How to Make D&D Accessible to the Non-Mathematically Inclined?

[charlesatan]

I just remembered from Unearthed Arcana the variant rule about players rolling all the dice and you can probably reverse it although it's more work for you as GM:

Don't let the player roll the d20. Treat it as a 10. And then subtract 10 AC from the monsters you're using and you as a DM roll the d20, adding it to their AC. The player has a static bonus while the rest of you are still playing the same game.

 

[rounser]

Flow chart, anyone? Or a checklist? Surely this has been suggested upthread, but I didn't notice it.

If you've got a piece of paper with a character-specific flow chart to work out attack bonus, anyone who can answer questions can move from one box to the next. No need for excel. Just a thought.

 

[arscott]

Step one is to figure out exactly what "bad at math" means in this situation.

-It could be someone suffering from Dyscalcula or a similar condition that impairs their ability to add numbers.

-It could be someone who didn't much care for their pre-algebra class and have been using "bad at math" to excuse mental laziness ever since.

-It could be someone who has gotten it into his head that the game requires more complicated math than it actually does, and is intimidated accordingly.

-It could be someone who is, frankly, just that bad at addition.

There are different solutions in each case, some requiring more patience than others. And most of the unpleasantness on this thread seems to be the result of confusion between the various types of difficulties.

The only indication you've given in regards to the math abilities of this person is "totally artsy, creative type". As someone who just completed his Theatre Arts degree, I can assure you that artistic ability and math skills aren't mutually exclusive. So figure out exactly what difficulty, if any, this person has with math before seeking a solution.

Of course, one peice of advice is excellent no matter how bad (or good) a person is at math: redesigning character sheets for better ease of use. I've personally been NPC statblocks in leiu of traditional sheets, and am developing even more drastic measures (some of which might evolve into a commercial product).

 

[Edheldur]

How have other people dealt with this problem?

It doesn't entirely solves it, but I give my players copies of some PDF I found HERE that tries to break down bonuses to different things. At least, it helped one player of mine who was always confused about what stacks with what.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I second (or third, or whatever... support!) the idea that people have suggested of writing down various permutations of what the bonuses add up to. Most people can take one bonus and one number and add them together pretty quickly, IME. Personally speaking, it's when there's five or six or seven to keep track of that seems to slow me down. It's not even the adding... I can look at eight dice and add them quickly... it's having to keep in mind every single bonus that applies, which can constantly change every round. That can get pretty confusing pretty quickly.

Another idea, which may be completely dumb, is to have something akin to Uno cards, labelled "+1", "+2", and so forth, in different colors to discriminate the different bonus types, that can have the source written in underneath. Every round, just get rid of the ones that expire. It might aid things as well.

Also, as a personal note... I know there was that WotC study, linked somewhere I'm sure, that determined what kind of role-players people were. There are people that play the game to have fun, not to be human calculators and obsess over every little detail. I know I fall into that category... there's a point where endless calculation becomes work, rather than fun, and that completely defeats the whole concept of "game."

 

[TarionzCousin]

It doesn't entirely solves it, but I give my players copies of some PDF I found HERE that tries to break down bonuses to different things. At least, it helped one player of mine who was always confused about what stacks with what.

<grab> Thanks!

I aced two years of calculus in college and am a whiz at math. Nonetheless, I occasionally struggle with all the modifiers in all the circumstances in D&D. It's not always a question of simple math.

\Did I miss it, or has nobody yet posted in this thread how Castles and Crusades doesn't have this problem?

 

[Thulcondar]

I can't reliable add two-digit numbers and I've been roleplaying up a storm since 1979.

Nor, apparently, decline an adverb. ;-)

 

[Pielorinho]

Nor, apparently, decline an adverb. ;-)

No shame in that: in English, adverbs aren't declined .

Daniel

 

[Nyarlathotep]

It's been stated more than a few times already, but I'm curious...

For DMs who have players in their group who are non-mathmatically inclined, do you find that it's the number of modifiers that come into play that's causing the problem or simply an inablilty to do the actual math?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I play Living Greyhawk and from the countless tables I have played at keeping track of the bonuses that are active and their types,is a chore. I started creating a sheet with all relevent modifiers my characters encounter along with the bonus type.

At the top of the sheet, I put down all the damage the character can do with their weapon. All this is laid out horizonatally, I dunno why I settled on horizontally, it just seems to feel more natural to my brain that way. From of my character's it looks something like this.

Weapon, holy, enhancement, base Str, righteous fury (Str), rage (Str), smite evil, righteous wrath (m), bardsong (m), favored, prayer, power attack

Directly below each heading I include the value, so it would go like this:
Shield bash 1h 2d6, 2d6, +1, +5, +2, +2, +2, +7 +3, +?, +2, +1, +1 ... +14
Shield bash 2h 2d6, 2d6, +1, +7, +3, +3, +3, +7,+3, +?, +2, +1, +2 ... +28
Enlarge shield bash 3d6

Criticals
Shield 1h 4d6, 2d6, +2, +10, +4, +4, +4, +14, +6, +?x2, +4, +2, +2 ... +28
Shield 2h 4d6, 2d6, +2, +14, +6, +6, +6, +14, +6, +?x2, +4, +2, +4 ... +56
Enlarge shield bash 6d6

I do the same horizontal tabulation for things like the character's special DCs from feats, like Shield Slam, Shield Charge, and Stunning Fist.


At the bottom left of the sheet I tally every single attack modifier along with its type in a vertical list. Like this:

BAB: 14/9/4
Str: +5
Weapon (enhance): +1
-------------
Greater magic weapon (enhance): +?
Flanking: +2
Rage (Str): +2
Righteous fury (Str): +2
Smite: +5
Haste (haste): +1
Prayer (luck): +1
Recitation (luck): +2/3
Heroes feast (morale): +1
Bless (morale): +1
Heroism (morale): +2
Righteous wrath (morale): +3
Bardsong (morale): +?
Marshal major aura: +?​

As I come across new things I add them. All this is inside a clear plastic sheet, as modifiers are added to the battlefield or character put a mark by the modifier so I know which ones are active at the moment. Bardsong goes, I mark it. Then when it is my turn I can more easily calculate things because the more complex things are precalculated, like in the damage, and the modifiers are listed to remind which ones don't stack.