Post by ShadowCatJen on Mar 7, 2008 15:24:54 GMT -5
Been promising several people that I'd post these games for a while now so it's high time that I did. Mind that neither of these games is found in any sourcebooks that I'm aware of. These are simply games that have developed for me in game over time.
Knucklebones
Description:
A betting game played with five ten sided dice with two to four players. The object of the game is to get the best hand. OOCly it's like a cross between Yahtzee and Poker. ICly it's a betting game that's developed in some regions of the realms, but seems more popular in port towns with many variations on house rules.
How To Play:
One player is declared the "Roller" (he's like a dealer) and typically will be the one to do all the rolls if only one set of dice (that being five) is available. If all players have five ten sided dice then the Roller only keeps track of the game (i.e. who's turn is it to roll, who rolled what, who bets next). Roller always rolls first and calls ante. Player to his right goes next and so on.
After everyone has rolled their hands, the Roller then can up the ante based on whats been rolled or call "out" (i.e. fold). Each player does the same in turn till it gets back to the Roller. Then Roller and each player after can re-roll up to four of their dice. Best hand in the game wins. In the event of a tie, there's a "Count Off", which is explained further down.
The aim of the game is to get the best hand. 2 is low, 10 is high, 1 is wild. Just like in poker, four of a kind beats three of a kind, straights beat four of a kind or lower, high straight beats low straight. Unlike poker five of a kinds are possible, these are called "Rich Palms" and beats all straights, with the exception of five 1s. Five ones is called "Hand of Death" and has special rules that is explained below.
Aside from high numbers beating low, the following is the list of possible hands from lowest to highest:
- two of a kind
- three of a kind
- two pair
- four of a kind
- "Bread Basket": two of a kind with three of a kind
- straights
- "Rich Palm": five of a kind, except all 1's
"Hand of Death" - All 1's being rolled can be a rewarding risk for the player. After the initial dice roll, during the raising round before the re-rolls a player must declare to all that he's going for a "Hand of Death". This gives other players the chance to call "Full Out", which means they lose what they've put in the pot, but they don't have to pay up more. When someone wins with a "Hand of Death" they get five times the pot total. Whatever players that remained in the game need to make up the remaining amount.
For a Hand of Death to win, though, no other player can have a straight or Rich Palm. If another player gets a straight or "Rich Palm", the "Hand of Death" loses and the player has to put in five times what the ante was.
"Count Off" - In the event of a tie, each player takes turns rolling one die. The highest number wins, 1 is an immediate loss. If that roll is a tie, the players keep rolling until all 5 dice are used. In the very VERY rare event that all five dice come up as ties then the game is called "Judged By The Dead" and the money in the pot goes to the nearest Kelemvorite temple. It is considered very bad luck to not do this as it would be insulting Kelemvor, Jergal, and even long gone Murkul.
How to Roll In Game:
Set your dice bag to "local" so all can see the rolls and roll 5d10. You ignore the total and look at the numbers that were rolled. When it gets to the re-roll round the player needs to declare which dice they will be keeping. For Example, John rolls a 3, 5, 7, 5, 5. He states he's keeping the three 5's. ICly he can say...
"Keeping the three of a kind" or "Keeping my fives" or even "Rerolling the 3 and 7."
This needs to be done so there's no confusion on what numbers are being re-rolled. Make sure the "Roller" of the game is good at keeping track of what coin is put in the pot, otherwise someone might end up losing more then they should.
Next post will be for Luskan Three Knuckle.
Knucklebones
Description:
A betting game played with five ten sided dice with two to four players. The object of the game is to get the best hand. OOCly it's like a cross between Yahtzee and Poker. ICly it's a betting game that's developed in some regions of the realms, but seems more popular in port towns with many variations on house rules.
How To Play:
One player is declared the "Roller" (he's like a dealer) and typically will be the one to do all the rolls if only one set of dice (that being five) is available. If all players have five ten sided dice then the Roller only keeps track of the game (i.e. who's turn is it to roll, who rolled what, who bets next). Roller always rolls first and calls ante. Player to his right goes next and so on.
After everyone has rolled their hands, the Roller then can up the ante based on whats been rolled or call "out" (i.e. fold). Each player does the same in turn till it gets back to the Roller. Then Roller and each player after can re-roll up to four of their dice. Best hand in the game wins. In the event of a tie, there's a "Count Off", which is explained further down.
The aim of the game is to get the best hand. 2 is low, 10 is high, 1 is wild. Just like in poker, four of a kind beats three of a kind, straights beat four of a kind or lower, high straight beats low straight. Unlike poker five of a kinds are possible, these are called "Rich Palms" and beats all straights, with the exception of five 1s. Five ones is called "Hand of Death" and has special rules that is explained below.
Aside from high numbers beating low, the following is the list of possible hands from lowest to highest:
- two of a kind
- three of a kind
- two pair
- four of a kind
- "Bread Basket": two of a kind with three of a kind
- straights
- "Rich Palm": five of a kind, except all 1's
"Hand of Death" - All 1's being rolled can be a rewarding risk for the player. After the initial dice roll, during the raising round before the re-rolls a player must declare to all that he's going for a "Hand of Death". This gives other players the chance to call "Full Out", which means they lose what they've put in the pot, but they don't have to pay up more. When someone wins with a "Hand of Death" they get five times the pot total. Whatever players that remained in the game need to make up the remaining amount.
For a Hand of Death to win, though, no other player can have a straight or Rich Palm. If another player gets a straight or "Rich Palm", the "Hand of Death" loses and the player has to put in five times what the ante was.
"Count Off" - In the event of a tie, each player takes turns rolling one die. The highest number wins, 1 is an immediate loss. If that roll is a tie, the players keep rolling until all 5 dice are used. In the very VERY rare event that all five dice come up as ties then the game is called "Judged By The Dead" and the money in the pot goes to the nearest Kelemvorite temple. It is considered very bad luck to not do this as it would be insulting Kelemvor, Jergal, and even long gone Murkul.
How to Roll In Game:
Set your dice bag to "local" so all can see the rolls and roll 5d10. You ignore the total and look at the numbers that were rolled. When it gets to the re-roll round the player needs to declare which dice they will be keeping. For Example, John rolls a 3, 5, 7, 5, 5. He states he's keeping the three 5's. ICly he can say...
"Keeping the three of a kind" or "Keeping my fives" or even "Rerolling the 3 and 7."
This needs to be done so there's no confusion on what numbers are being re-rolled. Make sure the "Roller" of the game is good at keeping track of what coin is put in the pot, otherwise someone might end up losing more then they should.
Next post will be for Luskan Three Knuckle.