Hard Sell: Negotiation game and system-agnostic module

Hard Sell is a negotiation game for 2-3 players that takes less than 10 minutes to play. It is a standalone game that can also be used as negotiation mechanics inside any larger game.

Sell. Buy. Negotiate.

To play Hard Sell you will need:

• a device with internet access
• a six-sided die (d6)
• a standard deck of cards shuffled with the jokers removed

How it works:

One player is the SELLER, the other is the BUYER. An optional third player can be the ARBITER. The SELLER attempts to sell a book about a random topic to the BUYER at above market value (the value is determined by drawing cards), while the BUYER tries to negotiate a lower price. Negotiation involves improvisation and rolling dice with the final price being established by eliminating cards.

Use this as a negotiation module:

Hard Sell is the perfect module for giving players a way to negotiate the sale or trade of high-value items in a narratively interesting way. The pamphlet includes rules for adapting it as a module that can be used in any TTRPG system.

The download is formatted in a tri-fold pamphlet and is available in A4 and US letter sizes.

You can use these negotiation mechanics as published, or use them as a system reference document (SRD) to create something new. You're welcome to use and adapt Hard Sell in any project of your own, even commercial ones. If you do, please provide attribution to Hugh Lashbrooke and a link back to this page with the following text:

• Negotiation rules from Hard Sell by Hugh Lashbrooke

You can also comment on here with a link to your game that uses it, and I'll add it to this page as a reference.

Hard Sell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyright © Hugh Lashbrooke. You may use, copy, share, and modify for any use, so long as you provide attribution to Hugh Lashbrooke.