Help! My newbie DM just bought a Spindown d20!

[nicholasgeorg]

The ones that are about 3-4 times the size of a normal d20, hardly ROLL they're so heavy, and make an obnoxious noise when rolled. One guy had one so heavy it rocked the table a wee bit (was a cheap-o card table).

I should probably be more quiet with my pet peeves, but I don't care anymore. I. Hate. Those. Dice.

I can't imagine how much I'd hate someone using them all the time, but I (the DM) use one for mystery checks (like wandering monsters, random effects, enemy perception, etc). My players quake in horror when that monster die shakes the table. I love it.

But that's seriously the only thing I use it for.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

For the record (for those who don't know), they were created for certain games (like M:tG) where you need to keep track of a number, like a Life Total. You can start it on the "20", and since the numbers spin around and downwards, it's easy to just spin down a few numbers if you take a few points of damage. They're great if you're playing Magic.

See, I just used two d6s.

Maybe three if my Triple Mana Flare Drain Power Stream of Life actually succeeded and I had to go over 42. But Drain Power almost never came up, I only had the one.

Brad

 

[DogBackward]

Actually, I usually use percentile dice. But a lot of people use spindowns for life counters, and that's what they were created for.

 

[Hand of Evil]

If the DM uses them, then the players can use them. I hate them and somewhere there is a break down on the mathematics behind them and shows that their average role is higher, something to do with rolling on the low side or the low and then the breakdown of the number, basicly you are no longer rolling a d20 with a 1 in 20 but a 1 in 10 on a high or low dice.

 

[pawsplay]

How to cheat at dice - RPG Talk

 

[Jeffrey Kesselman]

It doesn't even have to be conscious cheating.

The normal approximately gaussian distribution of values on a die help minimize the impact of less then perfect weight.

A spin down die is much more likely to roll unfairly,

 

[doctorhook]

It doesn't even have to be conscious cheating.

The normal approximately gaussian distribution of values on a die help minimize the impact of less then perfect weight.

A spin down die is much more likely to roll unfairly,

I appreciate your post on the subject!

Side question: How many 5000gp diamonds did you have to expend to cast this Thread Resurrection spell?