TEXT:  
   
   
  
  1 
  GAMES & 
  GAMBLING 
  IT’S DICE ALL THE WAY DOWN 
   
   
   
  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
   
  Blackjack 
  1 
  Darts 
  2 
  Dice Roulette 
  2 
  Odds 
  2 
  High Card Draw 
  2 
  Liar’s Dice 
  3 
  Midnight 
  3 
  Poker Dice 
  3 
  Races 
  4 
  Slot Machine 
  5 
   
   
   
   
   
  PLAYING GAMES 
  Sometimes, it’s good to take a break from 
  all the high-pressure adventures, questing, 
  and dungeon delving. These game rules are 
  presented for those occasions––for the 
  nights spent blowing off steam in bars or 
  casinos, whether gambling money or 
  playing with friends for fun. 
   
  BLACKJACK 
  Blackjack is a card game played between 
  any number of gamblers and one dealer, or 
  between two gamblers. The aim of the 
  game is to get as close to 21 as possible 
  without exceeding 21. Aces can be valued 
  at 1 or 11, face cards are worth 10, and all 
  other cards are worth their face values. 
  Jokers are excluded. The die for this game 
  is a d10, as the range is from 1 to 10, with a 
  1 alternating as an 11 if you choose. 
     To play, take turns with other players. On 
  your turn, you can do one of two things. If 
  you want another card, you can roll a d10, 
  adding the resulting number to your total. If 
  you roll a 1, you can choose whether it is 
  worth 1 or 11. This value is not fixed, and 
  can change whenever you need it to. If you 
  don’t want another card, you can also hold, 
  which ends your involvement in the round. 
  When all players have held their hands, 
  everyone reveals their totals. The player 
  closest to 21 without exceeding it wins. 
     You can also play with revealed cards, in 
  which case every player knows each other’s 
  totals. In this case, the dealer leaves one of 
  their own cards face-down, which adds an 
  element of risk to the game. 
   
   
   
   
  
  2 
  DARTS 
  Darts is a game of precision 
  projectile-throwing. The darts board has 
  wedges representing 1 through 20, and four 
  rings intersecting those wedges––one which 
  doubles the wedge’s value, one which 
  triples it, one which is valued at 25 
  regardless of wedge, and one which is 
  valued at 50 regardless of wedge. In each 
  round, each player throws three darts, 
  attempting to collect the highest total sum of 
  points. You can play as many consecutive 
  rounds as you wish. 
     To play, first roll a d20, adding your 
  Dexterity modifier. Rolls above 20 are 
  rounded to 20. This first roll represents 
  which wedge of the board your dart ends up 
  in, and is the base number to multiply by 
  your placement in the rings. Then roll a d6. 
  A roll of 1 or 2 leaves your score as is, a roll 
  of 3 doubles your score, a roll of 4 triples 
  your score, a roll of 5 rounds your score to 
  25, and a roll of 6 rounds your score to 50. 
     You roll the d20/d6 combination three 
  times, adding up your score. The player with 
  the higher score wins the round, and the 
  highest sum of round scores at the end of 
  the last round wins the entire game. 
   
  DICE ROULETTE 
  Dice roulette is a simple variant of wheel 
  roulette, where players bet on the result of a 
  small silver ball landing on a spinning 
  wheel. In this game, players bet on the 
  result of a dice toss. The more specific a 
  player’s bet is, the better it pays out. 
     When the game begins, choose one of the 
  results below to bet on. Then the DM rolls a 
  d100. If the dice lands on your result, it pays 
  out, and you get a number of coins for each 
  coin you bet. For instance, at 3 to 1 odds, 
  you get 3 dollars for each dollar you bet, in 
  addition to collecting your original bet. If the 
  dice doesn’t land on your result, your bet 
  goes to the house. 
   
  TABLE: ROULETTE PAYOUTS 
  Result 
  Payout 
  Odd or Even 
  1 to 1 
  Low Half (1-50) or  
  High Half (51-100) 
  1 to 1 
  Thirds (1-33, 34-66, 67-100) 
  2 to 1 
  Fourths (1-25, 26-50, etc.) 
  3 to 1 
  Fifths (1-20, 21-40, etc.) 
  4 to 1 
  Tenths (any range of 10 values) 
  9 to 1 
  Split Bet (any two numbers) 
  24 to 1 
  Single Bet (any single number) 
  99 to 1 
   
  ODDS 
  Odds is an extremely simple betting game 
  involving two dice. A dealer has 2d6 
  covered by a cup, and shakes them to roll. 
  Anyone playing the game bets with another 
  player on whether the total sum of the die is 
  even or odd. The dealer then reveals the 
  sum, determining the winning side of the 
  game. Odds is best played in pairs of 
  betters, though sides of multiple players can 
  pool money together and split the winnings. 
   
  HIGH CARD DRAW 
  High Card Draw is another very simple 
  game for two or more players. The aim of 
  this game is to draw the highest card. 
     When played with two players, each 
  player draws a card and reveals it. This card 
  is represented by a roll of the d10, as face 
  cards are only worth 10 in this game. The 
  
  3 
  higher roll of the die wins. If both cards roll 
  the same result, both reroll until one wins. 
     When played with more than two players, 
  the lowest score of each round is eliminated 
  until two players remain. The game then 
  proceeds with two-player rules. 
   
  LIAR’S DICE 
  Liar’s Dice is a game of deception and 
  strategy with two or more players. Each 
  player has a cup and five six-sided die, and 
  must bluff about the contents to continue 
  playing the game. 
     At the beginning of the game, each player 
  must roll 5d6, keeping the results hidden 
  from other players. The first player then 
  declares that a number of dice are showing 
  a certain face under their cup––for instance, 
  they might claim that there are two 5’s 
  under their cup. The next player, usually the 
  next clockwise position at the table, can do 
  one of two things––raise the bet, or call liar.  
     If they raise the bet, they must declare a 
  combination of number and face that 
  exceeds the last in some way––for instance, 
  in the prior example, the second player 
  would have to declare three dice showing 
  the same face, or two dice showing a face 
  higher than 5. If they raise the bet, this 
  motion repeats with the following player until 
  someone calls liar.  
     If they call liar, the round ends, and the 
  accused player must reveal their dice. If the 
  accused player was telling the truth, they 
  win the round, and the accuser loses one of 
  their five dice. If the accused player was 
  lying about the contents of their cup, the 
  accuser wins the round, and the accused 
  player loses one of their dice. The game 
  ends when only one player with dice 
  remains. 
     When adapting this game to D&D, you 
  can do one of two things. You might leave 
  the game as is, using pure in-person 
  bluffing to deceive other players. Otherwise, 
  you can let a player’s character bluff and 
  make insights on their behalf. When lying 
  about the contents of your dice, make a 
  Charisma (Deception) check. This check 
  can be contested by a Wisdom (Insight) 
  checks on their own turns. Similarly, before 
  you decide whether to raise the bet or call 
  liar, you can make a Wisdom (Insight) check 
  to determine whether the player before you 
  was lying about the contents of their cup.  
   
  MIDNIGHT 
  Midnight is a game of stacking values for 
  two or more players. Each player takes 
  turns rolling 6d6, keeping one die from each 
  roll to determine their score. 
     On your turn of midnight, begin by rolling 
  6d6. Each time you do this, you must keep 
  the values of at least one of the six die, 
  removing this die from your next roll. Then 
  you roll again with 5d6, taking a die and 
  repeating until you are left with a single roll 
  you are forced to take. Once this process is 
  completed, you pass the dice to the next 
  player, who does the same, until every 
  player has rolled. 
     You must have a 1 and a 4 among your 
  six final die in order to score at all. Provided 
  that you have those dice, your score is the 
  total of the remaining four die––meaning the 
  highest possible score is 24 (four 6’s). The 
  player with the highest score wins the 
  game. 
   
  POKER DICE 
  Poker dice is a variation on classical poker 
  that can be played easily with dice, for two 
  or more players. 
  
  4 
     On your turn, roll 5d6. You may recycle 
  this hand three times, keeping dice between 
  each roll if you desire. After three rolls, your 
  hands are revealed, and the hand with the 
  best combination wins. The possible 
  combinations are described in the table 
  below, ranked in order of best hand to 
  worst. In the case of two identical hands, 
  players resort to the higher card value. 
   
  TABLE: POKER DICE HANDS 
  Hand 
  Example 
  Five of a Kind 
  3 3 3 3 3 
  Four of a Kind 
  2 2 2 2 4 
  Full House 
  2 2 5 5 5 
  Straight 
  1 2 3 4 5 
  Three of a Kind 
  3 3 3 2 1 
  Two Pair 
  2 2 1 4 5 
  One Pair 
  6 6 4 3 1 
  Bust 
  1 3 5 6 2 
   
  RACES 
  Races is a blanket category that covers 
  racing between all kinds of creatures. In 
  racing, the players have no agency to 
  manipulate the outcome of the game, but 
  bet on the results of the race. 
     This game requires some preparation on 
  the DM’s part: you must determine how 
  many participants are racing, and if you 
  wish, each racer’s hidden Dexterity modifier 
  to determine how fast they move. You might 
  drop hints to players about these modifiers 
  through stories of past wins, Wisdom 
  (Nature) checks when examining the racing 
  animals, or other subtle storytelling cues. 
     If you wish, you can forego giving each 
  racer a modifier and let the results be 
  entirely random. 
  BETTING 
  The players are presented with a list of 
  racers, with the option of placing any of the 
  bets described in the table below. In the 
  result that the race plays out as the player 
  bet, they are paid out according to the table 
  below. For instance, a 3 to 1 payout awards 
  3 coins for each coin the player bets, in 
  addition to the player collecting their original 
  bet. 
   
  TABLE: RACING BETS 
  Bet 
  Payout 
  Straight Bets 
   
  Win. ​Your chosen racer will 
  come in 1st place. 
  3 to 1 
  Place. ​Your chosen racer will 
  come in 1st or 2nd place. 
  2 to 1 
  Show. ​Your chosen racer will 
  come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. 
  1 to 1 
  Exotic Bets 
   
  Exacta. ​You choose two 
  racers, betting that they will 
  come in 1st and 2nd place, in 
  an exact order. 
  6 to 1 
  Quinella. ​You choose two 
  racers, betting that they will 
  come in 1st and 2nd place, in 
  any order. 
  4 to 1 
  Trifecta. ​You choose three 
  racers, betting that they will 
  come in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 
  place, in an exact order. 
  9 to 1 
  Superfecta. ​You choose four 
  racers, betting that they will 
  place 1st through 4th, in an 
  exact order. 
  16 to 1 
   
  
  5 
  RACING 
  Once the betting phase has ended, the race 
  begins. At this point, the players are 
  spectators on the game, and the DM is in 
  total control. There are two ways to 
  determine the results of this race: with a 
  single roll or multiple rolls. 
     Single Roll. ​In this method, you roll a d20 
  for each racer, adding their hidden Dexterity 
  modifier if present, and the racers place in 
  order of their rolls. This method is more 
  random than the multiple rolls method when 
  using modifiers, and requires the DM to 
  improvise more when describing the race 
  unfolding. 
     Multiple Rolls. ​In this method, you roll a 
  d20 for each racer, adding their hidden 
  Dexterity modifier if present. This 
  determines the racers’ positions at the end 
  of the first section of racetrack. Repeat this 
  roll three times and add the results from 
  each section together for each racer to 
  determine the racer’s final placements. This 
  method is more descriptive, and allows DMs 
  to call out how each racer is doing as the 
  race progresses, building tension and 
  drama with the players. However, if racers 
  are using hidden Dexterity modifiers, this 
  allows racers with higher modifiers to pull 
  ahead much more consistently, eliminating 
  some of the pure randomness of the event. 
  It is up to the DM whether they prefer total 
  randomness or advantages that the players 
  have opportunities to discover. 
   
  SLOT MACHINE 
  Slot machines describe single-player 
  gambling games, wherein the player pays 
  the machine cost, pulls a lever, and the 
  machine randomly generates a result. If the 
  result is favourable, the player wins a large 
  payout. If not, the player loses their pay-in. 
     Most slot machines use an 
  easy-to-understand mechanic for 
  determining what rolls are good: if the slots 
  are the same symbol, they pay out well. 
  Therefore, to mimic the effects of this slot 
  machine, use the table below to determine 
  the risk of the machine and what die to roll 
  to play. 
     To play the machine, input a number of 
  coins, and roll three of the indicated die. If 
  you roll a winning roll, the machine pays out 
  according to the table. For instance, a 3 to 1 
  payout awards 3 coins for each coin the 
  player bets, in addition to the player 
  collecting their original bet. A player that 
  successfully bets 5 gold would walk away 
  with 20 gold––5 from their original bet and 
  15 in winnings. 
   
  TABLE: SLOT MACHINES 
  Dice 
  Winning Rolls 
  Payout 
  d4 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 4s 
  1 to 1 
  2 to 1 
  d6 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 6s 
  1 to 1 
  3 to 1 
  d8 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 8s 
  1 to 1 
  4 to 1 
  d10 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 10s 
  1 to 1 
  5 to 1 
  d12 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 10 or Above 
  All 12s 
  1 to 1 
  2 to 1 
  6 to 1 
  d20 
  All Evens or Odds 
  All 15 or Above 
  All 20s 
  1 to 1 
  3 to 1 
  10 to 1 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/E. R. F. Jordan/Games & Gambling.pdf