CarpeGuitarrem
2008-12-23, 03:04 AM
Gambler's Deck: Wondrous Item (Level 21)
”Pick a card, any card...”
Some heroes fight with rather unconventional means. Some heroes place their fate in the hands of chance. Some heroes do both. The Gambler's Deck is a magic item which is held in place of a normal one-handed weapon, and which produces magic card shuriken. You are automatically proficient with these weapons. When you make an attack with the Deck, shuffle a physical deck of cards (modified) and draw the top card. This determines what magical enhancement and effects the card shuriken receives. After the attack is made, the card flies back into the Deck, and the next attack made is determined randomly as before.
The Deck of Cards
There are three suits in the deck: Clubs, Swords, and Blood. (Represented by Clubs, Spades, and Hearts) Within each suit are seven cards (Paladin, Fey, Rogue, Host, Escort, and two Villagers)
Avandra, Deity of Luck
Produces a +5 Gambler's Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 69)
Found once in the deck (may be represented by the Joker)
Paladin
Produces a +4 Radiant Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 76)
May be represented by the King
Fey
Produces a +4 Transposing Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 81)
May be represented by the Queen
Rogue
Produces a +4 Assassin's Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 63)
May be represented by the Jack
Host
Gives a +4 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, increases the damage die by one step
May be represented by the 10
Escort
Gives a +4 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and when you hit, you may swap places with an adjacent ally
May be represented by the 5
Villager
Gives a +3 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and deals CHA modifier ongoing damage
May be represented by the 2 and 3
If the card drawn is of the Blood suit, all [W] dice for the shuriken gain Brutal 1.
This deck may also be used as an arcane implement, with an enhancement bonus of 2d6-3.
The Game
The cards can also obviously be used to play a game of cards, but not a standard game (there are only 22 cards in the deck). One popular game (played often with mundane cards of the same fashion) is Fool's Gambit. This is a gambling game, which uses this deck of cards and a six-sided die.
Each player starts the game with a number of chips. At the start of each round, each player may place any amount of chips behind a screen; this is their Fool's Gambit. This is a bet on the player to their left. Then, each player places a chip into the Pot (a pool of chips being betted); this is their Ante.
Then, each player is dealt three cards. Then, in turn (as in poker), each player makes a bet. They may either “Call” the current bet, “Raise” the bet to a new amount, or “Burn” their hand, which means that they drop out of betting. They do not return their Fool's Gambit to their chips, but cannot participate in the current round. If the bet is raised, then betting continues. Each player's total bet must match the amount of the current bet.
Once the betting is finished, each player plays a card from their hand. Then, the cards conflict, each player in turn choosing a card for their card to contest against.
The Paladin beats the Fey and loses to the Rogue
The Rogue beats the Paladin and loses to the Fey
The Fey beats the Rogue and loses to the Paladin
The Host beats the Villagers and loses to the Escort
The Escort beats the Host and loses to the Villager
The Villager beats the Escort and loses to the Host
When the Villager faces the Host, the Host may play another card from hand to replace itself; the Host is discarded
If there is a tie, or a card from one triangle faces a card from the other, both players roll the six-sided die; the highest result wins. If one player plays Avandra, they roll the six-sided die twice, and choose either roll.
When one card wins, the other card is discarded. Once there is only one card remaining, the winner draws a card and takes chips from the Pot equal to his cards in hand, and a second round begins as before. Rounds continue until one player attempts to draw, and cannot do so.
The winner of the most recent round takes the pot. The player to his right removes chips equal to his Fool's Gambit, and places all of those chips with his chip stash. Then, all other players place their Fool's Gambits into the Pot, and discard all of their cards. All cards are reshuffled into the deck, and play begins again.
~~~
That's what I've got so far, how is it? I'll probably be looking at making a scaled-down version for Paragon tier, as well.
”Pick a card, any card...”
Some heroes fight with rather unconventional means. Some heroes place their fate in the hands of chance. Some heroes do both. The Gambler's Deck is a magic item which is held in place of a normal one-handed weapon, and which produces magic card shuriken. You are automatically proficient with these weapons. When you make an attack with the Deck, shuffle a physical deck of cards (modified) and draw the top card. This determines what magical enhancement and effects the card shuriken receives. After the attack is made, the card flies back into the Deck, and the next attack made is determined randomly as before.
The Deck of Cards
There are three suits in the deck: Clubs, Swords, and Blood. (Represented by Clubs, Spades, and Hearts) Within each suit are seven cards (Paladin, Fey, Rogue, Host, Escort, and two Villagers)
Avandra, Deity of Luck
Produces a +5 Gambler's Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 69)
Found once in the deck (may be represented by the Joker)
Paladin
Produces a +4 Radiant Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 76)
May be represented by the King
Fey
Produces a +4 Transposing Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 81)
May be represented by the Queen
Rogue
Produces a +4 Assassin's Weapon (Adventurer's Vault, p. 63)
May be represented by the Jack
Host
Gives a +4 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, increases the damage die by one step
May be represented by the 10
Escort
Gives a +4 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and when you hit, you may swap places with an adjacent ally
May be represented by the 5
Villager
Gives a +3 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and deals CHA modifier ongoing damage
May be represented by the 2 and 3
If the card drawn is of the Blood suit, all [W] dice for the shuriken gain Brutal 1.
This deck may also be used as an arcane implement, with an enhancement bonus of 2d6-3.
The Game
The cards can also obviously be used to play a game of cards, but not a standard game (there are only 22 cards in the deck). One popular game (played often with mundane cards of the same fashion) is Fool's Gambit. This is a gambling game, which uses this deck of cards and a six-sided die.
Each player starts the game with a number of chips. At the start of each round, each player may place any amount of chips behind a screen; this is their Fool's Gambit. This is a bet on the player to their left. Then, each player places a chip into the Pot (a pool of chips being betted); this is their Ante.
Then, each player is dealt three cards. Then, in turn (as in poker), each player makes a bet. They may either “Call” the current bet, “Raise” the bet to a new amount, or “Burn” their hand, which means that they drop out of betting. They do not return their Fool's Gambit to their chips, but cannot participate in the current round. If the bet is raised, then betting continues. Each player's total bet must match the amount of the current bet.
Once the betting is finished, each player plays a card from their hand. Then, the cards conflict, each player in turn choosing a card for their card to contest against.
The Paladin beats the Fey and loses to the Rogue
The Rogue beats the Paladin and loses to the Fey
The Fey beats the Rogue and loses to the Paladin
The Host beats the Villagers and loses to the Escort
The Escort beats the Host and loses to the Villager
The Villager beats the Escort and loses to the Host
When the Villager faces the Host, the Host may play another card from hand to replace itself; the Host is discarded
If there is a tie, or a card from one triangle faces a card from the other, both players roll the six-sided die; the highest result wins. If one player plays Avandra, they roll the six-sided die twice, and choose either roll.
When one card wins, the other card is discarded. Once there is only one card remaining, the winner draws a card and takes chips from the Pot equal to his cards in hand, and a second round begins as before. Rounds continue until one player attempts to draw, and cannot do so.
The winner of the most recent round takes the pot. The player to his right removes chips equal to his Fool's Gambit, and places all of those chips with his chip stash. Then, all other players place their Fool's Gambits into the Pot, and discard all of their cards. All cards are reshuffled into the deck, and play begins again.
~~~
That's what I've got so far, how is it? I'll probably be looking at making a scaled-down version for Paragon tier, as well.