going to partake in a gaming tournament to get the attention of and earn a meeting with a local mob boss.
I'm just not sure what the game should be? I love the idea of a card game using a tarot deck or something of the like. Ideally, this could reward them for being clever/good at the game but also able to gain some advantages via skill proficiencies.
There are some backgrounds that give characters a tool proficiency in “gaming set.” I’d start with players that have that and let them play that kind of game: dice, cards, etc. Depending on the game, maybe a dex check or wisdom, adding proficiency bonus if they have the correct tool proficiency. It would be a nice way to make what’s basically a ribbon ability from their background into something useful. As far as playing it out with an actual deck of cards, it could be fun, but that could be risky. Then it becomes about the player’s ability, not the character’s, which you generally want to avoid.
What if you played some kind of poker ripoff, but characters can add or subtract a total value from their card numbers equal to their Intelligence (Gaming Set) modifier? That way you get to have fun with a real game, real cards, and real strategy, but the smartest/most experienced characters have a huge advantage, so it's realistic. That said, it's been a long time since I've played poker, but I have a feeling you'd have to find a very specific variant to make this work well. And if you have a deck with tarot-style art, all the better. The Tarokka Deck from Curse of Strahd is probably perfect, since it has numbers and suits as well as cool art.
I'd take inspiration from Casino Royale. It's great movie and is all about this high stakes poker tournament. For the game itself It can just be a standard but fun card game, but the bits in-between will really define how the game will go. Maybe as the players move on they will see a man hide an ace in his sleeve, and they can either report him or not. If they don't the man has an advantage in the game. If they do, he will be disqualified but you get a lot of attention from the nearby crooks. and maybe on of your less intuitive players who lost the game and is simply watching will notice a man outside of the room walking up with a knife, that player must stop the killer before they interrupt the game without drawing attention to the fight or the cover will be blown.
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I've got a bit coming up where the party is going to partake in a gaming tournament to get the attention of and earn a meeting with a local mob boss.
I'm just not sure what the game should be? I love the idea of a card game using a tarot deck or something of the like. Ideally, this could reward them for being clever/good at the game but also able to gain some advantages via skill proficiencies.
Thoughts?
There are some backgrounds that give characters a tool proficiency in “gaming set.” I’d start with players that have that and let them play that kind of game: dice, cards, etc. Depending on the game, maybe a dex check or wisdom, adding proficiency bonus if they have the correct tool proficiency. It would be a nice way to make what’s basically a ribbon ability from their background into something useful.
As far as playing it out with an actual deck of cards, it could be fun, but that could be risky. Then it becomes about the player’s ability, not the character’s, which you generally want to avoid.
What if you played some kind of poker ripoff, but characters can add or subtract a total value from their card numbers equal to their Intelligence (Gaming Set) modifier? That way you get to have fun with a real game, real cards, and real strategy, but the smartest/most experienced characters have a huge advantage, so it's realistic. That said, it's been a long time since I've played poker, but I have a feeling you'd have to find a very specific variant to make this work well. And if you have a deck with tarot-style art, all the better. The Tarokka Deck from Curse of Strahd is probably perfect, since it has numbers and suits as well as cool art.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
I'd take inspiration from Casino Royale. It's great movie and is all about this high stakes poker tournament. For the game itself It can just be a standard but fun card game, but the bits in-between will really define how the game will go. Maybe as the players move on they will see a man hide an ace in his sleeve, and they can either report him or not. If they don't the man has an advantage in the game. If they do, he will be disqualified but you get a lot of attention from the nearby crooks. and maybe on of your less intuitive players who lost the game and is simply watching will notice a man outside of the room walking up with a knife, that player must stop the killer before they interrupt the game without drawing attention to the fight or the cover will be blown.