Troll Lord Games

So, I am going to have an "in game" three day layover at a keep (party waiting for someone, etc). I'd like to toss in a few things to represent what the guards stationed at the keep might do to pass the time. I know fishing and hunting would be in the mix, but what about games of skill. Has anyone ran anything lately or have any ideas they can post for inspiration that I might be able to borrow?

Looking for, games of STR, or Accuracy (stone toss, archery) or maybe dice games, drinking games even. How did you run them, what mechancis would you suggest?

Thanks in advance!

Do you have AD&D 1st Ed DMG? If so, pg. 215 has a whole section on gambling, games of chance, etc., with rules.

For contests and games of skill i use opposed siege checks. (with dice of varring sides)
Both roll, highest score wins. (prime adding 6 to roll) plus stat bonuses (skill can add also CK must determine how much a bonus skill is worth.)
Depending on how much i want luck to factor i use different sized dice.
Arm wrestling... d6 (str based)
darts d8 (dex based)
etc.
in struggles of str or races dex vs dex ... ties reroll till someone wins. These are the epic struggles you tell tales of later at the bar.

I decide how skilled the individuals competing should be, based on class, race, abilities, etc.

Each bonus gives another die, usually a d6 because they're easy.

For static matches, like "can I hit the center of a dart board?" I assign a number - you have to tie or beat it.

For challenges against others, you need to roll highest.

Nice, some neat ideas there gang, thanks a million!! I'm going to have to put some on this down on paper now before Sunday!

Thanks again all!

There is a creek that runs by the location they will be at. I thought about a game of "balance" as a challenge. A log set accross the water they stand on and try and push one another off. No weapons, they kinda thing.

Would you do that as a "combat" challenge? If you get hit, you make a balance check (save) to resist falling off the log?

Or a Dice challenge? Pick and attribute and go Str vs Str or Dex vs Dex (or Dex vs Str). Roll Dice and add your mod and level, whoever is higher wins, the lose has to save vs falling of the log?

For "log-wrestling" as you describe it, if you "hit", the person struck should have the dex save with a TN equal to the result of the to-hit roll. Thus a fighter of 3rd level with Str 16 rolls a 12, the result of a 17 is the TN of the dex check. Or you could modify the grappling rules for this.

For "log-rolling" simply make opposed Dex checks.

Of course there is always straight up wrestling, sword play (to first blood), jousting, boxing, target shooting (bows, javelins, etc.), but don't forget to have some things that you can do without dice, card games (especially games like poker, heck even concentration works), riddles, even something like a game or two of Jenga can fill the bill. Oh, and you can play dice games with dice by playing the game instead of dicing to see if so and so won or not. For example...

Ship/Captain/Crew (Standard Variation)-

• Players get up to three rolls of 5 dice
• You must get (in order) a 6 (ship), a 5 (captain), then a 4 (crew), the remaining two dice are added together to give the value of the cargo
  • You must get a ship before hiring a captain
  • You must have a captain before enlisting crew
  • You must have a crew before loading cargo, for example-
    • You do not have to roll all three in one roll but may keep any die eligible based on the list above
    • If your first roll was a 6, 3, 3, 2, 1 you could keep the six and roll the other 4 dice
    • The next roll results in a 5, 4, 3, 2 and you can then also keep the 5 and 4, you may keep the result of 5 (3+2) as your cargo, or spend your last roll on rolling those two dice again
• The player with the highest cargo score wins
• If a player doesn't get a ship, captain and crew before the third roll, they have lost

(Sheboygan Variation)-

• Use the above rules, but ignore the requirement to get the 6, 5, and 4 in order, any dice may be kept at any time
• Once a player has made all 5 dice, the other players must also make all 5 dice in the same number of rolls or less, thus if a player rolled a 6, 4, 6, 3, 3 and then rolls a 5, and a 3 on the second roll, and chooses to keep the total of 9 for cargo, all other players will only get 2 rolls, if the player chose to roll the three, then the other players would still get 3 rolls, if a player rolls a 6, 5, 4, 3, 3 in one roll and keeps it, all other players only get one roll

For betting-

• Each player must ante one copper (or silver, or gold, or whatever)
• If a player fails to get a Ship, Captain, and Crew, they must pay the ante value again into the pot
• If at the end of a round there is a tie, ALL players may ante up again and start the round anew (note that is ALL players, not just those tied with the highest cargo, their ships hadn't set sail so the other companies double down to try to one up the competition)

Some very creative ideas there Koralas, thanks!

Wasn't there a 2nd or 3rd edition Dungeon magazine adventure that had players competing in archery, or some sort of other events? Maybe at a festival? I should ask the gm who ran it. Would have been in the 90's perhaps..

Hey Gang, thanks for all the tremendously helpful ideas. Here is what I ended up coming up with. Just wanted to share if anyone wanted to use them in thier games....

The Log
No heavy armor is allowed (in fact, wearing heavy armor imposes a penalty on saves from falling in).
Normal attack roll, unarmed (d20+str mod+bab)
• AC = 18 if STR or DEX is a Prime, 12 if not. Armor does not help. AC is modified as follows:
• Add the STR and DEX mod to the AC
• Add +2 for each size difference

On a successful hit, the target makes a save throw (d20+dex mod+level), or falls into the water. If wearing heavy armor, add the armors EV to the CC of the Save.
• CC = 12 if DEX is a prime, 18 if not.
• +1 point for each point the attack succeeded by.

Drinking
After the third drink, make a CON save. CL starts at 1, and increases by 1 after every drink (stronger drinks can increase this by more). Drink until someone fails a CON check and pukes or passes out.

Wrestling
Both wrestlers grab a hold of one another. Both attack (roll vs AC) at the same time. Target AC is 18 if STR is a prime, 12 if not. Roll d20+str+dex+bab. If both miss, keep wrestling. If a tie, keep wrestling. If both hit (or one hits), highest roll wins and pins the defender. Get up and start over. First to pin his opponent 3 times, wins.

Arm Wrestling
Opposed Siege Check. Both contestants roll 1d6. Add 6 if STR is a prime. Add str bonus and bab. Highest wins. Ties re-roll.

Archery
Target AC is as follows:
• 10 to hit the board (0 points).
• 12 for the outer ring (1 point)
• 14 for the middle circle (2 points)
• 16 (3 points) for the center ring
• 18 for the “bulls eye” (4points).
Play 3 rounds, higest total wins. Ties are broken by a single shot from each player until there is a winner (target AC's can be increased with smaller targets, moving targets or greater range).


I'll also be using Koralas Dice Games (as it just so happens, one of the players made half-elf rogue who is into gambling and have a love of dice games!!!)

For Arm Wrestling, consider letting a Dex prime get the a bonus as well, +3 or +4 sounds about right to me. The reasoning for this is that while a high strength is crucial in the contest, quick reflexes and the application of leverage are very important as well. Having been witness to quite a few contests where the muscle bound goof lost to a much less muscular man, simply because he "got the jump" on the hulk and was able to get into an attacking position more quickly.

koralas wrote:For Arm Wrestling, consider letting a Dex prime get the a bonus as well, +3 or +4 sounds about right to me. The reasoning for this is that while a high strength is crucial in the contest, quick reflexes and the application of leverage are very important as well. Having been witness to quite a few contests where the muscle bound goof lost to a much less muscular man, simply because he "got the jump" on the hulk and was able to get into an attacking position more quickly.

Cool, I can do that!

Just a quick thanks too all, these ideas went over great! Koralas, your Ship Dice game was a hit!!

Great, glad to hear it. SCC is one of my favorite dice games since it is simple and fast. I can't claim it as mine though, and there are few other names it is known by, but it is a great game!

Some things I really thought of a bit to late... for the character that is a big gambler, you could give them an edge by allowing a dex check, and if successful, allow an additional roll of the dice (or a re-roll of a single die on each casting), simulating their skill in getting dice to roll the way they want. Additionally, a character could have an opportunity to make a slight of hand check (Dex, treat as a pick-pocket test for determining if the character can add their level) to change the result of one single die by changing it to the side facing (determined by the majority facing, if in doubt, roll off) the player, or immediately opposite it, after the roll. You could let those observing the roll an awareness test (Wis possibly) with a CB of the amount the slight of had check succeeded by. Of course, you will need to give those same opportunities to the NPCs playing the game as well, but some options for future use.

This seems useful, so I am replying just so I can find the thread later ...

kajukenbo wrote:This seems useful, so I am replying just so I can find the thread later ...

Nice!

Let me tell you, that session was a lot of fun, but I would have the CL for the drinks be really easy at first. Our first try, the NPC rolled a 3 and was out after the 3rd freaking drink.

And PLAY UP the NPCs personalities. That's what sells the games and makes them more than just sitting around rolling dice. Gotta spice up the contestants. Was a lot of fun!