You quickly realize that most of the others at your table are not in your league. First out is a down on his luck lumber mill operator names Fal, then surprisingly, the stoic teenager. You had expected more from her, but it turns out she was all attitude and no skill. She leaves the table and the bar without a word. Gressel calls out as she leaves, "Thanks for the coins girlie! And tell your Gargoyle bosses back in Mangimar there ain't nothing for them this far from home."
That left only two other players at you table: The bald militiaman who you learn is named Teln Sevalos, and Jubrayl Vhiski, a lanky Varisian who drinks too much. Vhiski makes some very daring plays and moves into the lead, but then just as quickly his luck seems give out and he looses all his chips to you and Sevalous in several spectacularly poorly played hands. That leaves you and Teln to move to the final table. Jubrayl whines his way into the dealer's chair, and introduces you to your next opponents. Across from you sits Bilivar Wheen, the town's local wheelwright, and to you left is one of the town nobles, Lonjiku Kaijitsu, owner of the Sandpoint Glass works, and apparently, quite an accomplished card player.
Here is how this last table will work: Each hand of cards will be represented by a d20 roll. You may attempt to modify this roll by making Bluff, Intimidate, or Diplomacy checks, or making a Sleight of Hand check to cheat. Each round will consist of 4 hands ( four dice rolls). I will give you your four rolls, and then you must decide in which order you want to play them, and whether or not to use a skill to modify the roll. Note that each time you use a skill it becomes more difficult to use again as the other players begin to figure out your tells. Each hand in the first round is worth 5gp, with the wager doubling each round until there is only one player left. Each round all players will make a spot check. If you decide to cheat, you must beat all of their spot checks and have a higher result than any other cheaters that hand. If you do you automatically win the hand. If a player's spot check exceeds your Sleight of hand check by 10 or more, they have caught you cheating.
Here is an example of how a round would work:
I give you your rolls for round 1: 15, 11, 7, 3
You assign one roll to each of the 4 hands, in whatever order you wish, and tell me if you are assigning any skills to it:
Hand1 - 3 (no skill)
hand2 - 15 (bluff)
hand3 - 7 (diplomacy)
hand4 - 11 (CHEAT!)
I compare your results to the other players to determine winners and adjust the pots.
Round 1 - Sasha's hands: 20, 13, 13, 6
Lonjiko: 45gp
Bilivar: 30pg
Teln: 35gp
Sasha: 40gp
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Sasha looks at her hand casually and places her cards face down. She tosses a her five coins as part of the ante.
(Sasha's plays her hands in the following order.
Hand 1:20
Hand 2:13 (Diplomacy)
Hand 3:13
Hand 4:6
You win the first round easily off a strong deal. You win the second as welldue to some quick thinking and a bit of a gamble, though Teln almost takes it from you with the last card. Teln comes back and wins the third hand, While Lonjiko wins the fourth. By the end of the round Bilivar is sweating visibly and cursing the bad cards he has been dealt.
After four hands:
Sasha: 60gp
Lonjiko: 45gp
Teln: 35gp
Bilivar: 10gp
Sasha's rolls for round2:12,4,10,18
Remember, your Diplomacy check has gone from diff 10 to diff 15 now. You may attempt Bluff and Intimidate checks as well, but with no bonuses
In the interests of dramatic tension, we will keep the bet to 5 gp this round, then go up to 10gp for rounds 3&4
Sasha cursed inwardly. The gods smile with one hand of cards and then stick their collective tongues out at her with the next.
Remaining calm she played her hand.
18
12 (Diplomacy)
10
4
Again, you win the first hand with strong cards and the second on a wing and a prayer - looks like your opponents haven't caught on to your tactics yet. The second hand is als Bilivar Wheen's last. He give's a shuddering sigh ans you take the last of his chps, gives a forced smile, and heads straight to the bar.
Lonjiko plays a brilliant hand and winds the third hand, while Teln bullies his way to the fourth pot.
after 8 hands:
Sasha: 80gp
Lonjiko: 40gp
Teln: 30gp
Bets are now doubled to 10gp per hand. Sasha's Diplomacy checks are now Diff 20. I just noticed a terminoligy error - "Pick Pockets" and "Sleight of Hand" are the same skill, so Sasha does have some talent in this area, if you feel so inclined.
Sasha's rolls for round3: 5, 8, 15, 16
Pulling the small collection of coins toward her Sasha is feeling the glares from Lonjiko and Teln. As the new cards are dealt she can't help but feel something is wrong. With Two bad cards and and two mediocre cards her hands are getting much more challenging to play.
16
15 (bluff)
8
5
You play your strongest hand first, but Lonjiko edges you out with an even stronger one. You come back and win the second hand easily. Teln throws his last 10 coins in for the third hand, but doesn't get the cards, and Lonjiko wins again. You are dealt a garbage hand after that, and Lonjiko easily takes the fourth pot as well.
After 12 rounds:
Lonjiko 80gp
Sasha 70gp
Teln's out - now its just Sasha and Lonjiko. Sasha's Diplomacy test is DC20, Bluff is DC 15, and Intimidate is DC10. Next round's bet is still 10gp per hand.
Sasha's rolls for round 4: 16,13,19,14
On exterior Sasha remained stone cold as any good gambler would. On the inside she was smashing imaginary furniture and cursing a streak that would have
19
16
14 (Bluff)
13 (Intimidate)
True to form, Sasha wins the first two hands, but Lonjiko sees right through her bluffs and wins the next two, leaving both players with the same chip counts as before.
Lonjiko 80gp
Sasha 70gp
Bets are now 20gp per hand, and there are only three hands per round - its crunch time baby! Sasha is running out of tricks. You've got a Diplomacy DC20 and an Intimidate DC15 left.
Sasha's hands for round5: 3,13,15
Sasha's heart was beating faster. It wasn't that she had made many mistakes. It wasn't that he was a better player. There was something else inside of her that was holding her back. She could imagine a shark and dog circling her. She wouldn't get bit. She wasn't afraid. Or was she?
Getting angry for doubting herself she turned her attention to Lonjiko. "Perhaps ... " she thought "instead of not getting bit it's better to bite first."
With that Sasha played her hand pulling out all the stops. "Oh duckling" she said "you picked the wrong day for a game of cards."
Lonjiko's smug disappeared. He was about to say something but she could see he thought better of it and returned his attention to his cards.
"I guess I'm not the only one being circled right now" Sasha concluded silently.
3(Cheat)
13 (Diplomacy)
15 (Intimidate)
[Lords of Kobol hear my cry!]
You palm a card on the first hand, virtualy ensuring yourself the win. But then you notice the deal Vhiski deal something off the bottom of the deck to Lonjiko, and sure enough, when the cards are turned Lonjiko wins the hand. When you look sharply at the dealer, the dishevelled varisian winks at you! Does he know you caught him? Or did he see you palm the extra card?
Lonjiko seems oblivious to this entire exchange, and outplays you in the second hand. Rattled, you try to get your head back in the game, and manage to stay alive by winning the third hand.
Lonjiko: 100gp
Sasha: 50gp
Sasha's out of legitimate tricks (though continuing to cheat is always an option). Your DC checks are now so high that you can't roll a success - Lonjiko's reading you like a book. Bets stay at 20gp per hand.
Sasha's rolls for round6: 5,3,18
Sasha returns the dealers wink. As she looks at her hand she uses her free and to subtly undo the leather clasp on her rapier.
"He's cheating" Sasha thinks to herself. "The dealer is in on it but now he knows that I know he's in on it. He also knows that I just undid the clasp on my rapier and is probably factoring in that right now."
Sasha furrowed her brow trying to convince everyone how deep in thought she was before she let the corner of her lip twitch as though she were holding back a smile.
"Sometimes the only way to win the game" she had heard a thief tell her "was to clear the board of all the pieces."
Though there is no board in cards. The sentiment is no less true.
18 (Cheat)
5 (Cheat)
3 (Cheat)
(If Sasha loses either of the first two rounds or catches the dealer or Longjiko cheating on a spot check she draws her rapier and lets the chaos ensue.)
Sasha unobtrusively scans the room, now very much on edge. In addition to Lonjiko and Jubrayl. There is big man Gressil standing by a makeshift bar, and Teln is still there, though he has now downed quite a bit of drink and seems to be unaware of everything around him. There is a young tough by the door, and two more joking with Gressil by the bar.
Sasha doesn't see any signs of a rigged game though: No peep holes, no mirrors, no one standing over her shoulder reading her cards.
Sasha lets her rapier hang on her side. The odds are against her not only in the cards but also in the room. She looks at her hand again.
The game may not be rigged. But this is MY game she thought. She's fleeced better people then a room filled with country bumpkins. "If I can't make it through this game then I don't deserve to call myself a gambler."
Putting her hand face-down she threw her anti-into the pool.
"Let's get this started."
You win the first hand easily, and ith a bit of "creative" play win the second as well. But when you reach out to take your winnings, Jubrayl's hand snakes out and traps your wrist.
"Well now, what do we have here?" he asks with a wicked grin. You notice there is not event a hint of the drunken fop left in his eyes as he turns over your wrist to reveal the palmed Druid card you swapped to win the hand.
Lonjiko blusters, "Gressil! I thought you ran a fair game here! I demand this whelp be ejected at once!"
"I think Lord Kaijitsu is right Gressil," Jubrayl says in an oily, menacing voice. "This game is over"
Gressil motions to the three toughs, who start edging towards the table. "Right then," he says to Sasha. "You're done here. Leave you chips on the table and walk away now girlie."
Sasha turned her wrist and pulled it out.
“I was wondering when you were going to catch on. I was expecting it long before now.”
In her minds eyes she could see all the dogs and sharks lining up against her in her mind’s eye.
They all wanted to snap and bite and tear her to shreds. But instead she was looking right them right in the eye using her smile as the perfect shield. It always unnerved predators when their prey didn’t act afraid.
The dealer is about to speak but Sasha turns to Gristle.
“Well handsome I’ve been true to my word and kept this game clean as possible. You see I never once played the “Druid”. That would be cheating. Seeing as how it’s the most powerful card in the deck AND there’s only one in each deck. Like there is right now!
She pointed accusingly at the dealer.
“But this isn’t about gold is it? I know Gristle the smartest one here is already got it figured out. He knows I’m trying to save his life.”
Sasha continues talking with an air of wisdom beyond her years. “Ask yourselves why would a ‘hero’ be wasting her time in a game such as this with players such as you? No offense Gristle. I cheated to keep the game fair. Despite my best efforts you still stole everything that Bilivar and Teln had."
"I’m here to stop you from killing Gristle.”
Why don’t you tell everyone the truth? How does a gargoyle initiate who can’t play cards get invited to the most prestigious game in town? Don’t you dare insult us by saying it was because she doesn’t know how to play cards. Your town is filled with rubes much easier to fleece.”
In her minds eyes the sharks and dogs where looking at each other questioningly then suspiciously.
All their attention wasn’t turned on to her but on each other.
Billivar and Teln wanted to be winners and now they had someone to blame. Gristle wants to believe an attractive stranger is smitten with him and wants to save him. Longjiko knows that if the dealer isn’t the one getting blamed then he could as easily be on the chopping block. Even the thugs she had spoken with earlier still hold her to her hero status. The dogs are turning on the sharks are turning on dogs. It was such a beautifully concotted story that she wished Poot was here to write it all down.
“The only person here worth killing is Gristle. You needed the money and so you arranged the game planning on having Longiko as your patsy. Everyone would assume that since he had the gold that a mugging would or murder wouldn't be unsual. Then a small payment to the gargoyle and Gristle goes missing. The leftover gold ends up purchasing and settling in the farmer’s feedback on one side of the street and Gristles wife on the other.”
“But then again I could be a liar. After rescuing this town from goblins I may have just wanted to play cards and am trying to escape with my skin intact. Just like there’s nothing wrong with that Ale you handed me. “
Sasha pushes her Ale right in front of the dealers nose.
“Go ahead and drink it all. I mean if I’m really that bad at cards and this isn’t a set-up then that ale should be perfectly fine. Please drink it all and show everyone how innocent you really are?”
Sasha gives the dealer an evil smile. The smile says I may have poisoned this myself and in that case you're dead. If you refuse to drink it I'm right and your dead. If you drink it and you're fine then you get off scott-free - but we both know that's not going to happen.
The room goes quiet as everbody seems confused by your twisting tale. Everybody but Jubrayl that is. His eyes never leave you and his grin never falters as he draws a knife and uses it to split the pile of coins down the middle.
The first pile he slides over to Lonjiko. "You played a good game tonight Lon. Take this and go home. This other pile should settle our other business. Hope everything works out with your son." The nobleman scoops the pile into a pouch and leaves the room, face unreadable.
Next, Jubrayl uses his knife to seperate 1 gold coin from the remaining pile and sends it dancing across the table to land in front of you. "That's for your entertaing performance tonight." He flicks another coin your way, "and that's for being smart enough to know when to walk away." With a practiced flip of his blade the rest of the coins disappear into his pockets. He stands up from the table, stretching like a cat. "Oh," he leans forward and takes a long swig of your ale,"and don't ever show yourself at one of my card games again you Chelish brat." With that he and the three toughs disappear out the door, leaving you alone with Gressil.
Sasha smiled. Ya she thought. It was the best piece of fiction she could have created on the spur of the moment. The most important part was that she got out with her skin intact.
Taking a bite of the gold coin to test its mettle she went back to the Hagfish.
Afterall, revenge is a suckers game. Though being beaten is one thing but to cheat a cheater.
Well .... that's something else entirely.
(Sasha heads over to Hagfish and enters a relatively empty bar. She sees Yola's name carved into the Rafter. After several moments of doing nothing and getting board Sasha makes her way over to the Rusty Dragon to see if her friends decided to make a change of venue.)
Since you can't find your companions where you left them, and the party seems to have moved on from the Hagfish, you decide to head back over to your room at the Rusty Dragon. By the time you arrive it is very late and great room is mostly deserted.
The proprietress, Ameiko, who you met breifly when you checked in the other day, is strumming a harp and singing a low, quiet ballad near the fireplace. With a bit of surprise you notice she bears a strong family resemblance to Lonjiko, the nobleman you just crossed paths with at the card table.
The only other people in the room are an elderly halfling woman tidying up the bar, and none other than Aldern Foxglove. The Magniamrian noble if tearing into a plate of food, while raptly listening to the harp ballad, a half caraf of wine by his plate. As the cold wind from the open door sends the fire flickering, he turns, and recognizes you instantly.
"Aha! One of my saviors come to claim her reward at last! I admit I was begining to worry that I had offended you somehow. Please come and join me" He gestures to a spare seat at his table. Would you like some food? Ameiko does amazing things with spiced venison. Just as good as anything back in the city actually. But where is the rest of your stalwart band?"
"Actually, I could a bite to eat."
Sasha sits across from Foxglove.
"As for my friends I'm sure they are out enjoying themselves. Though they said I'm surprised that they weren't at the Hagfish."
Sasha fills up a glass for herself of wine and listens to the music.
"I'll go out hunting for them in a while. I'm surprised that you're giving Seoni a tour of the town. Speaking of which are goblin attacks always this common in this neck of the woods?"
The two of you chat for awhile, and you learn that Aldern is stopping over in Sandpoint on his way to a boar huning expedition in the Tickwood, several hours ride north of here. He's planning to head out tommorow but would happily delay his excursion if any of your party would like to join him. With that,he extends an invitation to meet him here for breakfast, and then excuses himself to his room. Now alone except for the staff, Sasha gives in to fatigue and retires as well.
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