Gambler's Pair-o-Dice
Originating in the back alleys of major cities, this game has become a popular vice for many with coin to spare. Its named after the fact that it is simple to play with just some dice, and it is highly addictive.
The Equipment: A large number of d20's, a dealer, and a "dice girl".
The Mechanics: On each round, players can buy any number of d20s they want. The standard peasant’s-wage cost for a d20 is a copper piece, though at some tables a player can spend a silver piece, a gold piece, a platinum piece, or even more for a die. When all dice have been purchased, the players all roll their dice. Then the house rolls a die. Every player die that beats the house die gets paid off with two coins for every one coin it was bought for. For the player, a 1 always loses, and a 20 always wins.
The Odds: The player has a 47.75 percent chance of winning. 1’s don’t beat anything, 2’s only beat house 1’s, 3’s beat house 1’s and 2’s, and so on. The exception is player 20’s, which have a special advantage of beating house 20’s.
The Payout: The player will win 9.55 coins for every 10 coins he bets. The fact that a player is paid two coins on every win obscures the fact that the player gave over a coin to buy the die. Accounting for this, every successful bet’s payout is 1-to-1.
7's or 12's
Say your prayer to the God of luck and roll your dice!
The Equipment: 2-3 d6s.
The Mechanics: Each round, players roll 2d6. The minimum buy in is typically 5gp, though higher stakes tables aren't uncommon. If the player rolls a 7 or 12 on 2d6 they win. A player can double their bet to add another 1d6 after rolling.
The Odds: The player has a 19.45 percent chance of winning.
The Payout: The player has a 19.45 percent chance of winning.
Whore's Dice
A popular game among the escort class, who often play with their clients.
The Equipment: A single d6.
The Mechanics: The player rolls 1d6 while the dealer rolls 3d6. If the result of the player's dice match the result on any of the dealer's dice, the player wins.
The Odds: The player has a 16.67 percent chance of winning with one dice.
The player has a 2.78 percent chance of winning with two dice.
The player has a 0.46 percent chance of winning with three dice.
The Payout:
If one die matches the player's number, they get their money back. If two dice match the player's number, they get double their bet.
If three dice match the player's number, they get triple their bet.
Dagger Throwing
Daggers can be substituted for any ranged weapon. 10 people compete, the PCs roll a d10 to determine seeding order. Each competitor gets 3 throws, person with the most points wins. For each throw, roll a d20 + Dex mod (plus proficiency if proficient with weapon). 0-9: miss (0 points), 10-13: outer ring (1 point), 14-17: middle ring (2 points), 18-21: inner ring (3 points), 22+/nat 20: bullseye (5 points).
Championship rounds have 5 throws.
Drunk Musical Chairs
Start with 10 competitors and 9 chairs. Each competitor takes a drink before each round, and must make a Con save (DC 9 + 1/round) or have disadvantage on their Dex check in the next round. When a round starts, each competitor makes an initiative roll and a Dex check and add them together, the lowest total gets eliminated. A chair is removed and the next round begins, repeat until there is only 1 chair and competitor left. In case of a tie, competitor who rolled highest initiative wins.
Trivia Night/Tavern Jeopardy
Can be played individually or as teams. 6 competitors/teams, each rolls for initiative to determine who picks the first question. Each category has 5 questions, worth 1-5 points as they increase in difficulty. 1 point: DC 12, 2 points: DC 14, 3 points: DC 16, 4 points: DC 18, 5 points: DC 20. Categories are: Arcana, History, Nature and Religion. Competitor picks which category/points they want, then take check with corresponding skill. On missed check, other competitors roll intiative and competitors get chance to answer in order of intiative, if nobody gets it right the original competitor picks a new question. Games will have 3 of the categories, with a final question worth 20 points (DC 22) using the category not used in first round.
Bull riding
12 riders, the PCs roll a d12 to determine riding order. On each competitors turn they take Animal Handling, Dex, Str, and Athletics/Acrobatics (their choice) checks. Add all rolls together, highest total wins. Announce competitor's totals as they ride for extra excitement.
Drinking Contest
10 competitors (plus the PCs) each chug a beer at the same time, then make a Con save (DC 9+1/round). All who fail "throw up" and are eliminated, keep going until only 1 remains. If final competitors fail at same time, highest roll wins.
Obstacle Course
4 competitors run at a time in a race, each makes a check at each obstacle, add all checks plus speed together, highest total wins the race. Obstacles are: balance beam (Acrobatics), tire run (Dex), wall (Athletics), rope maze (Wis), rope bridge (Acrobatics), mud crawl (Athletics). For extra excitement, announce who is in the lead after each obstacle.
Arm Wrestling Contest
4 competitor tournament. Each set of competitors start with their hands in neutral position and makes opposing Str checks, whichever is higher moves the opponent's hand one position towards them, or back towards neutral if opponent has already moved them. Nat 20 and Nat 1 move 2 positions. First competitor to move their opponent's hand 5 positions past neutral wins.
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