Hi all,
What is your favorite dice system and why do you like it? What's the pros and cons of the dice system? And what games using the system is your favorite?
Qualities I look for are
- Expressive - can nuance be read off the results?
- Predictable - can players tell how their strategies affect their odds?
- Sensitive - can the method tolerate a wide range of modifiers without degenerating?
My favourite methods would be
- 5e combat d20, (re)roll+mods
- equal or exceed target #
- 1 = autofail, 20 = autohit & crit (I prefer the tweak that if only 20 is a hit, it can't crit)
- can add/deduct flat modifiers, and reroll keeping high (advantage) or low (disadvantage)
- TB2 d6 pools, count successes
- equal or exceed objective # of successes (4+s count as successes)
- fewer = fail + consequence OR succeed + condition (GM call), equal or exceed = unconditional success
- many factors add/deduct 1d or 1s, some effects reroll fails or 6s
- BitD d6 pools, count highest
- read result off highest where 6 = success, 5-4 = partial, 3-1 = bad, and multiple 6s = crit
- base pool of trait, and can take stress and strike bargains for extra dice
- GM choose (before roll) a position that will shape the consequences of partial or bad results
Honorable mentions go to
Legend of Five Rings and
The One Ring for their nuanced methods using custom dice. I don't dislike the PbtA method seen in
Stonetop i.e. 2d6+mods with a possible extra d6 (highest two for adv, lowest disadv), roll sorts between the usual outcomes, albeit for me it lacks sensitivity. There are many games that use similar methods. I'm fond of methods where the target number is itself random (not very common, but examples include the indie games
Ironsworn and
Highway.)
Additionally, there is the matter of whether the method is
player-facing or
world-facing, by which I mean is the player essentially rolling against themselves (as expressed through their character), or are they rolling against an objective target (i.e. a supposedly real external world)? Which I prefer very much depends on the coherence and overall quality of the game system.