#Dice Games for Math

[prokopetz]

Why do games so often model a d3 with "1d6, divide by 2 and round up" rather than the neater-feeling "1d6 mod 3"? [Not particularly about CAIN, but it's an example]

The modulo operator isn't particularly intuitive for folks without a math background. In practice, nobody's really doing the math at the table every time they roll a d3 – both the divide-and-round-up formula the mod-3 formula serve simply as mnemonics to help remember which faces to read as which values, and 1/2 = 1, 3/4 = 2, 5/6 = 3 is just plain easier for a lot of folks to remember than 1/4 = 1, 2/5 = 2, 3/6 = 3.

[askmrtorgue]

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--

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END OF ADVERTISEMENT.

[pourovergaming]

“Sick Starter Jacket, Bro!”

90’s Dream Jacket

When I was 6, there was one thing I wanted more than anything - an Anaheim Mighty Ducks Starter jacket. I asked for it every birthday and holiday from 6 to 10 before giving up all hope I’d ever don the turquoise and purple.

While I never got my dream pullover, you can take a piece of my childhood and play ttrpgs with it.

[boxodice]

All that glitters.

[dice-wizard]

So I have a pretty basic question

what’s the benefit of a dice pool rpg system over just rolling a d100 or something?

Okay so, a single die (but also d% even though this is rolled as two dice) has a flat distribution. There is an equal chance of all results on the die. When you roll a d20 your odds of a 1 are the same as the odds of a 20. The d20 was intentionally used for attacks in D&D because of the swinginess of that probability.

When you use a dice pool, it creates a bell curve instead, broadening and stabilizing your results. This is why PbtA is built around the 7-9 mixed success result - this will happen with much more stable frequency than rolling 10+ on 1d20. Similarly, Exalted uses pool math that allows the player to estimate every 2 dice generating one success, around which all the base difficulties are structured. When you start fucking with things like ones taking away in classic World of Darkness, you destabilize the nice curve and get into bad swinginess again.

The smaller your single die, the tighter (andore difficult) the framework for where you can adjudicate failure. My butthole clenches when I see people using single d6 resolution and have failure on 3 or less.

I don't really think people understand the importance of mathematical stability underpinning your basic resolution, if you're going to do something with randomization at all.

When someone says "We'll just roll a d20" I ask, is it because you want that level of swinginess? Usually no. Usually the answer is because that's what that person is familiar with - which fuels some of my distaste for WotC's stranglehold on the ttrpg zeitgeist.

Anyway, the difference is all in the control you want to have over success, failure, and your system's ability to predict and adjudicate that.

[lithiumseven]

Designed a dice bag!

[the-red-hoodlum]

spaced out for like.. several hours - clocked back into thinking and found ‘factors of 24’ and ‘what noises do dolphins make’ as open tabs - as well as had a video on how to play a certain dice game playing.. 😭

[asmund-scion-of-ice]

I'm currently GMing two concurrent groups of players through a homebrew Pathfinder 2E adventure, with the intention of bringing the two groups together into one around level 5. One group is 4 sessions in and one is 3 sessions in.

It just makes me so happy that these people, my best friends, make the time to hang out together online across vast distances with crazy schedules. It's amazing to me that these folks move heaven and earth to be able to play in our game, so they can pretend to yell at pretend shopkeeps with bad accents and throw math rocks around to pretend bonk cowboys in the head.

[tabletopbellhop]

Dragon Dice Review!

A look at the 2 player starter set, Firewalker VS Treefolk from SFR, Inc.

Did you know that the classic TSR dice game, Dragon Dice is still going strong under the watchful eye of SFR Inc.

Learn about how the game has evolved here:

[zigmenthotep]

When the Math is Stupid; or, Probability Schmobability

Hello there. As you may know, I am a charming and attractive tabletop game designer, and I would like to share with you a little experience I recently went through, just as a look into the process of failed ideas and how they die sometimes.

I had an idea for an upcoming project (Dinosaur Erotica: The Role-Plying Game) Which involved each character having a die representing their level of investment in the developing relationship, and when that relationship was tested, both players would roll their die, with the ideal result being bother players rolling the same number.

Now my assumption here was that lowering the size of either die would raise the odds of rolling the same number—so a higher chance with a d10 and a d6 than with 2 d10s—which totally makes sense. However, then I crunched the numbers, and let me just show you what I found.

So one d6 and one d20, let's look at the results for that

1 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

For each result on the d6, there are 10 possible results on the d10, only one of which is the same as the d6. So out of 60 total results, there are 6 where both dice come up the same number, a 6/60 probability, or 1/10.

But now, let's see what happens with 2 d10.

1 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Once again, for every result of the first die, there is one outcome where the second die matches, but this time the probability is 10/100, or... 1/10. The odds are exactly the same. Any time you roll two dice, the odds of getting the same result on both is equal to 1/[value of larger die]. A thing I spent much longer than I should have been convinced could not be correct, because instinctively, it does not sound correct.

[prokopetz]

Do you know of any convenient resources for combining dice probabilities for game balancing? like something that can do averages of keep-highest and similar rolls, chances of numbers over a threshold, etc?

AnyDice is the best general purpose tool that I'm aware of, though its learning curve can be steep unless you have at least some programming background. If you're looking for something more approachable, you'll need to accept limitations on what it can do for you – did you have a specific dice-rolling method in mind?

[dndara]

One of the most vital steps when preparing for session 1 of a new campaign; Dice Selection

[cryoverkiltmilk]

URWizards D&D Resin Engraved Dice Set The Galaxy

"Do you enjoy doing math?"

"I do not."

"How about live improv?"

"Not at all."

"Okay... but what if there are dragons?"

"...keep talking."

[pourovergaming]

What color is my magic? All of them!

Shifting Enchantment

Sometimes simple doesn't mean basic. This transparent dice set boasts a dark, pseudo-holigraphic color Shifting mylar that looks AMAZING in person. And guess what - it's in my shop right now!

https://pourovergaming.etsy.com/listing/1628882747/shifting-enchantment-8-piece-handmade

[boxodice]

Been experimenting with new picture techniques. A lot has happened since i really sat down and took pictures. I’m very slowly getting a photo area set back up.