Bone Croupier
Level 5Attacks
Abilities
Frequency once per day
Trigger A creature within 30 feet of the bone croupier attempts a check but hasn't rolled the check yet
Effect The bone croupier pulls on the threads of luck that bind all things. The target rolls twice, and then the bone croupier decides which result applies. If the bone croupier chooses the lower roll, this is a misfortune effect; if the bone croupier chooses the higher roll, it's a fortune effect; if they're the same, the croupier decides which trait to apply.
The bone croupier designates an adjacent living creature to roll the bones. The chosen creature finds a pair of dice in its hand and is compelled by fate to roll them; it can and must roll the dice even if its hands are full or it is unable to act. The creature rolls , adding them together to determine the effect.
- •7 or 11 (healing, vitality) The target regains 15[vitality,healing] HP.
- •2, 3, or 12 (void) The target takes 30[void] damage. If the target is Dying, this damage increases its
For many, gambling is just fun and games, but for some, it can become a bad habit or even a life-consuming addiction. Bone croupiers take the meaning of "life-consuming" to its literal extreme. These gamblers' lust for cards and dice couldn't be sated in life, so in undeath they haunt the shadowy corners of gambling halls and continue their search for that next hit of adrenaline.
For bone croupiers, gaming takes on a different flavor; with nothing left to lose, these undead turn their attentions toward others, cajoling and palavering normally casual gamers into committing themselves to ever-higher stakes. Before they know it, these unsuspecting victims have called in decadesold favors and put liens on their homes in the hope of winning back just a fraction of the pot. By then, the bone croupier has already claimed their prize-to this undead chiseler, any earnings are incidental, and the real prize is encouraging others to lose their own.
Bone croupiers often enshroud themselves in thick layers of cigar smoke or voluminous robes to mask their undead nature, but they almost always wear wicked grins at the table. This smile is no ruse or part of their poker face, however-the truth is that bone croupiers truly delight in games, regardless of whether they win or lose, and despite their incredible skills of deception and trickery, most simply can't disguise their unbridled mirth.