Thia Halmades
First Post
Aye, the 3d6 for dice rolls flat changes the mechanics of the game, to the point where nailing a high number becomes nigh impossible. I'll use a smaller example to illustrate this.
We know from craps (yeah, craps) that the most common solution on 2d6 is 7. There are a total of 7 combinations of the dice which give it to you: 1/6, 2/5, 3/4, 4/3, 5/2, and 6/1. The total number of combinations of 2d6 are 36 (6x6, I ain't typing it out). In the middle of the pack are, de facto, 17 solutions which yield results 6, 7 or 8, or, a 47.2% chance of nailing the middle of the pack.
I'm using a limited example here to prove a point. Your odds of rolling 12? 2.7%. Similarly, your odds of rolling 2 (a pair of ones, or our critical failure), are the same. We know on a d20 that those odds are immutable, so in that sense, the mechanics don't change. You have an equal chance of failing (2.7) or succeeding (2.7). Except on a d20, the odds are 5% each time, not 2.7%. On a 3d6 system, a critical would be three sixes vs. three ones; 1/216, or a 0.46% chance. This completely breaks the math that runs critical chances, and forces all rolls into the center of the pack.
So yes, not only does it reduce the random chance of getting a critical solution, it would require restrucuring the entire die system. The odds I've given are for 2d6; as you add more dice, you swell the curve exponentially; it becomes more and more unlikely to get a result outside of the norm, because each die has a random independent chance, each one is being rolled and counted as a unit (i.e., 7).
The middle of the pack on a 3d6 set is, alternatively, 9, 10 and 11. The middle roll, 10, has the following possible solutions (hold your drink cup): 1/3/6, 1/4/5, 1/5/4, 1/6/3, 2/2/6, 2/3/5, 2/4/4, 2/5/3, 2/6/2, 3/1/6, 3/2/5, 3/3/4, 3/4/3, 3/5/2, 3/6/1, 4/1/5, 4/2/4, 4/3/3, 4/4/2, 4/5/1, 5/1/4, 5/2/3, 5/3/2, 5/4/1, 6/1/3, 6/2/2, 6/3/1. And I may have missed a few. That's 27 solutions, each listed just running up the FIRST NUMBER. I won't go into holding middle numbers static and final numbers static and generating their solutions as well.
That should clear up why I would never go from a d20. That 5% is something my players COUNT on; they're willing to take risks because it's random and because the math is reliable. Changing the system would outright break your mechanics and render the game flat.
LCpt. Thia Halmades
We know from craps (yeah, craps) that the most common solution on 2d6 is 7. There are a total of 7 combinations of the dice which give it to you: 1/6, 2/5, 3/4, 4/3, 5/2, and 6/1. The total number of combinations of 2d6 are 36 (6x6, I ain't typing it out). In the middle of the pack are, de facto, 17 solutions which yield results 6, 7 or 8, or, a 47.2% chance of nailing the middle of the pack.
I'm using a limited example here to prove a point. Your odds of rolling 12? 2.7%. Similarly, your odds of rolling 2 (a pair of ones, or our critical failure), are the same. We know on a d20 that those odds are immutable, so in that sense, the mechanics don't change. You have an equal chance of failing (2.7) or succeeding (2.7). Except on a d20, the odds are 5% each time, not 2.7%. On a 3d6 system, a critical would be three sixes vs. three ones; 1/216, or a 0.46% chance. This completely breaks the math that runs critical chances, and forces all rolls into the center of the pack.
So yes, not only does it reduce the random chance of getting a critical solution, it would require restrucuring the entire die system. The odds I've given are for 2d6; as you add more dice, you swell the curve exponentially; it becomes more and more unlikely to get a result outside of the norm, because each die has a random independent chance, each one is being rolled and counted as a unit (i.e., 7).
The middle of the pack on a 3d6 set is, alternatively, 9, 10 and 11. The middle roll, 10, has the following possible solutions (hold your drink cup): 1/3/6, 1/4/5, 1/5/4, 1/6/3, 2/2/6, 2/3/5, 2/4/4, 2/5/3, 2/6/2, 3/1/6, 3/2/5, 3/3/4, 3/4/3, 3/5/2, 3/6/1, 4/1/5, 4/2/4, 4/3/3, 4/4/2, 4/5/1, 5/1/4, 5/2/3, 5/3/2, 5/4/1, 6/1/3, 6/2/2, 6/3/1. And I may have missed a few. That's 27 solutions, each listed just running up the FIRST NUMBER. I won't go into holding middle numbers static and final numbers static and generating their solutions as well.
That should clear up why I would never go from a d20. That 5% is something my players COUNT on; they're willing to take risks because it's random and because the math is reliable. Changing the system would outright break your mechanics and render the game flat.
LCpt. Thia Halmades
