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733 Posts in 207 Topics by 139 members

Topic: Act I Gambling §24

Page: 1
  • Act I Gambling §24

    First up, thank-you for making DQ1!

    I have enjoyed almost every page and every moment of the first Act. (I'm saving Act II for a time when I can go though it uninterrupted). You've taken experiences I've found enjoyable elsewhere and distilled it down to something pure and simple, yet surprisingly complex.

    It seems you have put a lot of effort into making the pacing just right, it seems like every new strategic encounter is different to the last, and that I am being introduced step-by-step into more complicated mechanics.

    I've got a few questions about game rules. I'm going to put each question in a different post with a different title (Sorry it feels like I'm clogging up your Rules Q&A forum, and sorry in advance for asking so many questions).

    The first is regarding Section 24, which occurs while gambling in Act I. The last line in my copy reads "If the result is ⚁ [2] or less turn to 67, if the result is ⚃ [4] or more turn to 259."

    I'm assuming this is a typographic error because no mention is made regarding what to do when a ⚂ [3] is rolled.

    I am curious as to what the author's intent was.

    Currently I play as if the intent was that there is a 50-50 chance for either section. I do this because it has only a minor effect on overall odds, but makes my attempts to hit double-or-nothing odds a little less tedious.

    Congratulations on the design of this gambling mini-game by the way. I like it for four reasons. (1) It strikes a good balance between simplicity and complexity in a minimum of book sections. (2) At first it seems that the odds are strongly against you, but it is possible to find an approach which maximises your chances. (3) It allows a player who has [x] gold crowns, but would like to have [y] GC, to try to reach that goal optimally with the minimum of tedious dice rolls. (4) Aside from section 24, there is a pleasant symmetry to the game (lows are favourable in round 1, highs in round 2, and the odds worsen incrementally).

    On the down side it seems to be a bit irrelevant for Act I. I almost get the sense that it is there just for the sake of fulfilling the gambling trope of this genre of games.

  • Re: Act I Gambling §24

    Whoops! Yes, that appears to be a definite typo. I'll need to study the pages to know if it was meant to be a 50-50 chance; it probably was. I'll update on that a bit later.

    And yes, of course it is there just for the sake of fulfilling the gambling trope of this genre of games ;)

    EDIT: faster than expected, that entry should read:

    If the result is [2] or less turn to 67, if the result is [3] or more turn to 259.

    Not 50-50.

  • Re: Act I Gambling §24

    Thank-you for your amazingly fast reply.

    Paying homage to tropes like this adds to the enjoyability of DQ1 in my opinion. It adds to the perception that I can have more fun with pen, paper and dice than I do with more advanced and expensive technology.

    I suspected that the 2-1 odds was your intent even though I was playing it differently. Was there a particularly reason why this section breaks the pattern established? It is the only one in the second round where lows are favourable, and it is also breaks the symmetry of round one where [1] is better than (>) [3] > [4] > [5] > [6].

  • Re: Act I Gambling §24

    Yes, perhaps I was too amazingly fast with my last reply ;)

    It should be:
    If the result is [2] or less turn to 259, if the result is [3] or more turn to 67.

  • Re: Act I Gambling §24

    If you ever publish an official errata to DQ1, you might want to think twice before you list this new text as the officially endorsed version.

    With this change it becomes possible for any hero with at least 7 GC to adopt a strategy which is statistically probable to return a profit. (Most gambling promoters only offer games where the overall odds are never better than 50-50, and so the banker always wins).

    Which means that opportunistic heroes can fleece this poor unnamed card player for all the money he's got (at least until he cottons on to what is happening and sends for his thugs sitting in the corner of the room to roughen you up a bit in a bar fight). (You do have the bar fight trope in Act II or III, right? If not, something to consider for DQ2 or DQ3).

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