What are your thoughts on TTRPGs with non-standard dice?

[el-remmen]

I personally don’t mind but as many posts here testify to, the fact that it is a barrier to others can make it hard for those of us who might like them to find folks to play with or puts us in the position of getting extra sets for others, esp. when as @Ruin Explorer rightly points out you cannot reasonably rely on the dice being available after a not very long time (esp. if the game is niche or not successful).

That said, if I found a current game I like that has funky dice, I might just buy half a dozen sets to have on hand for others to use. But then again I am a buy 2 or 3 players handbooks type, if you know what I mean.

I do use the DCC “in-between” dice for my homebrew 5e ruleset.

 

[LordEntrails]

I doubt that's true. Isn't it more likely that they think these dice work for their game and you just don't like them? I do not believe that they're showing off.

I'm sure they tell themselves something different, but it doesn't make their illusions real.

A d5 does not do anything a d10 can't. And the statistical difference for a d24 vs a d100 is insignificant in an actual play session. A d16? Well why? It's not something most folks can wrap their head around the odds of. And again, can be simulated close enough with other methods.

Special facings on a d6 etc? Sure, maybe, just maybe. But again, not needed as you are just obscuring the odds with symbols and their are so many downsides with the only upside being they are "unique".

Great for those who love them, but I stay away from any game that uses them. So if you are a game designer and actually want to sell your game, look at my response and all the others of a similar view. You can be "special" and turn away a significant segment of a tiny market, or you can remove a barrier from buying your game.

 

[Cadence]

A d5 does not do anything a d10 can't. And the statistical difference for a d24 vs a d100 is insignificant in an actual play session. A d16? Well why?

If one wants to go that way, then just a d24 and nothing else? Per your claim it is insignificantly different from a d100. It also exactly does a d2, d3, d4, d6, d8, and d12. And it is either similar to d10 with a d8 and d12, similar as 1/10th of the d100 you claim, or gives the d10 by just rerolling an 11 or 12.

It's not something most folks can wrap their head around the odds of. And again, can be simulated close enough with other methods.

I'm guessing many folks are pretty bad at anything except a single d10 and d100 for odds (see the failure of the 1/3 pounder), that many don't particularly try to calculate them or use them right when they do (including game designers, maybe like the problem with more botches in old WoD) , and that some others use an online tool when they calculate the things (like anydice . com).

 

[Staffan]

Stupid gimmick. I won't buy a game that uses them and I am loathe to even play in one. Dice are simple random number generators. All of the regular dice you mention are good enough to effectively generate any random distribution you want or need (from a practical perspective). Designers do it because they think it makes their game special, unique or tries to show how smart they are. I don't need that.

It would be very difficult to generate the two-dimensional results of Genesys (with success/failure and good/bad side effects semi-independent of one another) using normal dice, at least without using lookup tables that just mimic the die faces (and the rules do have such lookup tables). The same goes for the way Force dice work and how they interact with the rules for being tempted by the Dark Side in Force & Destiny. Could you make a good system without them? Probably, we've seen good Star Wars systems using WEG's D6 system before, and there are lots of people who have homebrewed Star Wars with systems like Savage Worlds. There are even some people who like the various d20 interpretations, though I'm not one of them (there are some good and inspiring sourcebooks, but the system is a poor match). But it wouldn't be that system, with its two-dimensional results. At best you'd get a linear system with more stages.

Now, one can come to different conclusions as to whether the fancy dice are worth the effort and cost, but they definitely serve a purpose.

 

[LordEntrails]

If one wants to go that way, then just a d24 and nothing else? Per your claim it is insignificantly different from a d100. It also exactly does a d2, d3, d4, d6, d8, and d12. And it is either similar to d10 with a d8 and d12, similar as 1/10th of the d100 you claim, or gives the d10 by just rerolling an 11 or 12.

So, They can mimic other dice. Are harder to find, probably cost more and have fewer options for those who love dice variety. They remain a barrier to entry with net negative design choices.

Now, one can come to different conclusions as to whether the fancy dice are worth the effort and cost, but they definitely serve a purpose.

Yep, and one of those purposes is a barrier to entry. Sure, they can serve a game mechanic purpose, but that's a choice and as you pointed out, can be handled by other resolution mechanics that don't have the barrier to entry.

My opinion remains, they are a poor design choice and most useful as a gimmick to make the game feel special. Which I admit is a benefit for some, just not me.

 

[Cadence]

So, They can mimic other dice. Are harder to find, probably cost more and have fewer options for those who love dice variety. They remain a barrier to entry with net negative design choices.

But by your math arguments, why shouldn't every game just go to d24 and skip all of the other funky dice. (In the long scope of general public games, everything except a d6 is a funky die, right?).

If everyone just did that, they would be easy to find. In any case, it looks like the going price for one online is $1.95 or 3 for $3.39.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I actually had a series on the physical properties (dice mechanics, etc.) of TTRPGs that I never completed, so I have thought about this a bit.

I'd say the following-

A. As a general rule, I'd say that TTRPGs have adopted a "standard set" of the D&D dice. The d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20.

B. Personally, and this is just me (and a very small subset of people like me), I tend to have the view that games that only use d6 (and d6 dicepools) are somehow "not as TTRPG" as games that use more of the standard set. Because I still have the association of d6s with boardgames, Yahtzee, etc., while the standard set is associated with TTRPGs. I've mostly gotten rid of this bias through rules-lite games, but not entirely.

C. I don't mind games with alternate mechanics (jenga tower - Dread, diceless - Amber, candles - Ten Candles, etc.) that eschew dice. Even games that go off the beaten path entirely (Tarot - Everyway).

D. That said, I hate games that use alternate funky dice. I just do. While some are just annoying (d30), the ones that are custom reskins .... you know them, the ones that include their own d6s with alternate faces .... I hate them with a burning passion. I view them as a barrier to entry. I know that they will get lost. I know that at some point in the future, either I will not be playing the game (and I will have useless dice), or I will want to play it and have to use standard dice and make a "lookup table," which is annoying. And I can't remember a single game (unlike C, supra) where the alternate dice really added anything in the gameplay that was necessary are interesting.

If the game uses alternate dice, I am less likely to buy it. Because I know how the story ends, and I don't like the ending.

 

[LordEntrails]

But by your math arguments, why shouldn't every game just go to d24 and skip all of the other funky dice. (In the long scope of general public games, everything except a d6 is a funky die, right?).

If everyone just did that, they would be easy to find. In any case, it looks like the going price for one online is $1.95 or 3 for $3.39.

If, but they haven't. Sure a d24 is great idea, if it had been 40 years ago. Today it is more than swimming upstream. A good idea, but one too late and with not enough of a differentiator to overcome history.