21-KNOCKOUT



              {Necessary Gear}
d4, d12

<[Description]>
A waitress brings out a tray of 4 shots for each player at a table; ale, wine, liquer, hard spirits, or mix thereof. They start an ante, and proceed around the table, each player trying to bully another, a game of chicken to see who gets closest to a score of 21 without going over. On each hand, loser must drink a shot, one of which is spiked with something to signal they have lost; a mild paralytic so they go limp, or a burning potion to steam them up. Play continues until there is one victor remaining to claim the final pot.

~<[Gameplay]>~
  • A minimum & maximum bet are determined.
  • Randomly determine who goes first (highest roll on d12). That player picks another player to "Bully" (attack).
  • The Bully may place an Ante on this hand; if the "Defender" (dealer) does not match it, they immediately forfeit the hand (they must drink). Even if the defender forfeits, the Bully's Ante is added to the pot.
  • The Defender roll's a d12, and it's result is displayed for all.
  • The Bully then begins rolling their d12, adding to the total until they stay, reach 21, or Bust.
  • Once the Bully stays, the Defender rolls their d12 to either score higher than the Bully, or bust.
  • When the hand resolves, the loser must roll a d4. On a 1, they are eliminated from the game. All future rolls then must be re-rolled for successes (eg. if a player has had 2 successes/saves, the results would be as follows~
1: failure
2: success
3: re-roll
4: re-roll
  • The Defender now becomes the Bully for the next hand, and they pick a new Defender. They may not pick any other player that has been a Defender. The original Bully is always the last Defender at the table.
  • Once everyone has played a hand, a roll is made to decide the new starting Bully, and play continues until there is one player remaining, who claims the pot.

[# Exceptions #]
  • 1 on a d12 is a value of 1 OR 11
  • 11 & 12 on a d12 have a value of 10
  • Only a Natural-21 (21 on only 2 rolls) can match a Natural-21
  • In the event of a tie, if both Bully & Defender agree, they can do a "double or nothing round" (without ante's), and loser must drink 2 glasses instead of one. Otherwise, the match resolves with no drinks.

=#[Optional Rules]#=
  • Cards may be used instead of d12's
  • Instead of rolling a d4, the DM may roll which shot is spiked, and the PC gets to choose what to drink
  • FULL SPARES: no shots are spiked & player is only eliminated when they run out of drinks
  • KNOCKOUT BRAWL: Players may freely pick who they bully, regardless of who has previously been picked, even targetting the same player multiple times or going back-and-forth between 2 players.
  • PAY YOUR WAY: If the Defender pays 2x the hand-ante, the hand resolves with no drinks
  • REDEMPTION: on a Natural-21, if player is on their last shot, they get a refill on a glass
  • PUSH-6: if the bully has gotten 6 rolls & not Bust, the Defender MUST roll AT LEAST that many times, or they automatically lose
  • HOLY-7's: if a player has a hand of 777, they have the option to "escape" a hand or ante of their choosing at any time (only once)