Gambling

This page is about one of the special rules.

In the New California Republic, most forms of gambling are technically illegal. However, in lawless areas, many games of chance are still played—especially in the major casinos and bars of New Reno. Here’s an overview of how to incorporate that unique atmosphere into a pen-and-paper setting:

Roulette:

Used Skills: Gambling, Luck

Execution: Divide the Gambling skill by 15. Divide the Luck attribute by 3. Add the results together to get the game value, which is the target for a D20 roll.

   On a 1: The character wins 36 times their stake, having bet everything on a single number.

   On any other successful roll: Roll a D3

       1: Double the stake

       2: Triple the stake

       3: Quadruple the stake

Blackjack:

Used Skills: Card games + Gambling + Intelligence

Execution: Add the Card Games and Gambling skills and divide the total by 30.

Add half the character’s Luck score to that result to get the game value.

   On a 1: The character wins triple the stake, having drawn exactly "21".

   On any other successful roll (under the game value): The character wins double the stake.

   Any failed roll: The character loses the stake.

Shell Game (Three-Card Monte):

Used Skills: Gambling + Perception + Luck

Execution: Calculate game value as follows: Gambling / 15 + PE / 5 + LK / 5.

Roll a D20 against the game value.

   On a 1: Win triple the stake (guessed the correct cup immediately).

   On any other successful roll: Win double the stake.

Slot Machines:

Used Skills: Gambling + Luck

Execution: Divide Gambling by 15. Divide Luck by 3. Add the results together for the game value, then roll a D20 against it.

   On a 1: Win 50 times the stake.

   On any other successful roll: Roll a D3

       1: Win 10 times the stake

       2: Win 15 times the stake

       3: Win 30 times the stake

Poker:

Used Skills: Card games, Empathy

Execution: Add the Card Games and Empathy skills and divide the total by 15 (round up or down at 0.5). Roll a D20 against this game value.

Example:

   Card Games: 56

   Empathy: 42

   56 + 42 = 98

   98 / 15 = 6.5 → Game Value = 7

This calculation is done for all characters involved in the poker game before rolling the D20.

   Anyone who rolls above their game value is out—they either had a terrible hand or failed at bluffing.

   If multiple characters roll under their game value, the one closest to 1 wins.

   If there’s a tie in proximity to 1, those characters roll again until there’s a clear winner.

   If only one character rolls a 1, they automatically win the entire pot.

   If multiple characters roll a 1, only those players go into a tiebreaker round.

   Rolling a 20 means automatic loss of the full stake—even if the game value is 20!