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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8679953" data-attributes="member: 16814">I been kicking this around for awhile, and wanted to talk a bit about why we, as RPG players, roll dice. Not like specific things like attack rolls or skill checks, but one step removed from that – what is the intended purpose of rolling dice at all? To that end, I see three main reasons we roll dice: to use them as a prop, to use them as a prompt, and to disclaim decision-making. I don't think these have to be exclusive (although prop and disclaim have some challenges in getting along) and I certainly don't think all rolls should be one or the other.  And I think that the reason one rolls, even for the same thing, can change.  This isn't meant to say that this kind of roll must be a prompt and that a prop.  It's to just suggest that there are different reasons to roll dice, and what those might be to spur some thinking about how we, individually and collectively, look at how dice are used in play.PropDie rolls that are props are the ones where the actual result doesn’t matter, it’s the appearance of a roll that does. I’ve seen these stated as useful to build tension by asking for rolls that don’t matter but seem like they could, to keep players on their toes. Or to obfuscate important rolls, like asking for multiple meaningless perception checks to disguise the one that matters. Also, rolls become props if you’re fudging (not a dig against fudging, there are other threads for that, but an observation that in order to be fudging, a die roll has to try and look like a prompt or disclaim roll but really is a prop).PromptRolls that are prompts are specifically to provide input to the narrator (GM or player) to help choose what to narrate. These rarely have any fixed values, although there are exceptions, and serve to assist in choosing what to narrate. Examples would be things like random name generators, or personality traits. These aren’t fixed or required outcomes, but can inspire or guide play. An interesting use of the prompts is Ironsworn’s Oracle charts. These are broad suggestions of things that happen that accompany a roll, and you’re suppose to use them to create a specific event that does happen.I think prompt usage is what's most often  paired with other uses. When paired with disclaim rolls, you see this happen when GM’s take very high rolls or very low rolls as inputs into how they narrate results.  I've seen it claimed to be paired with prop rolls, as well, where there's some element of the narration that's decided, but another part that takes inspiration from the roll.Disclaim DecisionsThe main use, in my opinion, of a die roll is to disclaim decision-making. This use is where we use the dice to disclaim the decision – to not have to choose the outcome. There are a few uses within this, ones where a GM might think two or more things are likely to happen and assigns a random chance to each and rolls to find out which does occur to complex mechanics like attacks with associated damage and critical chances. The main thing here is that the dice are used to remove the choice from a player or GM and put it on something impartial. This is very important, especially when bad things are happening.ConclusionThis is just a short post to talk about the meta-reasons we roll dice (or flip cards, or any other randomization method used in a game). I think it’s worthwhile to stop and consider how and why we use dice or mechanics in play; to try to examine what we’re intending to accomplish. Regardless of if you like a certain game theory or hate them all, this really doesn’t belong to any of them. It’s just looking at how and why we use the mechanics. Consider your play, and see if you can identify moments where you’ve used a mechanic as a prop, prompt, or to disclaim decisions. Are there any moments you’ve used a mechanic that’s meant for one as another? Have you combined two of these together? What effect did that have on play? If you feel like it, share the story.</blockquote>

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