D&D 5E Going for 3d6 instead of d20
- Thread starter Horwath
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amerigoV
Guest
d100/5 is the only way to go.
(on a head scratching note, I did see that in an old D&D module one time - a random encounter table where you roll d100/5 to compare to a chart, which of course ran from 1-20).
Just as an aside, have you looked at Dragon Age/Fantasy Age? Its seems it has done all the work for you (essentially D&D using 3d6).
(on a head scratching note, I did see that in an old D&D module one time - a random encounter table where you roll d100/5 to compare to a chart, which of course ran from 1-20).
Just as an aside, have you looked at Dragon Age/Fantasy Age? Its seems it has done all the work for you (essentially D&D using 3d6).
bmfrosty
Adventurer
I would be really interested in seeing a riff on the Rogues "Reliable Talent".
I just don't know the math to really do it.
Maybe have the minimum roll for anything be your level - up to 5, 10 for proficiencies, and 15 for expert talents.
I think it would apply to ability checks. I think you'd have to use another scale for attacks. A 10th level character might never roll anything less than a 19 on attack. Maybe this replaces proficiency.
I just don't have the math.
I just don't know the math to really do it.
Maybe have the minimum roll for anything be your level - up to 5, 10 for proficiencies, and 15 for expert talents.
I think it would apply to ability checks. I think you'd have to use another scale for attacks. A 10th level character might never roll anything less than a 19 on attack. Maybe this replaces proficiency.
I just don't have the math.
tardigrade
Explorer
I'd be in favour of this; the biggest issue I have with 5e is how little difference specialising in a skill actually makes in practice. If I'm a 9th-level bard ('name level' in old-school) with 18 Charisma and proficiency in persuasion, I shouldn't fail at 'moderate' difficulty social interactions (DC15) 30% of the time (<=6), when a first level fighter with no social skills and Cha 10 can succeed at those same checks 30% of the time (>=15). When I'm a player, I'd certainly prefer the skills my character has specialised in to be much more reliable. Knowing in advance that an attempt to sneak past or bluff the guards is almost guaranteed to succeed (but still with a non-trivial chance of failure) would probably make a player more likely to attempt dramatic, non-combat solutions when there are significant consequences for failure (which let's face it is the only time you should be rolling for stuff).
Don't forget that the lowest you can roll is also 2 points higher
I do think the chance of a critical fail should be higher than 1/216, though. Maybe 4 or lower for a crit fail and 17 or higher for a critical success? "5 or lower"/"16 or higher" gives you almost exactly the same chances for critical success/failure as natural 1/natural 20.
Jester David
Hero
I think I go into it a PDF of Variant Rules on the DMsGuild:
http://www.dmsguild.com/product/177820/5MWD-Presents-Variant-Rules
Just cutting-and-pasting that section...
Dice Pool Checks
This variant rule replaces the d20 used in most checks with 3d6. In addition to changing possible rolls from 1-to-20 with 3-to-18, this dramatically changes of the odds, shifting from an even 5% chances of any number to a bell curve favouring results between 9 to 11. Characters using this variant will roll an average result more often but higher rolls will happen far less frequently.
In this system, higher AC is far more advantageous, as a high number is less likely to be rolled. Because of this and the fact the highest possible number is 18, you might wish to reduce character's base Armour Class to 8 + Dexterity modifier and similarly reduce the AC granted by armours by 1 or 2.
Advantage and Disadvantage. Instead of rolling the dice a second time for advantage and disadvantage the character changes the number of dice. When a character has advantage, they roll 4d6 and don't count the lowest die. This increases the odds of success but retains the minimum and maximum result. Conversely, when a character has disadvantage, they roll 4d6 and drop the highest die.
Alternatively, instead of dropping the lowest die when you have advantage, you can total the result of the entire dice pool, while disadvantage reduces the dice pool by 1d6 to a total of 2d6. Despite adding an extra dice, the average result is only slightly higher than dropping the lowest roll, but this option changes the minimum and maximum result.
In both instances, you typically retain the rule that a character can benefit from single instance of advantage at a time. Alternatively, you could allow advantage to stack, adding or removing multiple dice.
Natural 20s and 1s. For rolls that require a natural 20 or 1 (such as an automatic misses or critical hits) this rule requires additional changes to maintain the odds. When using this variant, any roll of 16 or higher where the lowest number on any die is a 5 is considered a "20", and any roll of 5 or lower where the highest number on any die is a 2 is considered a "1".
Options that increase the odds of a critical hit to 19-20 (such as the Champion fighter) become a roll of 15 with the lowest number on any die being a 4, and options that increase critical hits to an 18-20 become a roll of 14 with the lowest number on any die being a 4.
http://www.dmsguild.com/product/177820/5MWD-Presents-Variant-Rules
Just cutting-and-pasting that section...
Dice Pool Checks
This variant rule replaces the d20 used in most checks with 3d6. In addition to changing possible rolls from 1-to-20 with 3-to-18, this dramatically changes of the odds, shifting from an even 5% chances of any number to a bell curve favouring results between 9 to 11. Characters using this variant will roll an average result more often but higher rolls will happen far less frequently.
In this system, higher AC is far more advantageous, as a high number is less likely to be rolled. Because of this and the fact the highest possible number is 18, you might wish to reduce character's base Armour Class to 8 + Dexterity modifier and similarly reduce the AC granted by armours by 1 or 2.
Advantage and Disadvantage. Instead of rolling the dice a second time for advantage and disadvantage the character changes the number of dice. When a character has advantage, they roll 4d6 and don't count the lowest die. This increases the odds of success but retains the minimum and maximum result. Conversely, when a character has disadvantage, they roll 4d6 and drop the highest die.
Alternatively, instead of dropping the lowest die when you have advantage, you can total the result of the entire dice pool, while disadvantage reduces the dice pool by 1d6 to a total of 2d6. Despite adding an extra dice, the average result is only slightly higher than dropping the lowest roll, but this option changes the minimum and maximum result.
In both instances, you typically retain the rule that a character can benefit from single instance of advantage at a time. Alternatively, you could allow advantage to stack, adding or removing multiple dice.
Natural 20s and 1s. For rolls that require a natural 20 or 1 (such as an automatic misses or critical hits) this rule requires additional changes to maintain the odds. When using this variant, any roll of 16 or higher where the lowest number on any die is a 5 is considered a "20", and any roll of 5 or lower where the highest number on any die is a 2 is considered a "1".
Options that increase the odds of a critical hit to 19-20 (such as the Champion fighter) become a roll of 15 with the lowest number on any die being a 4, and options that increase critical hits to an 18-20 become a roll of 14 with the lowest number on any die being a 4.
robus
Lowcountry Low Roller
Surely this assumes that the DM is not fully grokking the uncertainty in the situation? If the player is skilled and attempting something within their abilities why is there a roll happening?
3d6 also fixes the issue of round the party "knowledge" checks, where 5 people roll and hope for 15+ as no one has any intelligence skills
This also sounds like a bug? Did the DM go around the table like the teacher in Ferris Bueller asking "Anyone? Anyone?" and everyone flails about rolling dice? If there's no chance of the players knowing then what's the point of rolling? Give the information in some other way rather than relying on a successful knowledge skill from a bunch of thickos
I guess it seems like you're looking for the dice to fix a DMing problem?
Greenstone.Walker
Adventurer
In GURPS 2nd ed (a 3d6 system), criticals were 17-18 and 3-4, though failing by more than 5 also had effects similar to a fumble.
Greenstone.Walker
Adventurer
(Double-post.)
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Fanaelialae
Legend
Don't forget that the lowest you can roll is also 2 points higher
Increasing the odds of success for trivial checks does not balance increasing the difficulty of challenging checks. Greater risk often results in greater reward, so the challenging checks are typically the ones you really want to succeed at.
Given that 3d6 is significantly weighted towards the average (10.5), characters will frequently succeed on a DC 10 even without any bonus (almost 2 in 3 odds). On the other hand, characters without a bonus attempting a DC 15 check have around a 9% chance, and against a DC 20 check have literally no chance of success (because the highest they can roll is an 18). That's not a balanced trade off.
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