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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Votan" data-source="post: 5165432" data-attributes="member: 18680">True, but I think that the issue also involves synergy.  For example, there are powers that involve infliciting a penalty to hit (Psions, for example) that are low level and easy to use.  In the d20 version of the game, a -4 penalty is harsh but still leaves a functional opponent (say if it was hitting on 11+, moving to 15+ is a serious hit but still leaves it as a threat).  In 3d6, the same numbers might very well create a helpless opponent.  With 3d6 you are shrinking the variance of every action as well as the whiole fight.  All fights will show a normal distribution due to the number of separate rolls that are made (at least so long as you believe in the Central Limit Theorem).  Further reducing variance moves the game away from one of chance (as odds of an upset became miniscule) and towards rock, paper, scissors (do you have the right power versus the right weak spot to guarentee victory).  A 3d6 approach works much better in games like GURPS where a fight could be settled by a single hit (due to the penalties, equal to damage IIRC, that the victim takes the next round).  So there you want to make sure that luck doesn't dominate because fights are over fast.  In a modern world version of GURPS, I recall a rifle that does 7d6 damage (hit points are an ability score with a normal person having 10 and exceptional peopel having 18) that could be used for called shots to the head -- if a character with a gun skill got to aim and fire in any sort of clear setting the opponent was simply dead with a single shot.  Here you want to reduce variability because so much depends on one roll.In 4E, by contrast, there are a lot of rolls.  And a lot of penalties.  All of which were calibrated on a d20 scale.  In 3E the real killer was saving throws -- high saves turned into immunity (you could never miss them) and low saves turned into hopeless situations.  Even worse, spell DC boosts became exceptionally deadly as did targeting a low save.  I think that the 3d6 approach does a lot of damage to the assumptions of the system . . .</blockquote>

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