(A) Testing – d20, 2d10, 3d6
This is archival material from previous blog
How would I want to resolve risky, uncertain moments in gameplay? How to design resolution mechanics – probably being the most used element of mechanics – and incorporate it in all modes of play? Well, we have one very well playtested option already rooted in many RPGs – roll d20.
If there is such option why even contest it? Why not go that way? For starters there are no universally good mechanics for every system. Although it is used in many, many systems it is certainly flawed at least for my needs. D20 is swingy. This +1 is not gonna make that much difference if you’re not testing everything like crazy. Also critical chance is huuuge – statistically every 10th roll is either critical miss or critical success. When I listen to podcasts I’m always like “yeah, criticals are fun and shit but it happens every time they roll. Every encounter has at least one critical”. And I’m hearing 5e fans complaints already “But there are no critical failures and ability checks cannot generate crits at all” and I’m like “Yeah, RAW it isn’t. But people somehow interpret it as they do, THAT’S ANOTHER SET OF PROBLEMS TO ADDRESS”.
I want reliable tests. I want criticals to be something very special. I want players to feel their characters growing competency with each bonus and also that they cannot be wiped out by few enemies crits. Or need for GM to fudge rolls. So what are our choices? I chose 3d6 and 2d10. It has to be somewhat compatible with rest of OSR after all.
Lets make few comparisons.
Criticals! – roll either maximum or minimum on the dice.
– D20 – you have 10% of rolling something wacky. For me it is good if you have a DnD comedy podcast about a group of dads from our world etc. or
Hard Test! – roll 15 or more without any bonuses D20 – reliable 30%. You can easily count it during game time, it is a relatively high chance. It’s like the thing I didn’t like in Savage Worlds, where there wasn’t that much difference between a noob and a master in given activity. D10s – considerable 21%. Still stable, but only once out of five tries get’s you there. D6s – destroying 9%. You know it’s a gamble when you try.
Easy Test! – roll 10 or more but you have a bonus +3 D20 – usual 65%. Not much of a change in terms of chance to do this. +3 equals +15%. D10s – pleasing 79%. If you’re an expert there is a small chance of failure. +3 equals +29%. D6s – destroying 84%. It is clearly visible who is professional. +3 equals +34%!
Middle Four! – let’s check how much % of rolls will be decided by rolling middle results (in other words how reliable are PCs skills) D20 – whoooping 20%. You need to be reaaaaaaaally good at something to make a difference. D10s – middle 36%. Knowing something and being totally ignorant is going to mean a little. D6s – breaking 48%. Almost half of rolls will be decided by your +/- to given ability, which makes even +1 worth almost as much as +3 in DnD. +2 can make as big difference as +5 in DnD. This is huge!
Results In the end it’s just math. I got way more data about these rolling systems than presented here. But that’s not that important. I did it to get to know few things. How much bonuses will change? What is a lot? How easily portable would it be to other OSR games? And the final verdict is… I DON’T KNOW! On one hand 3d6 is mathematically pleasing, you know each +1 is gonna make significant change and there is not much of a tinkering with it. On the other hand how to really make characters different? And how hard would porting other OSR materials be? I feel like it could get stale pretty easily. And 2d10? First the material problem – d10s in combined sets are sold as d10 and d100 which is estetically awful when you have to add them. Also they are not as popular as d6s. But on the other hand they don’t destroy other OSR modules with this. And you can tinker more with +1/-1 modifiers without throwing out balance.
I’m sure about one thing. D20 is not gonna stay here. I remember playing some system and we all joked around “I roll nat 20, rocks fall and main villain dies” because we rolled it so frequently and felt it was resolving a lot of problems randomly. I’m sure about one other thing. I understand now why characters with 14 strength are considered inhumanely strong in GURPS. I think overall I understand GURPS way more now. Still probably not gonna use it though. But it’s a nice thought.
But I have to say I lean to 2d10 lightly.