MCDM starts work on its RPG Monday!

[Grendel_Khan]

He’s talked about it before and while he said all cards are on the table I think he really meant normal dnd dice. He’s said funky dice in that context before.

Still dint be surprised if the try out or brainstorm about weirder dice.

Note I could be absolutely wrong.

He gushed on Twitter very recently about the dice in FFG Star Wars, including the d12 force die.

 

[Retreater]

Well, the good news is that we're apparently going to have many options for new game systems.

 

[Staffan]

As a general principle, I really like the way the dice work in Star Wars (I started a new campaign only this weekend). However, an "aggressively open" system combined with funky (and therefore probably proprietary) dice seems like a poor fit.

 

[Reynard]

As a general principle, I really like the way the dice work in Star Wars (I started a new campaign only this weekend). However, an "aggressively open" system combined with funky (and therefore probably proprietary) dice seems like a poor fit.

Why?

 

[DarkCrisis]

Sounds like how I’d describe a White Wolf game.

 

[Staffan]

Why?

Because special dice need someone to manufacture them (unless you're going with clumsy workarounds like "1-2 are blank, 3-4 is an advantage, 5 is a success, and 6 is an advantage AND a success"), and are usually quite expensive (due to small series) and subject to often being out of stock (like Star Wars RPG dice are at the moment). If your goal is to make the game "aggresively open" and presumably easily available as an alternative to D&D, you don't want to require specialized tools to play it.

 

[Reynard]

Because special dice need someone to manufacture them (unless you're going with clumsy workarounds like "1-2 are blank, 3-4 is an advantage, 5 is a success, and 6 is an advantage AND a success"), and are usually quite expensive (due to small series) and subject to often being out of stock (like Star Wars RPG dice are at the moment). If your goal is to make the game "aggresively open" and presumably easily available as an alternative to D&D, you don't want to require specialized tools to play it.

I suppose, but I can buy weird custom dice for less than 10 bucks right now (terrain dice, tobe exact). I see what you are saying but I don't think it is an especially high bar to entry.

 

[Staffan]

I suppose, but I can buy weird custom dice for less than 10 bucks right now (terrain dice, tobe exact). I see what you are saying but I don't think it is an especially high bar to entry.

A pack of Genesys dice costs $15 (or would if they weren't out of stock) for 14 dice across 6 different types. The Star Wars equivalent costs $17, but I'm assuming that's because some of the money goes to Disney. You generally want two packs of dice to have enough to cover most rolls.

In the abstract, that's not too bad, about on par with a normal polyhedral 7-dice set on a dollars-per-die ratio. Except I can use those dice for dozens of different games, not just this specific game. Plus they're limited to one specific manufacturer (which is why they're out of stock – if I want a normal 7-die set I can get one from a dozen manufacturers, and if they're out of one I can get another), and if that manufacturer goes out of business no more dice will be made.

 

[schneeland]

Too bad! I had hoped that funky dice might mean DCC-like dice chains. If it's anything like the FFG systems then I guess it's not for me (not necessarily a problem, but I had previously considered at least taking a closer look).

 

[Zaukrie]

I hope they just make ability scores the bonus number, and not 3-20 and make us figure out the bonus.....I have a long list of things I'd like in an RPG....perhaps I should write them up. I don't know, it won't change anything other than make me realize no game has it all....