Golden Goose

Golden goose was a gambling card game popular among mercenaries in the early Second Age. Invented in the tyrannies of Sapphros, it was a game that combined skill and bluffing, often with very high stakes.

Rules

At the beginning of each hand, each player antes a large buy-in that contributes to a central pot, referred to as the goose. Each round, the players draw cards and collect a small payment back from the goose. After three hands are dealt, any player can choose to "kill the goose" and make a play for the complete winnings. They reveal their hand and, if they have the best hand at the table, they kill the goose and claim its winnings. If they don't, they're disqualified for the round, their payout is added back to the goose and play commences with new hands.
Each deck consisted of 54 cards, comprised of four suites of 13 cards each.

• Swords beat Spells; its three face cards were the Sellsword, the Champion and the Strategos.
• Spells beat Spires; its three face cards were the Adept, the Magician and the Archmage.
• Spires beat Ships; its three face cards were the Curtain, the Bastion and the Citadel.
• Ships beat Swords; its three face cards were the Ferryman, the Galley and the Flotilla.

In order to overcome a suite advantage, the card in question must be at least two ranks higher. For example, the Third of Spells beat the First of Swords.
In addition, the deck held two wild cards – the Wyrm and the Worm. The Wyrm in the hand counted as an automatic win, whereas the Worm in the hand counted as an automatic fail.

History

Golden goose was first played in southern Tharzavok – the regions that would eventually become Arqozath – in the early 500s. It was popular among anti-draconic dissidents who called the game "golden goose" as a sly subterfuge about the possibility of killing a draconic overlord and stealing their hoard.
It since expanded in popularity, particularly among traveling merchants and mercenaries, who adapted and house-ruled the game beyond recognition.

Campaigns

The Menagerie

The game was popular among the company's officers. Over the years, they'd customized the game quite a bit, emphasizing the social element and encouraging cheating. One notable change was their swapping of the importance of the Strategos and Sellsword cards.