What dice based mechanics to you enjoy/find most useful for your gaming style?

Ones that work.

-clash

3d6

Edit and addition:

3d6 roll under.

Also percentile with a good rules set.

I like rolling more than one die. Seems more substantial. I'd even consider 3d6 roll over in D20 with 17-18 crits.

Edit again:

Oh oh! Percentile using D20's is my favorite way to roll percentile.

Quote from: flyingmiceOnes that work.

-clash

...agreed...especially 3d6 vs. a target number

- Ed C.

Percentile roll under

3d6 roll under

After that a fair number that are fine

Near the bottom is dice pools, I just don't particularly enjoy them

At the bottom is games with dicepools and fistfulls of dice, if the game has you rolling a dozen d6 or 30d6 or frankly anything much over at the very maximum five or six dice in one go then it actively detracts from my enjoyment.

It's a core reason why I dislike many indie games, nothing to do with shared narration or Forge theory or any of that stuff, it's just that many of them are dicepool systems and a fair few are about rolling loads of dice because a lot of those guys really seem to like rolling dice.  Leaves me cold every time.

For me a dice system should be simple, intuitive and quick to read.  I should be able, as player or GM, to look at my abilities, look at what I'm trying to do and have a fair idea of what my odds are.  Dice pools make that harder, percentile roll under makes it laughably easy.

007 style percentile (low stats with multipliers for ease levels.) CoC, Palladium style percentile, not so much.

linear + mods >= target number.

small bell curve + base >= target number (FUDGE/FATE, megatraveller, etc.)

Haven't met one that I have truly disliked so far.

My favorite right now is the Fudge Dice against the skill ladder in SotC.  I find it gives the perfect balance of character power having influence and randomness.

2d6 plus adds vs. target number (MT)
percentile roll under

plus rolling bucketfuls of dice for damage  14d6 for a PGMP is nice.  and it's even fun when it comes close to minimum too, just for the WTF factor.

I like d8s... I have no idea why.

I just love rolling dice. Any kind, big, small, speckled, sparkly, clear or opaque, plain or fancy, I just like to see 'em dance.

Must fight the compulsion to buy more dice, right now...

I "think" in percentiles a lot, but I love rolling lots of different dice.

Really, though, I don't have one set one I'd say I'd favor over any other.  When you're talking about probabilities and the like, that's something I don't get into much, unless it very clearly isn't working.

Small dice pools (around five) without addition. I also prefer just one die type for the whole game, not a fan of mucking around with different shapes.

The "roll and keep" system in The Shadow of Yesterday was the last one I saw that I thought was nice. Otherwise I find dice mechanics a hygiene; they can annoy me if I don't like them, but don't do a lot besides fulfil the task if they're non-annoying.

We likesss the dice, preciousss. We wantsss more, don't we, preciousss?

Roll under percentiles, as long as the statistics that they are based on feel right.

I like the One Roll Engine, I seldom play anything with it, but I like the idea behind it.

Feng Shui's 2d6's method, creates some really fun results

Silcore's/Heavy Gear style D6 pool.  Think it does a great job of balancing the weight of stats and skills together.

Dogs In the Vineyard bucket o'dice bidding system.  Just plain old fun, but only when you have a small group size.

My favorite is roll a d20 and get a high number and my least favorite is an additive dice pool (like d6 Star Wars).  But I don't have a problem with most dice systems -- roll under, over, one or a bunch, its all good to me.