Ideas for Fictional Fantasy or Medieval Games

[Lacco]

I'm looking for help/ideas for exactly what it says on tin. I am out of ideas and out of my scope of knowledge for this one. To elaborate:

Low-magical setting, sword & sorcery. Several people sit in a tavern around a table and want to play a game. They have dice, bones, cards, even simple board & tokens could be possible. It should be a gambling game or drinking game to pass a pleasant evening.

What will they play?

Feel free to borrow/mash-up from real-life games, refrain from suggestions like Yu-gi-oh and MtG.

[PallentisLunam]

My favorite RL game to rip is Faro. With the addition of magic and various skill tricks cheating becomes a whole new ballgame.

[Sam113097]

This might be useful:

http://http://www.lscacamp.org/portals/0/medieval%20games%20and%20recreation.pdf

[Storm_Of_Snow]

What about Caravan from Fallout: New Vegas?

[Lacco]

This might be useful:

http://http://www.lscacamp.org/portals/0/medieval%20games%20and%20recreation.pdf

Good source, thank you. However, I would prefer ideas as below. But definitely a good basis.

What about Caravan from Fallout: New Vegas?

Something like that. I'm not looking for playable games, but for ones I could use for the feeling. Like Pokiir was used in Betrayal at Krondor. Gambling games suggestions are most welcome.

No need for specifying rules, just some ideas, names, maybe some strange mashups. As said, this is out of my area ofexpertise and I am out of ideas...

[mujadaddy]

Laco, what is the goal? Is it to actually play the game at the table, or simply to provide a flavorful game or games which your population plays?

Rather than set up an actual deck of cards, (this weekend!) I had my player and their opponent roll 5d6, highest pair wins. That would be an example of the latter where the details don't matter, just the idea that cards are being dealt out and bet upon.

[Kaspar]

Feel free to borrow/mash-up from real-life games, refrain from suggestions like Yu-gi-oh and MtG.

When I started playing Witcher 3, I was puzzled what those 'Gwent Cards' are. Something to do with magic? I wondered. I laughed hard when I realized it was an in-universe collectible card game.

Traditional games from non-European cultures could be used. Like Japanese shogi.

[Lacco]

Laco, what is the goal? Is it to actually play the game at the table, or simply to provide a flavorful game or games which your population plays?

Rather than set up an actual deck of cards, (this weekend!) I had my player and their opponent roll 5d6, highest pair wins. That would be an example of the latter where the details don't matter, just the idea that cards are being dealt out and bet upon.

Mostly this is to provide roleplaying opportunity to gambling-focused characters and flavour to the setting. I am one of those GMs who like to provide opportunities to non-combat focused players - in more or less the same detail as other themes (e.g. combat).

While the mechanical aspect should be there, it will be mostly represented by potential winnings (money gained per success), opportunity to cheat (some games are easy to cheat at if you know how, some games not until you can fix the deck) and interesting decision points (e.g. you know you have the "three queen hand" - the second most powerful combo there is and your opponent grins at you and antes up...). I can easily add the mechanics as I know the system well, but I am out of ideas.

So it's mostly the second one. But I can't figure a name of a single such game or ideas for these.

Good example would be Gwint (from Witcher novels) - you need cards and stick, you play with a partner. Play colour, some colours trump the others. It's a bluff focused game usually accompanied by shouting obscenities at each other. Standard winnings are 1d4 coppers per hour per copper spent (split between partners), game is easy to cheat at but also easy to get caught at cheating - beating with sticks usually ensues.

[mujadaddy]

There are lots of games from fantasy worlds, some of which aren't direct versions of real-world games. My favorite is (ok, I can't post URLs yet) www cerebusfangirl com/diamondback.php Diamondback: it has the feel of being played with a Tarot deck, but the rules are very simple and can be simulated with a regular deck of cards. The naming of the face cards can lend a lot of background feel to the world, too.

As you say, though, Loss, Winning, Cheating, Bluffing, Skill: these are the actually important points for gaming. These require mechanics before, during or after the randomized element. These are the points where you can, as the saying goes, "make it interesting."

Also, some games let observers who aren't actually playing bet on the outcomes!

[Lacco]

The diamondback is a good example - but it can be even more "vague". Still, thank you

[LibraryOgre]

Three Ranger Limit.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

My vote goes to mex(ican) or to bluff poker. Both have loads of different rulesets laying around, pick whichever one you like. They're short, they're simple, they're entertaining, they require only dice.

If you want to get everyone extra drunk you could even mex with d4's. Be warned.

[Lacco]

Three Ranger Limit.

This is quite interesting - will try it out. One question - is it possible to get 1st/2nd edition core rules somewhere on pdf? I wanted to take a look at it.

However, still not really what I'm after.

My vote goes to mex(ican) or to bluff poker. Both have loads of different rulesets laying around, pick whichever one you like. They're short, they're simple, they're entertaining, they require only dice.

If you want to get everyone extra drunk you could even mex with d4's. Be warned.

Maybe I should rephrase the opening post... really, not going to play the game at a table - but want ideas. Example:

Witpar: gambling card game, 4-6 players. Each player on his own builds combination of cards (roll gambling twice, add the successes up), adding cards at each round, with cards representing each one element; certain combinations trump each other. One ante-up is possible per player (you can take back a half of your bet after first roll). Cheating is possible if you have a spare pack of cards (agility based check), but it's easy to notice (lowered target number for perception-based checks). Usual bets are around (1d3+1) coppers per player per round, with winnings going to one player at each round (round taking around 20 minutes). In case of ties, the pot stays in the game for next round.

Zhengar pairs: dice and card game, 2-8 players. High-bet game. Plays similarly to canasta - points awarded per round based on collection of cards with paired players, the points are doubled if both players "close" together. One round takes around 30 minutes with game going for whole evening (decide how many games you play beforehand). Each round requires you to place a bet - agreed in the start, you can bet also items and favours. The pot goes to the total winning pair (highest success total). Passing secret messages and bluffing your opponent to close too soon is helpful (rolls for secret language or body language, substituted by bluff or acting may be taken each round, adding successes to gambling dice pool for the round). Each round you can decide to play for the win, play normally or help your partner - if you do the first, you can add 1 die per 2 substracted from your partner; for the latter you add 1 die per 2 substracted from your pool. Cheating is hard (+2 modifier to target number), but hard to notice (+2 modifier to target number). If you roll more than three 10s in one round and win the round, you get a "Zhengar ace" (you automatically reduce your opponents' total successes by 1 each).

So, this is what I could think of in last 2 weeks. So if anyone has any inspiration for me - hit me .

[Steampunkette]

Tongo.

Nothing like a game that encourages cheating and misdirection.

[Thrawn4]

There are two ways I do it in a fantasy game:
1. A mechanic resembling a game:
Each PC gets some cards (the value is established by 2D6 or whatever suits your system), then they can decide how much money they want to bet. After that, they either roll for gambling or cheating (the latter gets a bonus but also bears the risk of discovery) to see how well they play (additional bonus, again dependend on the system you use). Then I do the same for the NPC. Highest value wins.
It resembles poker and allows you to have conversation in between. You may add more skill checks to increase the tension if you want to go in-depth.
2. An actual short game:
Every particpating character is allowed three rolls with a dice. Each number they roll they can use for the hundred, ten or one (e. g. if you roll a 3, it's either 3xx, x3x or xx3). Depending on how lucky you feel, you can take a higher risk by placing comparatively high numbers in the lower spots.
The person with the highest number in the end wins. Give it a nice name like Merlin Street or whatever.

[LibraryOgre]

This is quite interesting - will try it out. One question - is it possible to get 1st/2nd edition core rules somewhere on pdf? I wanted to take a look at it.

OSRIC is a free Retroclone of 1e; For Gold and Glory is a free retroclone of 2e. Drivethru RPG has the 1st edition AD&D PDF available for sale; I couldn't find 2e quickly, but it might be there, too.

[Lacco]

OSRIC is a free Retroclone of 1e; For Gold and Glory is a free retroclone of 2e. Drivethru RPG has the 1st edition AD&D PDF available for sale; I couldn't find 2e quickly, but it might be there, too.

Thank you - I will check both of these when I have time. I think I downloaded OSRIC few months ago, but don't remember reading it.

And if there are any more gambling suggestions, let me know

[JAL_1138]

I wasn't a big fan of it in the Witcher games (or the Witcher games in general, but that's unrelated), because I'm pretty sure the computer cheated, but Dice Poker could be decent and playable at the table. Sorry if this is a little disorganized; typing this on a phone:

Spoiler: Rules of Dice Poker

Show

The game is played one-on-one.

Played with 5d6 per player, possible "hands" are:
(worst to best)
Nothing
Pair
Two Pairs
Three-of-a-kind
Five-high straight (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Six-high straight (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Full House (Pair of one kind with Three-of-a-kind of another, e.g. two 2s and three 3s)
Four-of-a-kind
Five-of-a-kind

When two players have the same hand, the higher numerical value wins; e.g., if both players have Three-of-a-kind, and Player 1 has three ones while Player 2 has three 2s, Player 2 wins. (However, if both players have Nothing, the round is a draw and a new round begins with the same bet.)

Each hand (round) has two rolls. (Modification from the way it's done in The Witcher, where Geralt always opens: the player making the first bet, or "opening," is determined by the high roll on a d6. For subsequent rounds, the opening player alternates). First the bet, which the opponent may call (accept and match, or go "all in" if they do not have sufficient stakes) or raise (increase the bet; a player who has gone all-in may not raise), or fold (forfeit the round). If the opponent raised, the opener may then call (sometimes referred to as "see" instead of "call," accept the raise and match the increase; or go "all-in," betting their remaining stakes, if they do not have sufficient stakes to match the raise), fold (forfeit the round), or re-raise (a player may only raise or re-raise once per round). Then the initial roll--both players roll five dice. Between rolls, either player may raise the bet if they choose to. The other player may then call, re-raise, or fold (losing their bet for the round into the pot). Then the second roll--each player may reroll any of their dice they wish (up to all 5). Bets won between rounds go into the "pot" (also called the "pool"), rather than to a particular player; the pot is collected by the winner of two out of three rounds.

A game consists of two to three hands (rounds). Best two out of three win the game, and the money. Before the first hand, players set the stakes (how much money is on the table) and place their initial bets. Between the first and second round, the players bet a second time (and call, raise/re-raise, or fold). Between the second and third rounds (if there is a third round), the players bet and call/raise/re-raise again--folding at this stage loses the game, as it takes two out of three to win and there would not be a third round if each player did not have one win and one loss (it can be a way to limit one's monetary losses however). The winner of two out of three hands takes the pot.

(The advantage of dice over cards is practicality-- dice don't wear out as easily. They don't bend, tear, lose their stiffness and become impossible to shuffle, or become useless and/or disintegrate if they get wet, and are harder to cheat with except by weighting--which can be checked with a bowl of saltwater, assuming the dice aren't stone or metal).

[bluntpencil]

Go full meta:

Have the NPCs sitting around playing something very similar to Dungeons and Dragons.

Every time the PCs return to the tavern, have the NPCs almost break the fourth wall with comments on their own game

I played a game of Hunter: the Vigil, in which the characters (various sorts of nerds, wanting to expose the monsters to the world) all socialised by playing RPGs, just like their players.

[Lacco]

I wasn't a big fan of it in the Witcher games (or the Witcher games in general, but that's unrelated), because I'm pretty sure the computer cheated, but Dice Poker could be decent and playable at the table. Sorry if this is a little disorganized; typing this on a phone:

Spoiler: Rules of Dice Poker

Show

Cut

(The advantage of dice over cards is practicality-- dice don't wear out as easily. They don't bend, tear, lose their stiffness and become impossible to shuffle, or become useless and/or disintegrate if they get wet, and are harder to cheat with except by weighting--which can be checked with a bowl of saltwater, assuming the dice aren't stone or metal).

Thank you - however, I know dice poker. It's the "poor man's poker" in my country. I played it first when I was around 12 years old .

Any ideas for more "fantasy" version of this game?

Go full meta:

Have the NPCs sitting around playing something very similar to Dungeons and Dragons.

Every time the PCs return to the tavern, have the NPCs almost break the fourth wall with comments on their own game

I played a game of Hunter: the Vigil, in which the characters (various sorts of nerds, wanting to expose the monsters to the world) all socialised by playing RPGs, just like their players.

Hey there!

The idea is fine, but I don't think this would work in RoS game...

[Gildedragon]

Chess

or alternatively, as ancient chess was quite different from modern chess, Lich Chess. A cross between chess and stratego, with one piece holding the lich's phylactery. If the Lich (king) is killed and the phylactery is uncaptured, he returns within a couple moves.
Game ends when lich is dead and phylactery is captured.

[Lacco]

Chess

or alternatively, as ancient chess was quite different from modern chess, Lich Chess. A cross between chess and stratego, with one piece holding the lich's phylactery. If the Lich (king) is killed and the phylactery is uncaptured, he returns within a couple moves.
Game ends when lich is dead and phylactery is captured.

Lich chess sounds quite interesting. Maybe also other variants of board games... we'll see. I am thinking about doing it myself since very little inspiration came from this thread - still, thank you.

[SirBellias]

Drawing from Terry Pratchett, you could use Cripple Mister Onion as a sort of gambling card game, or Thud for more of a chess and checkers approach.

[Gildedragon]

games like mahjong but with other themes to the tiles.

Bingo and the like... though with things on the tiles rather than numbers.

games like The Bear and Hunters, or Hare and Hounds, or Fox and Sheep might be quite popular, maybe played on a sand or wax board, where players can draw different board configurations.

Ancient games that might be of interest:
Hnefatafl and XII Scriptoria might be good ancient games to see folk play (the latter IIRC hasn't been figured out), Senet

[Lacco]

games like mahjong but with other themes to the tiles.

Bingo and the like... though with things on the tiles rather than numbers.

games like The Bear and Hunters, or Hare and Hounds, or Fox and Sheep might be quite popular, maybe played on a sand or wax board, where players can draw different board configurations.

Ancient games that might be of interest:
Hnefatafl and XII Scriptoria might be good ancient games to see folk play (the latter IIRC hasn't been figured out), Senet

I have halatafl board at home and I play it with my father when we meet. It's really interesting. Never heard about XII Scriptoria, but once heard about Senet - but only the name reminds me of something.

And I worked on few other ideas:

Spoiler: Thysh

Show

Type - card gambling game
Requires - 2-5 players, pack of Thyshian cards (5 colours, values from 1 to 7)
Betting and winnings - Thysh can be played as high-stake (with 1d6 gold pieces per player) or low-stake (usually 1d6 coppers per round per player). Winnings go to one player.
Start - decide who goes first; each player is dealt seven cards does the game start, one card goes to the middle of the table; beginning hand is able to close the game sometimes - roll 1d6 - on roll of 6 you end the game with the first hand, on roll of 1 one of your opponents does.
System - goal of the game is to get rid of your cards. Every round you draw one additional. You need to match colour or value of the card to play it.
One game round takes around 10 minutes. Thysh is mostly game of luck and game knowledge. Roll gambling skill. Highest roll wins. In case of ties the player who goes first wins.
Ante-up - not possible
Cheating - possible with additional cards or pre-made deck. Both constitute a sleigh-of-hand type check. For additional cards - if you succeed roll 1d6 - if you roll 1, it means it failed due to someone else having the same cards as you. For pre-made deck, roll gambling - if it succeeds, you planned the deck well-enough to give you advantage.

Spoiler: "Poor Man's" Witpar

Show

If you can't afford Witpar cards, you play with dice.

Type - Gambling dice game
Requires - 2-4 players, 2-5 dice per player (agreed upon at the beginning)
Betting and winnings - Usual bets are around (1d3) coppers per player per round, with winnings going to one player at each round (round taking around 5 minutes). In case of ties, the pot stays in the game for next round.
Start - Each player rolls his dice (quality of starting roll is represented with a roll of 1d6 for -1 to +1 modifier to first gambling roll).
System - Each player rerolls any of his dice once to build a combination of numbers (roll gambling skill twice, add the results), each combination has certain value (e.g. 1-1 trumps any other pair). Players compare combinations and see who wins the game. Tactics-wise you can either try to build short combinations (reroll once the lower roll) or long combinations (double the result of the higher one).
Ante-up - One ante-up is possible per player (you can take back a half of your bet after first roll if you rolled poorly).
Cheating - Possible if you have a loaded dice (hard to notice, giving -2 modifier, but add +1 to the roll for noticing after each game).

I also had an idea for another game, this time a sailor game played after they receive their pay... but I still don't have all the crunch/fluff ready. But:

Spoiler: Fo'c'sle

Show

Game created in docks by sailors, representing a fight for capitancy at the ship.
Type - card and dice game
Requires - 3 players, any kind of numbered cards (uses only numbers 1-6 and two cards representing luck and death), 3 dice
Betting and winnings - traditional bet is usually 1 per game per player, with 2d6 copper coins used as "followers". Goal is to make other players lose "followers" and get voted a captain.
Start - each player sets the silver coin to the middle of the table, places the copper coins in front of him, and draws 2 cards. Starting player then draws additional card and places one of his cards in front of any other player. This continues and after every player placed one card, dice are rolled.
System - the game takes usually around half hour. Starting hand is determined by each player rolling 2d10 and adding it up (in sequence of play). If player rolls 10 or 9, he gets the "death" card. If he rolls 8 or 7, he gets the "luck" card. Only one of each can be present at table, so after these are rolled, 1d6 is used for other players. Highest hand has advantage - add +2 bonus/dice to gambling pool for gambling roll for this round.
Each player then attempts to roll a dice so it lands on one of the cards in game (agility roll with bonus/TN set by gambling skill) - if the roll is successful, take away as many "followers" as is your net success and add them to your pool. If you get the "luck" card, you can not be attacked this round.
If a player has a death card, he immediately removes other player from the game and takes the silver coin he bet. However, the coppers he amassed remain to him.
Ante-up - not possible.
Cheating - ???

While I like the idea, I am unsure if this would work mechanically well.

[Anyr]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Mastery. It was created specifically for fantasy RPGs, as a more thematic alternative to Chess.

[Hoosigander]

Since Tafl has already been mentioned might I suggest Ludus Latrunculorum? For the purposes of your fictional world you could call it Game of the Little Brigands or more loosely Robber's Draughts or something.

A simple interpretation of the rules is as follows; It's played on an 8X8 gridded board and there are 16 counters for each player (the eponymous brigands). The Players each take alternating turns to place all the counters, no captures being allowed in this phase. After this the players take turns to move their pieces, which can be moved orthogonally to any adjacent square. A piece can leap over any single piece of either color, if the square behind is unoccupied. Several leaps are possible. Unlike modern checkers however captures are not accomplished by leaping. If a player can trap an enemy piece between two friendly pieces, the enemy piece is blocked and cannot be moved. In his next turn, instead of moving a piece, the player can capture the trapped piece by removing it from the board, provided his own two surrounding pieces are still free. The trapped piece is free if one of its two enemies is itself surrounded. A player reduced to only one piece left on the board or who cannot move any of his pieces has lost the game. Gambling could by done either by placing bets on the outcome of the game or setting a monetary value on each piece captured (or perhaps a lesser value on each piece trapped and a greater on each piece captured to keep money changing hands throughout the game.)

It would probably be relatively easy and cheap to mock up some sort of board and pieces to actually play (and you could always experiment with reducing the number of grids and pieces to get a faster paced game.) If you don't want to do that the game could be abstracted with a series of skill checks, say if a player gets a twenty he completely dominated an opponent and wins a large amount of money, if he gets a fifteen his opponent captured some pieces as well so the winning PC gets a slightly smaller amount of money, and so forth.

[Lacco]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Mastery. It was created specifically for fantasy RPGs, as a more thematic alternative to Chess.

Mastery sounds interesting as a concept. Will think about it. And since you are playing in one of my games - a game where you control both your tokens and also the enemies' sounds exactly like a game from the country Kate is from...

Since Tafl has already been mentioned might I suggest Ludus Latrunculorum? For the purposes of your fictional world you could call it Game of the Little Brigands or more loosely Robber's Draughts or something.

A simple interpretation of the rules is as follows; It's played on an 8X8 gridded board and there are 16 counters for each player (the eponymous brigands). The Players each take alternating turns to place all the counters, no captures being allowed in this phase. After this the players take turns to move their pieces, which can be moved orthogonally to any adjacent square. A piece can leap over any single piece of either color, if the square behind is unoccupied. Several leaps are possible. Unlike modern checkers however captures are not accomplished by leaping. If a player can trap an enemy piece between two friendly pieces, the enemy piece is blocked and cannot be moved. In his next turn, instead of moving a piece, the player can capture the trapped piece by removing it from the board, provided his own two surrounding pieces are still free. The trapped piece is free if one of its two enemies is itself surrounded. A player reduced to only one piece left on the board or who cannot move any of his pieces has lost the game. Gambling could by done either by placing bets on the outcome of the game or setting a monetary value on each piece captured (or perhaps a lesser value on each piece trapped and a greater on each piece captured to keep money changing hands throughout the game.)

It would probably be relatively easy and cheap to mock up some sort of board and pieces to actually play (and you could always experiment with reducing the number of grids and pieces to get a faster paced game.) If you don't want to do that the game could be abstracted with a series of skill checks, say if a player gets a twenty he completely dominated an opponent and wins a large amount of money, if he gets a fifteen his opponent captured some pieces as well so the winning PC gets a slightly smaller amount of money, and so forth.

Hmm... this could be interesting. Maybe even say that the "tokens" are usually coins - when you capture one, you keep it. Different social classes would play with different coinage.

Thank you for ideas. See the writeup for Robber's Draughts below.

Spoiler: Robber's Draughts

Show

Type - Gambling board game
Requires - 2 players, 8x8 board (may be scratched with a dagger to the table)
Betting and winnings - Each playing piece (16 per player) is represented by a coin. Both players keep the coins they capture during play. A bet can be set by both players (usually amounting to additional (1d10-3) coins of the same coinage).
Start - The Players each take alternating turns to place all the counters on board (no captures allowed at this point). Starting situation is determined either by Gambling skill roll, possibly enhanced by Strategy or Tactics (at penalty) skill roll.
System - Game usually takes half hour to complete. Players alternate in turns. On player's turn he may move one token or capture a token that is trapped between two his tokens. Player rolls Gambling or Games skill enhanced by the rolls from the tactic you select and modifiers below. You can play offensively (increase your winnings by 2 at the cost of 2 dice from your roll), focus on perfect win (decrease your roll/pool by any amount of dice, your opponent loses 1/2 dice from his hand) or play defensively (decrease your pool by 2 and decrease your opponents winnings by 2).
Choose one additional modifier if applicable:
- if player focuses on keeping some tokens - for each 2 coins you want to keep, decrease your dice pool by 1
- if he focuses on tactics: roll strategy or tactics (at small penalty) skill roll
- if he focuses on distracting and bluffing your opponent: roll bluff skill roll
- if he focuses on acting like a beginner (opposite player must not know you) to :
Ante-up - Not possible.
Cheating - Very hard sleigh-of-hand roll, usually only possible if you manage to get the opponent drunk/really distracted.

Variant: Robber's Drinks
A bet of 1d10 copper coins is necessary and the loser has to pay the tab. Each token is represented by a cup of spirits (or even pint of beer) - if you capture it, you decide whether you or the opponent has to drink it. You can win by drinking your opponent under table or the traditional way - in both cases the bet goes to you and the loser pays the tab.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

Hmm... this could be interesting. Maybe even say that the "tokens" are usually coins - when you capture one, you keep it. Different social classes would play with different coinage.

Am I the only one thinking of full shot glasses for the tokens? You capture a piece, your opponent has to drink it.

[Lacco]

Am I the only one thinking of full shot glasses for the tokens? You capture a piece, your opponent has to drink it.

Already thought of that - check the spoiler for another game called Robber's Drinks...