Gamblers

Summary

There are two side to every coin, and for every genuinely lucky idiot, there's a maniacal gambler genius manipulating the odds. Gamblers choose to play by numbers, complex equations, and often outright cheating to win their games of chance. They bring this same spirit to the battle field.

High Level Gamblers are masterminds at heart. They use their skills to manipulate odds and control the flow of battle. While their moves are risky, the pay-offs are amazing.

History

Gamblers are often mistaken for Luckies. Contrary to common public knowledge, the Gamblers are not aimless wanderers like their Lucky counterparts. While Luckies are individuals that are just genuinely gifted by fate and often unaware of their talent, the Gamblers are a very tightly nit group that practices their skills to perfection before using them on unsuspecting victims.

As a matter of fact, the Gamblers have a hidden guild that rivals even the Craftsmen in size and possibly power. This guild has no formal names to avoid detection by outsiders. Gamblers merely refer to it as "the Guild". The Guild is rarely mentioned outside of the Gamblers themselves and for good reason. Gamblers that reveal the existence of the Guild face being removed from the Guild and then their mortal existence (usually in that order).

The Guild exists for one purpose and one purpose alone. The accumulation of money, riches, and power through the use of games of chance. Gamblers that actively work in the Guild can expect to pay dues to the Guild itself but gain the advantage of a network of excellent spies and con men that can back up their most recent gamble. Gamblers that choose not to actively participate in the Guild can expect to be targeted by members of the Guild and face chances that even the best of Gamblers can't always turn in their favor. Needless to say, most Gamblers choose to pay their dues.

The Gamblers run in a hierarchy of cells that feed slowly to the top. Successfully pulling in large amounts of money and influence to the Guild can often result in promotion. With promotion often comes the acquirement of a new code name to reflect the Gambler's status. After one successful job, a Gambler could find himself changing his call sign from "Two of Clubs" or "Crapshoot" to "Trips" or "Snake Eyes".

At the very top is the master of the Guild, Ace of Spades. Not a lot is known about this mythical man. Ace of Spades has been said to have never lost a single game of chance, and gained leadership from the previous leader "Royal Flush" after winning in a life or death gamble. Even the highest ranking members of the Guild don't know much more than this. Either way, it's certain that he or she is a person to be feared.

Attribute Scores

A good Gambler needs three things. Brains, Guts, and Luck. In order to acquire brains, a Gambler should have a high precision score. In order to acquire Guts, a Gambler should have a high will. In order to acquire Luck, a Gambler should pray his GM lets him take Lucky skills after character creation.

Level 1

Playing the Odds
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
Gamblers are masters of games of chance. Whenever a Gambler plays a game of chance, he gains a +2 on all checks to play the game (whether it is a game of Will or Precision).

Cheating the Odds
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
On top of being masters of the basic mechanics of a game, Gamblers are also masters of breaking the rules without being caught. However, the best cheats require help. Whenever a Gambler plays a game of chance with another Gambler with this skill within earshot, he gains an additional +1 to games of chance that stacks with Playing the Odds.

Pointless End
Wanderer 1
Cost: Passive
A true Master Gambler will bet anything in the pursuit of winning. Nothing is truly sacred; even the Gambler's life. That said, a true Gambler has been said to embrace true death. Whenever an ally dies in a death duel, a Gambler can choose to die in the ally's place, revealing the entire events up to said event to all be part of an elaborate master plan (even if it's only the Gambler taking the participant's place).

Roulette Draw
Wanderer 1
Cost: 3
Gamblers have numerous unusual weapons. The Roulette Revolver is one of them. This attack normally does 5 damage with a 10 square range. However, should the Gambler roll a natural roll of 12, the damage on the attack will double again after applying the x2 multiplier to the attack's critical damage.

Level 2

Chaos Bullet
Wanderer 2
Cost: 4
Gamblers have learned from Gunnars and Alchemists a couple of tricks in the development of their techniques. Gamblers have gone where neither faction will go and have attempted to harness chaos itself as a weapon. When this bullet is loaded into a weapon and fired, roll 3 six-sided dice for the damage. It has 8 range.

Raise the Odds
Wanderer 2
Cost: Variable
The Gambler knows how to raise the stakes to get more bang for his buck on his attack. Whenever attacking an opponent with an effective dodge higher than the gambler's to hit, but before awesome points are spent, calculate the difference. The Gambler can choose to spend 5 more life for each point of difference. If the attack hits, it does double the life sacrificed extra on the attack.

Point Man
Wanderer 2
Cost: Passive
Gamblers often let others run in front of them to create a distraction. When an ally goes before the gambler in combat, they can voluntarily take a -2 on their to hit against a target to give the Gambler a +1 to hit that target on their attack in that same turn. Ally must have at least an effective 3 to hit against the target for this to work.

Level 3

Walk the Line
Wanderer 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
The Gambler knows how to manipulate his weapons for greater accuracy and damage, but this advantage comes with a high rate of failure. Whenever a Gambler spends an awesome point, he rolls 1 d6 dice instead of two. Whatever this one dice rolls, the result doubles (So, a 2 becomes a 4, and a 5 becomes a 10). If the player chooses to re-roll, this effect only effects the first roll. An additional awesome point will need to be spent to apply this to a re-roll. However, a rolling a 1 or 6 does count as rolling a natural roll of 12 or 2.

Ro Sham Blow!
Wanderer 3
Cost: 6
Wanderers use unpredictable motions to throw their opponents off guard. However, these moves, when seen through, are easy to block. When hitting with this attack, play a game of rock paper scissors with the target. On a win, this attack does 30 damage. On a loss, this attack does 0 damage. On a tie, this attack does 15 damage.

Nine In Ten
Wanderer 3
Cost: 6
The Gamblers understand that with great gain comes great risk. This attack hits a target from 8 squares away at a +2 to hit for 20 damage. However, if this attack misses, the attacker takes the full damage of the attack himself.

King of Clubs
Wanderer 3
Cost: Passive
The Gambler is a master of matching and upping the ante. When a Gambler is attacked by an opponent, if he can match the raw damage of the attack with an attack of his own on the next, then the gambler automatically gains 7 damage on that attack as long as the person that attacked the Gambler is one of the targets.

Royal 10's
Wanderer 3
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Some Gamblers can rise to the occasion and pull off levels that border on human perfection. When a Gambler activates this ability at the beginning of a turn, one of his raw attribute scores is treated as a 10 for the remainder of the turn (no life gain from Will or Body). However, during this time, the Gambler does half damage and takes double damage.

Level 4

Monetary Storm
Wanderer 4
Cost: 12
Every decision in life is a coin flip, but the Gambler takes this a bit too literally and fires a barrage of coins at his foe. For every point in Will that the Gambler has, fire 1 coin. For every one that comes up heads, this attack does 5 damage. Combine all the damage of all the coins as if it was one attack. So, a result of 4 heads would do 20 damage. This attack has a range of 8 squares.

Queen of Hearts
Wanderer 4
Cost: 12
Love is cruel and love is kind. So is Lady Luck. What is beneficial one minute becomes a crutch the next. Hitting the very life vein of an individual can lead to newly found life or newly found death. Whenever a Gambler uses this attack, flip a coin, if heads, this attack does 25 damage to the target. If tails, it heals 25 life instead. This attack has 8 range and cannot be used to revive unconscious allies. It CAN be used on the Gambler.

Play to Your Strengths
Wanderer 4
Cost: 10
Gamblers know how to play to their strengths, but this comes at the cost of taking bigger hits when they fail. By using this ability, the Gambler doubles their bonuses to dodge (anything that's not their raw agility score) until their next turn. However, they take double damage when hit.

Jack of Diamonds
Wanderer 4
Cost: 15 Life
The more money a person has, the more they have to lose. The Gambler knows how to use this to destroy their victim. Roll precision. If this attack hits. Do 15 damage for every item a character has on their person that gives an ability or bonus to the character.

Even the Playing Field
Wanderer 4
Cost: Passive
Gamblers are masters of using weaknesses as strengths. Because of this, high level Gamblers have learned to use staggering odds against them in their favor. A Gambler with this ability gains a +1 to all combat rolls when he or she is the last one left on his side in combat.

Level 5

There is no Luck, Only Skill!
Wanderer 5
Cost: Variable Awesome Points
The motto of the Gambler, the Gambler that takes to motto completely to heart has the skill and brains to manipulate fate itself. Whenever ANYONE spends one or more awesome points on an action, the Gambler can spend double the awesome points spent to negate the action the awesome points were spent for. However, the awesome points the original character spent are still spent. Furthermore, once spent, that character can not spend action points for that kind of action until their next turn. So, if the character was using an awesome point to gain a +2 to hit or 10 life, they would lose that benefit and would be unable to spend an awesome point to regain life or a bonus to hit until their next turn. Should this be used to negate an attack, the targeted player merely does not attack that turn. Their gun misfires or some other horrible trick of the Gambler goes off.

Double or Nothing
Wanderer 5
Cost: Passive
Gamblers are masters of unlikely gambits. Every time a Gambler uses awesome points for anything, he can flip a coin. If he or she can call the result, the effect of the awesome point expenditure doubles. For attacks, this doubles the number of targets effected. The Gambler can continue to double the effect after the first coin flip as many times as they wish by continuing to call coin flips correctly. Calling a coin flip incorrectly cancels the initial awesome point expenditure completely but still spends the initial awesome point investment. For attacks, this cancels the attack and skips the Gambler's attack action. The maximum +6 bonus to hit still applies on this ability, but all other uses are fair game. This can also be used when using an attack or awesome point ability that requires more than 1 awesome point. By spending half of the required points for the attack or ability to go off (round up), the character can gamble on the attack going off. If they fail the coin flip, the attack fails. If it succeeds, the attack goes through without a hitch.

Ace of Spades
Wanderer 5
Cost: 4 Awesome Points
The ultimate Gambler is willing to make the ultimate gamble. Whenever a Gambler uses this attack, roll precision to hit a target that the Gambler can perceive. If this attack hits, flip a coin. If the Gambler calls it successfully, the target is instantly rendered unconscious for the rest of the day. If the unsuccessful, the Gambler suffers the fate instead. If used in a death duel, the result is death for the loser of the Gamble.

Wildcard
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
When writing down his attack during the Gambler can choose to write down any number of attacks. However, for every level 5 attack, the Gambler must write down a level 1 attack, and for every level 4 attack, the gambler must write down a level 2 attack. Pick a number for each attack. When attacking a target, the target picks one of the numbers. Whichever number the target picks is the attack that the player uses. However, the cost of the attack is halved for the Gambler (round down). This includes awesome point costs.

Royal Flush
Wanderer 5
Cost: 1 Awesome Point
Life is like a game of cards. The Gambler can manipulate a battle like he can a hand of cards. For this attack, use a deck of cards (players should supply this for their GM's). Roll precision to hit first. If the attack hits, the Gambler plays one hand of Poker with the Jokers in the deck (draw five cards, discard once). If the character has an agility of at least 5, they "hide 1 card up their sleeve" and draw 6 cards to make a hand of 5 cards. If they have an agility of 9, they can draw 7 cards to make a hand of 5 cards. Depending on the hand, the player does damage as noted below:
Nothing: 1
High Card Jack or Higher: 2
One Pair: 5
Two Pair: 10
Three of a Kind: 20
Straight: 40
Flush: 60
Full House: 100
Four of a Kind: Instant KO
Straight Flush: Instant KO and Gain 2 Awesome Points
Royal Flush or Five of a Kind: Instant KO and Gain 6 Awesome Points

Most Boss Monsters are immune to Instant KO. In this case, do 150 damage for an instant KO.

Royal Sevens Cut
Wanderer 5
Cost: 20
The well-versed Gambler has learned to fully envelop himself in chaos and release a potentially devastating attack. The closer he reaches the heart of chaos and luck itself, the more this attack does. This melee attack is very special. If the unmodified roll for this attack is a 7, the attack does 50 damage. For every number the dice roll is away from 7, decrease the damage by 5. So, an 8 does 45 damage while a 12 and 2 do 25 damage each. Note: if an awesome point is spent to crit on a 12, the attack only does 50 damage.