Devil Fives
A game of dice, daring, daggers, and drinking. What could go wrong?
Folk are a diverse lot. Yet, as farmers, lumberers, miners, brewers, and soldiers, make up a good chunk of any Folk population, they have developed a preference for crude and hard interactions. Their pastimes reflect this spirit. Folk participate in bone catching, an ironically named contest where the bones of a recent meal are hurled from one participant to the next. The participant on the receiving end of a bone cannot move, nor can they deflect or block the bone. They can only ready themselves for the incoming blow. If they flinch, they lose. Expect this activity to erupt after any feast. The Folk also participate in contests of strength, such as arm wrestling and log tossing. Horse racing, animal fighting, and brawling are but a few favored games across the Protected Lands. Most commonly, you will find Folk enjoying a mostly peaceful game of dice called devil fives.
Devil fives is a well known game of chance and daring that explores the balance of the gods, the sovereignty of the Old Empire, and the treachery of devils. In devil fives, a collection of five dice are set off to the side of the table, often along with an alcoholic concoction of the players’ choosing and a cup to roll with (and drink from). A dagger is placed on its side in the center of the table between the players.
The game is played in rounds. Each round, all players toss a sum of coin or valuables into a pool called the offering. The player who owns the dagger spins it first. So long as the dagger makes a full rotation, and doesn’t point back to the spinner, whoever the dagger points to takes up the dice and rolls two immediately. Each time a player decides to roll an additional die, they must pay a small amount agreed on by all players called a pittance. otherwise, they spin the dagger. If a player cannot afford the pittance or offering at any time, they are ousted from the game. If the dagger ever points back to the spinner, they must add a pittance to the offering and spin again.
If any player scores the results of one, two, three, and four, representing the four gods of the Protected Lands, on their turn, they take the offering for themselves, ending the round. On the other hand, if two fives (called devil fives) ever appear on the dice results, they must immediately pass their turn unless they match the current offering and add a pittance more to continue rolling. This is called a bargain. An additional five result forces them to pass. Results of six, called emperors, are the most valuable result and can be used to fill in any missing result at any time. This number reflects the six emperors of the Empire proper. Finally, if a player has rolled all five dice and not won the round or passed, choosing to roll another die requires an existing die to be collected from their results and rolled.
Play continues for as long as players are willing to give their offerings and pittances, or tension and disappointment lead to violence. To increase the likelihood of the latter, drinking is often added to the game. The rolling and drinking cup is filled and consumed by the roller after the roll of a six (or multiple sixes), in honor of the empire’s memory. If this rule is in play, and the roller refuses a drink, it is considered an insult to the empire and they are booted from the game.
Devil Fives has grown to such popularity that nearly all daggers forged in the Protected Lands feature a rounded nub at the crossguard to improve its spinning capabilities. If a Folk slaps a dagger on its flat before you, the invitation to a round of Devil Fives is clearly understood.
Devil Fives was a game I originally created for a quick diversion during a Dungeons and Dragons session way back in the 3.5 days. The players enjoyed it so much that we all decided to play it ourselves (The drinking version). The game can be played with any spinner, a set of five six-sided dice, a proxy currency, and (optionally) a hard drink of choice. Before you dare to do the same, recognize that this game will do the work of getting you quite wrecked. The game has since been adapted to the world of Ash and Ruin.
