I quickly made up a simple poker analog when I had a player who wanted to play cards while the party went into a tavern (why I didn't just say people were playing dice I still don't know).
Basically each player rolls 5 d6, then from there it's poker rules... pairs, three of a kind, straights, flushes, etc. Players can bet what they want, and can "redraw" cards from their hand. It wasn't nearly as complex as poker can be, since there's nothing preventing one player from just getting like... 5 sixes, and there's no suits, but it still feels like playing cards without needing a lot of extra rules to keep track of.
I made up a gambling dice game that works kind of like poker. It may already be a game that exists, but I called mine 38's.
Everyone antes in, rolls a secret d20, then does a round of bets with raises, calls, and folds like poker. The next round, everyone rolls a secret d12, and repeat the betting. Last round, everyone rolls a secret d6, then a final round of betting before the reveal.
A 38 beats everything (20, 12, and 6). A 3 beats everything else (1, 1, and 1). After that, highest number wins. A tie is either split or settled with some kind of blind roll (it never came up so we didn't figure that out lol).
This sounds interesting, but how do you make sure the die rolls are not "changed" during all this secrecy?
What about 38 is best, 1-1-1 is next, 2-2-2, is next, 3-3-3 is next up to 6-6-6, then high pair (w/ extra die being the tie breaker) and finally just a dice total? So the rolls from best to worst would follow like this ...
sequences like 6-7-8 don't count for anything special.
Or you could play darts like everyone else when they get drunk and want to start throwing pointy metal things around the room.
How about this dice game ...
You roll four d6, discard the lowest die and write it down. Repeat five more times. Add up the total and see who wins! I bet many folks could get into doing that once in a while.
For that 38s game, you’re going to want to analyze the probability of getting certain results and rank them in order of rarity as the trumping hand. In this case, three of a kind should all be rated as equals (tie breakers going to the highest then lowest triples).
Cool! Thanks for the idea. We're playing into an underground casino for a character's backstory, so have been trying a bunch of different games within the game.
Awesome, I’m glad you like the idea! I wanted to try something that was super easy to understand, reflect real gambling statistical probabilities and rewards, as well as make sure it was something quick to do so you could get as many rounds in as possible while also having the ability to keep the game moving.
DARTS: Each player pays 10 gp and gets three darts, they throw two of them by making attack rolls, scores are below. They can choose to get rid of the score of one dart to throw the third, replacing the score of the forfeited dart with the score of the third. Winner gets 80% of the pot (the rest goes to the inn).
Make an attack roll using Dexterity, proficiency with darts or improvised weapons lets you add your proficiency bonus, being poisoned (drunk) gives you disadvantage on the attack roll.
If the score is 5 or below - the dart misses (maybe hits a patron?)
I had an idea for a game, and I would like to get some input on it. It uses 5d4. The player rolls the 5d4 and tallies up the total except for any 1's. Take any 1's and set them to the side for later, Now take the remaining dice and roll them. (side note: any 4's you roll will add one extra roll, stackable up to 5 extra rolls.) Once you have exceeded your roll stack of five all 4's will count as 100 gp. at the end. once all rolls are completed add the rolls together then, round up or down depending on the number. 1-4 down, 5-9 up. Example: if the total is 55, it rounds to 60. if it's 54, it rounds to 50. Now take the ones and subtract from your total. Example: you have 4d4 on the side that had rolled one, you will take those four and subtract 4 from your total. Now all fours that were rolled after the towering stack, add 100 gp.
Example: John rolled an 8 but had to remove 4 ones and set them to the side leaving him 1d4 and a total of 4 on that roll, however, he did well by rolling on his first roll with 15 (4 4 2 2 3), giving him two bonus rolls. His second roll (4 4 4 2 3) with a 17. Giving him a total of 5 bonus rolls. His third roll, he rolls (1 1 1 1 4 ) the four 1 are set to the side and his 4 is marked down as 100 bonus. John now has 5 more rolls with only 1d4. John rolls his d4 and gets a 3. Next roll he gets a 4 +100. Then another 4 +100. then a 2. On his final roll another 4 +100. John's total is tallied up at the end of the game now with a total of 53, round down to 50. Now subtract the total number of ones (4) 50 - 4 = 46. Now take that 46 and all your bonuses. In this case, it's 400 making it 446gp. If John were to roll a 1 on his final roll with one d4 he would have lost it all.
If your player happens to roll all five dice and get all 4's that's an instant bonus =500 gp. If your player rolls all 1's it's an instant lose. if yall can understand this tell me what you think. I'm looking for constructive criticism. If there any flaws I would like to know so I can fix it. I plan on using this in a campaign I'm putting together. If you can use this go ahead and let me know how it turned out.
I'm always a fan of skill challenges because they play to a character's strengths and they foster role play. Don't get me wrong, dice rolls still inject an appropriate amount of randomness into the exchange, but everyone likes to stack the deck in their favor. With this in mind, and with a thread from the homebrew forum in mind, I wanted to present my arm wrestling mini-game.
You win the arm-wrestling match by getting three points, which means you've pinned your opponent's hand to the table. Both contestants start in the neutral position (0 points) and if you win a contest, you get a point. If you lose a contest, you lose a point. Every contest is a STR check, as you would expect. The longer the match goes, the bigger a role CON plays. On each contest, you can also do things like position your body for advantageous leverage (DEX) or try to distract the opponent (CHA). Contests could go as follows:
The first contest is an opposed STR check. Highest result wins. If the roll is lower than your CON score (which there is a very good chance it will be) deduct a point of STR for the rest of the match to indicate fatigue.
On the subsequent contests, someone is probably winning. Another opposed STR check with the higher result wins again. A player with a lower strength might look for improve their character’s odds by trying to get into a position for better leverage, or by distracting their opponent. As the DM, I would allow any player to describe how their character utilized an ability for which the character had proficiency. If they describe something reasonable or funny enough, I would give them inspiration (advantage) on the STR check. I imagine both contestants would be rolling with advantage most of the time because I like to reward cleverness and good role playing. The DC for the ability check would be the STR (taking fatigue into account) of the opponent, so these little pranks would still have a hard time overcoming a strong opponent, but easier as the match wore on. Again, if the roll is lower than the character’s CON score, deduct another point of STR for the rest of the match for fatigue.
(Optional) If someone has two points, they are very close to winning the match. They could add their CON modifier to their roll to symbolize them going all-out for the victory. If this effort does not result in victory, the contestant's STR is reduced by one point for the rest of the match to symbolize fatigue, no matter the roll. This would also help get the matches over with a little more quickly.
And naturally, people around could gamble on this because of course they would.
I made up a gambling dice game that works kind of like poker. It may already be a game that exists, but I called mine 38's.
Everyone antes in, rolls a secret d20, then does a round of bets with raises, calls, and folds like poker. The next round, everyone rolls a secret d12, and repeat the betting. Last round, everyone rolls a secret d6, then a final round of betting before the reveal.
A 38 beats everything (20, 12, and 6). A 3 beats everything else (1, 1, and 1). After that, highest number wins. A tie is either split or settled with some kind of blind roll (it never came up so we didn't figure that out lol).
I like this game very much. The house rule I will add is to treat a 1 as the highest number on the die. That way if you roll two 1s, you still have a 1 in 3 chance on your d6 roll of hitting that perfect 38 result and not losing.
(optional) For the player (or NPC) who likes to be sneaky, they can attempt to use sleight of hand to gain advantage on the initial d20 roll.
Players make a ranged attack roll depending on the distance they are playing from.
10ft = AC10
20ft = AC15
30ft = AC20
They roll a second D20 for score they can use their DEX Modifier to adjust the score by up to or below the modifier. Example they score a hit and they then roll a 14 they have a DEX modifier of +4 and so can choose to score anything between 10-18. First player to reach 50 wins but they must finish on exactly 50 points.
First time i used this in a game my group spent a chunk of the session building a tournament with themselves and a bunch of NPCs
Really liked the idea of "Asmodeus' Hand"! 666 and stuff... So i spend a few minutes and came up with this "Jesters and Deamons" game. Also i think to make it a fortune-telling... thing. Not sure about it:
1.1.1 — lucky hand "JESTER" (Any other combination of cards with Jesters)
5.5.5 "ROUAL FLUSH" 4.4.4 "STRAIGHT FLUSH" 3.3.3 "FOUR OF A KIND" 2.2.2 "FULL HOUSE" 1.1.1 "FLUSH" 5.4.3 "STRAIGHT" 4.3.2 "THREE OF A KIND" 3.2.1 "TWO PAIRS" 5.5.x "PAIR OF KINGS" 4.4.x "PAIR OF QUIEENS" 3.3.x "PAIR OF JACKS" 2.2.x "ONE PAIR" 1.1.x "KING, QUIEEN AND JACK" z.y.x "HIGH HAND"
6.y.x — bad omen "ACE" 'Styx'
6.6.x — possible danger "TWO ACES" 'Nine Hells'
6.5.4 — inevitable threat "THREE ACES" 'Nessus'
6.6.6 — ultimate lose "FOUR ACES" 'Asmodeus Hand'
Is it balanced? Pfff.. No. Is it fun? Maybe... kinda... sortof. Wil i be using this in my games in order to torture my beloved frends? Most defenetly...YES!!
Big thanks to this Topic. Helped me to came up with something, that i enjoy^^
I responded aggressively sorry lol, im just a big fan of CR, i highly recommend it, i never would have started dm'ing or gotten as deep into the world of dnd without it. Plus matt mercer is an incredible dm
Hey no problem. Even though I don't watch the show, I have a ton of respect for Matt and the whole team. Any positive force in this hobby is a good thing IMO!
I quickly made up a simple poker analog when I had a player who wanted to play cards while the party went into a tavern (why I didn't just say people were playing dice I still don't know).
Basically each player rolls 5 d6, then from there it's poker rules... pairs, three of a kind, straights, flushes, etc. Players can bet what they want, and can "redraw" cards from their hand. It wasn't nearly as complex as poker can be, since there's nothing preventing one player from just getting like... 5 sixes, and there's no suits, but it still feels like playing cards without needing a lot of extra rules to keep track of.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
This sounds interesting, but how do you make sure the die rolls are not "changed" during all this secrecy?
What about 38 is best, 1-1-1 is next, 2-2-2, is next, 3-3-3 is next up to 6-6-6, then high pair (w/ extra die being the tie breaker) and finally just a dice total? So the rolls from best to worst would follow like this ...
20-12-6 - 1-1-1 - 2-2-2 - 3-3-3 - 4-4-4 - 5-5-5 - 6-6-6 - 12-12-6 - 12-12-5 - 12-12-4 - 12-12-3 - 12-12-2 - 12-12-1 - 11-11-6 - 11-11-5 - 11-11-4 - 11-11-3 - 11-11-2 - 11-11-1 - 10-10-6 - 10-10-5 ... 10-10-1 - 9-9-6 - 9-9-5 ... 9-9-1 - 8-8-6 - 8-8-5 ... 8-8-1 - 7-7-6 - 7-7-5 ... 7-7-1 - 20-6-6 - 19-6-6 - 18-6-6 - 17-6-6 ... 7-6-6 - 5-6-6 - 4-6-6 ... 1-6-6 - 20-5-5 - 19-5-5 - 18-5-5 - 17-5-5 ... 6-5-5 - 4-5-5 - 3-5-5 - 2-5-5 - 1-5-5 - 20-4-4 - 19-4-4 - 18-4-4 - 17-4-4 ... 6-4-4 - 5-4-4 - 3-4-4 - 2-4-4 - 1-4-4 - 20-3-3 ... ... 20-12-5 (or 20-11-6, or 19-12-6 are all the same)
So first you want to get a perfect high score.
Second you want top trips.
Third you want high pair w/ high kicker
Finally you want a high count
sequences like 6-7-8 don't count for anything special.
Or you could play darts like everyone else when they get drunk and want to start throwing pointy metal things around the room.
How about this dice game ...
You roll four d6, discard the lowest die and write it down. Repeat five more times. Add up the total and see who wins! I bet many folks could get into doing that once in a while.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Oh we play on roll20 and everyone just whispers their roll to the DM. It shows what each person rolled individually.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
For that 38s game, you’re going to want to analyze the probability of getting certain results and rank them in order of rarity as the trumping hand.
In this case, three of a kind should all be rated as equals (tie breakers going to the highest then lowest triples).
guys look at post date it was 2 years ago
Cool! Thanks for the idea. We're playing into an underground casino for a character's backstory, so have been trying a bunch of different games within the game.
We'll try this next session
Awesome, I’m glad you like the idea! I wanted to try something that was super easy to understand, reflect real gambling statistical probabilities and rewards, as well as make sure it was something quick to do so you could get as many rounds in as possible while also having the ability to keep the game moving.
What about this?
DARTS: Each player pays 10 gp and gets three darts, they throw two of them by making attack rolls, scores are below. They can choose to get rid of the score of one dart to throw the third, replacing the score of the forfeited dart with the score of the third. Winner gets 80% of the pot (the rest goes to the inn).
Make an attack roll using Dexterity, proficiency with darts or improvised weapons lets you add your proficiency bonus, being poisoned (drunk) gives you disadvantage on the attack roll.
If the score is 5 or below - the dart misses (maybe hits a patron?)
If the score is 6-10 - 5 points
11-12 - 10 points
13-14 - 15 points
15-16 - 20 points
17-18 - 25 points
19-20 - 30 points
21-22 - 40 points
23+ - 50 points
Not all those who wander are lost.
Check out my Monsters, Magic Items, and Spells. (These are all links.)
I had an idea for a game, and I would like to get some input on it. It uses 5d4. The player rolls the 5d4 and tallies up the total except for any 1's. Take any 1's and set them to the side for later, Now take the remaining dice and roll them. (side note: any 4's you roll will add one extra roll, stackable up to 5 extra rolls.) Once you have exceeded your roll stack of five all 4's will count as 100 gp. at the end. once all rolls are completed add the rolls together then, round up or down depending on the number. 1-4 down, 5-9 up. Example: if the total is 55, it rounds to 60. if it's 54, it rounds to 50. Now take the ones and subtract from your total. Example: you have 4d4 on the side that had rolled one, you will take those four and subtract 4 from your total. Now all fours that were rolled after the towering stack, add 100 gp.
Example: John rolled an 8 but had to remove 4 ones and set them to the side leaving him 1d4 and a total of 4 on that roll, however, he did well by rolling on his first roll with 15 (4 4 2 2 3), giving him two bonus rolls. His second roll (4 4 4 2 3) with a 17. Giving him a total of 5 bonus rolls. His third roll, he rolls (1 1 1 1 4 ) the four 1 are set to the side and his 4 is marked down as 100 bonus. John now has 5 more rolls with only 1d4. John rolls his d4 and gets a 3. Next roll he gets a 4 +100. Then another 4 +100. then a 2. On his final roll another 4 +100. John's total is tallied up at the end of the game now with a total of 53, round down to 50. Now subtract the total number of ones (4) 50 - 4 = 46. Now take that 46 and all your bonuses. In this case, it's 400 making it 446gp. If John were to roll a 1 on his final roll with one d4 he would have lost it all.
If your player happens to roll all five dice and get all 4's that's an instant bonus =500 gp. If your player rolls all 1's it's an instant lose. if yall can understand this tell me what you think. I'm looking for constructive criticism. If there any flaws I would like to know so I can fix it. I plan on using this in a campaign I'm putting together. If you can use this go ahead and let me know how it turned out.
I'm always a fan of skill challenges because they play to a character's strengths and they foster role play. Don't get me wrong, dice rolls still inject an appropriate amount of randomness into the exchange, but everyone likes to stack the deck in their favor. With this in mind, and with a thread from the homebrew forum in mind, I wanted to present my arm wrestling mini-game.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I like this game very much. The house rule I will add is to treat a 1 as the highest number on the die. That way if you roll two 1s, you still have a 1 in 3 chance on your d6 roll of hitting that perfect 38 result and not losing.
(optional) For the player (or NPC) who likes to be sneaky, they can attempt to use sleight of hand to gain advantage on the initial d20 roll.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I made up a simplified version of darts.
Players make a ranged attack roll depending on the distance they are playing from.
10ft = AC10
20ft = AC15
30ft = AC20
They roll a second D20 for score they can use their DEX Modifier to adjust the score by up to or below the modifier. Example they score a hit and they then roll a 14 they have a DEX modifier of +4 and so can choose to score anything between 10-18. First player to reach 50 wins but they must finish on exactly 50 points.
First time i used this in a game my group spent a chunk of the session building a tournament with themselves and a bunch of NPCs
Really liked the idea of "Asmodeus' Hand"! 666 and stuff... So i spend a few minutes and came up with this "Jesters and Deamons" game. Also i think to make it a fortune-telling... thing. Not sure about it:
20.12.6 — ultimate win "FULL COURT" (King, Queen, Jack, Ace and Jester)
1.1.1 — lucky hand "JESTER" (Any other combination of cards with Jesters)
5.5.5 "ROUAL FLUSH"
4.4.4 "STRAIGHT FLUSH"
3.3.3 "FOUR OF A KIND"
2.2.2 "FULL HOUSE"
1.1.1 "FLUSH"
5.4.3 "STRAIGHT"
4.3.2 "THREE OF A KIND"
3.2.1 "TWO PAIRS"
5.5.x "PAIR OF KINGS"
4.4.x "PAIR OF QUIEENS"
3.3.x "PAIR OF JACKS"
2.2.x "ONE PAIR"
1.1.x "KING, QUIEEN AND JACK"
z.y.x "HIGH HAND"
6.y.x — bad omen "ACE" 'Styx'
6.6.x — possible danger "TWO ACES" 'Nine Hells'
6.5.4 — inevitable threat "THREE ACES" 'Nessus'
6.6.6 — ultimate lose "FOUR ACES" 'Asmodeus Hand'
Is it balanced? Pfff.. No. Is it fun? Maybe... kinda... sortof. Wil i be using this in my games in order to torture my beloved frends? Most defenetly...YES!!
Big thanks to this Topic. Helped me to came up with something, that i enjoy^^
Great shout, easy, quick, fun games to play.
except matt mercer created that game in 2016 and even tweeted it
Oh neat! I don't watch CR and barely used Twitter in 2016, so it's rad that we had the same idea.
I responded aggressively sorry lol, im just a big fan of CR, i highly recommend it, i never would have started dm'ing or gotten as deep into the world of dnd without it. Plus matt mercer is an incredible dm
Hey no problem. Even though I don't watch the show, I have a ton of respect for Matt and the whole team. Any positive force in this hobby is a good thing IMO!
Really like this, simple but effective game and one that you can have NPC's playing and may pull PC's in! Cheers
Reading through this inspired me to come up with my own game:
“Stab in the Dark”:
As a twist anyone who has proficiency in Dice Games can make a DC12 check to reroll on the 1st round, DC15 on the 2nd round and DC20 on the 3rd round.