Can we have a game of cards in EFU which allows characters to bid against each other? In other words each player has a closed/ hidden hand, like poker?

The card game in the Crone doesn't really go this far, and I'd like to be able to play competitively against other characters. I see there used to be a number of games previously associated with the Crone ... did any of them fit this idea?

Taking the concept on a bit more, to make this a more interesting RP experience: It could even work on the basis money changing hands as a barter post-game to pay the winner. A character could also perhaps attempt to cheat each round, using an appropriate skill check, to slip in a card up their sleeve etc. Detection would mean other players could see the attempted cheat (spot check maybe?) This could open up some interesting possibilities ... card tables getting turned over .... fist fight ... you see where this might lead :twisted: Equally a character could build up a reputation as a good card player in the same way as any of us could, without cheating and by knowing when to fold.

I don't know whether this entire scenario could be emulated using the standard dice rolls and a whole lot of RP - I doubt it. However, with a little bit of work we could have a game that pits character against character without the need to knock seven bells out of each other.

*is resigned to fashioning a poker style game from willow twigs and a d20*

It would be cool, yes. But would probably take some time to script. As it's non-critical, the fruition of an idea like this is at the mercy of any of the DMs with sparetime - Something we lack!

An alternative would be to play out the game through one of the many other online card game systems with a consenting player. And then roleplay the results in game.