Civ V Gameplay Report: The Good

I haven't been posting much lately. Work has been extremely busy, I'm working on some night school, and we may be moving in the near future. Plus, I got Civilization V. As fans of the series know, the Civ games are very good at destroying your free time. Here's some notes on gameplay.



First off, the good.

• City States. The first iterations of Civ had barbarians that roamed the land; they generally had no cities unless they managed to capture one from a player (rare). In Civ 4, we saw Barbarian Cities. If left alone in an unexplored corner of the map, the Barbarians would set up an actual bonafide city that could be captured. The problem with this is that you couldn't interact with them, and everyone was at war with them all the time.
  
  Civ V introduces minor players called "city states." City States can be interacted with diplomatically. They always like gold and gifts of units, but they will also ask for you to complete missions like connecting to them with roads, defending them from predatory Civs, or doing their dirty work to take out another City State. They are also actually useful to have around: militaristic ones give you up-to-date useful military units and tend to pump out a lot of units that will fight on your side against your enemies, cultured ones give your empire culture which can otherwise be hard to get, and maritime civs give you food.
  
  If you are allied with a city state, they will also give you access to strategic resources. This is great; in previous iterations of the game, if your empire didn't have a key resource like Coal you could bet dollars to donuts you'd better go to war to get it or risk losing. Now, you can maintain relations with a City State that has the right resource.
• Barbarians. Rather than spawning out of the fog of war, barbarians come from camps which pretty actively spew out units. This makes it much more strategic to set up a defensive line rather than just exploring like crazy.
• Fewer Cities. In the past, generally the more cities you had, the better, unless corruption became crippling. Small empires can be quite viable in Civ 5, which is nice if you don't care to manage two dozen cities. Cities also work a larger area which means that they tend to be further apart, which also means fewer cities are viable.
  
• Less strongly specialized cities. Civ IV used "National Wonders" which each civ could build once to encourage specialized cities. This was encouraged because each city could only build two and they had major multipliers tied to them. That is, you'd have a science city, a money city, a factory city, etc. I always stressed out about making sure I put the right wonder in the right place, and often waited until too late in the game to make sure that my ironworks was next to coal, iron, or both. Civ V still has national wonders but most of them just provide a static bonus ("+X gold") as opposed to a multiplier. You can also build as many as you want in one city, again making a one-city game viable. This is a good balance, I think.
• Military. Unit stacking and the stack of doom is gone. Ranged units actually have a range. Units don't battle to the death, and may survive two or three attacks (or more, if dug in and having combat advantages). There are now strategic, operational, and tactical elements to combat. Additionally, units out of garrison cost a lot more in upkeep than units in garrison. This creates a quite realistic "mobilization" phase to many conflicts; in peacetime, you want your units spread out garrisoning cities, but in war you need to spend a few turns to mobilize and get them to the front. All in all I'm fairly pleased with the changes.
• Infrastructure upkeep. Roads now cost gold to maintain. This keeps you from spamming roads everywhere, which is not realistic and also is annoying.

All of the elements come together to form some really interesting interactions. Here's an anecdote from a recent game.

The War with England

I was on a continent with England, Russia, and three minor city states. Russia and I had ganged up on England all game (with me egging Russia on to bleed Russia dry while I focused on my economy), but failed to conquer her. I eventually got a tactical edge and swept in for the kill, sweeping up London, which was quite a prize with many wonders of the world.

However, England had a city state allied with her, Budapest; Budapest (as England's client) was waging a proxy war with Genoa, who looked to me as their patron (and whose benefits I rather enjoyed). When England collapsed, Russia moved in with a sizable bribe and asserted protection over England's old ward, and the city-states continued to fight. I kind of wanted Budapest for myself, but was willing to let Russia run it for now; besides, I swept up the third city state -- Helsinki -- which was also a defunct English client shopping for a new patron, which happened to flank Russia and provide uranium which I figured might be useful in the future as I didn't have any other supplies.

Proxy War

However, I had a problem: Budapest was kicking Genoa's butt. Forever, their war was like a fight on the short bus; lots of flailing but not much damage. But, after England went down the tubes, I think Russia began funneling units to them. I began to give my older units into my client and the proxy war started to escalate. Eventually, things got desperate and my client was on the verge of collapse. I talked to Russia, gave them a small bribe, then entered the war against Budapest on behalf of my little buddy, delivering punishing airstrikes on Budapest's front line units, dropping paratroops into a defensive position next to the city, and pounding front units with naval fires (sound familiar?) in order to save Genoa.

I quickly dealt with Budapest's attack. Russia, alarmed, warned me that they weren't happy. At this point, I got greedy and went for the gold ring of capturing Budapest itself which I had wanted for some time rather than signing a cease fire or pulling back. I calculated that the Russians were not willing to risk war to protect their new client, and told Catherine to take a hike, as I figured I would complete the war in a turn before she could intervene. My economy was not in great shape as I was still assimilating the English cities so I used air power and a few tanks to quickly seize Budapest, leaving most of my heavy armor units in garrison in the cities, with a token border patrol force dug in on my border with Russia.

Russia Strikes

I miscalculated: Russia freaked out and declared war as her client folded. Additionally, America and another overseas power took exception to my actions and entered the fight with Russia. They saw me crush a major civ then roll over a minor city state and thought that I was a "bloodthirsty menace to the world;" plus, I think Russia put them up to it. Russia opened up with a nuke on my left flank followed by an armored column through the gap, driving towards the recently conquered city of London. The initial attack tore a whole in the left flank of my border watch, and my small navy was largely caught out in the open and badly mauled by Catherine's new allies.

Knocked back on my heels, I fought a slow delaying action that ended up against the walls of London until my armor could get mobilized out of the cities; I also struck back with my sizable but exhausted and damaged air force. After the two minor campaigns to defend Genoa and seize Budapest, a lot of the bomber and fighter wings were in the "yellow" already. Still, I had no options other than to call in airstrike after airstrike as Catherine's units threatened to break through in the center and right and as they surged up against city walls on the left.

Catherine also sent a large naval task force up against my ally with uranium. She pounded the city into oblivion and captured it within a few turns; I funneled a few units to Helsinki but they could only slow the inevitable. Still, with Catherine's navy busy up North, I managed to get a submarine and battleship out to sea, and using them to scout I managed to sink a few battleships that were foolhardy enough to venture within land-based air coverage as she sent her forces south. At this point, I abandoned the Manhattan project and threw the production into more conventional units.

Counterattack

It took me about three turns to bring up my armor divisions and artillery which was just in time, as my exhausted air wings were starting to be destroyed. A great general spawned just in time to help the armor units counterattack and cut off Catherine's advanced forces on the left flank and destroy the rear-echelon artillery and anti-aircraft guns. My armor then dug in and spent the next three turns bombarding the cut off forces into oblivion. I also managed to catch an American expeditionary force off the coast and savaged their convoy with air and submarine attacks before most of them could land to relieve Catherine's isolated army, which was crushed as I closed the pocket.

At this point, my armor divisons were damaged but my air, paratroops, and artillery were sound, and my navy was rapidly gaining superiority and forcing Russia's boats to hole up in an inland sea with only one entrance to the ocean. I surged forward and marched straight for Moscow, using massive artillery and airstrikes to wear down the city as my paratroops dug in on key high ground held off Catherine's relief column from reinforcing the city. As I seized Moscow, Catherine's war allies backed out on her and sued for peace on fair terms. Catherine also offered an olive branch but was not willing to give much up. I rejected her offer; she replied by dropping a second nuke on her own recently lost territory, which vaporized some of my paratroopers. It was too little too late though, and my mechanized units had dug in by the time her troops reached the doorstep.

Cut off from uranium, I had abandoned my Manhattan Project. I decided that a cease fire with Russia would just give her time to build more nukes, which was unacceptable. We had both taken a pounding but she had a sizeable navy holed up and a lot of ground forces up north racing down in my direction. With her continental monopoly on uranium, I would be at a major strategic disadvantage if she could catch her breath.

Total War

The war went on for some time, but accelerated as more major cities fell. I was careful to avoid alienating any of the other civs, and I think Russia's nuke attack backfired somewhat as others were hesitant to enter the war. Cut off from her fickle allies, having lost her capital, and having lost air superiority, I gained the upper hand. Her navy was destroyed in port as my land forces overran the coast; any ships that dared to sail were caught in the trap of the narrow strait and mercilessly ambushed by a waiting submarine wolfpack. Eventually, Helsinki was liberated and Catherine's last city fell.

While I fell behind the rest of the world in technology while duking it out with Catherine, the addition of her cities provided a boost to my economy once they were integrated. I managed to eventually eke out a space race victory.

So, all in all, there are some interesting interactions. The entire war came about unintentionally. Russia and I had been fairly firm allies all game. Even some squabbling over influence over city states and picking up the pieces of the English empire wasn't enough to destroy the entire relationship. However, ultimately a skirmish between our clients which grew into a "cold war" style proxy conflict eventually erupted into a full on war.

The elements of nuclear deterrence were also present. Russia knew I had no uranium and thus no nukes, so Catherine nuked me at the outset of the war. Why not? I had no good deterrent. She nuked me again once she was desperate for survival. I'll try to hit some of the bad and ugly points about Civ V later.

Real World Data -- Loads

I recently read a newspaper article on the heavy loads carried by combat soldiers and the impact thereof.

The key point was that carrying loads of 100 lbs in combat on a regular basis -- even when the bearer is a young, physically fit male -- causes injuries. A USMC after-action-report finds that heavy loads limit the mobility of riflemen with tactical consequences.

Note how well this maps to the rule of 7; a 100 lb load is around 7 stones, and that is apparently beyond the max load that can be carried safely. It also hints at some possible mechanical consequences to heavy loads beyond speed penalties. Perhaps there is a risk of long-term ability score damage or other long-term consequences to carrying such extreme burdens in combat conditions.

Morale

Delta recently had a great post on cavalry. It is worth reading.

It also made me think about morale. I love the idea of the AD&D morale rules. In the real world, most combats are not to the death; they are merely until one side or the other breaks and runs. Cavalry was integral to this process. A massed cavalry charge or unanswerable arrows from horse archers were both bad for morale. Likewise, cavalry made a fight decisive because after a foe broke and ran, pursuit horsemen could run down the routed enemy and finish them.

The trouble with morale is that it is far too cumbersome to use. We need a simple, faster system. Here's my initial hack.

THE MORALE CHECK
A morale check is a dice pool against TN5. The pool consists of:

• Base die (1) -- you get one for free
• If within Leader's Command Radius (4+/-FIRE, or just 4 for OD&D types), add Leader's Spirit Primacy or 1, whichever is greater
• Spirit Primacy, if any (apply any penalties if Spirit Damage has been taken); for mooks that don't have all their detailed stats noted out, this is either zero or one (if you decide the troops are elite or otherwise high morale)
• Unit's Quality in relation to the Current Phase (in the first phase of a fight, add the Cardinal primacy, for example)

The TN is adjusted as normal; that is, for a threat or source of difficulty a tier higher than the unit, increase the TN by one per tier. For example, a normal man facing an orc is TN5. Against an ogre, that'd be TN6. And against a hill giant would be TN7. Use the worst or scariest threat impacting the unit.

WHO MAKES MORALE CHECKS
In general, each PC should be controlling 4+/-3 other figures, maximum. This limits the number of morale checks that need to be made. Larger numbers of very weak followers should be combined into one figure.

Likewise, on the foe side, designate a few monsters as "leaders" (no more than one per PC or so) Each leader should have no more than 4+/-3 other figures under its command. If there are a lot of "mook" or minion types then combine them into larger figures.

Example: A pair of high level PCs goes into a goblin's lair. There are 16 goblins, but the DM batches them into groups of four under a goblin lieutenant. There are also three worg riders; the DM decides that they are important enough to dice for individually.

Generally, players decide what their characters will do. Players should check morale as anyone else. However, a PC can ignore the results of a roll and act exactly as their player decides. If, prior to rolling the dice, the player agrees to follow their results, then the DM should grant a bonus to such actions (for example, if the player takes their chances and ends up with "fight," give a bonus to hit).

WHEN TO MAKE MORALE CHECKS

• At the start of each phase (each battle has three phases which occur every 5 rounds or so), make a morale check. Note that you make a check to see if a new phase begins whenever someone with a name goes down (including PCs, enemy leaders, etc) so that may trigger a round of morale checks via this mechanic.
• If its leader quits the field or is hors de combat. Yes, this may mean double jeopardy.
  
• When subjected to certain attacks that inspire fear: Cavalry charges or firearms would certainly qualify.
• When suddenly plunged into darkness (surface creatures) or bright light (underdark creatures): Have you ever been suddenly plunged into total black inky darkness? It can be scary, especially if you're in combat and someone is also trying to kill you. This also makes spells like the lowly "light" spell perhaps quite useful in certain cases because it can provoke a morale check.
• Unit observes other nearby unit out of control.
• Unit receives a critical hit.
  
• Whenever anything else that may be terrifying occurs, at the DM's discretion.
  

COMMUNICATIONS
By default, troops are "in communications" until they fail their first morale check. Troops which are "in communications" act basically as their leader wants them to. Even if the leader doesn't have direct line of sight to the troops, they remain under the player's control simulating the unit following prebriefed orders under effective NCO leadership.

Once a unit fails a check, then it goes "Out of Communications." A unit which is out of communications is on "autopilot" and rolls randomly to see what it does based on either its quality or doctrine:

	Generic No Doctrine	Cardinal Offensive	Fixed Defensive	Mutable Flexible
Fight	1-2	1-3	1	1
Freeze	3-4	4-5	2-5	2-3
Flee	5-6	6	6	4-6

Example: A unit of impetuous knights (Cardinal/Offensive!) waits upon a grassy knoll overlooking a battle. Their leader has ordered them to wait to charge in until he blows a horn; he's planning on using them as a decisive force to crush the foe late in a battle. A new phase occurs and the unit checks morale -- and fails! The GM then rolls on the autopilot table to see what they do each round. The first round they hold in place (4), but then the DM rolls a (2) -- they charge, springing the trap early!

For a unit out of command, interpret the above results as follows:

• FIGHT: Unit attacks in an intelligent manner (archers shoot arrows, they don't move to melee). Unit will attack a foe it is engaged with first, then a hated foe if within charging range, or the nearest foe otherwise. If no foes can be attacked in a given round, then the unit will move aggressively to set up an offensive posture.
• FREEZE: Unit holds position in an intelligent manner. Unit will continue to melee if engaged, or consider parrying to hold a line or setting against a charge. If unengaged, unit may consider moving to nearby defensible terrain if that is a good idea. Unit may use missile weapons against a foe but will not seek to melee unless it is already engaged.
• FLEE: Unit retires in an intelligent manner. If engaged in battle, unit will seek to withdraw and disengage. Unit will retire in good order towards the nearest visible leader, away from the worst visible foes, or towards a known place of safety--whichever is wisest.

COMMAND
A unit which is out of communications and fails a second check is out of command as well. Continue to dice for reactions as above. However, all reactions will be more extreme.

• FIGHT: Unit will aggressively charge to engage (1) a hated for and then (2) the nearest foe. Unit will not be careful or cautious and may attack in a berserk manner.
• FREEZE: Unit is struck with indecision. Unlike above when it chose a reasonable and intelligent course of action, the DM should now dice for a random reaction instead of picking one which makes sense: hold position and set vs. charge, use missile weapons, do nothing, etc.
• FLEE: Instead of an orderly retirement, the unit retreats. The unit will move as quickly as possible (1-2) away from the nearest foe, (3-4) towards their leader or (5-6) to a place of known safety. The unit may provoke some attacks with this movement but it is barely controlled.

CONTROL
A unit which is out of command and fails a third check is out of control. Continue to dice each round for its action but consider the most extreme result. Also, out of control units are bad for their side's morale. Whenever anyone else sees an out of control unit they must check morale themselves. Thus, a clan of orcs can quickly devolve into a bloodfrenzied "fight," or an army can rapidly rout out of control in a chain reaction.

• FIGHT: The unit blindly and berserkly attacks with wild abandon and no concern for its own welfare. It may inadvertently attack other friendly units. It may fight to the death.
  
• FREEZE: The unit is absolutely paralyzed and takes no actions, even ones which can be accomplished in relative safety.
  
• FLEE: The unit routs in panic. First it will flee from the nearest foe in the most direct manner possible, then towards its leader (if visible), or finally, to a known place of safety. It is possible for units to flee into an even more dangerous situation (for example, the fastest way away from a foe is deeper into a dungeon).

RALLYING
It is clear how a unit moves down the Communications-->Command-->Control slippery slope. But how does it climb back up the ladder?

First, a leader may direct the unit's reaction even while it is out of comms/command/control. To do this, the unit must be within the command radius of the leader. The leader then spends an action on a Quality+Spirit check (specializations in Rhetoric may be helpful), TN source of the fear. If succesful, the unit disregards its randomly rolled response and attacks (if the leader rolled cardinal), freezes (fixed), or flees (mutable).

Next, a leader may rally the unit. To do this, the unit must be within the command radius of the leader. The leader then spends an action on a Mutable+Spirit check (specializations in Rhetoric may be helpful). Success moves the unit back up the chain one step.

Finally, the unit may improve of its own accord. Any time the unit heals, move it up the morale chain one step for each hit healed. For example, if the unit uses a second wind or gets a break out of combat it will recover its composure. Healing from allies or magic may also have this effect.

I'm not quite dead yet!

Wow! It has been a month since I posted here! Lest anyone think I've given up the blog, I haven't. We actually spent a lot of time playing and talking about a S&W White Box set from Xmas. I've also been crazy busy with work, with little time for ye olde blog of late.

I do plan on getting back into the swing of things... Eventually. Sorry for the delay.

Divine Intervention, Part II

In a previous post I talked about a new magic system for clerics. Here's the next big chunk, the face cards. In this system, Face cards always have a "cost" of 10 to play. They may be played in one of two forms.

SUMMONS

A face card may summon a creature to aid the caster. The creature persists for one phase of combat or until it is slain, whichever comes first. Each class of card will basically have a set stat block to reference and allow a stock critter to be thrown down easily.

• JACK: Cardinal "Striker"
  
• KING: Fixed "Tank"
  
• QUEEN: Mutable "Special Team"

The suit of the card is also relevant. In any event, the creature has the associated Element attached to it. For example, a Club summons some sort of Fire creature. Any other effect that plays off of fire will affect the creature accordingly. Next, there is a default creature type (although the GM/player should feel free to change this to a pantheon specific critter). Finally, when the creature is voluntarily dispelled by the caster prior to the spell's normal expiration, there is an aftereffect which occurs immediately; it is equal to an Effect 1 card of the same suit. For example, if a Fire Salamander (Club) summon is dispelled, then a Smite dealing 1 damage immediately goes off.

• HEARTS: Water. Nymph.
• DIAMONDS: Earth. Gnome.
• SPADES: Air. Sylph.
• CLUBS: Fire. Salamander.

ASPECT

Face cards may also be used to invoke potent aspects. These generally effect the caster themselves and have an aftereffect which lasts until the end of the phase.

• JACKS (Version A): When played, treat the jack as a normal number card with an effect of "4." Aftereffect: The caster is considered to have an ace of the same suit in their hand until the end of the phase.
• JACKS (Version B): Any creatures targeted by the caster within an area of effect are subjected to the magic, which is identical to a potency 1 version of the same suit (for example, the Jack of Clubs creates an AOE equal to the caster's Fire score). The area of effect is equal to the caster's relevant elemental attribute. Aftereffect: The caster is considered to have an ace of the same suit in their hand until the end of the phase.
• KINGS: Kings generate a powerful aura surrounding the caster. The aura's size is equal in hexes to the relevant elemental attribute (for example, the King of Clubs creates an aura equal to the caster's Fire score). The caster may choose to allow the spell to effect any creatures he or she wishes within the aura.
  - Hearts (Water): +1D to all saving throws to avoid taking damage
  - Clubs (Fire): +1D to all attack rolls
  - Diamonds (Earth): +1 to Dodge Score
  - Spades (Air): Move the creature one square.
• QUEENS: Queens unleash powerful transformative forces within the caster and represent potent self-buffs. First, the result of the "cost" roll changes the caster's relevant Elemental Attribute to the result if it is higher as well as all derived attributes. For example, casting the Queen of Diamonds might allow a caster to perform a superhuman feat of strength as their ENC load limit increases with a higher EARTH score. Next, the caster gains the following benefit:
  - Hearts (Water): Regenerate 1 wound every round
  - Clubs (Fire): +1 Damage
  - Diamonds (Earth): +1 Soak
  - Spades (Air): +1 Speed and +1 to Dodge Score vs. OAs; +1D to any evasive moves

WHAT DO WE HAVE?

I think we have a relatively compact system that covers all your basic combat magic. There are two broad classes of magic: Red/Defensive and Black/Offensive (named for the suits). Those subdivide down into the suits: Healing (Hearts), Warding (Diamonds), Smiting (Clubs), and Command/Movement (Spades). Within each suit, there are five types of spells: A standard, common numerical version, a summoning spell (with three variants), a self-buff, a nova/AOE, and a group buff.

The standard, common numerical version should be most common as it has the lowest cost. The other spells are potent but will likely allow the GM to retaliate later.

I think this meets the Rule of 7. The broad outlines can be remembered without reference to a table. I expect a table to be needed for face cards and summons but even those are pretty straightforward (especially the jacks). With some tweaking I may be able to make the others more standard as well.

Divine Intervention

I recently finished some thinking about an adaptation of a cleric type unique mechanic, just like my recent discussion of rogues.

• Draw Seven Cards. At the start of each encounter, the cleric draws seven cards from a standard deck. The cards represent divine boons or favors which have been bestowed by their patron.

• Invoke Boon Once Per Round Using Tactical Points. Once per round, the cleric may invoke a divine boon by expending a tactical point and playing a card. Divine boons always work (barring extraordinary circumstances) and do not require any check. If the effect is greater than one, it may be split among as many recipients as the cleric desires. For example a "Smite 3" can deal 3 points of damage to one target or 1 point of damage to three targets, or 2 to one and the third to a second.
  
• Determine Effects. Apply any effects of the boon. See below.
• Determine Cost. The TN for this check is equal to the number on the card (Ace = 1, Deuce = 2, etc). Face cards cost 10. Make a check to determine if the Invocation is free (without consequence) or if it invokes a cost. Roll Element + Ruling Planet + Archetypal Planet (See Below) using a standard dice pool against the TN. Success means the spell was free. Failure means that the DM gets to a token. Tokens may be traded in at a later time for benefits that help the opposition (more on this later).
  

Archetypal Correspondences: Add the following dice to a pool to determine the cost of an Invocation. Use both the Ruling Planet and the Exalted Archetype. Remember to also add a Character's primary element.

• Saturn: Diamonds +1D, Spades +1D
  
• Jupiter: Hearts +1D, Clubs +1D
  
• Sun: Clubs +2D
  
• Mars: Hearts +1D, Clubs +1D
  
• Venus: Diamonds +1D, Spades +1D
  
• Mercury: Diamonds +1D, Spades +1D
• Moon: Hearts +2D

How to Read a Card:

• Effect: For any number card, count the number of columns of symbols. For example, aces, deuces, and threes have the symbols arranged in one column. Fours have the symbols arranged in two columns. The only exception are fives; even though fives have three columns on the card, they are only worth "two" for effect.
• Cost: The TN for the cost check is denoted by the actual number on the card.
• Face Cards: Face cards are unique and special. They always have a cost of 10.

Invocations and Suits: Each suit represents a type of invocation. The red suits are generally boonful and are often best cast on allies. The black suits are often baneful and usually best to cast on enemies, although Command may be useful on allies at times.

• Diamonds: Shield! Add Effect to Dodge for the duration of the phase.
  
• Hearts: Heal! Instantly heal Effect wounds.
  
• Clubs: Smite! Deal Effect wounds to targets. This blue bolt from the heavens strikes its target unerringly.
  
• Spades: Command! This invocation has two variations. In the first form, slide the target(s) Effect hexes. In the second form, give effect targets a command (Fight, Freeze, or Flee). The targets must follow this command until they pass a Spirit Saving Throw (Spirit + Fixed, TN based on your relative level); they get a save at the end of each of their turns. In any event the command lapses at the end of the phase.
  

More on face cards next time...

Gamblin' Man

I just got back from another trip to Vegas. While sitting at the Blackjack table I had an idea about how to work this into a game a bit more elegantly than I've proposed before.

Right now, assume that every character has some sort of "tactics points." The default use of a tactics point is to get a bonus on a check. Classes may also have a specific bonus that they can get if they spend a tactics point; for example a wizard might spend a point to sling a spell or a warrior to land a crushing blow. In general, tactics points are a ticket for the player to do something at the table that takes a little extra time and puts them in the limelight. They should also use a special, unique, non-standard mechanic.

Rogues gain the use of a gambling technique.

BLACKJACK

• Ante: The rogue immediately antes up a bid. Generally the bid is in tactics points. The rogue may also offer up Hit Points. HP may be especially likely to be anted when doubling down or splitting.
  
• Pairs: The rogue may also put a bid on their first two cards being a pair.
  
• Play Blackjack: Also known as 21. The rogue may double down or split as per the normal Blackjack rules. Dealer must hit soft 17s.
• Payouts: If the rogue wins, they keep their bid it costs their foe. If they push (tie), the rogue keeps his bid and nothing happens. If the rogue gets a blackjack, then they win and it pays out 3:2. If the rogue gets a pair, his bid pays out 10:1. If it is a suited pair, it pays out 15:1.

What you can do with it:

• Backstab. The Rogue lands a brutal blow. All payout comes from the adversary's hit points. For example, if a rogue anted up 2 tactics points to start and wins, then the rogue keeps his 2 tactics points and the enemy loses 2 HP of his own (although the rogue does not gain them). If the rogue loses then he is just out his tactics points.
  
• Pick Pockets. The Rogue cleverly pilfers small items. Each point of payout is either 1/6 of a stone of ENC or one coin of an appropriate tier (copper/silver/gold). For example, if the rogue antes up 2 tactics points and wins, he either gets two coins from the victim or items up to 1/3 of a stone (usually chosen randomly).
  
• Quicksilver: The Rogue seizes the initiative. All payout comes from the adversary's initiative score. The rogue's initiative score increases by the given amount. For example, say the Rogue antes up two points and wins; the foe's score drops by two and the rogue's increases by two.
  

Blackjack is a quick game, well suited for rapid resolution of tasks.

Odds: The house edge (DM's edge) for pairs is around 10% (using a fresh deck every time) or 35% (using one deck without shuffling). For Blackjack it is around 0.17%, making this about 50/50. This makes Blackjack a particularly attractive option against foes that are otherwise tough to affect. For example, if the Rogue normally has a 5% chance of affecting a foe, opting to play Blackjack just increased his chances significantly!


TEXAS KLONDIKE

For more involved scenarios, Texas Klondike may be more appropriate.

• ANTE: The Rogue and GM each bid 1 or 2 points (Rogue's choice) as a blind. The GM's points come from HP, gold/ENC (pick pockets), or initiative score (Rogue's choice depending on technique). The Rogue's points come from Tactics Points or HP.
  
• PLAY: Each player secretly rolls two dice as their "hole" cards.
• BID AGAIN: Conduct a round of bidding.
• THE FLOP: Roll three dice in the center of the table as a community pool.
  
• BID AGAIN: Conduct a round of bidding.
• THE TURN: Add a fourth die to the center of the table.
• BIG AGAIN: Conduct a round of bidding.
• THE RIVER: Add a fifth die to the center of the table.
• FINAL BIDS: One more round of bidding ensues.
• DETERMINE WINNER: Whoever can assemble the best five-die "hand" wins. Use standard poker styled hierarchy of precedence: 5-of-a-kind, 4-of-a-kind, full house, 3-of-a-kind, two pairs, one pair. Winner takes the pot.
  

In Texas Klondike, the GM may wager other items if it is deemed acceptable. For example, if the game is being played to try and see if the Rogue can gain access to a den of thieves, each point the DM wagers up could be admission for another one of the Rogue's party members.

QUICK KLONDIKE:

As above, however, there is only one round of bidding.

• ANTE: The Rogue and GM each bid 1 point as above.
  
• PLAY: Each player secretly rolls five dice as a hand.
  
• BID: Conduct a round of bidding.
• SHOW 'EW: Each player reveals their hand. Winner takes the pot.