Grobbik looks over at Judoc to see if he is playing.  After his thoughts on the man a moment ago, he was curious if Judoc had any interest in continuing.  It didn't look like the man was interested in playing from his sullen position on the fringe of the group, So Grobbik turns his attention back to the game.  After a shrug in response to Mariana, and a smile, he responds "That's why they call it Liars Dice.  You have to make an educated guess about what your opponent is doing.  You can't expect to know my habits on the first round, now, can you...?".  Then Grobbik shakes his dice, looks at them, and starts his bidding with "Three 3's".

"

Indrid had been relaxing on the couch, stretched out and laying prone on his back, lazily with one hand behind his head and his feet crossed.  In the other hand is a bottle of halfling wine, a dry red little number, now more than half gone.

During orientation Colt made no bones about his family living a comfortable lifestyle and that surely he would end up in the Hall of Bishops, and after a copious amount of bragging he found himself unexpectedly and embarrassingly in the Hall of Soldiers, along with the riff raff.  He has spent the remainder of the day quietly, and passive aggressively voicing his discontent.

When the offer to gamble is bandied about Indrid has no interest in mingling with the commoners, but the idea of padding his allowance causes him to salivate.  He stands, staggers slightly and wanders to the table, where he takes up a chair and awkwardly places his bottle on the table until it stops wiggling about.  He looks at the others and fights back a scowl.  ”How do you play this ridiculous game again?”  Someone relates the rules and Indrid mumbles through a thin tone of annoyance.  ”Dice.  How quaint.”

Liberally he shakes his cup, meanwhile he drinks from his bottle and almost sends his cup and dice flying.  After checking his roll in secret he offers confidently, ”Six sixes.”
This message was last edited by the player at 05:52, Mon 13 Jan 2014.

Mariana watches as Indrid joins the game amid their game, and although in the beginning she seems a little miffed, as Indrid ads a handful of coin to the ante, she shrugs off the annoyance and simply answers, "Fine Indrid, take Judoc's place, might as well stay at three players anyway."  Without looking at her dice again, Mariana passes the bid forward.  "Seven Fives."

OOC:  Indrid, good to see you up and going!  Hope everything is going along well at home and work.

Having regained his composure, Judoc watches the rest of the round play out.  When Grobbik wins the round, he shakes his head.  He had had hopes for Mariana, thinking that she was better than her gender, but the wily goblin had outwitted her.

"Next game, Grobbik.  You still have to win Mariana's coin first," he says, watching the proceedings with keen interest.  Although he had come here to study magery first and foremost, learning a bit of gaming wouldn't hurt, and it might prove advantageous to someone who had his wits about him.

Grobbik grins at Judoc, nods at Indrid when he joins the game, and then smiles at Mariana.  "In response, he answers Judoc with "What makes you think I won't win her coin now?"  Then he smoothly bids "Seven sixes, and i dare you to bid higher."

The insolent little prick.  Who the hell does this arrogant piece of sea trash think he is?  Indrid is smoldering on the inside, but thankfully, he is not new to the ways of gaming for profit and so the young man shows little of his emotion.  He merely retorts without a peek at his cup.  Smugly he replies, ”Eight...sixes.”

Mariana quirks up an eyebrow at Grobbik as he bids seven sixes, and outright laughs as Indrid bids eight.  "You are a liar this time Indrid."  She lifts her cup, showing only a five, two, and a four.  Indrid lifts his cup, showing three sixes, a five, and a three, and Grobbik adds only two ones, two fives and a six.

Mariana smiles as she reminds Indrid to take two dice out of his cup and the three are off and rolling again.

Mariana peers under the lid of her cup and starts the bidding.  "Three fives."  She starts, looking across at Grobbik, who seems to be raking in the beginner's luck.

OOC:  Configuration for Grobbik - Liar's Dice

Configuration for Indrid - Liar's Dice

Grobbik was starting to like Mariana.  She had an easy laugh, and a good sense of humor.  Even though he was a goblin she didn't treat him any different than the humans in the school.  And, more importantly, she seemed well able to navigate the interpersonal politics of this diverse little group.  Considering the power they already wielded, Grobbik considered that to be a large bonus.  Magic was a fickle thing, and it was best used by someone with an even temper who could think through the ramifications of their behavior.  Even though they were competing against each other in a way, Grobbik considered her an ally.  When she smiles at him, Grobbik smiles back, and responds with "Three sixes."

Indrid sits at the table, one hand lazily gripping his bottle, and now and then he takes a drink, then he absent mindedly wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve.  He scratches an itch on the side of his head before he peers under his cup.  He wrinkles his nose and scrunches his eyes in deep concentration, coming in the game late he miscalculated the number of dice.  Now he adds them in his head...three for himself...three for Grobbik, and five for Judoc?  No wait, Judoc isnt playing anymore, is he?  Or is he?  Does anyone have five still?  Oh damn, why did I drink so much?

”Four fours.”, he says with a defiant smirk.

Mariana eyes both Grobbik and Indrid as they bid, intent on discovering exactly what their rolls were by somehow feeling it out in their eyes.  Were they simply trying to avoid being called out?  Or were they baiting her, and each other into taking a higher position?  Three fives, three sixes, four fours she repeats the bids in her mind before shrugging.  "I trust you Indrid, five fours."

She looks over at Grobbik expectantly, seeing what the player with half the dice on the board would do.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:45, Sun 26 Jan 2014.

Grobbik looks back at Mariana.  She was looking at him intently, probably trying to figure out exactly how many of what dice he had.  He smiled at her disarmingly, saying "That's so sweet, Mariana", before winking at her in a friendly manner.  Then, getting more serious, Grobbik adds to the bidding "Six 2's", before glancing sidelong at the drunk sitting next to him.  He wasn't sure the man was paying attention, so he thought it would be good to prompt him.  "Indrid, it's your turn."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:43, Sun 26 Jan 2014.

Indrid eyes his competitors shrewdly as the game dances around the table, it is a battle of wits.  But not only must these young students use their intellect and guile, their experience at gaming is a keen factor as well and Indrid is willing to bet that neither one has much history behind them.  However being a Colt means he'd been loosing money for years at cards, dice, ponies and almost anything else one can think of.  In fact his uncle Tyrannus was such an avid gambler that it's said the only thing he wont be on is the weather, because its the only thing he cant fix.

Instantly, Indrid knows that...he has to think about this one.  His gut was telling him something but he's had enough to drink that he doesnt currently trust his gut.  So he ponders, first the bid.  Then how many dice each player has.   And finally he weighs the odds of six of one kind.  Mockingly Indrid reaches across the table almost toppling his bottle of dark red wine in the process.  He blurts out, ”Liar.”, as he picks up the goblins cup.

Indrid lifts Grobbik's cup, showing two twos, a one, a five and four.  Mariana smiles herself as she shows a one, three and four.  The last to lift his cup, Indrid collects himself before exposing a three and two fours.  Mariana giggles as she offers the consolation, "Well, at least nobody got hurt that round."  The irony is not lost on Grobbik, who removes two dice from his cup to wind up even with the other two.

Enjoying being back at even stakes, Mariana shakes her cup joyously and peeks under the lid, moving her gaze after a moment to Indrid who still has mirth all about his face from calling the bluff successfully.  "Your bid Indrid, nine dice out."

OOC:  Please do not post your roll in private, as much as I try my best to be a fair GM, It's more realistic for no one to have the answers.  I'll just look back at the dice roll when the bidding stops for my post.
Configuration for the dice roller Liar's Dice
This message was last edited by the player at 05:49, Tue 28 Jan 2014.

Indrid picks up the goblins cup and instantly he smirks.  With only Mariana's dice left the odds of the little green youth winning his gamble are slim, and his hunch is confirmed when the girl shows her dice.  Colt chortles and offers the looser, ”I hope you cast spells better than you lie Grobbik.”, as he adds with a wink.

Before beginning the new game Indrid takes a short draw from his bottle, then with a sniffle he shakes his cup vigorously and peeks underneath.  Casually, he begins confidently.  ”Three sixes.”

Mariana groans inwardly as Indrid makes his initial bid.  "You aren't leaving much room for lying Indrid."  She pauses for a moment, but answers in turn.  "Four fours."  Expectantly waiting as the bid passes to Grobbik.

Judoc follows along with the action, regretting that he's let his temper get the better of him.  It wasn't that Grobbik was intentionally bad-mannered, he considers.  The goblin just wasn't familiar with card game etiquette.  Why, perhaps in other games, everyone just bids as they please.  Perhaps Grobbik would have just kept bidding until he was obviously lying, skipping Judoc every time.  The young mage reflects on this.  Knowing how to take advantage of others' flaws will serve him well in his rise to magical expertise.

He watches the game with interest.  A bit like a dance, actually, not unlike casting spells when it comes down to it.  A probing here, a buffering there.  Always, misdirection, faking out your target.  Perhaps they'll play cards at some point, too.  Oh, Judoc is ready to learn so much.

Grobbik looks at his dice after rolling.  He wasn't very happy with his roll but it had promise.  He could work with it.  As Indrid and Mariana bid, he considered the possibility that there were really four 4's on the table.  That was almost half the dice, and unlikely with only 2 options for success on any dice.  If his numbers were good, 3 of a certain number would be expected.  Four of a number was unlikely, but possible.  As Grobbik thinks about the possibilities, his eyes drift towards the ceiling of the room.  When he brings his eyes back down to the game, Grobbik decides that his best bid would be "Four 5's.  And I cast spells well, which leaves a lot of room for lying."  Grobbik follows his boast by bulging out his eyes, as if he is staring at Indrid, then chuckles to himself.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:49, Mon 10 Feb 2014.

Indrid sits at the table as his mind is only half focused on the game, the other half is firmly back at home drinking in the luxury of his old life.  The parlor was a particular favorite of his.  The beautiful tapestries, the high shelves of books, the fine art and game aplenty.  But the crown jewel of his fathers parlor was the liquor cabinet which Indrid and his friends enjoyed anytime he wished.  Colt loved the raw power of the feeling that he could use his family’s wealth to influence friends, and he didn’t care if the connection was genuine or not, he simply loved having the attention and admiration.  This is part is his irritation with the shlubs in the House of Soldiers.  Few if any seemed to be impressed with his stories or apparent connections and money.

Indrid watches the bidders intently through his mask of almost confident indifference.  When the green skinned goblin looks up Colt takes the bait and decides he is lying.  But instead of calling him on it the testy youth chooses another route.  ”Four sixes.”, he says without lifting his cup.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Mon 10 Feb 2014.

"Liar.". The words burst from Mariana's lips before Indrid is even finished uttering them.  Indrid somewhat confidently reveals a six, six, and four, inflating all the more when Mariana adds a six and two fours.  However, the sly Grobbik can't help but grin to be the reason that Indrid fails, offering a measly five, four, and three.

"You'll find that it is as much about calling a bid that your opponent feels comfortable bluffing over as it is knowing when he is telling the truth, Indrid, and there was no way anyone was bidding five of anything on that round."  Mariana smiles as she covers her dice and shakes her cup again, confidently bidding "Two fives."

OOC:  Indrid removes one more die so these should be the dice roller configurations.
Grobbik Liar's Dice
Indrid Liar's Dice
This message was last edited by the player at 05:52, Sun 23 Feb 2014.

Grobbik shakes his dice under his cup, then cautiously lifts up the rim to look at their faces.  They stare back at him, and for a moment Grobbik's eyes lift towards the sky in thought, before he sits back into his chair.  It's his turn to bid at this point, but Grobbik is lost in thought as he considers how best to use his roll.  His pointy ears twitch briefly while he thinks, before his eyes come back to focus on Mariana.  Raising an eyebrow, Grobbik smirks and asks "Well, aren't we brave, M'lady?  Two whole 5's?  I think we can do a little better than that.  How about three 2's?  That seems like a reasonable bid.  A little riskier, something a little more aggressive considering that's what, almost half the dice out there now?  What do you think, do you have what it takes to go higher...?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:25, Sun 23 Feb 2014.

Coming from wealth Indrid is no stranger to gambling though he could not be confused in any sense with a professional.  His older brother Kollin was one of the Colts who has made more than he lost and he could have a shot at earning a living as a hustler, if he wasn’t already.  Truth be told he hadn’t seen Kollin for three years since the man had dropped out of school to chase women.

Indrid is naturally upset at loosing however the money he's lost is about as insignificant as lint, but loosing to commoners is more irritating to him than the value of the coin.  The young man drinks liberally from his wine bottle which by now is nearly depleted.  He looks around at the faces of his fellow players and deduces nothing.  In short order he looks at his dice, then says grumpily, ”Three fours.”

Mariana smiles as the bid passes around the board, each in their own incrementing the bid slightly.  Things had not progressed as she had hoped, but that did not matter yet, there was certainly more of the game to be played.  "Three fives."  She adds, looking expectantly at Grobbik.

Grobbik smiles to himself.  This was going as he expected.  Turning his head sideways to look at Indred, Grobbik wiggles his head a little bit just in case the man was seeing more than one of him.  You never could tell with people that liked their drink.  Many of them held their liquor well after many years of practice.  He had no doubt that Indred was far less inebriated than he appeared.  Still, they were betting money, and there just wasn't a good reason to leave the man alone.  He chose to be here, so Grobbik could have a little fun with him.  Flashing 4 fingers on his right hand, Grobbik asks the man "Indred, how many fingers am I holding up?  I say four 2's.  What do you think, is that accurate?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:48, Thu 27 Feb 2014.

Indrid has to perform a quick count of the dice around the table, but given the amount of drink in him already, he's having a little trouble being confident of the correct number.  Six?   Seven?  Eight?  Even if its eight or nine, four of something are high odds if not impossible.  Colt smirks and eyes the young goblin skeptically.  ”Liar”.

Mariana looks at Indrid with a half-surprised smirk as he throws out his 'Liar' with no attempt to even feign passing on the buck.  She lifts her cup, showing two threes and a four, Indrid likewise lifts his showing only a five and four.  Grobbik deflates, even with his two ones and a two, he has missed his bid by the narrowest of margins.  Mariana checks the dice again and laughs merrily.  "I'm glad you didn't get suckered into my bluff Indrid, I would have called you on three fives, and it looks like I would have lost."

"Well,"  Mariana beams, "It seems that everything is at least back to normal now, Grobbik and Indrid with two dice, and I have three.  Last round for each of you if you don't make your bids."  Mariana shes her cup gleefully, and checks underneath.  "You start Indrid."

OOC:  Link to the dice roller Liar's Dice