The d2: Thoughts?

[CleverNickName]

The trouble is, if the d2 is used as damage in any system where there is both a way to "reroll 1s" and a way to "roll more dice and add them to the total, whenever you roll maximum" you get infinite damage cheese.

Also, it is too easy to use any other dice as "high-low" to simulate the d2. Also, it is hard to market a physical d2 when everyone has access to pennies that can do the job.

We use them all the time. Well, normally we just throw a d6 and divide by two three, but it's the same diff. "Reroll 1s" is done only on a natural 1, and "roll more dice whenever you roll maximum" on a natural 6. No infinite damage cheese.

 

[Zander]

I own a d5 and a handful of d7s, but I think that that's fairly uncommon, even among gamers. Not only that, but their fairness is much more questionable.

There are ways of doing odd-numbered dice that are unquestionably fair, e.g. numbering a conventional d10 from 1 to 5 twice as a d5 or dice like these: http://groups.msn.com/DiceManiacsCl...andersdice.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5110

The big problem with odd-numbered dice is that they're hard to find, and the "take the next higher die and reroll the highest" (ie, using a d8 for a d7, rerolling 8's) gets old rather quickly. Even if there were odd-numbered dice out there that were fair, it'd be the rare gamer who actually has them.

If D&D mandated them, they would soon become as common as conventional D&D dice. Although so-called polyhedral dice existed before D&D, they weren't very varied and were hard to find. Nowadays, d4s, for example, are easy to find in an abundance of colours, sizes, shapes and even materials. The same would happen with odd-numbered dice if they were required to play.

 

[pweent]

I voted Neutral, but that assumes that it's something that would see fairly limited use. If it were, say, a system that revolved around heavy d2 / coin flipping, I'd quickly become irritated. But for now I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Celebrim]

The biggest problem with a D2 is that it doesn't tolerate modifiers.

You can see the utility of that when you consider the new saving throw mechanic for 4e, which by default is pretty close to serving as a d2, but which can take a small range of modifiers without breaking.

The bigger the dice, the bigger the range of modifiers you can apply to it before the randomness is swamped and the throw becomes perfunctory.

Basically, you can use a d2 when something is going to happen or not, based entirely on random chance with no external influence. Or you can throw a d2 when the variation in the event is basically meaningless - say burned by a small fire. In some cases, a d2 is a smaller d3, which is itself a smaller d4.

 

[Nadaka]

The biggest problem with a D2 is that it doesn't tolerate modifiers.

You can see the utility of that when you consider the new saving throw mechanic for 4e, which by default is pretty close to serving as a d2, but which can take a small range of modifiers without breaking.

The bigger the dice, the bigger the range of modifiers you can apply to it before the randomness is swamped and the throw becomes perfunctory.

Basically, you can use a d2 when something is going to happen or not, based entirely on random chance with no external influence. Or you can throw a d2 when the variation in the event is basically meaningless - say burned by a small fire. In some cases, a d2 is a smaller d3, which is itself a smaller d4.

unless of course you are using more than one d2...

what if you had a system where the d2 and a 0 side, and a 1 side. And you rolled a handful of dice and added the 1 sides to produce a number. A + or - 1 would have about the same affect as + or - 2 dice sans issues with variance and shape of the bell curve.

 

[Bohemian Ear Spoon]

Im thick and all, but this is a joke, right?

 

[Desdichado]

I have often considered making a game that uses d2 exclusively. It wouldn't matter what dice you have, because nearly all dice can substitute for the d2.

It's already been done, mang!

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rdeese/RPG/D02/D02.htm

 

[Fifth Element]

I own a d5 and a handful of d7s, but I think that that's fairly uncommon, even among gamers. Not only that, but their fairness is much more questionable.

I once rolled one of my d7's 4,000 times in an attempt to see if it was a fair die. The mean roll came out to 4.03, IIRC.

 

[GnomeWorks]

Im thick and all, but this is a joke, right?

Not in the slightest.

I once rolled one of my d7's 4,000 times in an attempt to see if it was a fair die. The mean roll came out to 4.03, IIRC.

That, good sir, is absurd.

I think the problem with the d7's I own is that the 6 and the 7 are on opposite faces, which gives the impression that it's unbalanced. If it were the 1 and the 7, I think it would appear to be a lot more fair, even though I'm fairly certain that that has little actual effect on the die's randomness.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I'm surprised this poll was no about the d1. It's all the rage among gamers everywhere.