The poor, old, forgotten d12? (And d10.)

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

stand up for polyhedral rights! all dice have value and shouldn't be discriminated against!

People, people ... don't get me wrong. I like d12s too. Heck, I luvs 'em. I have the same geek gene you do that requires me to reach into the d30 bin at my FLGS knowing full well I'll NEVER use one, let alone 17 at once.

I'm acknowledging that not all of my players, most of whom are newbies, have that gene. When I tell my girlfriend to roll a d12 and she tells me "I got a 16 ... huh?" I see a problem that needs to be solved. Not everyone loves 6 kinds of dice. Not everyone wants to memorize, by touch alone, what those dice are.

And Xeriar, I don't WANT to play those games. I just want to make running my D&D game simpler. I don't mind that rolling 2d6 has a slightly higher average than rolling 1d12. If it means I can excise that d12 from my game entirely, and not have it confuse people by just sitting there above their character sheet, waiting to trip them up when I ask them for an initiative roll, then I say BE GONE WITH IT!

 

[d4]

If it means I can excise that d12 from my game entirely, and not have it confuse people by just sitting there above their character sheet, waiting to trip them up when I ask them for an initiative roll, then I say BE GONE WITH IT!

how would you roll a barbarian's hit points, in that case? 2d6? 1d10?

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

how would you roll a barbarian's hit points, in that case? 2d6? 1d10?

Hey now, you're actually going to make me think about this, aren't you?

Well,
Xd8 = 2Xd4.
Xd12 = 2Xd6.

For rolling hit dice, I'd probably just keep it as it's written in the books, since it will most likely only get rolled a few times in the lifespan of a PC. Monster hit dice would remain the same (I'm trying to simplify things for my players - I do just fine, thank you).

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'm waiting for a *mathematical* justification.

I, too, like the variety of death, and desire for there to be higher values with higher dice...the d6's/d8's may have a more reliable average, but pooh-pooh on that. Otherwise, why not 2d6 for Barbarian hit points? Or for greataxe damage? Why penalize barbarians wielding greataxes with worse odds?

So yeah....gimmie a reason that's not just aesthetics, and I might be more inclined to accept it. Dice mix-ups are minor problems, and all the n00bs I've welcomed to the game groove on the dice types.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I'm waiting for a *mathematical* justification.

Not gonna happen.

So yeah....gimmie a reason that's not just aesthetics, and I might be more inclined to accept it. Dice mix-ups are minor problems, and all the n00bs I've welcomed to the game groove on the dice types.

Mostly aesthetics. I just think having those dice around to roll once in a blue moon is kind of silly. And dice mix-ups may be minor problems for you, but I'm just irritated by them.

 

[Philip]

And dice mix-ups may be minor problems for you, but I'm just irritated by them.

Just use red dice for d6's, blue for d8's, green for d10's, yellow for d12's etc. That's what the colors are for, after all!

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

how would you roll a barbarian's hit points, in that case? 2d6? 1d10?

6 + Con mod HP/level.

Randomness does not belong in character generation or advancement-- only in live play.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Why does a greataxe use d12 instead of 2d6 like the greatsword? The greataxe seems to be the only purpose of the d12 in D&D now. And the only time the d10 gets used for other than percentile rolls is for the waraxe and bastard sword.

I figure there's got to be a well thought-out reason for this, but I can't see it myself. I mean, everyone who has D&D dice has a d12 (and a d10), so why not add them to the standard progression of rolling?

If it is any consolation it bugs me too.

The greatsword and the greataxe could have both been 1d12 (or 2d6, but I think 1d12 is better), but no, someone at WotC decided that there should be a top dog weapon and 2H sword it was. Why not have left them equivalent like the longsword and battleaxe, bastard sword and dwarven waraxe? There is no reason.

Similarly, the progression, as you say, would make much more sense if it went
d8 -> d10 -> d12 ->2d8 -> 2d10 -> 2d12 etc.

The jump over d10 is pointless in their current scheme, and if they were going to make everything 2d6 instead of 1d12 they could at least have retroengineered the greataxe to do 2d6.

(nb although 1d12 has a lower minimum than 2d6, you have three times the chance of scoring maximum (12) damage... 1 in 12 rather than 1 in 36).

You might be able to get an answer to this question on Andy Collins bulletin boards, I'd recommend posting a question over there.

http://pub36.ezboard.com/bgameschat19968

Cheers

 

[Frostmarrow]

Yup, pretty strange:

1d2 = 1.5
1d3 = 2
1d4 = 2.5
1d6 = 3.5
1d8 = 4.5
2d6 = 7
3d6= 10.5

alt

1d2 = 1.5
1d3 = 2
1d4 = 2.5
1d6 = 3.5
1d8 = 4.5
1d10= 5.5
1d12= 6.5
2d8 = 9

 

[diaglo]

6 + Con mod HP/level.

Randomness does not belong in character generation or advancement-- only in live play.

randomness belongs in character generation and advancement. just as it belongs in combat, interaction, and every other element of the game.

i love my Big Blues.