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Dungeons & Dragonsis a game with rules, dice, pieces, and sometimes even a game board. That said, D&D is pretty unique. Other games often simulate specific activities like war, commerce, trading, and sport. D&D has a rule for almost anything you can think of.
With such a broad scope, it’s no wonder players and DMs have been creating in-game D&D mini-games for decades. Whether it’s gambling in taverns, drinking with NPCs, or making downtime more fun, mini-games can be a great way to vary the pace of a session. We’ve compiled a few games to inspire you and some resources for fun mini-games.
Tips For Tavern Mini-Games In D&D
Life isn’t always fair, and each of us is born with a different set of strengths and weaknesses, so we get through life by playing to our strengths and helping those who lack our talents. Don’t be afraid toinclude players’ability scoresas factors in mini-games; if you mix things up, your players will enjoy their chance to shine.
Charismashould play a role in games involvingdeception,Constitutionshould influenceeating and drinkingcontests, andStrength, naturally, works fortests of strength. Players can add their usual bonuses to rolls involving associated ability scores, and granting bonuses oradvantagesto players whoroleplaytheir participation encourages an immersive game.
There are thousands of ways to mini-gamify D&D’s hardware. The key is to keep it simple, snappy, thematically appropriate, and fun.
Roman Tali Dice Mini-Game For D&D
Taliwas a simple dice game played by Roman soldiers using knuckle bones; it’s agambling gamethat usesfour-sided dice, easily replaced with D&D’s d4. Each playerplaces the agreed-upon wager into the pot and agrees to pay an additional amountif they rollfour ones(the worst possible hand).
Each handin Tali was namedafter a Roman God, coin, or creature in the Empire.For fun, we’ve changed the names to more appropriate stuff for theForgotten Realms; you can swap them for whatever gods, deities, objects, or rulers make sense in your game setting.
To start the game,everyone rolls a d4, with the highest number startingfirst. Break any ties with another round of d4 roll-offs, and each player rollsfour d4; a roll has four possible scoring results descending from best to worst and the best hand wins the pot, so if you don’t roll any of the following combinations, roll again:
Outcome
Sune (Goddess of Beauty)
A Sune is thebest handin the game. It means you roll one of every value (1,2,3,4). If two or more players roll a Sune, they roll again to break the tie.
Copper Penny
A copper penny is thesecond-best hand.It’s comprised of a roll of four and three other non-identical numbers. If two players roll copper pennies, the one with the higher combined numerical value wins.
Harpy
A harpy is a roll with four of the same number except one (2,2,2,2/3,3,3,3/4,4,4,4). It’s thethird-besthand.
Hell Hound:
A hell hound is a roll of four ones (1,1,1,1). It’s thelowest handin the game and requires an ante to the pot.
Tavern Drinking Game For D&D
Players often want to buy ale, wine, or spirit after a hard day’s adventuring, and a few players (and NPCs) always want to turn their drinking into something morecompetitive. Just like in real life,alcohol consumptionin D&D should be a test of yourConstitution, and eachsuccessive drinkmakes passing the Constitutiontestexponentiallyharder, so luck is always a factor when drinking.
A drinking game in D&D is just a series ofd20 Constitution checkswith the check’sdifficulty class(DC)increasingeach time, and as the DM, you can set this number. If the party is drinking something relatively light in alcohol, you can start the DC off quite low, or you might start with a higher DC if they drink strong stuff, like Dragon Fire whiskey.
If there are enough dice at the table, line one up for each shot the player needs to take. Each player can take their turn downing the five “shots”, roleplaying their reactions according to the dice results.
Pit Fight Gambling In D&D Taverns
Pit fighting,gladiatorial combat,animal fights, andsporting contestsare common in video game RPG taverns. Bringing them to your tabletop game is relatively straightforward, and when your players explore the tavern, describe the sunken, caged, or barred area with blood-soaked sawdust, the screaming gamblers, and the bookmakers.
If your pit fighting featureshumanoid combatants, you mustcreatesomecharacters(or you can repurpose NPCs from other modules). If the battles featuremonstersor creatures, choose the monsters you want from theDungeon Masters Guide(DMG).
Before the playersplace their bets, you should allow them toobserve the combatants,creatures, andtrainers. You don’t need to give the players a rundown of the NPC or creature stats, but providing them with hints and ideas is useful; explain what weapons and armour each combatant will wear in a gladiatorial situation, so the odds you set should reflect the likely outcome.
Discourage players from meta-gaming (using information they have as players their character doesn’t know). Some of them might know the stat blocks for each monster in the pit fight. Characters should only use the in-game knowledge they possess to influence their decisions.
Resolving these one-on-one fights using the same rules asstandard combat; use minis if you have them, and tdhere’s no need to hide your rolls behind the DM screen here. Once the players have placed their bets, you can even reveal each combatant’s ability scores, hit points, and damage potential.
Thefightingpart isoptional. You could choose a moreJabba’s Palace-type setup. Criminals or other unfortunates can be dropped into a pit featuring a hideous monster. Bets can be placed onhow many roundsof combat the personsurvives.
Resources For Tavern Mini-Games In D&D
Dungeons & Dragons has been around for a long time; as you’d expect, many resources exist for players and DMs who want to include mini-games in their campaigns. There are entire books dedicated to tavern mini-games and gambling activities, but there’s also an equal amount of free resources.
