Sardivelian Coin Toss
A game performed among Sardivelian nobility where two to four people pass a pistol around with a single bullet inside. Usually played with high-stakes bets, the game ends when there's one player remaining and all the others have died of gunshot wounds. Paoli Piedmonte banned the game in 898, but secret matches can be found in the trading colonies of Silvio and Craxi.
History
With the advent of firearms in the final quarter of the 4th Cycle's ninth century, wealthy Sardivelian nobles began collecting artisan pistols for display in their luxury villas. According to legend, a nobleman from the Grappas Family got into an argument with someone from the Capaldi family over land claims on the Gamerian border, and rather than settling the debate over a drawn-out duel or trial they arranged a quick match using the Capaldi's recently-purchased firearm. Loading a single bullet into the gun, the nobleman spun the chamber and put the pistol on the table. Each of them would take turns putting the pistol to their heads, and whoever was holding the gun when it went off would be the loser (and also dead). The outcome of this legendary match changes with the storyteller, but only one nobleman left the first game of 'Sardivelian Coin Toss' alive.
The game gained popularity among Sardivelia's aristocracy, especially with the nouveau riche families in Silvio. Entire fortunes were bet on the outcome of a single game, veteran players raising the stakes after every game in some kind of perverse death wish. After a prominent member of the Vivaldi Family died in one of these games in 898, Paoli Piedmonte banned the game altogether to prevent it from destabilizing the nation's fragile family alliances and killing too many prolific nobles.
The Grappas family found an opportunity to profit off the blanket ban by hosting high-stakes games in the seedy underbelly of Silvio, hundreds of miles away from Paoli and his estate in Trecce. The games thrived beyond the reach of the law, desperate lower-class Sardivelians risking their lives in matches while nobles threw around betting money before every round. Whoever survived a game of Sardivelian Coin Toss would return home with compensation for their perilous match, but the game's high-risk high-reward system kept them coming back to try for more and more gold.
Execution
In 5e mechanics, each player's head has 20HP plus their Constitution modifier at the start of a game. A pistol never misses when it goes off, dealing critical damage to the victim (ie 2d10). Anybody who drops to 0HP must make a death saving throw or die instantly. There's no limit to the amount of money that can be bet in a single game.
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