So then we need to gamble around a little bit to get enough for the stake. Rand has no issue going for an all or nothing gamble here; the Gran has the skill (even if he's not great) and I've got the Force.
"Let's do it, then," Rand says.
Does he not have enough for the initial stake as it stands currently?
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I also just watched the Twilight Zone episode "Prime Mover." It has a guy with telekinesis cheating at gambling by changing the results on dice games and roulette tables.
Alas, charming or not, it is time I called this first day of gambling to a close! The games in the sophisticated part of the casino are shitting down for the night, leaving just the populist stuff down below.
I'll let Azarl finish his conversation via flashback though. Your target wants to know how exactly you can make him win- this is tricky as, unlike Rand, you've not demonstrated anything.
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Eller was casting stones inside the toilet cubicle. She emerges at this point after gathering them up.
"I will stay on one if the ships tomorrow," she announces, simply.
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I am sure we will muddle through with retinues and what-not as need be. But other things are more vital to think about for the new day:
- Whether you are going to target any other gamblers
- How much seed money you want to raise before the big play. The more you do, the lower the risk on the final move
- What the big play is going to be
- What you are going to do with your sabres
- What are your contingency plans should things reach super-pants status
Assuming that gets relayed to Galder about Eller's 'decision' ...
"Why would that be, little lady?" Galder asks.
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Galder's thoughts on things:
- Yes, we should get another gambler, or Gallador will have to lump in with Rand or Azarl and that might get suspicious. Unless Gallador can prove himself a capable poker player somehow.
- We should raise as much money as we can before the big plays. Rand's already showed that he can win at roulette but Azarl didn't get far with blackjack and Gallador didn't get to do much with poker.
- For the big plays, do we want to just have our gamblers drop everything onto one giant bid?
- So far the talk has been shutting off the lightsabers with Fix-It and hoping they work later. Galder, Azarl, and Xavier were our best Fix-It people at the moment, and we're not that great. We can probably nab guns or other weapons from Merik's security when we get up there.
- Thoughts on the plan? We'll need someone on the outside with the ships so they can swoop in and save the day when we escape from the top of the casino. We need to turn off the anti-air defenses and make it to the roof, if I remember that right.
With Merik alive.
To sum up some issues:
- Gallador found that the poker games are played for fixed rewards, so going for a huge win there is effectively impossible. It's also the most skill based game
- Azarl found big money being blown on New Pazaak, especially in the side bets, but cheating on the side bets will be tricky as they are of no fixed form and can come down to spontaneous last moment bets like 'will player x draw a 5 or higher in a moment?'- though the more common ones are betting on which player will win the next round.
- Obviously Roulette is a huge money draw, especially if you bet on single numbers. But big wins on the wheel are conspicuous.
- Any money you win on other games will be added to your seed. We'll be abstract about it, so the more you do before the big play, I'll just reduce the difficulty of that play.
- What happens to ships left behind depends on circumstances. if the Bureau is involved, abandoned ships are lost.
- Galder remembers correctly; a 'hot pick up' involves you shutting off the air defences. It does also involve someone flying the ships, of course.
Well you only have to get to the ships at the point where a pickup may be needed. It all depends how far you want to risk it. Safest of all is to leave pilots there from the start, but that does indeed reduce your manpower on-site.
The LOWER lower levels have all the things like slot machines and Holographic Super-Pool etc.
My understanding of Star Wars is that proper hyperspace work needs a pilot to navigate; Han might have been over-selling himself a bit but I do think you'll miss Epireus on auto. However, if someone wants to take time out now to go hide your ships somewhere nearby, that's fine. The idea would then be to link up once you get off-world. That also has risks, though the Bureau has never engaged you ship-to-ship so far.
Galder and Xavier will need to decide who between themselves who is going to be piloting. Galder's the better pilot but can use a gun; Xavier lesser but better unarmed. This being kept in mind in case lightsabers don't all switch back on when it comes to it.
I'll leave that up to you two. I do need you both working on turning off the lightsabers.
Azarl- I think you'll need to be present for your gambler when we get up to the top level.
So Ush, am Io t understand that it may be better to go for roulette or Pazaak and not poker, or will it be an additional source of money as well? It makes sense to me to diversify and go for three players in each major game, unless there are some other interesting games that we missed? Do we know what game is played at the top? It may be good idea to try to learn more about it.
Can we do some info gathering during the night phase?
Poker is actually a good way to make your seed money, and it's also very safe as it's never suspicious to win a poker game (someone always wins, after all, whilst big wins at roulette are far more distinctive). The problem is, it's the most skill-based game so it's a risk without the Gambling skill.
Up top, expect the same games as you have had minus the poker, only in a more exclusive setting and for much larger stakes.
If you don't want to sleep, you can work at night, yes.