Troll Lord Games

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In general, this variant leads to a grittier D&D game, because there will be far fewer very good or very bad rolls. Not only can you no longer roll 1, 2, 19, or 20, but most rolls will be clustered around the average of 10.5. With a d20, every result is equally likely; you have a 5% chance of rolling an 18 and a 5% chance of rolling a 10. With 3d6, theres only one possible combination of dice that results in an 18 (three sixes, obviously), but there are twenty-four combinations that result in a 10. Players used to the thrill of rolling high and the agony of the natural 1 will get that feeling less oftenbut it may be more meaningful when it does happen. Good die rolls are a fundamental reward of the game, and it changes the character of the game when the rewards are somewhat stronger but much less frequent. Game balance shifts subtly when you use the bell curve variant.

Rolling 3d6 gives you a lot more average rolls, which favors the stronger side in a combat. And in the D&D game, thats almost always the PCs. Many monstersespecially low-CR mon sters encountered in groupsrely heavily on a lucky shot to damage PCs. When rolling 3d6, those lucky shots are fewer and farther between. In a fair fight in which everyone rolls a 10, the PCs should win almost every time. The bell curve variant adheres more tightly to that average (which is the reason behind the reduction in CR for monsters encountered in groups).

Another subtle change to the game is that the bell curve variant rewards bonuses relatively more and the die roll relatively less, simply because the die roll is almost always within a few points of 10. A characters skill ranks, ability scores, and gear have a much bigger impact on success and failure than they do in the standard D&D rules.

Realmsbard wrote:
What do you think of replacing the d20 with 2d10. I think it would tone down some of the wild failures in the roll. I feel that any professional would not fail at his craft fifty percent of the time. That seems to happen if a PC needs a 10 + adds. Would you go to a doctor who cures only 50% of his patients?

Im old and tired so be gentle.

shane wrote:
Go for broke, man! Use 3d6.

From the Unearthed Arcana. It applies to 2d10 as well.

Treebore wrote:
It sounds like your simply using rolls to determine too many things. If you think the doctor should be able to heal their patient why are you even making a roll? Simply say, "after a week of care your all better."

If you think the armoror or weaponsmith should be able to make that armor or sword, then they made it, no roll necessary.

Realmsbard wrote:
Thats fine for non combat. But what about when

Badaxe the fighter misses three times in a row.

Realmsbard wrote:
Thats fine for non combat. But what about when

Badaxe the fighter misses three times in a row.

CharlieRock wrote:
Check the haft. It may have gotten warped.

Realmsbard wrote:
It is now. He broke the handle over the chuckling clerics head. He crushed his d20 into the dungeon floor.

Tore off his horned helm and hit the orc in the face with it for 8 damage.

serleran wrote:
Rolling 3d20 and taking the median one ensures a natural twenty practically never happens. There is a 1:8000 chance it happens. First, one must roll a 20, and another, and, the last as well, for it to be a median. 20 x 20 x 20 = 8000. The same sort of thing happens for any very high result, and nearly guarantees something in the 7-13 result. Might as well just roll 5d4. At least then the odds of rolling a 20 is 1:1024.

serleran wrote:
Changing the die mechanic requires careful consideration.

Fizz wrote:
Too many dice or a roll-and-pick system is too fancy for my liking. I like 2d10 system provides a nice balance of randomness, speed, and ease of use.

adaen wrote:
To each, his own!

~AoB

Eisenmann wrote:
And even though getting a natural 20 will be quite rare, with any kind of positive modifier the chances of "rolling" high is quite possible.

serleran wrote:
Then, if you're simply looking for high results, that's easy... don't change what is being rolled... just triple the bonuses.
Or, reduce the likelihood of failure - shift the Prime/non-Prime to something like 6 / 12. Cut ACs in half.

Really, you can make whatever numbers you want. That's the glory of math.

serleran wrote:
I just like to argue. Doesn't make me right, or you wrong, but I like to think there are always more ways to see things... even if I'm right, and you're wrong.

Quote:
Heads I win, Tales you lose.

serleran wrote:
Then, if you're simply looking for high results, that's easy... don't change what is being rolled... just triple the bonuses.
Or, reduce the likelihood of failure - shift the Prime/non-Prime to something like 6 / 12. Cut ACs in half.

Really, you can make whatever numbers you want. That's the glory of math.

Quote:
With any one roll of a 1d whatever their is 50% chance of hitting or missing.