Three Dragon Ante How To Play

Three-Dragon Ante was a card game played in many taverns across Faerûn, including Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate in the late 15^th century DR.^[3] ^[4] Played across all levels of society, the game was sometimes called copper dragons or three-copper when played by peasants, as well as golds or plats when played by adventurers and aristocrats.^[1]

1 Description
2 Cost
3 History
4 Reputation
5 Appendix
- 5.1 Notes
- 5.2 Appearances
- 5.3 External Links
- 5.4 References

The dedicated deck of Three-Dragon Ante consisted of eighty cards. Of those, seventy were standard dragon cards, divided in ten suits of seven cards, each representing one type of chromatic or metallic dragon. The remaining ten cards depicted other types of creatures, which included stronger dragon cards, draconic deities such as Bahamut and Tiamat, and non-draconic creatures, collectively called "mortals" in the game. The many existing variants of the game mainly differed in the choice of those additional cards.^[5]

The game consisted of rounds called "gambits" that involved betting and building sets of cards that competed with one another. The first phase of the gambit was a round of betting, or "ante", when players placed bets determined by random card draws on the stakes at the center of the table. It then proceeded to the second phase, when players took turns in placing cards in front of them to form "flights". At the end of three rounds, the player with the strongest flight collected the stakes. In addition, certain cards granted special moves whose effects could shape a single play or the dynamics of the entire gambit.^[6]

In the late 15^th century DR, a set of Three-Dragon Ante was typically sold for 1 gp.^[2]

In the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR,^{[note 1]} Renaer Neverember played a few rounds of Three-Dragon Ante with Floon Blagmaar at the Skewered Dragon shortly before they were kidnapped by the Zhentarim.^[3]

The game was popular across all social classes. The main difference was the type of currency employed in the ante. Peasants and farmers usually played for copper pieces, while merchants and artisans favored betting silver, and adventurers typically played with gold or even platinum.^[1]

By the Year of Twelve Warnings, 1494 DR,^{[note 2]} the Elfsong Tavern in Baldur's Gate kept a chest filled with popular games such as Dragonchess and Three-Dragon Ante, for the use of its patrons.^[4]

The game was also popular among the Zhentarim, who often played it during their free time.^[7]

Notes

↑ Canon material does not provide a year for the events described in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, but Christopher Perkins answered a question via Twitter and stated the year was 1492 DR. Corroborating this, Dragon Heist page 20 refers to events of Death Masks (set in 1491 DR) as being "last year". Unless a canon source contradicts this assertion, this wiki will use 1492 DR for events related to this sourcebook and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (which is referenced on pages 5 and 98 of Dragon Heist).
↑ Canon material provides two distinct dates for the events described in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus: the adventure itself, described in chapters 1 through 5, takes place "fifty years" after 1444 DR (1494 DR), according to events mentioned in pages 7 and 47, while the Baldur's Gate Gazetteer describes the city as of 1492 DR (p. 159). It is possible that the designers made an approximation for "fifty years", even though it is stated in an infernal contract. The lead writer for Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus later confirmed that the adventure takes place in 1492 DR, and the sequel to the adventure, Baldur's Gate III, also claims that the current year is 1492 DR in multiple places.

Appearances

Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

External Links

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon.

Three-Dragon Ante article at Wikipedia , The Free Encyclopedia.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Rulebook included in (September 2019). Designed by Rob Heinsoo. Three-Dragon Ante: Legendary Edition . Wizkids, p. 15.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Christopher Perkins, James Haeck, James Introcaso, Adam Lee, Matthew Sernett (September 2018). Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7869-6625-7.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Adam Lee, et al. (September 2019). Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Edited by Michele Carter, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7869-6687-5.
↑ Rulebook included in (September 2019). Designed by Rob Heinsoo. Three-Dragon Ante: Legendary Edition . Wizkids, pp. 4, 14.
↑ Rulebook included in (September 2019). Designed by Rob Heinsoo. Three-Dragon Ante: Legendary Edition . Wizkids, pp. 3, 6.
↑ Christopher Perkins, James Haeck, James Introcaso, Adam Lee, Matthew Sernett (September 2018). Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7869-6625-7.