Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The problem with D&D
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 3371961" data-attributes="member: 3586"><p>Err - if I might note, Gygax uses a flat probability system with d6 and d% as well. The grain of the system changes, but it's still a flat probability system. This is as compared to 3d6, which gives a curve, and is what the poster wants. </p><p></p><p>In all of its incarnations, D&D has used a flat probability system for resolution. (The exception is opposed rolls in 3e, which give a "curve"... well, a triangle. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />)</p><p></p><p>The *advantage* of a flat system is that it allows a +1 bonus to always have the same meaning, and for a wider range of values to be significant. It also allows the someone who is worse to compete. The *disadvantage* is that someone that is better doesn't have as big an advantage.</p><p></p><p>Personally, I think a curve system is at its best when you want the players to succeed most of the time, and the values are adjusted in such a manner. Compare <em>Runebound</em> 1st edition (which uses d20) to <em>Runebound</em> 2nd edition (which uses 2d10). I think the 2e version of combat is superior because it's much easier to gauge whether you'll succeed or not.</p><p></p><p>However, for a game with as many power levels as D&D has (and I speak of all editions), then the flat probability system is better.</p><p></p><p>(One can see one of the big flaws of 3d6 in the GURPS 3e skill system, where skills were based on an attribute, normally Int. If you got a 16 Int, your chance of success was almost total for everything...)</p><p></p><p>Cheers!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 3371961, member: 3586"] Err - if I might note, Gygax uses a flat probability system with d6 and d% as well. The grain of the system changes, but it's still a flat probability system. This is as compared to 3d6, which gives a curve, and is what the poster wants. In all of its incarnations, D&D has used a flat probability system for resolution. (The exception is opposed rolls in 3e, which give a "curve"... well, a triangle. :)) The *advantage* of a flat system is that it allows a +1 bonus to always have the same meaning, and for a wider range of values to be significant. It also allows the someone who is worse to compete. The *disadvantage* is that someone that is better doesn't have as big an advantage. Personally, I think a curve system is at its best when you want the players to succeed most of the time, and the values are adjusted in such a manner. Compare [i]Runebound[/i] 1st edition (which uses d20) to [i]Runebound[/i] 2nd edition (which uses 2d10). I think the 2e version of combat is superior because it's much easier to gauge whether you'll succeed or not. However, for a game with as many power levels as D&D has (and I speak of all editions), then the flat probability system is better. (One can see one of the big flaws of 3d6 in the GURPS 3e skill system, where skills were based on an attribute, normally Int. If you got a 16 Int, your chance of success was almost total for everything...) Cheers! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The problem with D&D
Top