Why do many people prefer roll-high to roll-under?

[aramis erak]

I barely see anyone use such modifiers in roll-low systems, whereas both modifiers and variable DCs are legion in roll-high systems. In a roll-high system it is easy to apply a modifier after the player rolls, and getting close to the DC often leads to some kind of partial success. In a roll-low system, if the GM gives a post-roll modifier the entire roll takes on another meaning. It needn't be so, roll low can use the same modifiers as roll high, but this is my experience from actual play.

There are several roll lows where the difficulties are multipliers.
Twilight 2000 1e (%ile) Hard=S/2, Average=S, Easy=S×2
Twilight 2000 2e (1d10): Easy= S×2, Average = S, Difficult = S/2
Twilight 2000 2.2 & Traveller TNE: 1d20 ≤ : Routine=S×4, Simple = S×2, Difficult = S, Formidable = S/2, Impossible = S/4
At least one BRP flavor, as well, used the Easy/average/difficult.. BRP 4E core, p 11...

Difficulty Modifier: The amount a skill’s chance is adjusted by, based on the circumstances surrounding its use. These range from Automatic (no roll required), Easy (skill is doubled), Average (no modification to skill), and Difficult (skill is halved) to Impossible (no roll, or a 01% chance at the gamemaster’s discretion).

And some do other things
FASA STRPG (%ile) : Routine Duties: 1d10, no mandatory fail on 10, so if skill ≥ 10, no roll needed. It then moves to 1d100, possibly modified. Heavy notes about 40+ and 80+ having a lot of situations that should no longer be rolled.
FFG WH40K RPGs: skill modifiers (labeled, but I'm not looking them up) ... and many tasks in rules referenced the labels.

 

[Committed Hero]

Especially since 1990, the games that have drawn the most players into the hobby are roll high systems. That's going to be a default for a vast majority of people.

 

[Laurefindel]

I mostly prefer roll high because the allocation of bonuses and penalties is easier to comprehend.

For me the disconnect isn’t about smaller number being “better”, it’s that bonuses translates to a “minus”, and penalties translate into a “bonus” to the roll.

Totally psychological, but likes and dislikes are purely psychological…

 

[cranberry]

Preferring rolling high is just the result of how we been conditioned to view larger numbers as better. For example, it's better to get a 100 on a test vs. a 59.

 

[Aldarc]

Preferring rolling high is just the result of how we been conditioned to view larger numbers as better. For example, it's better to get a 100 on a test vs. a 59.

That conditioning isn't universal. As I believe someone else pointed out in his thread, it's better in Germany and Austria to get a 1 on your A-level exams than a 5.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Roll high with bonuses adding to the roll vs the target number representing the difficulty is most intuitive for me. Simple roll under with difficulty being represented by bonus or penalty to the skill can also work, but tome it is just a bot less intuitive way to do the same. And of course as mentioned with roll high it is much easier to compare rolls to each other, so opposed rolls are simple to handle.

Several people expressed preference for roll under but high roll still being good. This I really dislike. I can handle low roll being good, but high being good except if it is too high is just jarring.

I prefer simple and intuitive rolls. I remember playing Hero Quest (that's what the non percentile based Glorantha game is called right?) and the mechanics were an utter mess. It was completely unnecessarily convoluted and super unintuitive.

 

[Starfox]

Just providing examples here, not opinions: Both the old James Bond RPG and the much more recent Eclipse Phase RPG uses a system where you multiply your skill with an ease factor (higher is easier) and then you try to roll lower than that.

 

[cranberry]

That conditioning isn't universal. As I believe someone else pointed out in his thread, it's better in Germany and Austria to get a 1 on your A-level exams than a 5.

Most of the widely played/popular TTRPGs were started in America.

 

[Aldarc]

Most of the widely played/popular TTRPGs were started in America.

I had no idea about this before now. Thank you for letting me know.

Several people expressed preference for roll under but high roll still being good. This I really dislike. I can handle low roll being good, but high being good except if it is too high is just jarring.

These are sometimes called Blackjack systems. Pendragon is probably the best example.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

That conditioning isn't universal. As I believe someone else pointed out in his thread, it's better in Germany and Austria to get a 1 on your A-level exams than a 5.

I don't remember off-hand what A-Level exams are exactly and what would be the German school's equivalent, so I am not sure if this is the correct description.
But from German school grades 1 (youngest/earliest) to 10 (oldest/latest), we use a 1-6 grading system. At the "Oberstufe" from 11 to 13, the system moves to a 0-15 point system.
The conversion: 0 points = 6; 1 = 5-; 2 = 5; 3 = 5+; ... 12 = 2+, 13 = 1-, 14=1, 15=1+; Though 1+ is basically never used in the first 10 school years, IIRC. And weirdly enough, we still like to calculate our average grade with the 1-6 system, using decimals (so those Minuses and Plusses become decimal terms, you add them all together and divide by the number. With some additional weighting based on your subject classes.)
Gaming systems aren't the only thing with weird rules!