GAME
RULES
20-Sided Dice Game
Created by Justin Ware & Matthew Lillard. © 2025 Find Familiar Spirits

In the days before the first Thieves Guilds, before local leaders brought varying clans and disassociated outlaws together, disputes were settled through a brutal game known as BRAVE OR KNAVE. Given the stakes, the challenge was not made lightly– only in matters of honor where no other choice remained.

What were the stakes? Not lives; for cutthroats such as these, life was cheap. No, the stakes were the thief’s most important tool: their hand.

When a player lost a round, the penalty was… a finger. In theory, games could last as long as a player had willpower, pain tolerance, and remaining digits, but most thieves usually gave up after one or two lost fingers, yielding both in the game and the matter of honor. (If you emerged unscathed, well, then, that was the gods favoring you, and your victory was considered fair and sound.)

Thankfully, that barbaric version has been retired (except in the most reprehensible of establishments), but its spirit lives on in a bar game of chance, drink, and swagger.

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NPC

REQUIREMENTS TO DO BATTLE

  • A single 20-sided die
  • 4-6 friends (or enemies)
  • An iron constitution

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

  1. Choose a Thieves Guild Name. Use only these names during the game.
  2. Pick a Personal Number from 2 to 19. Each number may only be selected by one player.
  3. Each player begins with five fingers, representing your lives. (If your species has fewer than 5 fingers, or none at all, you can track your lives via the letters of K-N-A-V-E.)
  4. Roll for initiative. (For unfamiliar apprentices, that means select who goes first.)
 

HOW THE GAME UNFOLDS

Upon Your Turn:

  1. Roll the die. Witness the result. If your environ is crowded or the firelight low, call it aloud.
  2. If the result is not a Special Number (see below), the other players must shout either:
    a. BRAVE (if they believe they can roll higher), or
    b. KNAVE if (they believe they can roll lower)
  3. The first player to shout BRAVE or KNAVE wins the next roll.
    a. If two or more players speak in unison, the original roller decides who gets the honor. The original roller has final determination of who spoke first.
    b. If no one shouts within 3 knocks on the table, the original roller chooses one player to roll, and also declares whether they must roll higher (BRAVE) or lower (KNAVE) than the original number. (So make alliances wisely, for this assignation can either be a cruelty, or a gift.)
  4. The challenger rolls the die.
    a. If they succeed (e.g. they called BRAVE and roll higher), they’re safe. The game continues off that roll (so don’t delay your call!).
    b. If they fail, they lose a finger (aka one of their 5 lives). That round is over and that player rolls anew to start the next round.
    c. If that was the player’s last life and they’re out, the next clockwise player takes over the die.
 

SPECIAL NUMBERS

  • 1 – GRAVE: Sorry, friend, you are instantly dead no matter how many fingers you have left. (Others, feel free to yell it out.)
  • 20 – STAVE: Huzzah! Every player but you loses a finger. You roll again.
  • Personal Number: If someone’s personal number is rolled:
    • That player immediately takes control of the die.
    • They choose who rolls next and whether that roll must be BRAVE (higher) or KNAVE (lower).
    • Strategy tip: When choosing your number, select one like 3 or 17 if you want to force a difficult save, or 10 or 11 if you prefer the odds to be more even. In essence: how insidious do you want to be? (The personal number 2 is called Severn’s Noose for this very reason, since it’s a no-win situation for a challenger – but choosing it means embracing the villain role.)
 

OTHER VITAL RULES TO KNOW

  • Repeat Rolls: If a challenger rolls the same number as the original roller, the die "bounces back.” The original roller must now roll BRAVE or KNAVE based on the previous call.
  • Challenge Roll Meets a Personal Number: If someone rolls a Personal Number during a challenge, they still succeed or fail based on the BRAVE or KNAVE call. However, the owner of the Personal Number still takes control for the next turn.
 

LOSING FINGERS (AND WINNING THE GAME)

  • VERY IMPORTANT: Once you lose a finger, you can no longer roll with that finger and you must grip the die only with the fingers that remain.
  • After you’ve lost all 5 fingers, you’re out.
  • The last player with remaining fingers wins. Honor is restored. Celebrate your good fortune with a toast!
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LOCAL VARIATIONS

  • THE WITCHREST SHROUD: In the town of Witchrest, players can call for a Shroud, where a roll is done under a cupped hand. The player calling for a Shroud must then choose Brave or Knave without knowing the number that’s been rolled. The number is then revealed. If their roll succeeds, they can dole out three lost fingers however they choose – but if they fail, they lose three of their own.
  • THE NINE SISTERS: In honor of the nine sisters who founded the City of Sisters. In their local guild if you roll a 9, any player can call a third choice: HEAL. If they then roll under a 9, they are immediately healed back to a complete hand – but if they roll over a 9, they lose all remaining fingers and are out of the game. (This is typically done only as a last resort when a player is almost out.) If they roll a nine they roll again. 1 and 20 still play as normal – with a 20, they are still out, but everyone else loses a finger too.
  • ADD YOUR OWN! What variations have you played in your local tavern or Guild Hall? Let us know!

KEEP THE GOOD TIMES ROLLING

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