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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Players: Why Do You Want to Roll a d20?
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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7793696" data-attributes="member: 53980"><p>I agree.</p><p></p><p>I've had many streaks of bad luck with the dice, to the extent that I have had numerous characters die in their first session. I generally dislike having to roll the d20 because I assume that if I can only fail on a natural 1, I'm more likely than not to roll a 1. </p><p></p><p>Back in 3e, a DM ran a high powered campaign with generous homebrew level adjustment rules. I made a Maug Bard, so I had an absurdly high strength and hp for a 1st level character. The premise was that we had all been captured by duergar slavers, but shortly after the start we escaped and reached a statue over a pool of molten rock. We had to climb down the statue (a simple DC 10 climb check) to continue. We were fairly certain that the slavers were following us, so turning back wasn't an option. I really tried my darndest to come up with a way to get down there without rolling, but we didn't have rope or much in the way of equipment (having just escaped). One by one, each of the PCs climbed down without issue, and I was getting looks from the other players that said they were getting impatient with my hesitance. I grabbed my d20 and reassured myself that with my bonus, the only way I could fail was on a nat 1. Of course, I rolled a natural 1. The DM offered me a chance to grab the statue while falling and save myself. The odds were within the realm of possibility. Nope. My character plunged straight into the fiery death pool. Since I had unusually high HP, the DM rolled the damage, even though it was a long shot. He rolled high. Instant death. </p><p></p><p>That was far from the only time that such a thing happened to one of my characters, but it was one of the most illustrative. </p><p></p><p>Admittedly, my luck has been much improved overall the past few years, but I still have an aversion to rolling dice if I can avoid it. Which is why I'll usually try to come up with a foolproof method of execution if at all possible, or try to devise safety measures to minimize risk.</p><p></p><p>This is because I always assume that Murphy's Law applies to the d20, at least when it comes to me. "If anything can go wrong it will, and usually in the worst possible way."</p><p></p><p>That said, I've known players with great or just average luck who will happily throw the bones. I feel like a lot of the time when players ask to roll a certain skill it's either for the sake of expedience or because it's a leading question - can I do X with Y (because I have a really good bonus with Y). Additionally, rolling can certainly be exciting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 7793696, member: 53980"] I agree. I've had many streaks of bad luck with the dice, to the extent that I have had numerous characters die in their first session. I generally dislike having to roll the d20 because I assume that if I can only fail on a natural 1, I'm more likely than not to roll a 1. Back in 3e, a DM ran a high powered campaign with generous homebrew level adjustment rules. I made a Maug Bard, so I had an absurdly high strength and hp for a 1st level character. The premise was that we had all been captured by duergar slavers, but shortly after the start we escaped and reached a statue over a pool of molten rock. We had to climb down the statue (a simple DC 10 climb check) to continue. We were fairly certain that the slavers were following us, so turning back wasn't an option. I really tried my darndest to come up with a way to get down there without rolling, but we didn't have rope or much in the way of equipment (having just escaped). One by one, each of the PCs climbed down without issue, and I was getting looks from the other players that said they were getting impatient with my hesitance. I grabbed my d20 and reassured myself that with my bonus, the only way I could fail was on a nat 1. Of course, I rolled a natural 1. The DM offered me a chance to grab the statue while falling and save myself. The odds were within the realm of possibility. Nope. My character plunged straight into the fiery death pool. Since I had unusually high HP, the DM rolled the damage, even though it was a long shot. He rolled high. Instant death. That was far from the only time that such a thing happened to one of my characters, but it was one of the most illustrative. Admittedly, my luck has been much improved overall the past few years, but I still have an aversion to rolling dice if I can avoid it. Which is why I'll usually try to come up with a foolproof method of execution if at all possible, or try to devise safety measures to minimize risk. This is because I always assume that Murphy's Law applies to the d20, at least when it comes to me. "If anything can go wrong it will, and usually in the worst possible way." That said, I've known players with great or just average luck who will happily throw the bones. I feel like a lot of the time when players ask to roll a certain skill it's either for the sake of expedience or because it's a leading question - can I do X with Y (because I have a really good bonus with Y). Additionally, rolling can certainly be exciting. [/QUOTE]
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