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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 7997311" data-attributes="member: 71699">I mean that people can know the odds - 60% say - while not being able to clearly visualise what that should entail. How it should impact on their decision-making. Features like the number of checks in the given timeframe, and what might interact with those checks, matter.Take your example of hitting on a) 10 out of 20 swings instead of b) 9 out of 20. This is meaningful in a few ways. In a) I expect to hit once for each two swings I make. How should I think about that if I am only making one swing in a combat? What about if I get to make 5 swings? What is the consequence of a swing? What action do I give up to make that swing? What if I have advantage or disadvantage? What about inspiration? What about a flat bonus or penalty? Even keeping things very simple, it is unlikely the player has in mind a probability distribution function that is up to the job of predicting exactly how this plays out. They need mental tools for interpreting the %age. And really, a %age is no more beneficial than any other representation of odds. It give us nice round numbers - so great - but so does d20.What is the difference between 10/20 and 9/20 going to be experientially? Knowing the %age doesn't give you the whole picture. What I should be thinking is something like - combats are about four rounds (say) and I make a swing per round and it takes three swings to deal enough damage to drop this ogre so perhaps I need to get out of here. The ogre probably only hits me 15% of the time (I might not know what those odds are), but if it does I'm likely to be downed (or I might not know what the damage range is, only that it is large).Diplomacy is usually used in a contest situation, or to beat a threshold. Without knowing that contest or threshold, +5% doesn't tell you much. Yes, it is better. So was getting the extra die.OTOH what I think you are saying is that game mechanics shouldn't needlessly obfuscate their performance: that, I can get on-board with.</blockquote>

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