Boltan Card Set

“Let’s see your cards.”
-Alrik of Kilnground, rogue, 1038 FB

No other card game is as popular as boltan, sometimes called Five Aces, and travelers can often encounter a game in progress in any pub or tavern in Aventuria. The game normally uses the 72 elemental cards from an Inrah deck. Cards represent the six elements (Fire, Water, Air, Ore, Humus, and Ice). Each element has a set of seven cards numbered from 1 to 7, plus five picture cards (Squire, Knight, Fortune Teller, Mage, and Prince).

To win, one must be good at bluffing and Phex-pleasing, skillful betting. The player with the best card hand wins. Variants of the game, such as Hidden Five or Five from Seven, are popular in different regions. Rules for such variants sometimes differ considerably from the standard game.

Boltan cards can be made from quite different materials. Cloth and wood, hardened with glue, are common materials. The Horasian Empire usually makes them out of paper. Pictures are not required on so-called picture cards and many are simple and unadorned, using only symbols and numbers. Expensive editions feature detailed, hand-painted color portraits. Affluent patricians and nobles prefer to play with such decks and are willing to commission great artists to produce works of beauty. Marked cards exist for those who prefer to cheat, and while such decks are expensive, and strict punishments await cheaters, the lure of winning is so strong that some rogues still try it.

One variant of the game uses dice instead of cards, though this version is far less popular.

“The cards made from cloth usually consist of multiple layers, but they always fall apart on me. I prefer the more expensive paper cards.”
—Carolan Calavanti, Vinsaltan vagabond

“You’re only interested in whether they are marked.”
—Arbosh son of Angrax, forge dwarf master smith

“Well, marked cards do have their advantages, but I can beat you easily, even without a marked deck.”
—Carolan Calavanti, Vinsaltan vagabond

“Then let’s find out tonight if you really do have the favor of the fox god, like you claim. We’ll even play for ducats this time. What do you say?”
—Arbosh son of Angrax, forge dwarf master smith