So no smuggler adventure would be complete without sitting down at the table and having a good, long card game of Sabacc. Now, the Shadows of a Black Sun adventure does include rules for simulating Sabacc,, but really, those ain't no fun. So, how do you play Sabacc?
Allow me.
First, you'll need a deck. According to my brief research, you can find one right here: http://www.swagonline.net/image-galleries/sabacc-deck
Though if anyone knows a better one, do tell!
Now, Sabaac is similar to Blackjack or 21. The goal is to get to + or - 23 in as few cards as possible. In some variants, 5's are wild. A 0, a 2, and a 3 are an Idiots Array, and win instantly. You start with 2 cards, bet, shift, then draw.
What is shifting? Sabaac is played on special cards that change faces randomly in the game. And this is where Edge of Empires unique die set make this very handy.
After the bet, each participating player roles his cool against 2 Red die. The results of this roll allow shifting to take place.
Each success means a player may select one of his cards,discard it, and draw another. For each unconcealed advantage, the player may draw on additional card, and choose which of them to keep. For example if I end up with a Success and two advantages, I may pick one of my cards, discard it, and then draw 3 cards, choosing one to keep and discarding the rest.
A failure means that a player may not choose a card to replace. Any number of uncancelled threat means that a random card is chosen and replaced.
A triumph means a character may discard a card, search the remaining deck for any one card, and take it as their replacement. This is in addition to any success and advantages they have,
A despair without success means your hand busts, and you must fold. A despair with success means an opponent accuses you of cheating.
After the Shifting, players may choose to draw one more card, and then the cycle begins again.
After everyone chooses to hold, bets are tallied, and the winners walk away with cash.
I recommend that for a large number of rounds of Sabaac, 3 games are played, and then the player's cool is rolled against the number of losses (1 purple for each straight loss, one red for each humiliating defeat) to give them approximate totals for the rounds.
This should allow for players to really feel like they've played a full game of Sabaac, without it dominating the entire session. What do you guys think?