Rabbie Burns’s Bairns

Merry Burns Night! This 25. January 2026 Scottish National Poet Laureate Robert Burns would have turnt 267 years young! In his brief life, Rabbie penned brilliant verse and sired more than a few illegitimate offspring... 

Overview: This wee game proposes you imagine a few of his gifted offspring as characters to play in the year 1799. Spark vignettes in their lives, then resolve the drama or comedy with a standard pack of playing cards. 

Rules Clarification: The rules are short, therefor highly debatable in-play. Be kind, generous in making rulings at the table. Measure effective rulings by merry consensus and a spirited rhythm of play. You're playing bastards of a famed bard in an age of great upheaval, change... Aye, ok. If I must clarify the rules:

Aces are worth 1.
Jacks are worth  11.
Kings and Queens are worth 12.

What if you draw your character's card, then the card drawn against it is of equal value? Oh, I prefer a greater probability of weirdness in play so would rule the result the equivalent drawing of a Joker.

What are Jokers worth? The answer might be: a magick comes into play. Supernatural forces of all kinds look over a poet's illegitimate issue, so take that as a prompt. For better or worse, your bastard PC o' Rabbie Burns will feel forces beyond their ken move to render aid, lend levity, or otherwise add complications, conditions, and other idiosyncrasies. Make it fun, not mean.

Recommendations: For creative fodder, learn more about Robert Burns, his poetry, late 18th Century Scotland (or further afield into the Scottish diaspora), and Scots (the unique dialect in which Burns wrote.)  Peppering your play with Scots words might liven play. Your table might even consider awarding bonuses, special feats, odd knacks, or quirky conditions for incorporating Scots words or idioms.