Tavern Games

[Draconisister]

I am aways on the lookout for fun things to do when your PCs have some down time. When some of the PC's are off information gathering what does the rest of the party do while waiting in the tavern. I personally try and get the other characters to start up some dice game as an in character thing to do. a while i have just been using the games from the wotc site a while back like Dragons Hoard and what have you(they also provide a nice ingame way to divide up treasures My old DM hated me for useing my rogues slight of hand skills to cheat)

I think its time to expand my collection of in game games to play. Do any of you do anything simmilar to this? If so what sort of games do your PCs play? Maybe we can come up with some brand new games as well. :smallbiggrin:

So fire away with your thoughts on this.

[Rethmar]

The dice game we play is called Snatch the Gem, which I believe came from the Shackled City adventure path.

Each person takes one die of each size.

They start with the lowest (d4) and everyone rolls simultaneously. If you get a 1, you go up to the next die size (d6 etc).

Whoever gets a 1 on his d12 first, wins.

[Invader]

Wizards released the 3 dragon ante game. I bought it and never used it once lol.

[danzibr]

The dice game we play is called Snatch the Gem, which I believe came from the Shackled City adventure path.

Each person takes one die of each size.

They start with the lowest (d4) and everyone rolls simultaneously. If you get a 1, you go up to the next die size (d6 etc).

Whoever gets a 1 on his d12 first, wins.
Totally using this.

[CRtwenty]

I've had players play Five Finger Fillet before. Which basically boils down to increasingly difficult Dex checks as the speed increases. Failure of course means the character just stabbed their hand for dagger damage. Last player left without failing wins (or ties with a split pot if several players all fail at the same DC level)

I also knew a GM who actually owned some loaded dice that he'd sometimes sneak in when the PCs were playing dice games with unsavory sorts. Made things pretty fun.

[koboldish]

Look up Farkle or Bones on the internet. Pretty simple and fun dice games. They also only use d6s, which are probably the only dice to be found almost everywhere (in most D&D settings, not real life).

[Draconisister]

This topic isnt limited to dice games they are just the best example for D&D players seeing as we need nothing else to make them work. I had a player once who was really good at the shell game. I think he actually cheated to.


What I really need is some thing simple for my current character. Being a barbarian he is a lot more likely to start a bar fight than pull out dice and see if some one wants to play something complicated.

[gr8artist]

Play darts with ranged attack rolls. Establish a distance (30') and aim for a 3-ring target (18 AC for bullseye [fine, 5 points], 14 for middle [dim, 3 points], 12 for outer [tiny, 1 point]). Players get three shots per round. First player to score X wins. Each roll is compared to all 3 AC's, and hits the most difficult target that it succeeds against.

A dice game I made for our campaign: Over/Under
This is the house-vs-player time game, where the dealer swindles money from gamblers. The dealer has a mat in front of him, showing different die rolls and payouts. The player antes up with 10 coins (of any type), then rolls 2 dice. The dealer places a token on the spot on his mat that corresponds to the player's roll (this value is the "mark"). Then the player makes a wager as to his next roll. He can wager that his next roll will be over, under, or equal to his mark. The dealer moves the token to the payout that corresponds to the player's wager, then the player rolls again. If the value of the second roll falls into the range of the player's wager, then the player gets the listed payout, in coins of the same type as his ante.
The mat would look like this (mark|payout):
.Over 3| 11 . 4 | 12 . 5|13 . 6|15 . 7|20 . 8|30 . 9|50 . 10|100 . 11|300
Equal 3|150 . 4|100 . 5|80 . 6|60 . 7|50 . 8|60 . 9|80 . 10|100 . 11|150
Under 3|300 . 4|100 . 5|50 . 6|30 . 7|20 . 8|15 . 9|13 . 10| 12 . 11|11
So, if the player's first roll is a 2+3 (5), the odds are better for an "over" but the payout is better for an "under". The chances of an "equal" are rare, but have a payout 60% better than a successful under. To play it safe, bet "over" when you roll low, and "under" when you roll high. Bet "equal" when you roll 7.
The numbers are stacked in the dealer's favor, so the players will lose money if they play a lot. The player rerolls if their mark is a 2 or a 12.

[Humble Master]

Wizards released the 3 dragon ante game. I bought it and never used it once lol. I got it too and actually tried it once our twice. Normally I just pull out a deck of cards and play Blackjack or Texas Hold-em with the player betting GP or something.

[ArcturusV]

I usually have a standard playing card deck somewhere within reach. Though I don't tend to use it for blackjack. I like to see the random tavern games I end up using be a bit more social and a bit less mechanical. So games like Indian Poker sometimes gets used. But usually I'll cook up some simple press your luck sort of game. I kinda like those as it's still pretty simple and easy to run, but there's a bit more of an element to strategy and sizing up players than the luck of a draw/roll.

[The Trickster]

I got it too and actually tried it once our twice. Normally I just pull out a deck of cards and play Blackjack or Texas Hold-em with the player betting GP or something.

Or do what my group does; 3 dragon ante!:smallbiggrin:

[gr8artist]

Other things we've tried include a shell game (with a spot check opposed by sleight-of-hand), and an orcish version of marbles that might suit the OP's purposes well.

Orcs call the game "Bones" and orcs who play frequently carry their favorite pieces with them. The pieces, or bones, can be made of any hard, dense material, though bone fragments are a favorite (for obvious reasons). Pieces can be any size, but you can only play with the pieces you can fit in the palm of your hand (giving orcs an advantage over halflings, but whatever).
To play, you need a third set of pieces, often bits of gravel or pieces of a broken table/vase/priceless relic, and a circle about 10-20" in diameter. Orcs wishing to win money may use coins for this third set, forming a pot with 5 coins per player. Put this third set of pieces/coins in the circle and determine who goes first.
Players take turns throwing pieces into the circle, and keep any pieces that they knock out. (a variety of checks fit this use... attacks, dex checks, sleight of hand). Any of their pieces that remain inside the circle become viable targets for the next player.
So, like the card game "war", this can go on forever, with each player alternating between winning some of his pieces and some of his opponents, then some of his own again. Since the game goes on forever, any player may surrender, and his opponent gets to keep whatever pieces he has in hand, plus any in the circle. Smashing the table in frustration counts as a surrender, although it usually doesn't matter at that point.
Mechanics: Roll has a DC 10 to knock out one piece. You knock out one additional piece for every 10 more by which you beat the DC. The piece(s) you threw stay inside the circle. You may throw additional pieces for a +5 bonus each, though this will burn through your ammo supply faster, and is usually only done with cheap pieces when trying to knock coins out.

Dwarves in our campaign favored a cunning mathematical dice game called "Mountains". Roll a large number of dice (6-sided). The player that rolls goes last, his opponent plays first.
On each player's turn, they stack some dice into a mountain, claiming that mountain until his opponent plays into it. A "mountain" is a two dimensional pyramid with each lower layer having one more die than the layer above. All dice in a layer must have the same value, and no die can be placed higher in a mountain than a die with a higher value.
So, a valid "mountain" might be [1 / 2,2 / 4,4,4] but a mountain of [3 / 1,1] is invalid.
A player can choose to make a new mountain (with 3 dice) or add one layer onto the bottom of an existing mountain, or he may pass his turn and claim no mountains. At the game's end, each player gains one point for each die in each mountain he's claimed, and the game ends when neither player can make a move, or if both pass in one round.

[Agent 451]

We had a tavern encounter where we had to play dominoes. The best part was that everyone was totally into it.

Our DM started making wagers which would impact our characters, such as finding a specific item in a horde for the druid, cash for the party, etc. If he won the wager either his opponent or the party would get a minor drawback, like a purse snatcher lifting your items while playing, etc. He tended to lose a lot, so it worked out well for the party. It was actually pretty awesome, although highly contingent on you actually having some dominoes kicking around, and also on your players/DM being cool with it potentially derailing (or if you like, "deepening the immersive roleplaying" as our DM called it) the game for a while.

[Draconisister]

Wonderful games so far. I will be adding some to my collection.

I have also tried to get some drinking games going but no one could decide on the best way to do it just a bunch of con checks then unconsciousness(then being robbed blind)

I had a half-giant try starting a game of "punt the gnome" which promptly got him imprissioned (the gnome he tried to punt was a prince)

[Cirrylius]

This probably won't be perfectly accurate, but Arms and Equipment has rules for drinking; one appropriately-sized drink per hour is treated as a poison that does con/wis damage, with the DC going up 1 per additional drink. Wine is 10, Everclear is 15. Cono 0 means you're unconscious, Wis 0 means you're conscious but insensate, both means you're dying of alcohol poisoning.

[gr8artist]

The board/card game "Red Dragon Inn (http://slugfestgames.com/games/rdi/)" is modeled after the concept of adventurers in the tavern after a dungeon, blowing their gold on drinks and trying to be the last one standing. Each character (4/expansion) consists of a single deck, and the rules are really simple. Roughhousing (orc, fighter, thief, wizard) lowers your rivals' fortitude. Drinks raise your alcohol content. When the two values meet, you pass out drunk. Each character has tricks and talents to aid them.
Fighter: Uses drinks to polish armor (canceling them) and roughhouses a lot.
Thief:Takes everyone's coins, because when they're broke, they're out. Also, spikes drinks.
Priestess: Water into Wine, and Wine into Water, can also restore fortitude.
Wizard: Rabid familiar screws with everybody. Lots of evasion and counters.
Orc: More roughhouse than some, can dance with a rival to deal massive damage.
Dwarf: Ignores most drinks (complains that it's too weak, or gives it to someone else)
Bard: Screw everyone over simultaneously. Also recieves backup from patrons.
Illusionist: Counterattacks and retaliation.

[dascarletm]

I find good tavern games require you to yell out words in a drunken haze.

That is why I invented the game Slap-Pirate.

Everyone is dealt 2 cards. The dealer then deals cards in order to the players. Depending on their cards different things can happen:

If the dealt card meets the criteria you all yell PIRATES! and the player dealt the card takes a drink. If the card doesn't then you slap another player (probably keep that in-game) and they take a drink.

Round 1: Has a color the same as one of your cards
Round 2: Has the same suit as one of your cards
Round 3: The card number lies within your 2 cards (Aces are =1.)

[RogueDM]

There is an old drinking game that I believe would fit well in a fantasy setting in or outside of a tavern. (Yes, this is an actual game people still play) A number of players approach a log with a number of nails or spikes tapped into its exterior. Each takes a turn tossing a hammer into the air, and in one motion catching it and driving in one of the nails. After each miss they have to take a drink.

Find some easy rules for drinking (say Fort Save DC 14 +1 for each drink; suffering some amount of penalty on Wis, Dex and maybe other stats if you'd like). Call for a Reflex Save or straight Dex check to strike the nail and a Strength check to drive it in, with a low DC like 10 or 11. Hitting it should be the hard part, not driving the nail.

Don't take my numbers and hard-and-fast rules, just ballpark figures I knocked together in the couple of minutes that it took me to write this.

[bot]

Nice ideas all airbags around, I'll certainly keep these in mind for the next tavern stay. Would love to hear more too hehe

[Novawurmson]

From the PF Gamemastery guide, I think.

1. Each player buys any number of rolls of a 1d20 at 1g a dice.

2. All players roll all of their d20s, and the house rolls a d20.

3. Every dice that exceeds the house roll wins 2g. Every dice that is equal or lower gets nothing. A natural 1 is always a loss (for a player), a natural 20 is always a success for a player (even if the house rolls a 20).

4. Repeat.

You can raise or lower the stakes as you wish (each dice is worth 100g with a 200g payout, each dice is worth one silver with a two silver payout, etc.).

Edit: Cee-lo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cee-lo#Cee-lo_without_a_bank_.28winner_take_all.29) is another great dice game. Simplified rules:

Cee-lo without a bank (winner take all)

In this version of the game, each round involves two or more players of equal status. A bet amount is agreed upon and each player puts that amount in the pile or pot. Each player then has to roll all three dice at once and must continue until a recognized combination is rolled. Whichever player rolls the best combination wins the entire pot, and a new round begins. In cases where two or more players tie for the best combination, they must have a shoot out to determine a single winner.

The combinations are similar to those described above, and can be ranked from best to worst as:

4-5-6
The highest possible roll. If you roll 4-5-6, you automatically win.
Trips
Rolling three of the same number is known as rolling "trips". Higher trips beat lower trips, so 4-4-4 is better than 3-3-3.
Point
Rolling a pair, and another number, establishes the singleton as a "point". A higher point beats a lower point, so 2-2-6 is better than 5-5-2.
1-2-3
The lowest possible roll. If you roll 1-2-3, you automatically lose.

Any other roll is a meaningless combination and must be rerolled until one of the above combinations occurs.

[Cicciograna]

Between 2006/07, WotC released a series of articles regarding dice games: you can find them here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/dg).
Moreover, each article contains a bit of "dice superstition" from users. It's an amusing reading.

[gr8artist]

Personally, I try to stay away from anything that's purely based on chance, unless the player is opting to take a risk for a higher payout. There is no strategy in flipping coins, for example. So, for me, dice games need options...