Hello,
I've been tossing this around in my head for the game I'm working on. For various factors, combat hits are determined by dice roll but I didn't want it to be completely random. So there is a gunnery skill. What I'm wondering is if that skill should add more dice to the roll, or allow the re-roll of misses?
Mathematically it doesn't make a difference, but what have people found as far as player preference?
Do people tend to prefer re-roll of misses, or to roll more dice?
for context I have a blog post about it here if you want more background: http://cravonstudios.com/re-roll-roll/
Dice - Re-Roll or Roll more?
Mon, 02/05/2018 - 19:36
Mon, 02/05/2018 - 21:10
#1
Quick answer.
Roll more: that way it's easier to keep track of how many dice have been rolled total, in case there are any sort of repercussions re: resources, effects, etc.
Mon, 02/05/2018 - 21:15
#2
It depends
I agree that players would prefer to chuck more dice than keep track of how many can be re-rolled. On the other hand, including "enough" dice can get expensive, especially if there are different types.
The easiest way to economize on dice is to have both players share the same pool, but that only works if combat rolls are one-sided (the defender might impose some modifiers, but the attacker is the only one who rolls dice).
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 00:09
#3
Hmm...
Can't you have dice pools for both the attacker and defender??? Many games do this for example "Heroscape" or "The League" (Gabe's Football game -- shameless plug of an awesome game).
In "Heroscape", I believe there are three (3) symbols on the dice and shields offset any swords that have been rolled. So you can "remove" dice from the overall result.
Same goes with "The League", if you roll an "X" you can remove some of your opponent's dice...
I still don't see why only one-side can roll dice. Can't you color-coordinate two (2) sets of dice??? Not sure I understand why you can't have BOTH players rolling dice...
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 00:19
#4
Gunnery "Skill"
Long story short: I suggest you use the same number of dice, but don't just re-throw them.
Personally, I'd prefer to throw the same number of dice, but instead of re-throwing dice based on my skill (which is just as random an outcome as the initial throw), I'd prefer to manipulate the dice based on the skill (such as flip them, add one, subtract one, etc.), which guarantees an improvement, even if only a little bit... And note that high skill might still not be enough to succeed in all cases.
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 00:20
#5
Lotsa Dice = $$$$
I still don't see why only one-side can roll dice. Can't you color-coordinate two (2) sets of dice??? Not sure I understand why you can't have BOTH players rolling dice...
I think the use of the same dice pool was suggested primarily to reduce the production cost.
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 03:08
#6
I agree with let-off about
I agree with let-off about not rolling more at all. Keeps the amount of dice to a known number and guarantees improvement.
Other than that a reroll is more flexible than just rolling more dice, in general. They are only identical in some cases. So rerolls might give you more room to expand the game
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 05:07
#7
It depends on the other game mechanics.
There are things to consider when deciding.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What is easier for players to follow?
- What will take less time in the game?
- What will cost less in terms of material?
Tue, 02/06/2018 - 14:30
#8
Considering
There are things to consider when deciding.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What is easier for players to follow?
This depends on the rules, and would be about the same for rerolls or various dice counts. Adjustments are fine, but counter-adjustments and counter-counter-adjustments will slow things down.
- What will take less time in the game?
So long as we're dealing with dice quantities that fit in your hands, variable dice counts would be faster.
- What will cost less in terms of material?
Rerolls definitely allow for fewer dice in the package. RPGs cheat on this by expecting players to simply own a massive collection of polyhedral dice.
