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Favorite Dice Pool Systems?

Started by Zachary The First, April 13, 2007, 10:05:24 AM

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Tom B

Quote from: ClaudiusEABA should count. A dice pool is a dice pool when the amount of dice rolled may vary.
Great!  In that case, I like the EABA system.  The other dice pool systems I've tried (7th Sea, White Wolf, etc.) not so much.  Too hard to get a feel for the probabilities.
Tom B.

-----------------------------------------------
"All that we say or seem is but a dream within a dream." -Edgar Allen Poe

Caesar Slaad

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!At least 5 points; at most, 30.  5 times the "average" roll of a d6 (4) is 20, so there's your middle ground -- and the fattest part of the bell curve.  That mofo is likely to get toasted up som'n goooood.

I thought everyone knew this stuff...

Average roll of a d6 is 3.5, making the average 17.5. ;)
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Pierce Inverarity

Quote from: WilMost people can't tell you what the odds a 5d6 fireball will have of killing a monster with 15 hit points; figuring out the odds of beating a target number of 4 when rolling 5d6 and keeping the highest isn't any different.

Wil, I have no trouble with the former. But while I'm sure there's a dead simple formula for the latter, I just don't know it, not having touched maths since high school except for tax purposes.
Ich habe mir schon sehr lange keine Gedanken mehr über Bleistifte gemacht.--Settembrini

Dr Rotwang!

Quote from: Caesar SlaadAverage roll of a d6 is 3.5, making the average 17.5. ;)
Yeah, I knew that.  But I had it in my head that "4" was abetter answer, for some reason, thinking that had been pointed out to me somewhere.  Still, I was close...!
Dr Rotwang!
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flyingmice

Quote from: HinterWeltNo sweat man. It is just me messing around with a conversion from Iridium Standard to what I am currently calling Iridium Pool. It is very short. I kind of like it right now but I am sure I am missing something...and that is where you come in. Hopefully James, Mike and Regulon will chime in too.

Thanks,
Bill

Irdium Pool is to Iridium Standard as StarPool is to StarCluster. :D

-clash
clash bowley * Flying Mice Games - an Imprint of Better Mousetrap Games
Flying Mice home page: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
Currently Designing: StarCluster 4 - Wavefront Empire
Last Releases: SC4 - Dark Orbital, SC4 - Out of the Ruins,  SC4 - Sabre & World
Blog: I FLY BY NIGHT

HinterWelt

Quote from: flyingmiceIrdium Pool is to Iridium Standard as StarPool is to StarCluster. :D

-clash
Hey! You could chime in too bucko! ;)

Bill
The RPG Haven - Talking about RPGs
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flyingmice

Hi Bill - sent the doc to you via email - I can't pop it up on the server from home. It's one of a number of alternate task resolution systems you can use with the StarCluster System - I'm going to be publishing it in the StarCluster System Toolbox along with a commercial developer's licence.

-clash
clash bowley * Flying Mice Games - an Imprint of Better Mousetrap Games
Flying Mice home page: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
Currently Designing: StarCluster 4 - Wavefront Empire
Last Releases: SC4 - Dark Orbital, SC4 - Out of the Ruins,  SC4 - Sabre & World
Blog: I FLY BY NIGHT

Christmas Ape

ORE has a handy 'curve of probability' spelled right out in the system in every game I've seen it in; the dice tricks I'm aware of only ever make it more likely that you'll succeed. I don't find it that hard to calculate odds; if I know I need to match any 2 numbers, 7d10 is obviously much better than 4d10, but not a whole lot better than 6d10.
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HinterWelt

Quote from: flyingmiceHi Bill - sent the doc to you via email - I can't pop it up on the server from home. It's one of a number of alternate task resolution systems you can use with the StarCluster System - I'm going to be publishing it in the StarCluster System Toolbox along with a commercial developer's licence.

-clash
Got it! Thanks, I will be looking it over today.

Bill
The RPG Haven - Talking about RPGs
My Site
Oh...the HinterBlog
Lord Protector of the Cult of Clash was Right
When you look around you have to wonder,
Do you play to win or are you just a bad loser?

Wil

Quote from: Pierce InverarityWil, I have no trouble with the former. But while I'm sure there's a dead simple formula for the latter, I just don't know it, not having touched maths since high school except for tax purposes.

For all intents and purposes the average roll for 2 dice and keep the highest is 4; for 3 and 4 dice it's 5; for 5 dice it's 6. When rolling under 4 dice or so, a +/- 1 modifier to the final roll has about the same impact as +/- 1 die  - so the average result for rolling 3 dice, and subtracting -1 from the total, is about the same as rolling 2 dice.

I freely admit that even a simple roll and keep die pool system isn't immediately intuitive when it comes to gauging chance of success. I usually tell my players if they have more dice than the target number, they're in good shape and if the target number is more than about double the number of dice they have (i.e., the target number is 8 and you have 4 dice) they will have a very good chance of failing.
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KrakaJak

My two favorites are beer and pretzels RP and WoD for dicepools.

WoD is so quick and easy, but still pretty flexible. Add dice to make something easier, take away dice to make it harder. Done.

Beer & Pretzels I like for the unique fact that the more dice in your pool, the harder it is to do.
 Most Dicepool systems work the other way around.
-Jak
 
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flyingmice

As promised, the StarPool task resolution sub-system. If you know the StarCluster System, it has a percentile roll-under mechanic, and a layer of abstraction. That layer of abstraction allows one to chance task resolution while keeping everythig else. I have several alternate drop-in task resolution sub-systems I will be publishing, but StarPool is the one furthest along. Comments appreciated!

Starting up a new thread in Game Design...

-clash
clash bowley * Flying Mice Games - an Imprint of Better Mousetrap Games
Flying Mice home page: http://jalan.flyingmice.com/flyingmice.html
Currently Designing: StarCluster 4 - Wavefront Empire
Last Releases: SC4 - Dark Orbital, SC4 - Out of the Ruins,  SC4 - Sabre & World
Blog: I FLY BY NIGHT

pathfinderap

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!D6. Totally.  It can be slow to add up the dice if you are, I dunno, blind or in another room or if you maybe didn't actually roll any dice, I guess.  Otherwise it's pretty easy, since pools rarely get over 6D in most cases.  

I'm not thinking of any glaring problems, except that the fantasy book doesn't have a strongly-defined magic system, and that building starships with the space book alone is kind of meh.

LoL nice to see you here, Rotwang, :)

By dice pool I take it you mean game systems that use ever growing groups of the same dice?

I personal like dice pools, the old D6 isn't bad, (Star Wars being my favorite) I also like the oWoD Storyteller system, (if a tad "grainy",)

And Risus can punch above it's little weight, lol,

one of the worst of the dice pool systems I know of has to be 7th sea and the orignal Legend of the Five Rings, but don't get me wrong I still like them,
it's just a little "hands on"

The very worst though has got to be for Brave New World, I can't stand that system, nice setting though (reminds me of the X-Men)
 

Jason Coplen

I like the die pool system in Burning Wheel, which resembles the d6 legends system.
Running: HarnMaster and Baptism of Fire

pathfinderap

Quote from: Jason CoplenI like the die pool system in Burning Wheel, which resembles the d6 legends system.

I got the burning wheel, expecting it to be more than what it was,

I didn't really like the end result,