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Worlds of Design: Making Mechanics Match
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<blockquote data-quote="RareBreed" data-source="post: 9032112" data-attributes="member: 6945590"><p>I'm definitely in the mechanics matters camp. Different die rolling conventions lead to different probability densities and distributions. This not only simulates actions better, but evokes a different experience for the player. This is why I am vehemently against shoe-horning every genre under the sun into a d20 based system.</p><p></p><p>I will start off here saying that to me, dice mechanics aren't just the type and number of dice being used, but how often they are being used and by whom.</p><p></p><p>Take for example rolling a d20, or even rolling a d100. It's very intuitive and very simple. Perhaps that's why D&D and Call of Cthulhu are two of the most popular role playing games around. But, both of those die rolling mechanics are linear in nature. You are just as likely to roll a 1 as a 20 (or 100). However, most things in life are not linear. They follow Gaussian or some other curved shape (perhaps parabolic, sigmoid, logarithmic, or heck, even sinusoidal). Life follows deviations from a norm, but in a linear system, every outcome is just as likely as every other.</p><p></p><p>However, the advantage of a linear system, is that simple addition/subtraction is easy to reason about to modify die rolls. Adding a +2 to a 3d6 changes the odds more significantly than a +2 in a d20 system. This is true for other systems too. In pool based systems, how does it affect the odds to take away a die from the pool? How much does it change the odds to change a target number? Now, it's no longer easy to reason about. I believe this is the biggest detractor for non-linear die mechanic systems: they are no longer easy to reason about when applying modifiers to the roll.</p><p></p><p>Other mechanics can change things too. I personally have never liked passive defense systems where it is only the attacker who gets to make a die roll to determine a hit and the damage done. So, a player who is not helpless doesn't have a skill involved in defense? Certainly, it cuts down on dice rolls, and makes games go faster. On the other hand, the defending player loses a certain amount of agency, and this isn't fun either. Yes, one can claim that a single die roll abstracts both the attacker's skill in offense, with the target's skill in defense. But whomever rolls the dice feels like they have the agency...the power....to determine the outcome.</p><p></p><p>Some games like to make the determination to hit and the damage done in one roll. And this makes a certain amount of sense. After all, the more precise the strike, the more likely it was a solid blow or landed in a critical spot. But how exactly do you calculate a "magnitude" or "margin" or success? When you have a passive system (only one die roller), then the margin is often calculated as the difference between the target number/difficulty check and what was rolled. But these passive systems usually don't take into account defense as an active participant too.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RareBreed, post: 9032112, member: 6945590"] I'm definitely in the mechanics matters camp. Different die rolling conventions lead to different probability densities and distributions. This not only simulates actions better, but evokes a different experience for the player. This is why I am vehemently against shoe-horning every genre under the sun into a d20 based system. I will start off here saying that to me, dice mechanics aren't just the type and number of dice being used, but how often they are being used and by whom. Take for example rolling a d20, or even rolling a d100. It's very intuitive and very simple. Perhaps that's why D&D and Call of Cthulhu are two of the most popular role playing games around. But, both of those die rolling mechanics are linear in nature. You are just as likely to roll a 1 as a 20 (or 100). However, most things in life are not linear. They follow Gaussian or some other curved shape (perhaps parabolic, sigmoid, logarithmic, or heck, even sinusoidal). Life follows deviations from a norm, but in a linear system, every outcome is just as likely as every other. However, the advantage of a linear system, is that simple addition/subtraction is easy to reason about to modify die rolls. Adding a +2 to a 3d6 changes the odds more significantly than a +2 in a d20 system. This is true for other systems too. In pool based systems, how does it affect the odds to take away a die from the pool? How much does it change the odds to change a target number? Now, it's no longer easy to reason about. I believe this is the biggest detractor for non-linear die mechanic systems: they are no longer easy to reason about when applying modifiers to the roll. Other mechanics can change things too. I personally have never liked passive defense systems where it is only the attacker who gets to make a die roll to determine a hit and the damage done. So, a player who is not helpless doesn't have a skill involved in defense? Certainly, it cuts down on dice rolls, and makes games go faster. On the other hand, the defending player loses a certain amount of agency, and this isn't fun either. Yes, one can claim that a single die roll abstracts both the attacker's skill in offense, with the target's skill in defense. But whomever rolls the dice feels like they have the agency...the power....to determine the outcome. Some games like to make the determination to hit and the damage done in one roll. And this makes a certain amount of sense. After all, the more precise the strike, the more likely it was a solid blow or landed in a critical spot. But how exactly do you calculate a "magnitude" or "margin" or success? When you have a passive system (only one die roller), then the margin is often calculated as the difference between the target number/difficulty check and what was rolled. But these passive systems usually don't take into account defense as an active participant too. [/QUOTE]
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