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<blockquote data-quote="arscott" data-source="post: 2803733" data-attributes="member: 17969">Will, that sounds more like a kept dice system, wherein multiple dice are rolled and the result is the sum of the numbers showing on one or more of the highest dice.&nbsp; The &quot;3 dice that need to roll over a 3&quot; sound more like a dice pool system (aka success system), wherein multiple dice are rolled and the result is the number of dice showing a certain result or better.The first system is nice because it can create interesting probability curves, where the range of results depends on the number of dice you keep, but the chances of getting different numbers within that range depend on how many dice you discard.The problem with the second system, is that it takes a whole bunch of extra dice to get a result that can just as easily be arrived at by the kept dice system or straight xdx rolls, but takes more dice and more math to do so.Consider the following:A conflict resolution system uses the following method:&nbsp; Roll four 4-sided die.&nbsp; A roll of 1-3 is a failure, and a roll of 4 is a success.&nbsp; Total the number of successes and compare to a target number.Here's the likelyhood of each result using the dice pool system:0 sucesses- 42.1875%1 sucess- 31.640625%2 sucesses- 21.09375%3 sucesses- 4.6875%4 sucesses- .390625%Now compare it to this kept dice system:Roll two 4-sided die.&nbsp; Keep the lower result and compare it to a target number.Here's the likelyhood of each result using the kept dice system:result of 1- 43.75%result of 2- 31.25%result of 3- 18.75%result of 4- 6.25%If you simply add one to your target number, you can easily swap out the kept dice system for the dice pool system.&nbsp; You use half the dice, and the calculation is much simpler.&nbsp; To me dice pools seem like a half-baked attempt to make the system seem more unique or interesting than it actually is, or possibly an attempt to make extra cash by encouraging people to buy official Vampire: The Masquerade dice sets.&nbsp; Either way, I'm not impressed.Of course, I haven't actually seen Burning Wheel.&nbsp; Those mechanics might be different.&nbsp; This is just my rant at dice pool systems in general.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="arscott, post: 2803733, member: 17969"] Will, that sounds more like a kept dice system, wherein multiple dice are rolled and the result is the sum of the numbers showing on one or more of the highest dice. The [I]"3 dice that need to roll over a 3"[/I] sound more like a dice pool system (aka success system), wherein multiple dice are rolled and the result is the number of dice showing a certain result or better. The first system is nice because it can create interesting probability curves, where the [I]range[/I] of results depends on the number of dice you keep, but the chances of getting different numbers within that range depend on how many dice you discard. The problem with the second system, is that it takes a whole bunch of extra dice to get a result that can just as easily be arrived at by the kept dice system or straight xdx rolls, but takes more dice and more math to do so. Consider the following: A conflict resolution system uses the following method: Roll four 4-sided die. A roll of 1-3 is a failure, and a roll of 4 is a success. Total the number of successes and compare to a target number. Here's the likelyhood of each result using the dice pool system: 0 sucesses- 42.1875% 1 sucess- 31.640625% 2 sucesses- 21.09375% 3 sucesses- 4.6875% 4 sucesses- .390625% Now compare it to this kept dice system: Roll two 4-sided die. Keep the lower result and compare it to a target number. Here's the likelyhood of each result using the kept dice system: result of 1- 43.75% result of 2- 31.25% result of 3- 18.75% result of 4- 6.25% If you simply add one to your target number, you can easily swap out the kept dice system for the dice pool system. You use half the dice, and the calculation is much simpler. To me dice pools seem like a half-baked attempt to make the system seem more unique or interesting than it actually is, or possibly an attempt to make extra cash by encouraging people to buy official Vampire: The Masquerade dice sets. Either way, I'm not impressed. Of course, I haven't actually seen Burning Wheel. Those mechanics might be different. This is just my rant at dice pool systems in general. [/QUOTE]

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