I was recently inspired to create table-top role-playing game rules for carousing between adventures, which adds fun and realism for heroes returning from an adventure laden with treasure. The reward is luck, which allows you to reroll almost any die roll.
The basic mechanic is simplified from the medieval dice game “hazard”, which evolved into craps. The player characters go out carousing, and take turns.
The current carouser rolls 2d6.
- On a 7, everybody gains a point of luck.
- On a 2 or 12, everybody loses a point of luck.
- On anything else, only the current carouser gains a point of luck and establishes a “hazard”. However, this luck remains at risk…
Once you, as the current carouser, have established at least one hazard, you can choose to end your night on a roll of 7, 2, or 12 and pass the dice. Otherwise, you keep rolling.
When losing a point of luck from 2 or 12, you can choose to lose one of your hazard points, which clears that hazard.
After each of these rolls, you roll on the Carousing Event table.
If you roll one of your hazards, you lose all your luck from the hazards (not from 7s) and pass the dice. You may want to write down the hazard numbers and cover them with a point token as they get established.
Once everyone has had a turn, everyone who hit one of their hazards rolls on the End of a Wild Night table to see how they wake up in the morning.
Here is a link to the full document on Google Docs with the tables.
Sample carousing events:
| You injure yourself trying to show off your strength or dexterity, whichever is higher. You find a vial that got mislaid in a dark niche and, fairly tipsy, drink it. It’s a spoiled potion. Roll on the Minor Wild Magic Effects table. You make a gaffe that gets you mocked for your… (1d8: 1=singing; 2=dancing; 3=clothes; 4=looks; 5=wit; 6=adventure stories; 7-8=drunken clumsiness). (+2 for any entertainment skill) A little drinking, a little music, some good stories…. It’s a fine time! You get into a fascinating conversation about… (1d6: 1=hide tanning; 2=beekeeping; 3=shoemaking; 4=weaving; 5=wheel-making, 6=brewing). You accidentally get locked in the privy and fall asleep until someone bangs on it. It is a… (2d6: 2=female halfling; 3=male halfling; 4-5=female human; 6=male human; 7=male dwarf; 8=female dwarf; 9-10=female elf; 11-12=male elf) Good music, good drinks, dancing, good stories, a little romance…. You meet someone who gives you a solid lead on a job or adventure… (1d6: 1=a foreign envoy; 2=a foreign merchant; 3=a merchant; 4=a local official; 5=a royal official; 6=a minor noble passing thru) (Name that NPC and give them a background.) |
Sample wild end of the night results:
| You wake up with a hangover in jail for creating disorder. Pay 10 gp for bail or spend 1d4 days behind bars. You have no money on you. The constable is… (1d6: 1=hostile; 2-3=irritated; 4-5=amused; 6=surprisingly friendly). Things got crazy, with lots of drinking and dares. You wake up with a hangover behind a dye shop with both arms… (1d6: 1=red; 2=yellow; 3=green; 4=blue; 5=orange; 6=royal purple). Things got a bit crazy, with lots of music and drinking. You wake up with a hangover under a canvas tarpaulin in a wagon on its way thru the gate out of the city. You share the wagon with… (1d6: 1=clean straw; 2-3=animal carcasses; 4-5=pigs; 6=horse manure). You had a bit of a crazy night, most of which is a blur, but there was drinking and dancing, great stories, romance of some sort….You wake up on the floor next to your bed with a hangover. Tucked into your bed is… (1d6: 1=your muddy boots; 2=a piglet; 3=a portrait of a distinguished noble; 4=a raccoon; 5=a jug of wine; 6=a dress stuffed with straw with a melon for a head to “throw off the assassins”). |
Note that it references the Minor Wild Magic Effects table, which is something else I created. But many people have created minor wild magic effects tables.