Variant Rules: The High Roller's Handbook - Part 1

This system provides a framework for managing gambling dens, from humble back-alley rings to majestic arcane casinos. It balances atmosphere with mechanics, allowing players to use their skills and magic to influence the odds.

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At the Threshold

The air hangs thick with pipe smoke, spilled stout, and copper sweat. Across the floor, ivory dice clatter against felt, coins ring out like miniature anvils, and sharp laughter dies abruptly at the turn of a card. The house always welcomes new coin—so long as your hands stay above the wood.

1. House Tiers & The Heat System

Gambling dens vary in prestige, cost, and difficulty. Operating in them involves managing House Heat (0–5), which tracks how closely pit bosses and security watch the players.

Tier	Venue Type	Buy-In / Limits	Security DC / Insight	Security & Intel
I	The Back-Alley Ring	1 sp – 2 gp	DC 10 Sleight of Hand Passive Insight 12	Thugs with clubs; street gossip, fencing stolen goods.
II	The Merchant's Hall	5 gp – 50 gp	DC 13 Sleight of Hand Passive Insight 14	Bouncers with crossbows; trade speculation, shipping manifests.
III	The Grand Gilded Casino	50 gp – 500 gp	DC 16 Sleight of Hand Passive Insight 16	Detect Magic lanterns; high-court bribes, debt leverage on nobles.
IV	The Astral/Arcane Vault	500+ gp / Souls / Relics	DC 19 Sleight of Hand Passive Insight 18	True Seeing, anti-magic fields; planar contracts, divine artifacts.

The Heat Track (Per Session)

• Heat 0–1 (Clear): Standard play; dealers are polite and observant.
• Heat 2–3 (Watched): A floorman stands behind the players. Cheating DCs increase by +3.
• Heat 4 (Pressured): The dealer begins to swap out decks/dice. The maximum bet is capped at the current pot size.
• Heat 5 (Busted): The game stops immediately. Heavy security moves in to enforce the Tier consequence.

Gaining Heat

The party or player begins each visit at Heat 0. Add Heat points as follows:

• Cheating Failures (+1 to +5):
  • Failed by 1–4: +1 Heat. The dealer or pit boss notices a clumsy motion, a misplaced card, or odd die bounce.
  • Failed by 5 or more: Instantly maxes Heat to 5. You were caught red-handed.
• The "Hot Streak" (+1 Heat): Winning three consecutive rounds at any table adds +1 Heat. The house begins tracking the anomaly.
• Large Single Payout (+1 Heat): Hitting a high-multiplier win (such as Split Bone at 16:1 or a maximum table bet) adds +1 Heat.
• Causing a Scene (+1 to +2 Heat): Loud arguments, visible intimidation checks against patrons or dealers, or drawing weapons immediately adds +1 or +2 Heat depending on severity.

Cooling Down

Players can reduce Heat during the night using deliberate actions:

• Taking a Walk (-1 Heat): Stepping away from the tables for at least 30 minutes (buying a round at the bar, watching entertainment, or mingling). Resolved between rounds or during a lull in play.
• The Strategic Loss (-1 Heat): Deliberately throwing a bet equal to or greater than the table's minimum buy-in resets a suspicious dealer's attention. Performed during any active betting round.
• Greasing Palms (-1 Heat): Slipping the pit boss or dealer a discreet tip (equal to 10% of total winnings, minimum 5 gp) with a DC 12 Persuasion check. Performed immediately after a hand.

Heat 5: The Busted Table

When Heat hits 5, the house enforces immediate penalties based on venue prestige:

• Tier I (The Alley Ring): A rough alley shakedown. The offender forfeits all active bets and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage from heavy clubs before getting tossed into the gutter.
• Tier II (The Merchant's Hall): Confiscation and holding. Current winnings are seized, and the player is charged a 20% fine of all coin on hand or handed over to municipal watchmen.
• Tier III (The Gilded Casino): Permanent blacklisting, full seizure of the night's earnings, and a forced high-interest debt marker owned by a prominent noble house.
• Tier IV (The Arcane Vault): Dimensional containment. The player is placed under a planar binding or locked in an extradimensional vault until a rescue, trade contract, or divine relic ransom is negotiated.

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2. Cheating Mechanics: Push Your Luck

Players can attempt to rig any game using skills or spells. If a cheating check fails by 5 or more, House Heat instantly maxes to 5.

• Sleight of Hand (Palming/Loaded Dice): Beat the venue's DC to change one rolled die to any desired result.
• Deception / Insight (Tells & Bluffing): Beat the dealer's Passive Insight (Tier I: 12, Tier II: 14, Tier III: 16, Tier IV: 18) to peek at an opponent's hidden die or card.
• Minor Magic: Spells like Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, or Guidance can influence the game. These require a Dexterity (Stealth) check vs. the House Security DC to cast without somatic or verbal detection.

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3. The Gambling Suite (Mini-Games)

House Rules & Slang

Before sitting down at the felt, every seasoned sharp knows the local vernacular:

• The Float: The visible pile of coin on the baize. "Hands off the float until the bones stop tumbling."
• Cold Iron: Non-magical inspection. Patrons must touch a cold iron horseshoe at the door to dispel illusions.
• A Soft Plum: A visibly wealthy mark with no head for math or odds.
• Greasing the Felt: Tipping the dealer to subtly reshuffle or distract a rowdy opponent (+1 to one cheat check).
• The Blind Eye: When security deliberately ignores a dispute so long as nobody draws steel.
• Walking the Plank: Being physically tossed into the muddy street with an empty purse.

A. Liar's Skull (Bluffing & Deduction)

Best for: 2–6 Players or Player vs. Dealer. Fast-paced bluffing.

1. Each participant rolls 3d6 under a cup, keeping their results hidden. (Note: 1s are not wild; they count as normal face values).
2. The first player declares a face value and a minimum count present across all cups at the table (e.g., "There are at least four 5s").
3. Players act in turn clockwise. A player must either:
   • Raise: Call a higher quantity of any number, or the same quantity of a higher number (e.g., "Five 5s" or "Four 6s"). This passes the turn to the next player.
   • Call Bluff ("Open Cups"): All dice are revealed immediately, ending the round.
4. Outcome: If the total count is equal to or greater than the claim, the caller loses their bet. If the count is less, the bluffer loses.
5. Skill Synergy: A player may make a DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check once per game to deduce whether the current bidder is bluffing.

B. Dragon's Eye (High-Stakes Blackjack Style)

Best for: Player vs. Dealer. Push-your-luck mechanic.

1. The target number is 21. Both player and dealer roll 2d10 openly (1s count as 1 or 11).
2. The Breathe: The player may "Breathe" (Hit) by rolling an additional 1d6, adding it to their total. They can hit up to three times. If the total exceeds 21, they Bust and immediately lose their stake.
3. Dealer's Turn: Once the player holds, the Dealer must roll an additional 1d6 until their total reaches at least 17.
4. Payout: Closest to 21 wins a 2:1 return (double their wager). Hitting exactly 21 with a double (e.g., two 10s and a 1) is a "Dragon's Eye" and pays a 3:1 return (triple their wager). If the player and dealer finish with the exact same total, it is a Push (the player keeps their bet).

C. Chopping Copper (Raw Luck & Side Bets)

Best for: Rowdy, fast dive-bar gambling. Takes 30 seconds.

1. The Dealer rolls 1d20 into the ring (the "Mark").
2. Each player places a wager on one of three options:
   • High Chop: The next roll will be higher than the Mark (Pays 2:1 return; ties are lost to the House).
   • Low Chop: The next roll will be lower than the Mark (Pays 2:1 return; ties are lost to the House).
   • Split Bone: The next roll will match the Mark exactly (Pays 16:1 return).
3. A player rolls the second 1d20 to resolve the round.

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4. Casino Downtime Events (1d6)

Roll when characters finish a long night at the tables:

• 1. Marked Man: The house claims a counterfeit coin was used. Pay double or fight the bouncers in the alley.
• 2. The Broken High-Roller: A noble offers a family crest ring or treasure map worth 200 gp for a quick 50 gp loan.
• 3. Loan Shark's Offer: A wealthy patron offers to sponsor the party's next dungeon run in exchange for 30% of recovered relics.
• 4. Pit Boss Favor: Winning clean without gaining Heat earns the house's respect; the party gets free lodging and +1 on local Charisma checks.
• 5. Overheard at the High Table: An intoxicated merchant brags about an unguarded caravan leaving at dawn.
• 6. The Whammy: An eccentric gambler challenges the party's champion to a single high-stakes roll of a d100 for a strange magical trinket.

Trouble at the Cage (1d4)

Roll when players attempt to cash out substantial winnings:

• 1. Heavy Paper: The house pays out in promissory notes or trade ingots rather than coin, requiring a guildhouse visit to liquidate.
• 2. The House Cut: The cashier insists on an unmentioned 10% "municipal tax" or "service tithe" unless intimidated or persuaded otherwise.
• 3. The Trailing Shadow: A pair of debt-collectors or street urchins wait outside the doors to shadow whoever walks out with a heavy pouch.
• 4. The Friendly Challenge: The pit boss personally offers a complimentary top-shelf drink and a private high-stakes wager before letting the party leave.
  

For the second part of this article that details four sample "Pit Bosses", see here: High-Roller's Handbook - Pit Bosses

Comments? Complaints? Questions? You can reach us by using our Contact Form in the upper right-hand corner of the page, or post your questions and comments below. We look forward to hearing from our readers.

New Magic Item: Six Demon Bag

New Magic Item

Six Demon Bag

Contains: "Wind, fire, all that kind of thing."

A Six Demon Bag is similar to a Medicine Bag. It contains powerful reagents, fetishes, and other user-specific talismans that have been previously prepared by the owner in order to help focus and enhance their spells.

When a spell-caster uses their personal Six Demon Bag, they cast all spells as if one level higher, for purposes of duration, range, and effect. It does not allow a caster to cast higher level spells than they are normally capable of casting.

The cost to make a Six Demon Bag is calculated: Character Level x Highest Spell Level Available To Caster x 500 gold pieces.

A Six Demon Bag has to be completely remade from scratch (at full cost) upon attaining a new level that allows access to a new higher level of spells.


[Addendum] Each bag will contain 1d3 + Highest Spell Level Available To Caster. These items will generally be more costly than difficult to procure (hence the expense), but the DM may require the character to adventure to acquire a special item or two.

Old bags should be destroyed when no longer needed. Should someone steal or acquire a character's Six Demon Bag (old or current), the owner will suffer a -2 on Saving Throws against spells cast against them by the holder.

Optional Rules: Going For Broke

An interesting home-brewed rule idea in the OSR community, is the "Shields Shall Be Splintered" rule. Basically, this allows the character to sacrifice their shield to ward off a damaging blow that would have hit them. The rule is quick, simple, and neat. Without complication, the character makes a decision and pays a price (losing their shield) as a consequence.

But then the argument goes further. If you can sacrifice your shield, can the character not then sacrifice other items of armor or equipment to fend off blows? Before a DM says yes, they should look at the ramifications of their decision. A character could first sacrifice a shield, then a weapon, then maybe their armor, round after round, prolonging the inevitable. While some DMs might not mind this at first, they would soon see clever players staying alive long enough by making these sacrifices, all the while allowing their team mates time to hack the enemy to pieces. The system then because abused.

How can a DM prevent this from happening, without throwing away the rule entirely? A simple modification comes to mind that may serve the purpose. While sacrificing a shield may be done fairly automatically, what if the character must make a Saving Throw (vs Death, if your campaign uses separate categories) for any sacrifice afterward, but may do so only once? Failure of this Save, means that the character takes damage as if hit by a Critical (however your DM handles them in the campaign). Basically, the warrior attempts to use his sword to fend off the final blow, but the orc chieftain's axe breaks his blade and cleaves his skull in twain!

Going for Broke is not the same as using the Parry rule. The character is attempting to sacrifice (make a Save) a specific piece of equipment (besides a shield) in an attempt to live to fight another day.. or round, as the case might be.

The DM may allow a bonus to this Save depending on the item being sacrificed. The more important, or powerful the item, the greater the sacrifice.

The Rule In Action:

Angar, issues a challenge to Bloodeye, in an attempt to draw the orc chieftain out into a one on one fight. Bloodeye, accepts by rushing out and hurling his massive spear at the barbarian. Angar, realizing the spear is about the drill a hole through him, sacrifices his shield to intercept the spear's flight. Bloodeye's spear drives through Angar's shield, making it useless, so the barbarian casts it aside. With sword in hand he rushes the powerful orc.

A few rounds of furious blows are exchanged, with each combatant getting slowly whittled away by the other. Soon, Angar, finds himself backed against a rock wall, with no means to escape. Bloodeye, seeing his victory at hand, swings his mighty axe for the last time. Angar, chooses to sacrifice his father's sword, and attempts to Go for Broke. The player running Angar, rolls a Save.. and succeeds! Angar, throws his ancestral blade up in one last ditch effort, and deflects the deadly blow at the last second, even as the blade of his sword shatters to pieces.  Bloodeye, roars in anger at being denied the satisfaction of seeing his foe's head separated from his body.

Desperately, Angar, draws his dagger.. (having won initiative this round).. and drives it into the massive orc's heart!

Optional Rules: Offensive / Defensive Stances

Basic combat is a give and take economy. For each action, there is a reaction, for each risk taken, there is a corresponding cost. The standard combat rules give us how the "average" combat round goes, where risks and strategies are balanced. But from time to time, players (and monsters) will attempt to take greater risks than usual as they go on the offensive, or perhaps choose to go on the defensive if things start to go sideways.

In order for a character to engage in one of these combat options, they must declare they are doing so before Initiative is decided for the round. If the enemy gets to act first, any penalties or bonuses that would apply to the character are applied at that time, even if they have not yet acted.

Here are several typical "Combat Stances" that may be performed:

• Flailing Wildly - The character is desperately overextending themselves and being reckless in an attempt to strike their opponent. (+2 to hit, -1 damage, AC suffers by 1, no shield use for defense this round.)
• Powerful Attack - The character forgoes defense to make a more successful and telling attack (+1 to hit, +1 damage, AC suffers by 2.)
• Fighting Defensively - The character attempts to protect themselves at the expense of offense. (-1 to hit, AC improves by 1.)
• Total Defense - The character goes all out defense, forgoing attack opportunities. (AC improves by 2, no attacks this round.)

If the DM so wishes, they may have monsters engage in combat stances according to the action, or they may roll randomly to see what the monster is doing. It is suggested that the DM use these options sparingly, choosing the appropriate maneuver that best suits the situation and temperament of the combatant.

Roll 1d6:

1. Flailing Wildly
2. Powerful Attack
3. Normal Attack
4. Normal Attack
5. Fighting Defensively
6. Total Defense

We would be very interested in other people's ideas on this, so please feel free ask questions and discuss below.

Moon Gates & Other Portals

Mysterious portals to other worlds, and dimensions, are a staple of fantasy, and science fiction. Whether technological, or mystical, these structures allow individuals to travel from their home-world to another realm, in order to have grand adventures. It is only natural that gaming campaigns would include such a useful story mechanism. In campaign use, Portals can be used to link familiar oft-used locations on the same world, or connect to one-off adventure locations elsewhere. This opens up convenient ways for DMs to drop their players into any setting of their choice, even different genre milieus of other games!

One type of Moongate from Ultima

In the early 80's, Judges Guild released a series of "Portals" adventures, Portals of Torsh (1980), Portals of Irontooth (1981), Portals of Twilight (1981). Each adventure taking place in another location where some of the basic "rules", or way of life, are significantly different from what the player characters may be used to. Portals of Torsh took place in a world where dinosaurs had evolved into the dominant humanoid species. Portals of Irontooth was set in a world where Rust Monsters were prolific, making metal items an endangered resource, and metal working practically non-existent. Portals of Twilight is set on the planet, Halfworld, a world similar to our moon, half light and half shadow, with only a narrow strip of land that's habitable.

A Stargate from the television series of the same name

In our home campaign, we have several gate systems in play, but one of the most ancient, and mysterious, are the Moon Gates. No-one is certain where the Moon Gates originated, who built them, or even why, though there is no end to the speculations. All that is known about these mysterious structures is that each one links the world of men to another realm, whether it be an alternate world, or an alien dimension. The means to activating a particular portal are a secret that seem to be discovered, lost, and rediscovered again, sometimes seemingly as if the Moon Gates themselves want someone to open them.

There is no end to the variety of gateways a DM may have in their worlds. They don't all have to look, behave, or even open the same. The following are some of the various ways different gateways have been controlled in our home campaign.

• Gateway only opened at a certain time and place, during which some sort of celestial alignment took place.
• Portal was opened and controlled by a magical (technological) artifact.
• Inter-dimensional rift was opened after performing a specified ritual and making the appropriate offering.
• Runestone was part of a larger network of teleportational way-points.
• Several similar gates were activated by magical pieces of jewelry (specific rings or medallions).

Optional Rules: Shield Wall!

Even the hot blood of the bravest on the battlefield grows cold in the daunting face of a shield wall. A barrier of wood and iron that makes assault upon those behind it difficult, and opens an attacker to a whole new level of danger. A small and determined group of defenders can successfully hold off a larger number of attackers using this simple technique.

Conditions For Forming A Shield Wall:

• A shield wall must have no less than three participants, unless two participants are in a tight area that offers a solid defense on each side (i.e. corridor, doorway, etc.)
• Each participant must be using a normal, heavy, or tower sized shield. Bucklers can not be used to form a shield wall.
• Only fighters, paladins, and clerics (but not druids) have the necessary training to perform a shield wall.
• Any character that can use a shield, and has spent time training alongside those with experience, can learn to participate in a shield wall.
• A spell caster that has trained with companions may use a Shield spell to participate in a shield wall, and acts as a tower shield.

Advantages of a Shield Wall:

• The armor class of those participating improves by 2, above and beyond what their shield already provides.
• Participants are 50% immune to normal missile fire (1 in 2) when using normal shields.
• Participants are 75% immune to normal missile fire (3 in 4) when using heavy and tower shields.
• Magic Missile spells are subject to the above immunity rules, even if set to "autohit".
• Enemy combatants can not directly attack those standing behind the protection of the shield bearers.
• Enemy combatants that rush a shield wall automatically provoke a free attack by one (possibly two) participants of the shield wall.
• Participants gain a +2d6 to their Unarmed Attack roll when attacking and defending. Losing to an Unarmed Attack means that a hole has been made in the shield wall that round.

Disadvantages of a Shield Wall:

• Defenders may only use thrusting weapons, or one-handed striking/chopping weapons, no daggers, thrown, or two-handed weapons.
• Those standing behind a shield wall may only use weapons with reach, like spears, polearms, etc.
• a breach/hole must be made in the shield wall to allow a spell caster to send a spell through, unless the spell uses an indirect method of attack, i.e. Flame Strike, Call Lightning, etc.
• The shield wall is limited by the speed of the slowest participant.
• A shield wall loses all benefits when attempting to move into an area that does not allow the participants to maintain formation.

How to Breach a Shield Wall:

• In order to breach a shield wall, an attacker must make a successful Unarmed Attack (Overbearing) against a participant. The defender gets a +2d6 to their roll.
• Any successful attack that kills, stuns, or otherwise incapacitates a shield bearer opens a hole for that round, until someone else can step in, or the wall reforms. A wall can not reform with less than three shield bearers.
• An attacker attempting to breach the wall, by overbearing, is subject to a free attack by one (possibly two) defenders.
• Many spells are capable of opening a breach, subject to the DM's discretion.

(These rules are written to be compatible with Swords& Wizardry Complete, but may be suitable for use with other OSR-based systems.)

Swords & Wizardry: Thieves' Skills For Everyone Else

Many times, during play, there will be times when someone wants to move silently, hide in shadows, or perform another task that directly reflect a thief's skills in-game. Personally I have no problem with this, but I have encountered DMs that either won't allow it (because those are class specific skills), or who will then use a completely different method of determining success than the one already established.

The table below is what I use in my campaign. You'll notice that each skill is slightly reduced (-5%) from those of a first level thief. The only exceptions to this are, Hide in Shadows, and Move Silently, as these two skills are something nearly everyone has experience with. Wearing armor heavier than leather can adjust the percentages of performing certain skills as the DM decides.

Yes, I do allow a very slim chance for non-thieves to perform delicate tasks (pick pockets), deal with traps, and possibly open locks. No, these percentages do not increase as the character levels up.

Level	Climb Walls	Delicate Tasks and Traps	Hear Sounds	Hide in Shadows	Move Silently	Open Locks
-	80%	10%	2 in 6	10%	20%	5%
Race	Climb Walls	Delicate Tasks and Traps	Hear Sounds	Hide in Shadows	Move Silently	Open Locks
Dwarf	-	+10%	-	+5%	+5%	+5%
Elf	-	-	-	+15%	+10%	-
Half-Elf	-	-	-	-	-	-
Halfling	-	+5%	-	+10%	+10%	+10%

(Tables compatible with Swords & Wizardry Complete)

Optional House Rule

This rule is entirely a house ruling used in my personal games, and may not be suitable for everyone's campaign.  Rangers may perform almost all thief skills, as a thief of two levels lower than themselves (much like an Assassin), in a wilderness setting. This allows Rangers to find and deal with traps set in the wild, climb surfaces, and perform all the other logical skills of a wilderness scout. However, Rangers do not get the Delicate Tasks (pick pockets), or Open Locks skills of a thief (though they may still attempt these skills as per the rules above). Nor do Rangers gain Backstab , or any other thief skills outside of those shown above.

Wearing armor heavier than leather can adjust the percentages of performing certain skills as the DM decides.