Three-Dragon Ante

Three-Dragon Ante was a card game played in many taverns across Faerûn, including Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate in the late 15 century DR. Played across all levels of society, the game was sometimes called copper dragons or three-copper when played by peasants, as well as golds or plats when played by adventurers and aristocrats.

Description
The dedicated deck of Three-Dragon Ante consisted of eighty cards. Of those, seventy were standard dragon cards, divided in ten suits of seven cards, each representing one type of chromatic or metallic dragon. The remaining ten cards depicted other types of creatures, which included stronger dragon cards, draconic deities such as Bahamut and Tiamat, and non-draconic creatures, collectively called "mortals" in the game. The many existing variants of the game mainly differed in the choice of those additional cards.

The game consisted of rounds called "gambits" that involved betting and building sets of cards that competed with one another. The first phase of the gambit was a round of betting, or "ante", when players placed bets determined by random card draws on the stakes at the center of the table. It then proceeded to the second phase, when players took turns in placing cards in front of them to form "flights". At the end of three rounds, the player with the strongest flight collected the stakes. In addition, certain cards granted special moves whose effects could shape a single play or the dynamics of the entire gambit.

Cost
In the late 15 century DR, a set of Three-Dragon Ante was typically sold for 1 gp.

History
In the, Renaer Neverember played a few rounds of Three-Dragon Ante with Floon Blagmaar at the Skewered Dragon shortly before they were kidnapped by the Zhentarim.

Reputation
The game was popular across all social classes. The main difference was the type of currency employed in the ante. Peasants and farmers usually played for copper pieces, while merchants and artisans favored betting silver, and adventurers typically played with gold or even platinum.

By the, the Elfsong Tavern in Baldur's Gate kept a chest filled with popular games such as Dragonchess and Three-Dragon Ante, for the use of its patrons.

The game was also popular among the Zhentarim, who often played it during their free time.

Appearances

 * Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
 * Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus