Greyhawk Games

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Dragon Chess    Knights and Peasants    Crown of the Empire Raiding the Treasure House of Nerull   Istus' Wheel

This is just a compilation of a few of the games that people of the Flanaess play to pass their leisure hours. Included with these is a "quick and dirty" method for incorporation into AD&D's game mechanics. The format for these entries is:

Name
Locations Played (usually urban, rural, or widespread)
Description
Game Mechanics

By sticking to this format, I'm hoping that others will contribute some of the pastimes from their campaigns as well and we can be on our way to compiling a Net.Book of Greyhawk games. After all, what DM doesn't need another way to relieve PCs of some of their hard-earned gains?

If you have a game and want to share, you can send it here and I'll post it 

Name: Dragon Chess
Locations Played: urban, especially The Free City of Greyhawk

Description
This extremely complex strategy game first appeared in Dragon 100 in (and after) the Gygax short story "At Moonset, Blackcat Comes".
Complete rules for this game, including how to build a board were included with this offering. Basically, Dragon Chess is reminiscent of the 3-D chess so often featured on old Star Trek episodes. In legend, invented by the Greyhawk Dragons, it consists of three superimposed crystalline checker boards representing air, earth, and the underdark, with appropriate pieces placed on each of the three levels. This is definitely a sport of the upper crust of society and is found only in suitably large cities.

Game Mechanics
It is difficult to translate this into game terms, but, if necessary, it can be simulated as follows. The two opponents each make Intelligence (Reason, for PO rules) and Wisdom (Intuition, for PO rules) checks. Each check that is passed by both contestants does nothing toward winning or losing the game, but each time that one player passes one of the rolls and the other does not, a counting piece (chip, penny, etc.) is given to him. The first player to acquire twelve such pieces wins. Note that since this game is played in "rounds", points are counted *after* each player rolls her ability checks. In the case of a tie, the opponents are said to hold one another "at bay" and the game ends in a draw. It is also possible to score a "quick kill" by passing three sequential ability checks (I/R, W/I, I/R or W/I, I/R, W/I) during a which the opponent misses any one check. Due to the extreme difficulty of the game, the following modifiers apply:

Since a game can run from 2 hours to several days, this pastime is particularly entrancing to dragons and dwarves. Some dragons will even allow a trespasser to live provided he plays a good game. If not, well red and green dragons in particular savor human flesh! In some of the more erudite and wealthy entertainment clubs, wagers are made on the outcome of such tournaments, with well established masters commanding high odds against their less skilled competitors. As an alternative to this, novice (or higher level) tournaments are held wherein all contestants pay a small fee and receive winnings depending on how long they "survive" in the match.

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Name: Knights And Peasants
Locations Played: everywhere

Description
This is a "poor man's" strategy similar to checkers that was brought with the Suel during their flight from the Rain of Colorless Fire. Play occurs on a black/white checkerboard, 20x20 with black/white square lozenges as the playing pieces. One side of each piece depicts a peasant brandishing a staff, while on the flip side a mounted knight wields a lance.
Much like checkers, all pieces begin play as peasants and race across the board to the opponents back row. Upon reaching this area, the peasant is turned over to become the knight which can move backward or forward. A player wins when he has eliminated all his adversaries pieces. Furthermore, he scores one point for each peasant he has remaining and three points for each knight. A campaign is a series of such games, usually five (a march) or ten (a grand march).

Game Mechanics
This relatively simple game is played by making alternating intelligence checks, with the first player to reach 15 declared the winner. For the campaign, the losers score is subtracted from the points of the winner. Bets are often placed on the number of points the victor scores as well as on the winner and the overall outcome of a campaign.

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Name: Crown of the Empire
Locations Played: everywhere

Description
This game, originating from the empire of Aerdy is reminiscent of poker in terms of both wagering and play. The game consists of five different colors (or "nations") of tiles: white (Aerdy), green (Tenh), black (Suel), red (Bakluni), and blue (Wyld). Each of these nations contains the pieces Crown, Coffer, Sword, Spear, Bow, Horsehead, Dwarf, Elf, Thief, Priest, Sigil, Tower, and Gate. In addition there are in the mix two dragons which function as the joker does in poker. These tiles are dealt round-robin face down, seven to each player and then are revealed one at a time, beginning with the dealer; passing is allowed, but only once between revelations. After each revelation, the players have an opportunity to raise the stakes as in poker. Anyone who cannot meet the bid forfeits.
Representative winning combinations include (in order of strength): The Archmage (one sigil of each nation), The Allied Host (one of each of the army of a single nation: horsehead, sword, bow and spear, and cavalry (horsehead) of any other two nations.), The Five Towers (a tower of each nation), the Mage (four sigils) and the Host (horsehead, sword, bow, and spear of one nation). In the case of ties (same pieces of different nations), the winning order is Aerdy>Bakluni>Suel>Flan>Wyld.

Game Mechanics
This game could be simulated through playing poker or even creating one's own tiles, but when brevity rather than detail is the goal, the initial "pot" is anted and players must roll first a wisdom (intuition for PO rules) check when she turns over a tile and then a charisma (personality for PO rules) check each time she raises or meets the stakes.
The stakes may be raised after a player rolls these checks. Any time the player is unable to meet the wager, she forfeits; therefore if she wishes to stay the entire course, she must roll at least 7 proficiency checks, 7 each of W/I and as many of C/P as the stakes are raised. If player wishes to cheat, she must endure a dexterity (aim for PO rules) check, but this gives her a bonus of -3 on the next two checks. If the check fails, she is caught and must face the consequences.
Furthermore, each extra attempt at cheating while playing with any of the same players incurs a cumulative +1 penalty to the proficiency check. The player with the highest point total (one point per successful check) wins the pot. In the case of a tie, the opponents have a W/I "roll-off" until the tie is broken.

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Name: Raiding the Treasure House of Nerull
Locations Played: (rural/Flannae cultural areas)

Description
This simple, yet challenging game is probably one of the oldest in the Flanaess. The best analogy that can be drawn is to our game of "pick-up sticks". In the Flan version, the "sticks" are polished fragments shaved from large animal bones, representing the bodies of the dead (the Reaper's treasure). The ends of some of these pieces are marked with colors to represent famous leaders, heroes and clerics and gaining one of these earns the player a more points than an uncolored piece. The pile of "bones" is built by scattering the colored pieces on a flat surface first and then spreading the normal bones on top of them. Each player then takes turns raiding the treasure until all have had ten turns. Points are then totaled.
If any other bone moves while taking a bone, the bone must be put back and the player's turn forfeited. If the pile is really disturbed (more than three bones move) during a raid the spirits of the dead are said to have been angered. Not only does the player have to put back the bone he was attempting to remove, but he must also add one from his treasure pile to appease the spirits, lest they alert Nerull, a being whose attention no one desires!

Game Mechanics
This game is played by rolling a series of ten dexterity (aim for PO rules) checks, simulating picking up the "bones". If a check is passed, the player gains a point; bonus points can be earned by accepting penalties (1 extra point per +1 penalty accepted), during the ability check, which signifies that the character attempted to pick up a colored bone. Note that if an "on-par" check is missed, no penalty is assessed, but if a "bonus" roll is missed, one point is subtracted from the character's total (for "disturbing the dead").

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Name: Istus' Wheel
Locations Played: (urban)

Description:
Istus' Wheel is a form of roulette that has become popular with gambling houses throughout the cities of the Flanaess. It consists of a large wheel containing a varying number of slots upon which symbols are inscribed including The Caliph, The Slave, The Holy Warrior, The Corsair, The Prophet, The Barber, The Sorcerer, The Idiot, The Bazaar, The Prison, The Genie, The Roc and so on. There are some 40 symbols in all, some, like the Caliph, appearing only once, while others such as the Barber are common and show up many times. A ball is spun about the central axis and released, bouncing, into the slots, finally landing in one of the slots. Players who have bet on the symbol collect their winnings, based on the odds of landing on their chosen symbol.

Game Mechanics
The roulette can be simulated by using opposed rolls which are conducted according to the: The DM rolls one die and compares it to the die(dice) rolled by the player(s). If the sums match, the player(s) win, paying the odds noted below. The rolls corresponding to the odds are as follows:

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