Do you prefer 2d6 or 3d6 charts?
- Thread starter Blue Ghost
- Start date
Well, here's the thing, before I discovered Traveller, warsims and RPGs in general, I used to play a lot of Yahtzee with the grandparents. And you had to roll three Ones, three Sixes, and even four and five in a row.
True, that game is all about rolling dice, but I'm curious if anybody has done any actual RPing with a 3d6 mechanic?
Are the possibilities on a 3d6 chart really so remote as to be improbable, or is that merely a statistical observation?
I'm thinking I do need to rework the tables prior to publication, but I'm wondering if there isn't something that I haven't overlooked. Thanks for all of your feedback. It's been very helpful.
True, that game is all about rolling dice, but I'm curious if anybody has done any actual RPing with a 3d6 mechanic?
Are the possibilities on a 3d6 chart really so remote as to be improbable, or is that merely a statistical observation?
I'm thinking I do need to rework the tables prior to publication, but I'm wondering if there isn't something that I haven't overlooked. Thanks for all of your feedback. It's been very helpful.
The 3d6 table is a bit thin for encounter tables - but only down to 1/(6×6×6)= 1/216.
The D&D d12+d8 gets to 1/(8×12)=1/96... more than double, and is still rare enough to be the locus of totally lethal encounters...
A d6+d10 is to 1/(6×10)=1/60.
| Die Combination | Minimum slot value | Maximum slot value |
| 2d6 | 1/36 | 6/36=1/6 |
| 2d10 | 1/100 | 10/100=1/10 |
| 3d6 | 1/216 | 27/216=1/24 |
| 1d6+1d10 | 1/60 | 6/60=1/10 |
| 1d8+1d12 | 1/96 | 8/96=1/12 |
| 1 poker card (2 joker) | ||
| 1 bridge card (No Joker) |
Suit:13/54
Rank: 4/54
Face: 16/54=8/27
Picture: 14/54 = 7/27
Number: 40/54 = 20/27[/tc] [tc=2]Card: 1/52
Suit:13/52=1/4
Rank: 4/52=1/13
Face/Picture: 12/52=3/13
Number: 40/52=10/13[/tc]
Note that the maximum slot value is largest on a 2d6, but so is the minimum.
If one only has access to d6's - as some people in the backwaters of the US often are limited - 3d6 is reasonable if you combine 3-4 and 17-18, as you then have 4/216=1/54 each... same as a single card in a poker deck... as a minimum slot value.
A few areas still consider dice - ANY dice - as implements of gambling, and are not legally sold in nor to those areas... but few have outlawed cards.
Most non-gamers will have ready access to a bridge/poker deck (most sold as bridge decks still have a Poker Deck's Jokers)... so they're also a good option. The worst odds are single card; the best are single suit, and a wide range of combinations can be run with them.
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
GURPS uses a 3d6 mechanic, and back in the day I used a 3d mechanic for DGP/MT task resolution.
You get closer to a bell curve with 3d6 so your tend to roll 9-12 most of the time.
You get closer to a bell curve with 3d6 so your tend to roll 9-12 most of the time.
You know, I'm still up in the air about this. I've gotten a lot of "Use 2d6, dude", but I'm itching to publish a 3d6 chart just to see what happens.... I'm not sure yet.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Are you looking at just encounter tables or using 3D6 for additional things? I have been doing some thinking on this, and I can see points in the game for using a 3D6 encounter table.
If you are traveling to or about to land at a Class A starport or in a large city with a high population, or maybe an asteroid belt, you might want a wider possible range of encounters.
Just for encounters. Nothing more. The rarity of a "3" or an "18" has me wondering if that would actually be a good game mechanic.
If you're in a desert, running low on water, fighting off native desert fauna and natives, then you roll a "3" and come upon ... oh heck ... an oasis with a bunch of human female hotties or something, has a kind of appeal to me.
If you're in a desert, running low on water, fighting off native desert fauna and natives, then you roll a "3" and come upon ... oh heck ... an oasis with a bunch of human female hotties or something, has a kind of appeal to me.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
I would agree with that. Or drifting in a life raft in the Pacific, and finding that the current is taking you to a beautiful beach with a backing of coconut palms, and a lovely female welcoming committee.
If you use 3D6, then the "3" and "18" results should be exceptional. Just which way they are exceptional is up to you.
If you want more possible results than 2D6 without having to deal with the rare probabilities at either end of the 3D6 (or "X"D6) bell-curve, the "D66" method is probably the best route.
D66 is a 6x6 matrix created by rolling 2 separate D6 and cross-referencing them by row and column on a chart. It gives you 36 possible results and an equal probability for any given result.
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I guess I'm of the opinion that adding one more die is an easy thing to do. But the feedback I've gotten here says where that may be true, the consequences of a 3d6 chart are far reaching.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for their most excellent feedback.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for their most excellent feedback.
ShawnDriscoll
SOC-14 1K
I use D66 charts if I do use charts at all.
3d6 charts are, on occasion, necessary. Heck, The language generation charts use at least 3 dice just to find a letter. Also in instances if you truly desire more than 36 discrete results.
One thing I have done for my 3.5 SRD conversion to Cepeheus/Traveller was taking the encounter charts from 1e/2e AD&D Greyhawk and converting to d6 tables. Aside from the question of "why bother with fantasy" issue, if you are randomizing results, this is Traveller. With the exceptions of TNE and T20 it has been a d6 based system.
Depending on the desired "look and feel" I have done it in various styles
A 1d6 table (6 equal results)
B Traditional Cepheus/Traveller 2d6 Animal Encounter table (10 results of varying % + a terrain result)
C Red Die/White Die d6+d6 matrix table (up to 36 discrete results)
D 3d6 (16 discrete results of varying %)
E d6+d6+d6 matrix (up to 216 discrete results)
The point being is for me it is important to keep a look and feel of d6 and if the writer or the Referee is leaving it up to randomization, at least the matrices tables (C and E) show this is not such a stretch because it has been done for other Traveller tables.
One thing I have done for my 3.5 SRD conversion to Cepeheus/Traveller was taking the encounter charts from 1e/2e AD&D Greyhawk and converting to d6 tables. Aside from the question of "why bother with fantasy" issue, if you are randomizing results, this is Traveller. With the exceptions of TNE and T20 it has been a d6 based system.
Depending on the desired "look and feel" I have done it in various styles
A 1d6 table (6 equal results)
B Traditional Cepheus/Traveller 2d6 Animal Encounter table (10 results of varying % + a terrain result)
C Red Die/White Die d6+d6 matrix table (up to 36 discrete results)
D 3d6 (16 discrete results of varying %)
E d6+d6+d6 matrix (up to 216 discrete results)
The point being is for me it is important to keep a look and feel of d6 and if the writer or the Referee is leaving it up to randomization, at least the matrices tables (C and E) show this is not such a stretch because it has been done for other Traveller tables.
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