In a stroke of luck of the dice, a solo session of play revealed the following treasures: a bage of runes, a nice sash.
With this, the popular parlour and gambling game of "Rune Stone, Cup" emerged within my gameworld. If you so wish, please indulge the Lord Aluvahn Denrick, traveler of Hakur and most prolific of writers as he tells the rules of his most favorite of games of chance:
From the Journal of Lord Aluvahn Denrick, "Of Games Played and Fortunes Gained or Lost":
Here is the listing of rules for the delightful game "Rune Stone, Cup" as it is played within the boundries of Selense. I have spent many an hour at many a table losing myself within the wonderous click-clack of the runes against my cup. Rather than bore you with my usual flowery prose, my manservant Lyle has suggested I just dispense the rules to you.
Now that I am thinking about this, I do believe that Lyle has a point, I could quickly return to the tables... Anyhoo, here they are, hope to see you at the tables! (Hmmm... I do believe that I should give Lyle a little something extra in his payment this month, especially since he did catch my wife up before she could drag the truth out of me, that I was at another gaming table.)
Each player has a single cup and 6 rune stones that each have 6 sides, along with a piece of wood, known as a slider. Each player sits at a normally round table behind a small wooden screen.
The begin the game, the caller sets the buy-in. This can be anywhere from a handful of silver to many hundreds of gold pieces, determined normally by the establishment or the willingness and wealth of the players. Once everyone buys in, each player places their runes within their cups, shakes the cups and then poors their runes out behind their screen.
At this point, all players look at their "cup" and the caller can raise the ante. Anyone who wishes, can bow out, by covering their runes with their screen. Those who don't have the option of seeing the bet and or raising the ante.
At this point, games diverge.
Most commonly, the "Two Rune" rules is in effect, where the players use their sliders to push two dice out of their result for rerolling in their cup. Once these two dice are rolled, a second round of betting ensues with the last betting member at the table calling, raising or bowing their screen over their runes.
A sometimes used alternate rule is the "Three, Two Rune", where there are two additional rerolls allowed and one additional round of betting. This game takes longer to play and is thus uncommonly played. The striking difference here is that the player has fewer choices regarding how many runes he/she may recast. In the first recasting of runes, the player may cast either 3 or 2 runes. In the second round of recasting, the player may only cast up to one less rune than previously. Otherwise these two variants are played the same.
There are additional variants of these games played, which are beyond the scope of this treatise.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
Adding a little life to my gameworld...
From the Journal of Lord Aluvahn Denrick, "Of Games Played and Fortunes Gained or Lost":
As I was saying, the basic rules of the game are delightfully simple and it's truly remarkable to watch the reactions of players who sit down for a game of "Rune Stones, Cup". You almost never see the same reactions to a good or bad roll as each player wrestles with the minds of another player.
Except for... well anyway...
As I was telling my manservant Lyle, I often meet the most fascinating individuals when I enter a new establishment yet, I must have been to so many establishments that my mind must have begun playing tricks upon me.
I suppose it all started after meeting this down his luck fellow, who claimed to be a 'Lord Merchant' (whatever that is) from some city of New Black Rock (which I understand, is a rather charming, if out of the way place).
Anyway, his name, I believe was Gloren something and he was the most atrocius of "Rune Stone, Cup" players I had ever laid eyes upon. Almost regardless of his cup, he would nearly always refuse to leave the game, raising the ante, even with naught but a pair of crow's eyes! ...and his look, he always had this unsettling half-smile and gleam in his eyes, like he knew he was about to win and win big.
The odd thing was but a few days later, at a more 'welcoming' establishment, I met this player by the name of Turcin Blythe. Whom, if my eyes weren't telling me otherwise, was almost as bad at "Rune Stone, Cup" as that Gloren fellow ever was and he had almost the same unsettling half-smile...
Oh, Lyle is reminding me that my prose is once again going on, far to long. "Hurry up", he says. Well, fine, I suppose my dearest reader that I will simply break from tradition and write out how to read the runes...
Traditional Runes for the game "Rune Stone, Cup" have 6 equal sides, each uniquely marked with one of the following per side:
The lowest of the low is the Crow's Eye. This single solitary marking can be a player's worst nightmare or most favorite sight. In pairs or more, the Crow's Eye is considered the foundation of a very weak cup. Yet, as a single end of a chain of runes showing each side, it is the marking of the best possible cup available. A cup filled with these is known as 'A Flock of Crows'
The second in the line is the Goblin's Teeth. It's a remark, not only on the terrible hygene of a Goblin, but also the poor state of one's cup, if the cup contains pairs of more of these, a player is risking quite a bit by staying in the game. A cup filled with these is known as 'A Healthy Goblin' and might be worth a few gold bits at the table.
Third on the Runes are the Three Maidens. These young beauties are a sight to behold, in pairs or more. A cup that is filled with maidens is a good cup indeed. Let's see Lyle stop that. It is also called 'A Full Ladie's Dance' and will beat any 'Healthy Goblin' or 'Flock of Crows'.
Knights of Blade are upon the fourth side of the Runes. Singly, they are the Knights of Blade, in pairs they are a Two Squad of Knights, in triples they are a Three Squad of Knights, in fours they are a Battallion of Knights, in fives they are an Army of Knights and in sixes they are a Grand Army of Knights.
Above the Knights of Blade, sits the Five Queens of the Cup. What's more to say than having a cup filled with Five Queens can be quite a headache, to your opponents. They are, of course, known as a Court of Queens.
Sitting at the top of the heirarchy are the Six Kings of the Cup. A Cup that is filled with Kings is called the Court of Kings and can defeat any other cup, save the elusive cup known as the Full Court.
The Full Court, contains a single face of each rune.
There are more to the types of cups one may hold when playing this game. These advanced cups will be detailed another time, Lyle is telling me that we must be off.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
As I was saying, the basic rules of the game are delightfully simple and it's truly remarkable to watch the reactions of players who sit down for a game of "Rune Stones, Cup". You almost never see the same reactions to a good or bad roll as each player wrestles with the minds of another player.
Except for... well anyway...
As I was telling my manservant Lyle, I often meet the most fascinating individuals when I enter a new establishment yet, I must have been to so many establishments that my mind must have begun playing tricks upon me.
I suppose it all started after meeting this down his luck fellow, who claimed to be a 'Lord Merchant' (whatever that is) from some city of New Black Rock (which I understand, is a rather charming, if out of the way place).
Anyway, his name, I believe was Gloren something and he was the most atrocius of "Rune Stone, Cup" players I had ever laid eyes upon. Almost regardless of his cup, he would nearly always refuse to leave the game, raising the ante, even with naught but a pair of crow's eyes! ...and his look, he always had this unsettling half-smile and gleam in his eyes, like he knew he was about to win and win big.
The odd thing was but a few days later, at a more 'welcoming' establishment, I met this player by the name of Turcin Blythe. Whom, if my eyes weren't telling me otherwise, was almost as bad at "Rune Stone, Cup" as that Gloren fellow ever was and he had almost the same unsettling half-smile...
Oh, Lyle is reminding me that my prose is once again going on, far to long. "Hurry up", he says. Well, fine, I suppose my dearest reader that I will simply break from tradition and write out how to read the runes...
Traditional Runes for the game "Rune Stone, Cup" have 6 equal sides, each uniquely marked with one of the following per side:
The lowest of the low is the Crow's Eye. This single solitary marking can be a player's worst nightmare or most favorite sight. In pairs or more, the Crow's Eye is considered the foundation of a very weak cup. Yet, as a single end of a chain of runes showing each side, it is the marking of the best possible cup available. A cup filled with these is known as 'A Flock of Crows'
The second in the line is the Goblin's Teeth. It's a remark, not only on the terrible hygene of a Goblin, but also the poor state of one's cup, if the cup contains pairs of more of these, a player is risking quite a bit by staying in the game. A cup filled with these is known as 'A Healthy Goblin' and might be worth a few gold bits at the table.
Third on the Runes are the Three Maidens. These young beauties are a sight to behold, in pairs or more. A cup that is filled with maidens is a good cup indeed. Let's see Lyle stop that. It is also called 'A Full Ladie's Dance' and will beat any 'Healthy Goblin' or 'Flock of Crows'.
Knights of Blade are upon the fourth side of the Runes. Singly, they are the Knights of Blade, in pairs they are a Two Squad of Knights, in triples they are a Three Squad of Knights, in fours they are a Battallion of Knights, in fives they are an Army of Knights and in sixes they are a Grand Army of Knights.
Above the Knights of Blade, sits the Five Queens of the Cup. What's more to say than having a cup filled with Five Queens can be quite a headache, to your opponents. They are, of course, known as a Court of Queens.
Sitting at the top of the heirarchy are the Six Kings of the Cup. A Cup that is filled with Kings is called the Court of Kings and can defeat any other cup, save the elusive cup known as the Full Court.
The Full Court, contains a single face of each rune.
There are more to the types of cups one may hold when playing this game. These advanced cups will be detailed another time, Lyle is telling me that we must be off.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
Moorcrys wrote:
An interesting game, kind of a combination between poker and dice.
I'm a little unsure of what constitutes a winning game when there are a mix of 'runes'. Is it like poker?
It's like a very, very simple poker. I am going to be writing out the next bit about which "cup" beats another cup and may discuss a variant that uses different sided "runes".
The "Runes" are six-sided dice. They are rolled from the cup and pairs are matched, the most pairs wins, ties are broken by the type of rune that is in the matched set. Thus a set of three "Crow Eyes" would lose against a set of three "Goblin's Teeth", yet both would beat a pair of "Knights of the Blade", (at least in the basic game).
Some more advanced games would feature each of the six runes in a player's being a different color and the colors of the runes would add another dimension to game. In such games, the runes of each player will all follow the same "suit". Each would have 1 blue, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange and so on.
Another "advanced" game would have one single die of a different color. This rune would be a "power" rune and would be used to break ties in throws that bring up two "Full Courts" upon the table. The cup with the highest value "power" rune would be the winner of that round. (The power rune would affect other cups as well.)
For now, I am just focusing on the basic "Rune Stone, Cup" game. The players at my table got a real nice hoot out of it. I might even pull out my poker chips and use that the next time the "gambler" of the group decides to sit at a "Rune Stone, Cup" table. (The rest of the players would each get to play an NPC or their own character, if they so choose to gamble, I am working up a couple of "personalities" and how those NPCs play the game, how well the player plays up the NPC while the gambling goes on would affect their bonus RP XP at the end of the night.)
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
-
moriarty777
- Renegade Mage
- Posts: 3735
- Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: Montreal, Canada
It is certainly interesting and imaginative. I say good work, I'd have to read it a couple of times over and do some sample plays to get a handle of the game, but I can see the fun that this could bring in one's campaign. Game within a game so to speak.
I got a set of Troll Dice for that same purpose but haven't used or introduced them in my game yet.
Good work!
Moriarty the Red
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I got a set of Troll Dice for that same purpose but haven't used or introduced them in my game yet.
Good work!
Moriarty the Red
_________________
"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"
Partner to Brave Halfling Publishing
http://www.arcanacreations.com
moriarty777 wrote:
It is certainly interesting and imaginative. I say good work, I'd have to read it a couple of times over and do some sample plays to get a handle of the game, but I can see the fun that this could bring in one's campaign. Game within a game so to speak.
I got a set of Troll Dice for that same purpose but haven't used or introduced them in my game yet.
Good work!
Moriarty the Red
Thanks. The main goal with this gambling game is to keep it short and sweet and simple, instead of complex so that it can be played out quickly without taking over a gaming session. Being that I am running a mix of the social and the traditional hack n' slash kind of game, it was a nice diversion and gave the players involved in the game a chance to learn a little more about their adversary.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
From the Journal of Lord Aluvahn Denrick, "Of Games Played and Fortunes Gained or Lost":
I know this may come as a shock and surprise to my dear readers, but I feel that I can no longer partake in this ruffian's game. I know, I know... Lyle warned me not to play with those vicious hooligans, yet my thirst for the game needed to be sated.
So, there I was with the most perfect of perfect hands. I held a Full Court within my cup and the pot was quite sizable. Across from me sat this rather disagreeable fellow who had quite a pile of winnings from the evening's game and only he and I were left in this game.
Calling my cup, I showed my Full Court, pleased that I would certainly be bringing home a full purse that evening. Without a word, he tipped his screen and revealed that he too had a Full Court.
Now, being that we were playing a regular 2 Rune game without Runes of Power, this situation called for a 'cast off'. Each player is supposed to pick up their cup and runes and recast them one last time. The winner would be determined by whomever had the highest number of high value Runes showing.
Unfortunately, the naer-do-well claimed that he was the winner and that he would be taking the pot. I respectfully interjected that the rules of the game clearly stipulate that such results require a 'cast off' to determine the true winner.
This proved only to anger my opponent and apparently the rest of the table, whom I hadn't really noticed were friends of this uncouth ruffian, as they all stood up and began to draw their daggers.
Well, if it wasn't for Lyle by my side, I would have shown them a little 'what for'. Needless to say, that was the last game of "Rune Stone, Cup" I swore to ever play...
Yes, again dear reader, Lyle is reminding me that I must get on with explaining which cup beats which, since that is the reason you picked up this journal of mine...
The game of "Rune Stone, Cup" is a rather simple matching game. The goal is to have the highest number of matching faces showing. Such as pairs or more of a particular face.
For example, having three runes come up with Crow's Eyes will win over a pair of Knights of Blade runes.
The only variation upon this basic set of rules is the existence of the Full Court. The Full Court is having all six Runes in your cup showing all six faces. Thus one Crow's Eye, one Goblin Teeth, one Three Maidens, one Knights of Blade, one Five Queens of the Cup and the very last rune must show the Six Kings of the Cup.
In normal games, a Full Court tie is broken through a recast, where each member of the tie casts out their Runes for all to see. The one with the best results of this final cast, wins the pot. This is also the case for the rare tie of two players holding 6 equal matched faces.
In cases of ties with multiple matched rune faces, such as when two or more players have matched rune faces, such as each having three matched Knights of the Blade, the next highest unmatched rune takes the pot.
Many parlors and gambling houses have begun to use a "Power Rune", where one of the runes has a different coloration than all the others. This "Power Rune" provides an edge to whomever holds the highest value "Power Rune" in a Full Court or whomever holds one as one of their matched Runes in a lesser cup.
For example, assuming their are two Full Courts upon the table. One player has a "Power Rune" showing the Three Maidens, while his opponent holds the "Power Rune" showing the Knights of the Blade. Since the Knights of the Blade is a higher value face, the winner of this round is the player holding the Full Court with the Knights of the Blade showing power.
The same basic rule applies to ties of matched sets. For instance two players with three matching Goblin Teeth faces showing in their cups would be tied. Except that one of the two players has a Goblin Teeth face showing upon a "Power Rune", thus taking the win. In cases where both matched sets have "Power Runes", the old standby rule of checking the next highest single Rune face in the cup applies.
Hmm... Just writing about this game has again brought a thirst for it to the front of my mind. Dear reader, Lyle and I must be off, there's got to be a "Rune Stone, Cup" table somewhere in this city...
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
I know this may come as a shock and surprise to my dear readers, but I feel that I can no longer partake in this ruffian's game. I know, I know... Lyle warned me not to play with those vicious hooligans, yet my thirst for the game needed to be sated.
So, there I was with the most perfect of perfect hands. I held a Full Court within my cup and the pot was quite sizable. Across from me sat this rather disagreeable fellow who had quite a pile of winnings from the evening's game and only he and I were left in this game.
Calling my cup, I showed my Full Court, pleased that I would certainly be bringing home a full purse that evening. Without a word, he tipped his screen and revealed that he too had a Full Court.
Now, being that we were playing a regular 2 Rune game without Runes of Power, this situation called for a 'cast off'. Each player is supposed to pick up their cup and runes and recast them one last time. The winner would be determined by whomever had the highest number of high value Runes showing.
Unfortunately, the naer-do-well claimed that he was the winner and that he would be taking the pot. I respectfully interjected that the rules of the game clearly stipulate that such results require a 'cast off' to determine the true winner.
This proved only to anger my opponent and apparently the rest of the table, whom I hadn't really noticed were friends of this uncouth ruffian, as they all stood up and began to draw their daggers.
Well, if it wasn't for Lyle by my side, I would have shown them a little 'what for'. Needless to say, that was the last game of "Rune Stone, Cup" I swore to ever play...
Yes, again dear reader, Lyle is reminding me that I must get on with explaining which cup beats which, since that is the reason you picked up this journal of mine...
The game of "Rune Stone, Cup" is a rather simple matching game. The goal is to have the highest number of matching faces showing. Such as pairs or more of a particular face.
For example, having three runes come up with Crow's Eyes will win over a pair of Knights of Blade runes.
The only variation upon this basic set of rules is the existence of the Full Court. The Full Court is having all six Runes in your cup showing all six faces. Thus one Crow's Eye, one Goblin Teeth, one Three Maidens, one Knights of Blade, one Five Queens of the Cup and the very last rune must show the Six Kings of the Cup.
In normal games, a Full Court tie is broken through a recast, where each member of the tie casts out their Runes for all to see. The one with the best results of this final cast, wins the pot. This is also the case for the rare tie of two players holding 6 equal matched faces.
In cases of ties with multiple matched rune faces, such as when two or more players have matched rune faces, such as each having three matched Knights of the Blade, the next highest unmatched rune takes the pot.
Many parlors and gambling houses have begun to use a "Power Rune", where one of the runes has a different coloration than all the others. This "Power Rune" provides an edge to whomever holds the highest value "Power Rune" in a Full Court or whomever holds one as one of their matched Runes in a lesser cup.
For example, assuming their are two Full Courts upon the table. One player has a "Power Rune" showing the Three Maidens, while his opponent holds the "Power Rune" showing the Knights of the Blade. Since the Knights of the Blade is a higher value face, the winner of this round is the player holding the Full Court with the Knights of the Blade showing power.
The same basic rule applies to ties of matched sets. For instance two players with three matching Goblin Teeth faces showing in their cups would be tied. Except that one of the two players has a Goblin Teeth face showing upon a "Power Rune", thus taking the win. In cases where both matched sets have "Power Runes", the old standby rule of checking the next highest single Rune face in the cup applies.
Hmm... Just writing about this game has again brought a thirst for it to the front of my mind. Dear reader, Lyle and I must be off, there's got to be a "Rune Stone, Cup" table somewhere in this city...
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
Hey,
I was wondering what everyone thought of the format and "storytelling" style of Lord Aluvahn Denrick. I have the intention of using entries from his "Journal" rather extensively as side information for my campaign as well as to explain "in play" examples of certain house rulings and uses of the SIEGE Engine.
If enough people like this, I would like to see about submitting them for publication in "The Crusader". I could work them to have no setting specific material or simply keep them going with my setting specific material, as the rules and applications of the SIEGE Engine aren't really setting specific.
What do you think? A "Yay" project or a "Nay" project? (For attempting publication that is, my players really enjoy the voice of Lord Aluvahn Denrick's jounral entries and the information contained within.)
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
I was wondering what everyone thought of the format and "storytelling" style of Lord Aluvahn Denrick. I have the intention of using entries from his "Journal" rather extensively as side information for my campaign as well as to explain "in play" examples of certain house rulings and uses of the SIEGE Engine.
If enough people like this, I would like to see about submitting them for publication in "The Crusader". I could work them to have no setting specific material or simply keep them going with my setting specific material, as the rules and applications of the SIEGE Engine aren't really setting specific.
What do you think? A "Yay" project or a "Nay" project? (For attempting publication that is, my players really enjoy the voice of Lord Aluvahn Denrick's jounral entries and the information contained within.)
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
The storytelling style is good, but a basic outline of the rules as...well...rules would be good too. With a "cold" layout of the rules, the story would be more enjoyable. It's kind of like listening to a baseball game on the radio without knowing the rules well. Maybe a quick rundown of the rules and then the story illustrating the game in play.
Orpheus wrote:
The storytelling style is good, but a basic outline of the rules as...well...rules would be good too. With a "cold" layout of the rules, the story would be more enjoyable. It's kind of like listening to a baseball game on the radio without knowing the rules well. Maybe a quick rundown of the rules and then the story illustrating the game in play.
Okay, so maybe breaking up the narrative at key points where a "rule" is given in the story and then continuing the story from that point forward. I was considering doing that with the next journal entry of Lord Denrick.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran
Yep, very enjoyable. Writing the rules into the story and then a summary of them outside the story, at the end, would be good as well.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Its meant to be. Saves us from having to go through the story and copy the rules if we ever use it in our campaigns. Copy and paste at the end is just a convenience to others.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Treebore wrote:
Its meant to be. Saves us from having to go through the story and copy the rules if we ever use it in our campaigns. Copy and paste at the end is just a convenience to others.
That wouldn't be very "Evil" Castle Keeper of me then...
I see your point.
_________________
Earned the following:
50 Useless Trivia Points from Serleran