In-Game Gambling

Gambling in Sparks

  1. Force users and gambling: It has been ruled in the past that a Force Sensitive who either uses the force, spends a force point, or calls on the dark side while gambling will gain an additional Dark Side Point. However, this also depends on WHY they are doing it. If they are doing it for the money the judge should warn them, then if they go ahead anyway, give them a DSP. If they are doing it to help fund the Rebellion and they actually do give any winnings to the Rebellion at the end of the module, then they do not get a DSP. If they say it and don’t do it, then they get a dark side point.
  2. Force Points: Characters may use a force point while gambling, but will not get that force point back.
  3. Intimidation, con, persuasion, etc: These are skills that cannot be used to influence the outcome of a game of chance. The “gambling” skill represents how a PC uses these and other skills to win, therefore it is the only skill roll used during games of chance.
  4. Cheating: A player wishing to cheat at a game of chance must announce this before the game begins, describing exactly how they are planning to cheat. The player who announced he/she was cheating automatically wins, but whether or not he/she is caught cheating is determined by both players rolling gambling skills, then roleplaying the results of the cheating dice rolls.

PAZAAK (Bespin Variant)

Creating a Pazaak Deck (Bespin Variant)

  1. Start with a deck of Uno cards. Two Pazaak decks can be made out of one Uno deck.
  2. Sort all the cards by color. Use the yellow and blue cards for one Pazaak deck. Use the green and red cards for a second Pazaak deck. [from this point forward, do each step with each Pazaak deck]
  3. Create your 38-card main deck by taking all the numbered cards (four each of 1-9, and two “zero” cards). In the Pazaak game, the zero cards will have the value of “10.”
  4. Create your 14-card side deck by using the reverse, skip and draw two cards (there should be four of each of these), and ONE wild card and ONE wild plus 4 card. The in-game card values are:
YELLOW BLUE GREEN RED
SKIP +4 -4 +4 -4
REVERSE +3 -3 +3 -3
DRAW 2 +2 -2 +2 -2
  • WILD PLUS 4 CARDS - at the moment you play it, you decide if it is a +4 or a -4
  • WILD CARD - When you pick the wild card, immediately roll a D6; result is the card's value for the current match; at the moment you play it, you decide if it is a + or a - value

Playing Pazaak (Bespin Variant)

Preparation:

  • Before beginning a match, randomly choose 4 cards from your side deck. These 4 cards are your HAND and must last for the entire match (each HAND card can only be used once/match). You may look at your HAND.
  • Shuffle your main deck and place it face down to your side. Opponents MUST cut each other’s decks.
  • Characters with dice in the gambling skill may make a gambling roll on the following chart (A “1” on the wild die: Add all the dice together, find place on chart, but take the bonuses for the previous die total):
GAMBLING ROLL PAZAAK BONUS (gambler gets bonus for the roll and all lower bonuses
10 or less no effect
11 - 20 Once in the current match, after drawing from your main deck, you may discard that card and draw the next one, but you must use the second card.
21 - 25 Once in the current match, after drawing from your main deck, you may draw a second card and choose which card to use.
26 - 30 One additional time in the current match, after drawing from your main deck, you may discard that card and draw the next one, but you must use the second card.
31 - 35 When creating your hand, after drawing from your side deck, you may discard that card and draw the next one, but you must use the second card.
36 - 40 When creating your hand, first remove the wild card (roll 1D6 to determine its value) and place it in your hand. Shuffle the side deck, then draw 3 random cards from it to complete your hand.
41 - 45 Do the action listed for a gambling roll of 36-40. When you are going to play your wild card, you may change its value by + or – 1
46+ Do the action listed for a gambling roll of 41-45, and then pick 1 more random card from your side deck (you will start the match with 5 cards in your hand, including the wild card).

Playing a Pazaak Set:
The player with the lowest gambling skill begins the first set. The player with the lowest points begins subsequent sets.
Players alternate turns, with each player completing the following actions:

  1. Draw the first card drawn from your main deck and place it face up on the table.
  2. You have the option to play (face-up) a single card from your hand; add this to the number on the main deck card you played to obtain your current total score. If the total is over 20 after the draw and there is a negative card in your hand, you can play it to bring your total back under 20. You may only play one hand card per turn. You may never play more than 9 cards in a set. You automatically win if you have played 9 cards and your total is still under 20.
  3. Stand or end turn

The set ends when both players choose to stand, or when one player ends a turn with a total greater than 20 (a “bust”).

Ties: If both players stand at the same point total, the tie is broken by counting the number of cards each player has played in the set. The player with the most cards on the table wins. If both players have played the same number of cards that is a "true tie" and the set doesn't count. In case of a “true tie” reshuffle main decks and play another set.

Winning a match: A player must win 2 out of 3 sets to win the match.. Shuffle main deck between sets.

Betting: Players may always bet on the outcome of the match. This bet must always be made prior to the first player drawing the first card from the main card deck. At the end of the match, the loser must pay the winner the amount that was bet. Players may also place optional bets on individual sets within a match.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License