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jmanski
Arbiter-General (Moderator)
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Location: Kansas
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 Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Is that really something that needs hard and fast rules? Or is that something that the GM makes a call on?
As far as I'm concerned, the GM decides on each 1. There are many advantages:
1. Each 1 is suspensful as the GM decides
2. Luke can roll a 1 as he fires the proton torpedo and it doesn't screw up the story
3. Extra stuff can happen as the GM decides, not as a random number decides
4. Fewer tables and rules (I like simplicity!)
Sure, the players might get mad if they feel the GM is reckless with these decisions, but if the GM keeps it fair I think it will only benefit the game.
And I concede that this depends on the players. There are those who need rules written down in stone so they can see them.
Just thinking out loud....
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atgxtg
Rear Admiral
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Think away. I just feel that the wild die mechanic is too flukey without CPs to counterbalance it. A typical fight (3PCs and at least than any opponents) will have a "1" popping up on the wild die each round. |
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ZzaphodD
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| atgxtg wrote: | | Think away. I just feel that the wild die mechanic is too flukey without CPs to counterbalance it. A typical fight (3PCs and at least than any opponents) will have a "1" popping up on the wild die each round. |
I generally dont have a problem with wild dice in fights, sure I haver removed the wild die from damage and resistance rolls, but thats it.
Its more or less only those situations where the entire party must pass a simple test. As we have 5 players the chance of a 1 turning up on the wild die is rather high.
Pehaps its not rules, but guidelines Im trying to put down. Instead of arbitrary decide from case to case if theres a wild die, I classify each situation depending on the inherent danger involved.
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jmanski
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| Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:20 pm Post subject: |
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I'm picking up what you're throwing down. When you say guidelines are you meaning just for yourself (the GM, I presume), or for the players to know as well?
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:22 am Post subject: |
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| atgxtg wrote: | | Think away. I just feel that the wild die mechanic is too flukey without CPs to counterbalance it. A typical fight (3PCs and at least than any opponents) will have a "1" popping up on the wild die each round. |
I have had entire combats go the 'distance' without even a single 1 on the wild die coming up a 1. I have had combats where we had 3 in a single round.
I have recorded 3 gaming sessions at Gencon, 5 at Origins where not a single 1 came up on the wild die. But on the flip side, the MOST i have recorded was 48 at origins (06) and 53 at gencon (02).
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atgxtg
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: |
I have recorded 3 gaming sessions at Gencon, 5 at Origins where not a single 1 came up on the wild die. |
WOW! That is very unusual. With a 1 in 6 chance the odds against become astronomical fairly quickly.
| garhkal wrote: |
But on the flip side, the MOST i have recorded was 48 at origins (06) and 53 at gencon (02). |
That is more like what I see on a weekly basis. At least when the big fights pop up. I've actually ran a few battles where everyobdoy rolled a 1 on the same turn! |
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atgxtg
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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| ZzaphodD wrote: | [
I generally dont have a problem with wild dice in fights, sure I haver removed the wild die from damage and resistance rolls, but thats it. |
That isn't much. According to " R&E RAW the wild die doesn't apply to damage rolls. So all you have done is remove it from resistance rolls.
| ZzaphodD wrote: | [
Pehaps its not rules, but guidelines Im trying to put down. Instead of arbitrary decide from case to case if theres a wild die, I classify each situation depending on the inherent danger involved. |
I think that might be more trouble than it's worth. You might be better with a list of realtively "minor" complications to throw up at the PCs. Stuff like the guard just happening to get into a 5 minute complik call with another guard complaining about the CO, chow, his love life, etc. The PCs missions aren't blown, but they get delayed.. |
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garhkal
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | WOW! That is very unusual. With a 1 in 6 chance the odds against become astronomical fairly quickly.
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In one of my home games where we pulled all nighters (starting friday evening and going till the wee hours of sunday) we had 2 straight sessions in 04 where not a single one came up.. then the following 3 sessions barely 2 rolls went between each 1 that came up.
| Quote: |
I think that might be more trouble than it's worth. You might be better with a list of realtively "minor" complications to throw up at the PCs. Stuff like the guard just happening to get into a 5 minute complik call with another guard complaining about the CO, chow, his love life, etc. The PCs missions aren't blown, but they get delayed..
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With me..
Hyperdrive - normal complications (only a 1 on the wild die), at most add time.
Complete complication (all 1s on the wild die) congrats your nav com just took a blue screen of death! (mass data dump).
Combat - ranged. Normal, your power pack pops out or runs out of energy, or the grenade you threw was a dud.
Complete. You shot someone else (a comrade), or dropped the grenade at your feet.
Combat melee/brawl. Normal, you maybe twisted an ankle or forgot to recharge your vibro weapon, and its now powered off.
Complete flub, you hurt yourself or broke your weapon.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:32 am Post subject: |
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Has anyone ever considered grades of wild die? I'm brainstorming on the idea of the more powerful Sith lightsaber's ability to "break" the blade of a Jedi. The only concept that seems to fit would be a wild die, but I was thinking of doubling it up; of having the Sith lightsaber break the Jedi's blade only if the Sith rolled a Wild 6 and the Jedi rolled a Wild 1 on the same roll (either the Sith's attack against the Jedi's parry by normal rules, or the opposed skill rolls of Dueling Sabers).
That got me thinking that maybe there could be levels of wild die, such as the mishap only occurring in opposed rolls, or of a minor mishap happening on a regular 1, but upgrading to a major mishap if the roll confirmed.
Thoughts?
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | That got me thinking that maybe there could be levels of wild die, such as the mishap only occurring in opposed rolls, or of a minor mishap happening on a regular 1, but upgrading to a major mishap if the roll confirmed. |
Hence why i have std complications with just a 1 on the wild die, where as if all dice come up a 1 its a total flub.
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atgxtg
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| Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: |
In one of my home games where we pulled all nighters (starting friday evening and going till the wee hours of sunday) we had 2 straight sessions in 04 where not a single one came up.. then the following 3 sessions barely 2 rolls went between each 1 that came up. |
With my group it is the exact opposite. I tend to see a Dominio/Cascade effect, where one bad roll is followed up by another and things escalate from good to bad, then worse, then impossible. All compounded by a string of sixes from the other side. I7ve seen a starfighter destroyed by a hold out blaster. The Wild Die pops up so much that the plsyers tend to drop the highest die before I even think of a complication. I don7t thnik I'd uuse the Wild Die without CPS to mitigate it. I doubt the PCs could survive it for very long.
| garhkal wrote: |
With me..
Hyperdrive - normal complications (only a 1 on the wild die), at most add time.
Complete complication (all 1s on the wild die) congrats your nav com just took a blue screen of death! (mass data dump).
Combat - ranged. Normal, your power pack pops out or runs out of energy, or the grenade you threw was a dud.
Complete. You shot someone else (a comrade), or dropped the grenade at your feet.
Combat melee/brawl. Normal, you maybe twisted an ankle or forgot to recharge your vibro weapon, and its now powered off.
Complete flub, you hurt yourself or broke your weapon. |
With me it is almost always drop the high die. If I didn't, I think the characters would be going after Merr-Sonn for producing dangerous and defective weaponry. Wyle E. Coyote gets better reliability out of ACME. |
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garhkal
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| Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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I used to have a 'formula' for when i could complicate things, but these days i wing it, based on what might be funnier for things or make it more of a good 'screen cap'...
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atgxtg
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| Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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I wing it. Sometimes I toss in a complication to help save a PC, such as having something malfunction of a starfighter rather than having it going up in a fireball from a bad soak roll
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Sometime complications just seem logical. For example,last session the best pilot/best shot in the group kept missing easy shots all session long due to the wild die. Eventually I said his targeting computer was malfunctioning and just tokk away the fire control. Oddly enough, after that he started hitting. |
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garhkal
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| Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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So you complicate a soak roll to make it EASIER to survive?
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atgxtg
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | So you complicate a soak roll to make it EASIER to survive? |
Yes. On occasion. Especiallywith vehicle combat. In D6 there is very little a PC can do if his ship gets hit other than to admire the pretty fireball. A complication spare the PCs lives from something that they probably had little control over, yet makes things more difficult than they were.
Likewise, it's better to use a complication and have Lando hanging on for his life than to take away the high die and have him fall into the Sarlaac.
My willingness to do this depnds a lot on the circumstances. If a PC is about to get obliterated from a pehonemonally high roll, throwugh something that the PC had little control over, I7m more likely to complcate things in a "good" way. Good meaning not dead. The actual complication is never "good". |
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