When I first saw D&D, I was in my Diplomacy playing phase. That’s a game with no dice, no chance mechanisms at all, but with lots of uncertainty owing to 7 players and simultaneous movement (which can involve guessing enemy intentions). I said, “I hate dice games” and that was it. But not long after (mid-1975), I played D&D at a game convention and loved the possibilities despite the dice.
Can something like Diplomacy’s lack of randomizers be arranged for RPGs? I see an RPG as a microcosm of life, where you try to minimize the times that you have to hope to get lucky (as in life). Inevitably, as with life the game involves much chance. BUT what if you do hate dice games, how do we make a diceless RPG that is a game rather than a story?
When this question came to me I was not familiar with diceless RPGs, but my Twitter correspondents named several. Whether these are actual games (competitions), or storytelling aids, is open to question. I’ve discussed this in detail elsewhere: games involve opposition that may result in failure, as they have for millennia; storytelling aids do not, they’re essentially cooperative and lack failure, though the result may not be particularly satisfying for all. Diceless or even randomless storytelling-aids are not as hard to make as games of this type, because the participants are collectively writing a story and will do it as they wish; the uncertainty comes from the participants alone.
Diceless can mean several things:
Version #3 is easier on the GM, but is otherwise like #2.
Version #2 is the most challenging. Games depend heavily on uncertainty; many things we call games, without uncertainty, are actually puzzles, e.g.: Tic-Tac-Toe, Chess, Checkers, Go, though three of these four are too complex for humans to entirely solve. Notice, the “games” most subject to computer solution are in this category. Computers now play the last three games listed much better than any human. Tic-tac-toe is simple enough that humans can match computers, and the game is always a draw.
Amber: Diceless Roleplay (and its successor Lords of Gossamer & Shadow) is one of the major diceless games, and if you're familiar with Roger Zelazny's Amber series you know that there are innumerable options available to the only characters that really count, the immensely capable royal family, who can shape reality to their will. A diceless system fits the setting, dice would be inadequate.
We also might think about what we’re resolving: combat, “skill checks” (other than combat, which is just a form of skill check that's often separated from the rest) - and what else? Contents of treasures? Number of monsters?
There are ways to avoid dice: in some rules, the number of monsters is more or less set by their Challenge Rating (or something like it). Some games don't use skill checks, preferring to be based on the actions of the player characters. For example, instead of a "negotiation" skill, you judge from the skill of the player to negotiate in the particular situation. I've not seen combat resolved in non-randomized way, but surely someone has come up with a method. You can use battle cards of some kind to avoid using dice, of course, but there's still a randomizer involved.
Likely some of the readers have tried diceless RPGs and can report their experiences.
This article was contributed by Lewis Pulsipher (lewpuls) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. You can follow Lew on his web site and his Udemy course landing page. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
Can something like Diplomacy’s lack of randomizers be arranged for RPGs? I see an RPG as a microcosm of life, where you try to minimize the times that you have to hope to get lucky (as in life). Inevitably, as with life the game involves much chance. BUT what if you do hate dice games, how do we make a diceless RPG that is a game rather than a story?
When this question came to me I was not familiar with diceless RPGs, but my Twitter correspondents named several. Whether these are actual games (competitions), or storytelling aids, is open to question. I’ve discussed this in detail elsewhere: games involve opposition that may result in failure, as they have for millennia; storytelling aids do not, they’re essentially cooperative and lack failure, though the result may not be particularly satisfying for all. Diceless or even randomless storytelling-aids are not as hard to make as games of this type, because the participants are collectively writing a story and will do it as they wish; the uncertainty comes from the participants alone.
Diceless can mean several things:
- No dice are used, but some other randomizer is involved (usually cards)
- No randomizer of any kind is involved
- No randomizer directly involves the players, but randomizers (dice or otherwise) can be used by the GM when setting up (for example, rolling for number of monsters appearing)
Version #3 is easier on the GM, but is otherwise like #2.
Version #2 is the most challenging. Games depend heavily on uncertainty; many things we call games, without uncertainty, are actually puzzles, e.g.: Tic-Tac-Toe, Chess, Checkers, Go, though three of these four are too complex for humans to entirely solve. Notice, the “games” most subject to computer solution are in this category. Computers now play the last three games listed much better than any human. Tic-tac-toe is simple enough that humans can match computers, and the game is always a draw.
Amber: Diceless Roleplay (and its successor Lords of Gossamer & Shadow) is one of the major diceless games, and if you're familiar with Roger Zelazny's Amber series you know that there are innumerable options available to the only characters that really count, the immensely capable royal family, who can shape reality to their will. A diceless system fits the setting, dice would be inadequate.
We also might think about what we’re resolving: combat, “skill checks” (other than combat, which is just a form of skill check that's often separated from the rest) - and what else? Contents of treasures? Number of monsters?
There are ways to avoid dice: in some rules, the number of monsters is more or less set by their Challenge Rating (or something like it). Some games don't use skill checks, preferring to be based on the actions of the player characters. For example, instead of a "negotiation" skill, you judge from the skill of the player to negotiate in the particular situation. I've not seen combat resolved in non-randomized way, but surely someone has come up with a method. You can use battle cards of some kind to avoid using dice, of course, but there's still a randomizer involved.
Likely some of the readers have tried diceless RPGs and can report their experiences.
This article was contributed by Lewis Pulsipher (lewpuls) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. You can follow Lew on his web site and his Udemy course landing page. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
