Emperor's Throne
A Dice Game for Dark Heresy

Rules

The game involves two rollers rolling 2D10. Each participant ante two, five, or nine thrones all antes must match to join the current hand. Rollers may never bet on the hand they are rolling. The roller rolls the set dice. The set dice are the first 2D10 rolled and added together. This number becomes the odds by which the participants bet on. The bet is placed before the throw dice are rolled. The actual bet is broken down into a high side and a low side and whether the throw dice rolls a number within 9, 5, or 2 of set dice on the chosen side. Once bets are placed the second roller rolls the throw dice and money is exchanged.

Betting

Betting in Emperor's Throne is the game in of itself and how to bet is further broken down here.

Betting High Side
Betting high side is the safest and most sure way of getting some money. Each participant that bets on the high side is trying to win some of the pot. Each participant that bets on the high side chooses a number within 9, 5, or 2 of the set die. This forms the participants bet bracket (i.e. 9-6, 5-3, 2-0). If that number is rolled then that participant wins twice their ante amount back as well as any raises or side bets whatever is left in the pot then moves to the next participant whose number was closet to the set number in the bracket but not rolled. If there is ever a tie and the pot amount is not enough to make up the winnings then the pot is split evenly. If the number rolled is within their bracket but not the number guessed then they get half ante back plus any money won in side bets but not raises. Should the roll fall out side the bet bracket then the participants loss the bet. Any thrones left in the pot will carry over to the next hand.

Betting Low Side
Betting low side is the riskier prospect of winning. Each participant picks a number 0-9 with 0 being equal to the set die. If the number chosen is equal to that of the throw dice the the participant stands to win half the pot. However if the number chosen is equal to the set dice the the participant would win the whole pot. Low side participants are not allowed to raises. Any high side betting loses out to a low side win.

Advance Betting

Emperor's Throne is a observers game. As such there are many side bets that may be and are often placed. Here is some examples of common side bets.

Rasing the Pot
This bet can only be made if there are more than one participant betting in the high side. Any participant who bets high side may raise the pot by betting that their bracket will be rolled. The participant may bet additional number of thrones up to max bet of 10 to the pot. Each high side bidder must match the bet or bow out of the hand before the Throw dice can be rolled. Each participating bidder may have the opportunity to raise the pot once.

Betting the Cog
This bet was originated by the Adeptus Mechanicus who would use bits of tech instead of thrones. It is more common use is to substitute thrones for a object that is of equal or greater value.

The Golden Throne
This bet originated when both rollers rolled a total of 4 10's on the die. Well it was a rare and was said that it was akin to seeing the Golden Throne. If this bet is made no roller can claim their share of the pot until all rolls are resolved. To make this bet you place a bet equal to half the ante against the pot that The Golden Throne will be rolled. If it is you win the whole pot.

The Inquisitions Folly
This bet originated when the game was play for 22 years by the same two people who where being held under the mistaken thought they had stolen a piece of the Lord Inquisitors bread. The Bet is that before the set dice are rolled any participant can bet an extra half ante that the set dice or the throw die will roll a double on the die. If it does the bet pays out a full ante and a half. No other win can prevent it.

Betting the Warp
This is a blind bet. The participant make their full bet before any of the dice are rolled. If successful they win the pot.

Advanced Rules and Named Die

2D10 roll that results in two 10's on the dice is called an Emperor's Throne .
When an Emperor's Throne is rolled the roller receives half the pot in its current state.

2D10 roll that results in two 5's on the dice is called an Double Eagle .
When the Double Eagle is rolled on the set dice participant lose their ante and the hand ends.
When the Double Eagle is rolled on the throw dice the pot is split evenly among the participants.

2D10 roll that results in two 1's on the dice is called Emperor's Eyes .
When the Emperor's Eyes are rolled everyone losses.

Once the throw dice have been rolled the hand ends new rollers may be selected and a new hand may begin. All thrones left in the pot continue on to the new hand.

Gambling and Cheating

If the participants have the gambling skill and wish to cheat then use the following rules.

If the character is a participants who is betting then start the game. Once the set dice are rolled have the participants bet as normal. Have the gambler make their respective roll.

If the roll is under their skill then the gambler may bet as normal but with out choosing a high or low side. Keep track of the degrees of success as the gambler may adjust the throw dice number by that amount in any direction. Once the throw dice are rolled the gambler may then choose whether to take the odds on the high side or the low side and adjust the throw die by the number of degrees of success roll during the gambling roll.

If the roll is over the skill then note the degrees of failure and continue betting as normal. When the throw dice are rolled have all participants roll perception at +10% bonus for each degree of failure. If caught cheating it is up to the GM to deal a fair punishment. If the character is not caught the game continues on as normal.

If the character is a roller have them roll their gambling skill before the roll of their respective dice.

If the skill roll is a success note the number of degrees of success. The character may move the number on one of the die rolled by that number any direction. If 5 degrees of success are rolled the character may adjust both dice rolled by no more than any combination of 5.

If the skill roll is a failure then note the degrees of failure. Roll the dice as normal have the participants make a perception roll at +5% for each degree of failure. If caught cheating it is up to the GM to deal out a fair punishment. If not caught then proceed as normal.

Feed Back is welcome as this is a work in progress. Also I would like to see if anyone can add tot he list of side bets. I feel that the side bets is where the flavor of the 40k universe will come from.

A little complicated for a game that will simply be a minor side note in an RPG, isn´t it?

I this why I am looking for feed back on the system. The Game is intended to be a challenge for characters.

Somehow I don't see dock workers and naval ratings whiling away their hours rolling d10s.

-K

And yet the game of Craps has seen a many back room and dark ally. The die is a d10 as it falls inline with the system and the dice that the players will most likely have at hand. Also this is the far future and another reality we are talking about I don't see why they wouldn't.

Interesting and I like the little stories behind the advance bets, although I'm somewhat curious of the betting the cog as I would imagine a techpriest seeing his laymen workers betting on a peice of sacred tech wouldn't flip out and have them turned into servitors...Then again, no one said that they had to be legit either.

Looks good to me, never played dice before (but will look it up and plenty of guys on my ship play(ed) it) so I could figure it out soon enough.

On that note, is there a card game besides Heretic's wake that is regularly played that any one knows of?

So you want to enable your players to have their characters get involved in a gambling game, but you want to resolve this with a real-world game, so the use of d10s in the real world somehow manifests in the game world with the game being designed around those dice. Meh.

Anyways, I don't think d10's are particularilly suited for a gambling game.

• 2d10 give you 100 possible combinations, 2d6 give you 36. This means the odds of getting a specific result like double 1's is 1.0% with 2d10 opposed to 2.7% with 2d6.
• 2d10 give you 19 possible sums (2 through 20), 2d6 gives you 11 (2 through 12)
• The "special" results like the average (2d10: 11, 2d6: 7) or doubles are both 10% on 2d10 and 17% on 2d6.

The wide array of results means the "hot spots" become less frequent. The game therefore needs to be seeded with additional "hot spots" which increases complexity...

-K

bit complicated for my taste im more of a roll the die...oh look you got highest you win, guy

personaly i have them play 20 its just blackjack but 20 wins