Use this skill to earn money through games of chance, including poker, roulette, and betting on horse races. Gamble does not apply to games in which luck is the only factor, such as slot machines or lotteries.

Check: To join or start a game, you must first pay a stake. You set the purchase DC of the stake if you start the game, or the GM sets it if you join a game. Stakes run from penny-ante (purchase DC 4) to astronomical (purchase DC 24). You cannot take 20 when purchasing a stake.

If the stake is within your means (it is equal to or less than your Wealth bonus), you stand no chance of winning any significant amount. You might come out ahead by a few bucks (or a few hundred, or even a few thousand if you're extremely rich), but the amount is not enough to affect your Wealth bonus. Since paying the stake didn't cost you any points of Wealth bonus, you don't lose anything either.

If the stake is higher than your Wealth bonus (before applying any reductions from purchasing the stake), you get a +1 bonus on your Gamble check for every point the purchase DC is above your Wealth bonus.

Your Gamble check is opposed by the Gamble checks of all other participants in the game. (If playing at a casino, assume the house has a Gamble skill modifier equal to the stake purchase DC. Regardless of the stake purchase DC, the house does not get a bonus on its Gamble check for the purchase DC) If there are many characters participating, the GM can opt to make a single roll for all of them, using the highest Gamble skill modifier among them and adding a +2 bonus to the check.

If you beat all other participants, you win and gain an increase to your Wealth bonus. The amount of the increase depends on the difference between your check result and the next highest result among the other participants.

For example, Lily Parrish decides to participate in an evening of gambling. Her Wealth bonus is +9. Of the several blackjack tables at the casino, she chooses one with a stake purchase DC of 14. As a result, she gets a +5 bonus on her Gamble check because the stake purchase DC is 5 higher than her Wealth bonus. She also loses 1 point of her Wealth bonus for purchasing the expensive stake—but she hopes the bonus on her Gamble check will make up for that.

Her check result, including bonuses, is 26. The GM decides to make one check for all the other gamblers. In this case, the house has the highest Gamble skill modifier (14, equal to the stake purchase DC). With the +2 bonus for making a single roll, the house gets a result of 23 on its check.

Lily won the opposed check, but only by 3 points. She gets a Wealth bonus increase of +1, which means she came out even over-all.

Try Again?: No, unless you want to put up another stake.

Special: You can't take 10 or take 20 when making a Gamble check.

A character with the Confident feat gets a +2 bonus on all Gamble checks.

Time: A Gamble check requires 1 hour.