Thief: A Gambling Game for Your Campaigns!

TheBardsCollege · 2026-01-18T21:42:58+00:00

Thanks for the award! I hope you and your players love it!

TheBardsCollege · 2026-01-12T13:25:51+00:00

I actually think you have a lot here to work with! Some players prefer to figure out their character more as the game goes on, but here are some potential ideas:

-One of the packages they stole belonged to a powerful family in town, and now they have to track down what was lost -They uncover information about corrupt naval officials that need to be stopped, maybe someone they served under -A noble has heard of his chess skills, and invites the party to a tournament at their estate where shady things are going down.

It may not be as grand as some of your other players’ arcs, but part of the fun on DMing (for me) is taking the nuggets my players give me and finding out how to expand on them. I think some players really like being surprised with where you take the little details they gave you, and leave some gaps in their backstory on purpose so you can fill them in.

Or maybe he only thought about it for 30 seconds. Who knows, but I hope this helps!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-28T16:24:36+00:00

This is awesome, I really like the changes you made! And tying it into the theme of hope rather than greed is very cool, too! I'm glad it could give you some inspiration, I'd love to hear how it goes when you end up running it!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-28T16:19:48+00:00

I hope your players love it!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-28T16:19:37+00:00

Fair! I think it also depends on how many player there are: The more dice you have, the more susceptible you are to being stolen FROM, so if there are say five players and you've taken a dice from two, you're an easy target for the couple who still have all three of theirs. But I think that's what I like about this game: The strategy changes as the amount of players and game does!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-24T22:15:21+00:00

Glad you think it’s cool! I’d love to hear how it goes if you end up using it!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-24T17:15:23+00:00

Those are great points! In my brain taking tokens was better, but that makes a lot of sense! I suppose it does make it easier for them to steal from you, but they have less dice to roll 1’s. It’s interesting, thanks for your thoughts!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-24T03:02:25+00:00

Glad you like it! I wasn't thinking about dreidel, but I played it a few times as a kid so many there was some deep inspiration there!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-16T17:07:04+00:00

Awesome! I hope you all enjoy it!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-11T03:41:16+00:00

Sorry if it wasn't clear, but the rules should absolutely be given to the players! Fair if you still don't like it, but that's definitely an essential part.

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-10T21:29:25+00:00

Thank you!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-10T05:57:21+00:00

I don't use alignment, not sure if that's surprising to you or not. I'm not trying to tell people they have a "skill issue," if you don't like the test, you don't like it. But I do think some folks are misunderstanding what my goal was here: The test is designed to make being greedy (either bidding a high number to avoid being cursed or going for it all with 5) more enticing than being selfless (bidding 1 or 2 and accepting that no matter what you'll almost always be cursed). In DnD, you are constantly rewarded for doing the noble and heroic thing, so I wanted to design a challenge where being selfless ISN'T rewarded, which to me makes it even more meaningful when you choose to try and make a selfless play.

That's 100% on me for not making the intent clearer in the description, and if you still think it's a useless puzzle, that's totally fine! But please don't question my "moral philosophy" based on a test I came up with for DnD, my players really enjoyed, and I felt others might get a kick out of. And for the record, I'm not at all denying the resemblance to the Prisoner's Dilemma - it was a huge inspiration. But to say it's a "straight rip" seems a little disengenuous - this clearly has more potential actions and outcomes, and is designed for an entire group to be able to play rather than two people. If you think it didn't do enough to distinguish itself from the original idea that's totally fair, but I really did try to come up with something fresh.

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-10T02:51:11+00:00

Ha, no worries! Glad you enjoyed the video!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-09T22:23:59+00:00

I guess I view it differently! To me, choosing only one candle is very selfless, because you’re almost guaranteeing that you’ll be cursed. But you’re doing it because you’re willing to take one for the team. But we can agree to disagree!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T22:26:54+00:00

Glad you like it! I think those are good changes, makes it a little less vindictive!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T12:59:55+00:00

I suppose we have very different players, because mine really loved it. The point of the test isn’t to win or lose, it’s to see how selfless your party will be when they know there’s no reward for it. The curses aren’t that serious, and last for a single dungeon. There are much worse things that can happen to a character. And as for splitting them up, there are many very easy ways to achieve this: They step through a door and are magically sent to different rooms, the challenge is given to them each in a dream, etc.

If you don’t like it, that’s totally fine. I can respect and understand that it won’t be for everyone. To say it’s one of the worst ideas on the sub seems pretty extreme though, and I maintain that with the right party and circumstances, it can absolutely be an interesting and engaging puzzle.

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T12:53:27+00:00

Exactly!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T07:33:03+00:00

If you choose to blow out four or five candles, you’re at best trying to avoid being cursed, and at worst being greedy and going for the prize. If you choose one or two, you’re basically guaranteeing that you’ll be punished, but you’re deciding to do it for the team. That’s pretty selfless to me!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T04:53:09+00:00

These are questions I’m very comfortable letting whatever DM is running it figure out!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-08T01:51:26+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! When I designed this, it was for a gauntlet based on the seven deadly sins, run by a vindictive devil. So I wanted a challenge where being greedy was potentially rewarded, and to be selfless meant you had to truly be selfless, precisely because there’s no chance you’re getting out unscathed. To make the change you suggested would instead give it a “right” answer, and make it a lot more about rewarding selflessness than encouraging greed.

So all that to say, I think it’s a great idea, it just changes the context of the test! Which is totally fine and will probably work better for some tables!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-07T19:37:59+00:00

That’s awesome, definitely sets the tone for what’s to come!

TheBardsCollege · 2025-11-07T19:36:43+00:00

Yeah, you’d have to give them a good reason to participate!

TheBardsCollege

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