Part of the Dragonborn Saga - a game anyone can play -
SHARDS: A Game of Imperfect Balance
Shards is a traditional, highly tactile game of random chance, spatial awareness, and push-your-luck strategy. Born as a folk game on the streets and later adopted as a status symbol by high society, the game revolves around reading the unpredictable movement of mismatched, non-linear pieces to navigate a scoring field.
The Components & Scale Boundaries
The Shards (The Dice): The game pieces themselves. They are entirely non-linear and asymmetrical, possessing irregular facets and uneven weight distributions.
The Basics on Size: To maintain ergonomic play, no single piece can be larger than a standard 20-sided die (D20), or 22mm maximum
Street Variant (a spin on "Nine Pieces of Eight"): The original form of the game uses pocket-junk, small weighted pebbles, teeth, buttons, shells, or nails.
Elite Variant: Wealthy players commission master smiths to forge custom shards out of flawless obsidian, semi precious stones, metals, and bone.
The Active Pouch: A player's active game sack can hold up to 50 pieces total, allowing them to curate a roster of different weights and shapes. (Collectors and hoarders may maintain unlimited pieces in their private vaults).
The Hand (7 Max): Regardless of pouch size, a player can never toss more than 7 pieces at one time. Pieces are pulled blindly from the sack by feel, shaken, rattled, or juggled in a closed palm before being cast.
The Board: The Twin Rings
The game is played on a dual-circle mat (ranging from rugged scrap leather to smooth sugar-glossed parchment or beaten felt-fur).
The Outer Boundary: The large, main circle containing the entire playing area.
The Mid-Range Circle (The Target): A second circle positioned just under halfway on the inside of the outer boundary, creating a "doughnut" shape.
-Core Mechanics & Scoring
The ultimate objective of Shards is to accumulate points through consecutive throws without ever crossing a lethal threshold: 100 points is the absolute cap.
The Scatter: The player casts their chosen handful (up to 7 pieces). Because of their irregular shapes, the pieces do not roll cleanly—they skid, hop, and bounce unpredictably across the board fabric.
The Face Value: Each shard features numbers etched into its unique facets. Once the pieces settle, the face-up values are added together.
The Ring Modifiers: The landing zones drastically alter the score, creating a strict risk-versus-reward mechanic:
Inside the Mid-Range Circle: This is the ideal target zone. Every piece that successfully settles here grants a -5 point deduction. This safe zone allows players to bleed off points, lower their score, and survive.
Everywhere Else (Center or Out of Bounds): Any piece that completely misses the mid-range ring hits the penalty zone, slapping a brutal +5 point addition onto the player's score.
-Winning, Melting, and Stakes
The Melt (The Loss): Breaking 100 points in any way (even by a single point) is called a "Melt." The player automatically busts and is knocked out of the game.
The Last Stand: The player who throws last holds the ultimate tactical advantage. If they can execute a controlled throw, balance their ring modifiers, and remain under 100 with the highest score on the board, they win.
Traditional Stakes: Traditionally, the first person to "Melt" automatically loses pieces from their active handful to the winner. A series of losses can completely strip a gambler's pouch bare, forcing them to rebuild their set from scratch.