1d30 Casino Consternations

Like I wrote last post, casinos have major potential for chaos.

The tension and emotion of gambling, combined with the qualities of large crowds and whatever shenanigans brought the party to the casino, means something is going to happen. Might be something small and banal that only catches the party's attention for a moment, might be something that starts small but spirals out of control and engulfs the party, or it might be something massive that ends in tragedy for everyone.

Whatever form it takes, the chaos will be something a shrewd party can exploit, confront, or should have the good sense to run from.



1) Spilled drink
2) Chips or coins spilled on the floor
3) 52 card pickup
4) Table overturned
5) Rigged game or table
6) Unwarranted accusation of cheating
7) Warranted accusation of cheating
8) Caught a cheat red-handed
9) Loudly arguing couple
10) Crowd packed around a high-stakes game
11) Spectators commenting on games and players unfavorably
12) A very drunk VIP taking offense
13) Celebration over a win
14) Pickpocket
15) Creditor come looking to collect
16) Clandestine meeting in progress
17) Assassination attempt
18) Run into a rival
19) Run into an enemy
20) Mistaken for someone else
21) Recognized by someone inopportune
22) Security removing someone out the front
23) Security removing someone to the back room
24) Someone trying to outrun security
25) Security's closing in on you
26) Raided by the authorities
27) Brawl over [roll again]
28) Dueling challenge over [roll again]
29) Weapons drawn over [roll again]
30) Fire

Slot Machine Rules

Casinos are excellent locations to add into games. They're glamorous, there's tons of money changing hands, and people from every facet of society come to play and lose money at different speeds. It's a perfect venue for plots, surreptitious business deals, "chance" introductions, and other intrigue. There's also opportunities for everyday mayhem on the casino floor where emotions are running high.

Problem is, at some point the player are going to want to gamble. They might join a table to socialize with NPCs and make introductions or try to get information, but in that situation the actual gambling is usually handwaved and something that's happening in the background. I wanted a way to let my players have a real game of chance without having to break the flow of the session by pulling out a deck of cards and playing actual hands of poker or rounds of blackjack. (Also I'm very bad at cards and playing against me as the House and NPCs wouldn't be fun.)

The simplest solution was to adapt a game that has no dealer, no skill component, and is already designed to be played on impulse in real life: Slot machines.

Here's how it works:

The player makes their bet and rolls 3d8.

•  If any die comes up 7, you get your bet back.
•  On doubles win 2x your bet.
•  On a sequence (1-2-3, 5-6-7, etc) win 3x your bet and another play.
•  On triples win [that number]x your bet and 21 GP. (Ex: 5-5-5 = 5x the initial bet, plus 21 GP.)

Machines have a max payout of 100 GP at once. For larger prizes players have to find casino staff to collect the remainder.

Gem Valuation and Gemcutting Rules

Gems are a traditional treasure staple in RPGs for their "ooh shiny" factor and as a convenient, lightweight way to carry large amounts of cash. Problem is most people don't know that much about the minutia of gemstones, so unless you go out of your way to attach meaning to them a 30 GP agate ends up being the same as a 30 GP obsidian or a 30 GP ruby: A very pretty rock that's shorthand for a lump sum of money. There's none of the magic and wonder that should accompany finding jewels.

Here's what we can do to change that:

First, go do some research on gems. Don't just find a chart of birthstones and call it a day, do actual research on different minerals and what goes into producing and valuing cut gems. What's the difference between a ruby and a sapphire? Why do opals refract light into internal rainbows? Which sorts of cuts make gems sparkle and which show off their color?

Read, learn, be interested. If you're knowledgeable about a subject you can give much better descriptions of it and that will make your players more excited about their new rocks.

Next, step outside the list of gems everyone knows and give them something unorthodox. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and topazes are fine; but giving them a stone that's unusual will be more memorable. Throw a zircon at them, or a fistful of differently-colored beryls, a sunfire orange pearl, or a niche stone like a demantoid garnet. Make it weird, make it cool, and either describe the stone well or show them a picture of one to solidify what riches they've got.

Finally, unless the gem you're giving them is some mythic stone with a name and history of its own, don't describe it until after your players have had a chance to stop and roll dice to determine how much it's worth. Here's why:

- Letting the players roll to see how valuable each gem is makes it more meaningful. They're directly involved in determining their fortunes.

- Keeping the exact nature of the gems uncertain until the players have a chance to examine them makes it more exciting. There's a spirit of "What did we get?" that creates more impact than just being given a list of goods.

- Leaving the gems a mystery until the value is known lets you give a description with more teeth. The value of a gem doesn't just depend on what type of stone it is, it also depends on other details like how strong its color is and whether there are any cracks or inclusions in it. Once your players roll to see how much it's worth, you know the quality of that particular specimen and can tell what the stone actually looks like. A 100 GP aquamarine might be a gorgeous blue, but so full of inclusions that it's nearly opaque. Still a good stone, but not the best of its type. Meanwhile an 800 GP aquamarine looks like a perfect, sparkling drop of seawater made solid. Its only flaw is a tiny chip on the edge of a facet, barely noticeable. Both are the same type of stone, but that valuation makes a world of difference in how you describe it, so wait.

Now, how to assign values with rolls. I originally came up with these rules because I accidentally gave my players way, way too many uncut gems to individually value without some sort of system to make it fair and fast. (Something to the tune of 88,000. Oops.) It made for rules that are simple enough to be applied on a large scale, but also able to get granular if my players wanted to be specific with particular stones. It also assumes you're starting with raw uncut gem stock, something freshly mined or only roughly shaped for later faceting and polishing.

Uncut gem stock:

- Max value is 500 GP

- Roll 1d10 * 50 to determine value

- The type of gem is pure flavor and decided after a value is rolled. (I usually ask the players to give me a color, then I give them gems that are that color.)

Cut gems:

- Max value is 1000 GP

- Roll 1d10 * 100 for gems that are already cut, or the 2x the value of the uncut gem if you're giving it to an artisan for faceting.

- If more than one gem is cut from a single piece of raw gem stock, divide the GP value between the cut gems produced.

Ex: Raw stock = 400 GP * 2 = 800 GP. If 8 gems are cut from the stock, 800/8 = 100 GP each.


It takes an artisan 1 day to cut 1 gem in a traditional style. You need to pay them for their work and shop overhead each day. If you have them cut more than 1 gem from a piece of raw stock, it will take another day for each additional finished gem you request. (Because of the amount of money involved, I set daily rates for gemcutting at 10 GP/day per each artisan working and a 30 GP/day shop fee. It works out to be a noticeable but not ruinous portion of the profits, fair pay for the work the NPCs are doing.)

Unusual or custom cuts take longer (1d12+2 days) and require a specialized or highly skilled artisan. If you want to grind an emerald lens to be part of a magic scope to see into dimensions beyond your own, you need a master gemcutter; apprentices and journeymen just won't do. You'll also need at least one consultation and a detailed plan of exactly what's needed.