D&D 5E Proficiency Dice

[LexStarwalker]

Have any of you used the proficiency dice optional rule? (E.g. instead of a +2 proficiency bonus, you roll a d4 and add it to the d20 roll.)

If you have, what did you think of it? Did it slow down play at all? How did it compare to a flat proficiency bonus (i.e. did it seem a lot more "swingy")? What did the players think of it?

Thanks!

 

[Shiroiken]

I tried to convince my group to try it, but failed. I think it's an awesome idea, and shouldn't actually effect the speed of play. You know your proficiency die, so you just roll it with the d20. It seems like it wouldn't be any slower than using the flat modifier, especially if you use a VTT.

I think the big concern is the swingyness, but I'm pretty sure it actually helps reduce it. The d20 is a huge variable, with only flat modifiers to meet the DC. With 2 dice, you increase the average probability and make the extreme ends much less likely. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a math guy to prove it.

 

[Sacrosanct]

When it was part of the playtest, the majority feeling in our games seemed to be "just one more thing to roll" and it wasn't received well. More of a "meh" response. Maybe because it's a d4, and many of us hate the d4. I HATE rolling a d4.

 

[cbwjm]

I wouldn't mind trying out the system, it might be a bit of fun, but really, I'm just not sure what it would bring to the game that works as an improvement. I would be interested in hearing about any others that used it though.

When it was part of the playtest, the majority feeling in our games seemed to be "just one more thing to roll" and it wasn't received well. More of a "meh" response. Maybe because it's a d4, and many of us hate the d4. I HATE rolling a d4.

When it comes to the d4, "rolling' is too strong a term. Those little caltrops just don't roll like dice are meant to. I really want to get some d8s that have two lots of the numbers 1 to 4 on them to replace my d4s.

 

[Igfig]

I think the big concern is the swingyness, but I'm pretty sure it actually helps reduce it. The d20 is a huge variable, with only flat modifiers to meet the DC. With 2 dice, you increase the average probability and make the extreme ends much less likely. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a math guy to prove it.

The proficiency die is swingier, but surprisingly it's not a huge difference on average. I threw together a quick summary on AnyDice to illustrate.

The standard deviation for +1d4 is only 1.73% larger than for +2, which is completely negligible. Even +1d12's deviation is only one full point larger than +6's. In simpler terms: 70% of 1d20+6 rolls will be between 10 and 23, while the same 70% of 1d20+1d12 rolls will be between 9 and 24. (I'm simplifying the numbers a bit.)

That said, I could imagine somebody getting a bit ticked off when a great d20 roll is negated by a bad proficiency roll. Not sure if the equal chance of rolling great on both makes up for it or not.

 

[JeffB]

I used it during the playtest, and the DCCRPG warrior (only) uses the same thing (but the proficiency die unlocks a "stunt" when it rolls a 3 or better and the attack is successful).

In the playtest it was ..eh..ok, not a big deal either way..but in DCCRPG it is great fun!

 

[Li Shenron]

Have any of you used the proficiency dice optional rule? (E.g. instead of a +2 proficiency bonus, you roll a d4 and add it to the d20 roll.)

If you have, what did you think of it? Did it slow down play at all? How did it compare to a flat proficiency bonus (i.e. did it seem a lot more "swingy")? What did the players think of it?

Thanks!

We have used proficiency dice for a few sessions during the playtest years, when the rule was actually the default for a few months.

It was ok, but it left me the impression that it was mostly redundant, since most randomness is in the d20 dice. Rolling 2 dice instead of 1 changes the probability distribution, but when the 2 dice are widely different in size, the change is small enough that you probably won't notice. You do get a smaller chance of rolling the lowest and highest scores, and that actually means the variant is less swingy.

 

[guachi]

If it's the kind of thing I'd have to roll every time and the die is small relative to the d20 (and both are true) I might as well just take the default and roll only one die.

The concept is neat and I appreciate the attempt at doing something different but doesn't scratch an itch.

 

[Horwath]

When it was part of the playtest, the majority feeling in our games seemed to be "just one more thing to roll" and it wasn't received well. More of a "meh" response. Maybe because it's a d4, and many of us hate the d4. I HATE rolling a d4.

EVERYONE. HATES. d4. EVERYONE!

I personally roll d12 instead of d4.

 

[Horwath]

I tried to convince my group to try it, but failed. I think it's an awesome idea, and shouldn't actually effect the speed of play. You know your proficiency die, so you just roll it with the d20. It seems like it wouldn't be any slower than using the flat modifier, especially if you use a VTT.

I think the big concern is the swingyness, but I'm pretty sure it actually helps reduce it. The d20 is a huge variable, with only flat modifiers to meet the DC. With 2 dice, you increase the average probability and make the extreme ends much less likely. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a math guy to prove it.

If swingyness is bothering you, try using 3d6 instead of d20 and use +/-5 for advantage/disadvantage.