'1' on the Wild Die

MrNexx · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:21 am Post subject:

My rule of thumb is to always subtract the highest die, then consider the results:

If "minus highest" is still a success, then they get a "Yes, but"... a success but a complication. Luke figuring out how to lock the door, but missing that it will also prevent them from extending the bridge.

If minus highest is a failure, but would've succeeded with that die? Simple failure.

If the full value wouldn't have succeeded anyway, then you get a failure plus a complication... Han trying to hotwire the door on Endor's moon, but accidentally closing the door that's already opened.
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Argentsaber · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 07 Oct 2017 Posts: 127

Wajeb Deb Kaadeb · Commodore Joined: 07 Apr 2017 Posts: 1448

Argentsaber · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 07 Oct 2017 Posts: 127

garhkal · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:23 am Post subject:

Grimace · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:27 pm Post subject:

I'm in the camp of "Take away the highest die as well as the Wild Die" if a 1 is rolled.

On occasion, but not always, if they succeed anyway, I let the success stand. If they fail the roll, I let them fail. And if the roll was significantly affected and was a failure, I may through a complication into the mix. I never do anything bad to them, but I may make things a bit more complicated due to the terrible failure.

At the same time, I always give my players the option of using Character Points to augment their roll before they announce the total to me. So if they rolled a 1 on the Wild on a 3D roll, and ended up with a total of 2 or so, they can opt to spend a CP or two and roll those, adding to the total, before they announce their final roll. But if they say "Oh man, I got a 2" or some such, I take that as their final total. So my players learned not to blurt out their total right away until they assessed whether they should roll extra dice with CPs or just to announce the total and take the consequences.

TauntaunScout · Line Captain Joined: 20 Apr 2015 Posts: 981

Do most people "get it wrong" or do they choose to change the rules? Roleplaying gamers are usually inclined towards customization.

Raven Redstar · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 2:37 pm Post subject:

I like giving my bad guys reinforcements on a wild die complication. It makes the situation more tense without having everything boil down to slap-stick comedy. Slips, trips, and falls get old for players. I also enjoy doing success with complications. Like a character jumping between buildings who ends up hitting a weak spot and the floor gives out from under him and he ends up in someone's living room. The chase is still on, but now we've added some destruction of property if he gets caught!
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Argentsaber · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 07 Oct 2017 Posts: 127

I just realized I may need to qualify my statements above. I run a modified first edition game. We only use the wild die in situations where there are a lot of unusual distractions or general chaos. Basically every roll in a battlefield situation, but not in an alleyway firefight. On the other hand, someone trying to slice a door lock in said alley would probably roll wild while those in the gun fight wouldn't.

I also have a rule that any time a character simply couldn't meet the target number by virtue of not having a high enough die pool they may "go for broke," and roll with a wild die where a 1 is always a complication.
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Ashikaider · Ensign Joined: 24 Jul 2018 Posts: 30

I could see using 1 on the wild die to model a house rule that was in a D20 Star Wars I played in for d6 Star Wars. The original rule was that if someone had rolled a '1' on an attack roll with a blaster, the power pack would be drained. That way we didn't have to track ammo, and it became a very minor complication to have to change packs in the blaster.

Pel · Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:18 pm Post subject:

Raven Redstar · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:01 pm Post subject:

I had a long time player in one of my games who had exceedingly horrible dice rolls. Eventually, to level the playing field with her fellow players, she got an additional character point for every 1 on the wild die she suffered, since she often had to burn through her CPs to do even moderate tasks.
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dph · Lieutenant Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 95

My default is the 'take the 1 and highest' unless I or the player have a good complication idea...

Yes, the player!

My player's LOVE ruining their own day and always come up with something a lot more fun than I could.
Putting ownership of the problem in the players hands takes the sting out of it.

Importantly, a 'complication' doesn't have to be immediate or even penalise the player directly, it could add a further 'complication' to the scenario or environment... Or it's something that comes up later...
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