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HOW TO /helpful roleplaying guide for saving money/

Submitted by arewas on Thu, 2009-08-27 05:09.

ever asked yourself why to buy those stupid dices?
we've got a solution for you!
1)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D2
from s1 to s3 is 1 from s3 to s6 is 2
2)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D4
s5 and s6 are counted as 0
3)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D8
use a d6 and a d2 (see rule 1)
4)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D10
use a d6 and a d4(rule 2)
OR
a d8(rule 3)and a d2(rule 1)
5)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D12
roll a d6 twice
6)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D18
roll a d6 and a d12 (see rule 5)
7)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D20
roll a d10 (see rule 4)twice
8)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D30
roll a d6 5 times

S=side
D=dice

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Here's a d8 or d4 for you

Submitted by Ar Kayon on Thu, 2009-09-17 03:39.

The directions (north, southwest, etc.) are each designated a number, such as 1 for north and then going clockwise. Drop an object like a pen and whichever direction it points to, that's your number.

You know what you need?

Submitted by SheikhJahbooty on Thu, 2009-09-17 20:16.

You need an ornate wooden spinner, like a huge one, like a lo pan used in feng shui, and it should be able to produce every sort of random number you could ever imagine.

Oh when I think of how cool it could be, I think how Robin Laws totally missed out in not using a spinner for resolution in the game Feng Shui.

In case you've never seen a really ornate lo pan

Extreme complexity in a single spin

Submitted by Ar Kayon on Fri, 2009-09-18 02:25.

Even with a much simpler design, it would be capable of handling even the most daunting of combat mechanics, like burst fire. Because the spinner would point to multiple locations, it would be like rolling multiple dice with a single spin. Each rung would represent a different effect, and each element on a rung would represent variations of that effect. Thus, extreme complexity using a simplistic design. You, my friend, are an evil genius.
For example:
Rung 1, element A: You hit
Rung 2, element C: You hit the head region
Rung 3, element G: You hit him in the left eye!
Rung 4, element B: And for 5 regular damage + eye damage bonus = 13 damage! He's dead!
Rung 5, element E: And the blood sprayed in your face! (lol)

its not that easy

Submitted by arewas on Sun, 2009-10-11 06:14.

that limits the player very much,
i mean:if the pc aims at the head,and spin the pen,he can get a "you hit him in the leg",this could be against the religion of the character he plays(for example)

playing cards

Submitted by SheikhJahbooty on Fri, 2009-08-28 10:42.

sometimes I've used playing cards for dice.

For example, suppose you are hanging out with a bunch of hippies, and you convince them it might be fun to try Changeling, the Lost, but you do not have dice on you. The answer - grab one of their tarot decks and take out all the face cards and all the major arcana except 1 through 10. Now if someone has 8 dots in something, you can just deal them a spread of 8 cards and it's nearly the same thing as rolling 8 d10s.

For Ron Edwards' Sorcerer, you use a normal deck of playing cards or take the major arcana out of a tarot deck. This goes for any game that uses the same die rolling mechanic, like Donjon, Cold City, Hot War, etc.

For d4s you use the suits, diamonds = 1, hearts = 2, clubs = 3, spades = 4.

If your game only uses d6s, you can make a deck of only 1 through 6, but that's only 24 cards (or 30 if you're using a tarot deck with the arcana from 1 through 6). So you cold also just leave 2 face cards. If the deck has cards that mean 11 and 12, for example - A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Q, K, then you could use it for d12s, or you could use it for d6s, by subtracting 6 from any value greater than 6.

for d8s, use your d6 or d12 deck. if you get a low card, you get a value from 1 to 4, as per the suit, but if you get a high card, you add 4 to this value.

For d20, use a normal playing card deck made up for d10, the one with no face cards. If the card is red, it means 1 through 10. If it is black, it means 11 through 20.

I've never played a game that used d30, but you could make a d30 deck by only using 30 cards, probably diamonds, hearts, and clubs from 1 through 10.

So with 2 decks of cards, one with no jacks, and one with no face cards, you have d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. If you need d30, you'll need a third deck of cards. If your game only uses one type of die, like d20 perhaps, then you only need one deck.

Now, the next time you're looking forward to a boring hike through the woods with your friends, you can fold up your True 20 character sheets and put them in an easy to reach pocket and bring your deck with no face cards in it and you can play your tabletop RPG with no table.

Hmm handy

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Fri, 2009-08-28 10:57.

That's a) usefull because a deck of 40 cards (if using as a surrogate for D10) randomly shuffled gives you a pretty shit huge dice pool. Though only negative I can see is a character wont be able to get more than 4 tens in any draw (or if they had more that 12 dots in something, which is rare I know, then they wouldn't have a chance to succeed on them all.)

b) I love the idea of using cards as a replacement, besides from the cost, I imagine it might help bring in new players who are scared of going to a pub (we normally use the downstairs private area for large group gaming) and rolling dice, cards are, on the whole, a great deal more socially acceptable.
____________________________________________________________
Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

totally agree

Submitted by arewas on Sun, 2009-10-11 06:09.

c)other than being handy,it can be really stylish,for example,in an rpg about vampires,a tarot deck is always better than some dices

A better approach...

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2009-08-28 06:45.

Here is a better approach for the original post, if your goal is to generate numbers with the same statistical chance as the original die. You will need two d6s, each different from the other. For the sake of brevity, we will call them the first die and the second die.

1)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D2
Roll one d6 only. An odd number gives a result of 1, while an even number gives a result of 2.

2)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D4
Roll one d6 only. Reroll on a 5 or 6.

3)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D8
Roll two different d6s. Treat the first die as a d4, above. If the second die has a result of 4-6, add 4 to the first die's total.

4)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D10
Roll two different d6s. Reroll the first die on a 6. If the second die has a result of 4-6, add 5 to the first die's total.

5)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D12
Roll two different d6s. If the second die has a result of 4-6, add 6 to the first die's total.

6)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D18
Roll two different d6s. Reroll the first die on a 6. If the second die has a result of 3-4, add 6 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 5-6, add 12 to the first die's total.

7)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D20
Roll two different d6s. Reroll the first die on a 6. Reroll the second die on a 5 or 6. If the second die has a result of 2, add 5 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 3, add 10 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 4, add 15 to the first die's total.

8)HOW TO MAKE A D6 BECOME A D30
Roll two different d6s. Reroll the second die on a 6. If the second die has a result of 2, add 6 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 3, add 12 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 4, add 18 to the first die's total. If the second die has a result of 5, add 24 to the first die's total.

Hope This Helps!

the only small problem this

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Thu, 2009-08-27 10:18.

the only small problem this presents is the increasing minimal numbers. using two dice instead of one will yeild a better result (on average) and the worst possible result is twice as good (or three, four etc.) as if you were using a singular die. not much of a problem as its quite easy to modify target scores hit points or whatever in most systems to be able to accomodate this.
____________________________________________________________
Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

WUT?

Submitted by arewas on Fri, 2009-08-28 03:07.

WUT?

example

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Fri, 2009-08-28 03:35.

I mean, for example, that by adding 2D6 together in stead of rolling a D12 is better because the number spread is higher 2-12 rather than 1-12. Thats why, in games like dnd a weapon that deals 2D6 is better than a weapon that deals 1D12 damage.
____________________________________________________________
Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

i am sorry to disappoint you...

Submitted by arewas on Fri, 2009-08-28 06:01.

hey!thats what I said!
"roll a d6 twice"!

I know, I was explaining how

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Fri, 2009-08-28 10:53.

I know, I was explaining how if you do that it changes game balance, not reiterating a system.
____________________________________________________________
Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

HA!!!

Submitted by arewas on Fri, 2009-08-28 12:25.

BUT if you count s1 of one of the two d6 as 0...

you have

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Fri, 2009-08-28 12:36.

you have 1-11
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Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

true

Submitted by arewas on Sat, 2009-08-29 02:33.

then count s11 and s12 of one of them as 0
after that roll a d2 (see rule 1)

Rolling dice in multiples,

Submitted by CausticKitsune on Fri, 2009-08-28 17:39.

Rolling dice in multiples, will produce non-linear results. Not a bad thing, just not equivalent. Non-linear rolls will favor the mid-range of the spread of numbers. 3d6 for example will favor a result of 10-11 at a probability of 12.5% each. Compare this to a single die, such as the d20, and you have an equal chance of rolling each number (5%). Both examples have similar spreads, but the example with multiple dice will favor more "organic" or non-linear results.

in this case i d' try to

Submitted by arewas on Sat, 2009-08-29 02:38.

in this case i d' try to say

=something really clever about people who tend to know
everything=
=something that says that my theory is the best=

but,by your fault,it's too hard

bam comprimise

Submitted by alderneyvamp on Sat, 2009-08-29 02:59.

lets just say this is a good system for when you don't have the right dice, or not enough of the right dice, but it is still best to acquire these dice as quickly as possible.
____________________________________________________________
Don't steal... The Government hates competition.

Clarification...

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2009-08-28 06:34.

If you want to emulate a d12 using just d6s, then this is the statistically better way to do it:

Roll two d6s of different colors: If the first die is 1-3, then the result is just the second die. If the first die is 4-6, then the result is 6 + the second die.

The chances of generating any number between 1 and 12 remain the same as rolling a d12.

If you just roll 2d6 and add them together, you can never generate a natural 1 with that method, and your chances of rolling a 7 become 1 in six instead of 1 in 12. Therefore, 2d6 does not work as a substitute for a d12.

Hope This Helps!