The Game I am Working On

[@sortehuse]

If you love 6 sided dice then start out with that. If if doesn't work when you playtest the game, you can always chance it. The mechanisms in the game should be set in stone before you start playtesting, you should always do what works best for your game, so you have to test before you can know.

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for the comment.

[@BanjoSick]

Six-sided dice give you the same distribution as 20 sided dice, its the number of dice added up that gives you a non linear distribution.

[@AndyReichert0]

the most elegantly designed game i have ever seen is Death In Space. it's a d20 game with 4 stats. it has an awesome way of handling combat, skill checks, and XP (rather than levels).

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for this, I'll have to check it out.

[@BanjoSick]

Hey another old school feel game with a simple rule set. That is what we need, no one does that! Combining simplicity with old school feel, a stroke of genius!!!

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for commenting.

[@caioellwanger3890]

I've just recently found your channel and I'm loving your content! But on the same note of this video, I'm having a similar trouble, so I'd like to know if you have reached any conclusion in regards to which dice to use between the d20 and 2d6. And if so, how?

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you so much for the comment. For now I have decided to use the B/X OSE rules and create my own rules for the system.

[@caioellwanger3890]

@@mstephenjoy That's awesome! And thanks for the answer. Btw, have you ever heard about the concept of FKR (free kriegsspiel revolution)? I think it may be useful for some insights. Anyway, keep up with the great work, cheers!

[@mstephenjoy]

@@caioellwanger3890 I haven't heard of FKR before. Thanks for telling me about it. I've actually developed systems like it without knowing it was a thing.

[@PatrioticGestalt]

2d6 is a pyramid. 3d6 is more of a bell curve. and FUDGE dice is a very steep bell curve. IE, more predictable

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for commenting. IDK why but I like 2d6 systems more than 3d6 ones. I agree though it is more of a bell curve.

[@EpicEmpires-pb7zv]

Your 2d6 plus your adds ends up with players having to add large numbers too eg 12+5. Not overwhelmingly difficult but if you're trying to avoid doing math when you play it's something you might consider. Subtracting one die roll from another to determine damage is pretty high level math too, and not something that's easy to do at the table (you have to remember both rolls add your modifiers to them then subtract them from each other.) Just as an aside, this idea of adding modifiers to dice rolls is very D&D and quite a clunky mechanic in my opinion. There are so many better ways of doing things that don't require all that adding. a d20 roll is more swingy if that's what you want...unpredictable results. 2d6 is less swingy if that's what you want. It's interesting that you've narrowed it down to those two choices. There are a whole pile of other possibilities that would be interesting. A d10 and a d6 or any combination of different dice for example. You could also consider a dice pool of d6 dice. One add gives you an extra die. More than anything you need to decide what theme you want your game to be because that should determine your mechanics. You decide on mechanics based on the theme you're shooting for and the effect you want. You may also consider compatibility with major games. If your game can use modules for other systems easily that may make it far more attractive to players.

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for the great comment. That's a lot of food for thought.

[@EpicEmpires-pb7zv]

@@mstephenjoy One thing I forgot to mention. You could have one die represent whether you succeed or fail and another die represent your level of success or failure, or something along those lines. That eliminates the need to add or subtract. Ultimately in most games, you're looking for a chance of success somewhere in the range of 60% to 70%....where players don't get frustrated missing all the time but they don't feel it's too easy (that's having to roll 7-9 or higher on a 1d20, or 6-7 or higher on 2d6, or 6-7 or lower on 1d10, or 60%-70% on percentile dice, or the simplest, 3 or more on 1d6.). There are a couple of exceptions to this. If you want a superhero feel you might make the chance much higher so players succeed most of the time. You can also eliminate to hit rolls altogether in combat and roll for damage. If you do that you can have more sophisticated rules around dodging, armor and damage to reduce the damage taken. There are some very experienced gamemasters using systems where you DON'T roll to hit and only roll for damage who say they would never go back to a roll to hit system. Cairn and Into The Odd have these systems. Most leveling up of characters just results in having to level up the monsters they fight too so the challenge stays similar. Dungeoncraft covers this concept well in this video... kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpyXoGCMhL5rfJI There are a whole pile of mechanics you can use to increase players' chance of success to that satisfying 60% to 70% range if you want to make the players use their brains more. Special powers, bonuses for co-operation, magic weapons or items, luck points or tokens etc. etc. That might appeal to people who are more tactical. But however you do it, there's a high chance the game will feel unsatisfying for players unless a lot of rolls fall into that 60% to 70% success range. That's why the mechanics really have to follow the theme you're shooting for in your game. You tie the mechanics into the theme. If you want a tactical game you give bonuses for tactical play that will help players get into that 60% to 70% range. For example in a d20 system you make the standard roll they need to make a 13 (a 40% chance of success). If they use tactics well they get advantage on the roll which gives them a 64% chance of success. If you wanted a narrative game you might just say all rolls are 65% chance. Or good chance 70%, okay chance 50%, bad chance 30%. That leaves the GM to focus on letting the story emerge. If you want a wild magic game, it might be roll to cast but if you roll an odd number something crazy happens. There are many ways of doing it but theme is everything. Also once you get your head around this concept, you realize that complex mechanics are a waste of time unless you're trying to appeal to players who are actually looking for complex mechanics. You don't need anything complex for a GM to tell a player to roll an 8 or higher on 1d20 to succeed.

[@mstephenjoy]

Wow, thank you for this comment :)@@EpicEmpires-pb7zv

[@AndyReichert0]

i would rather use 2d12 than 2d10. they roll better, feel better in hand, and don't have a *0* face on the dice. if you want to add classes and other options in the game, but don't want the swing of a d20, 2d12 would be a good route to go. it would also make crit fail/success very rare and more surprising/meaningful.

[@mstephenjoy]

I did make a system that used 2d12 and it worked well. It's a good suggestion - thank you.

[@AndyReichert0]

define what problem you're trying to solve, and let that lead the design. otherwise it's just making a game for the sake of making a game. What's the appeal? What does "EZD6 with more math" offer to players that existing games don't. 2d6 is great for non-crunchy games, but if you add crunch back, then why not just play D&D? or Mork Borg?

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for commenting.

[@AndyReichert0]

advantage > more math

[@mstephenjoy]

Thank you for commenting.

[@SageMasterRPG]

D20 is better, the purpose of the game is for there to be a challenge. If the curve takes away from the challenge it takes away from the game. I love Rolemaster because it is completely unpredictable and there is a bigger range of possibilities.

[@mstephenjoy]

An interesting point. I'll have to think about it. Thank you for the comment.