Quote from: warrenAnd it's not wanting to just be "unique snowflake"; it's just that the Dogs dice mechanic is the strangest I have ever come across

In one way, particularly the way you describe it, it is different - and when you bring in that it "feels" different, I get what you're saying.

In a strange way it seems that DitV has extended resource management (one of the hallmarks of tactical play) to the dice mechanic.  This seems odd to me as it starts to combine the "randomizer" (and what IMHOis one of the main purposes of dice in a RPG) with the actual character resource management. Again, this supports your uniqueness perspective.

So I hope that helps buffer my sarcastic banter

Quote from: warrenTrue; but where do dice mechanics stop and the rest of the game start? What I described in my previous post I would say are the dice mechanics for Dogs, but I can see cases to draw the line in other places.

It's a good question.  It's why I would (if the world were mine to control) limit an Enclopedia Randomica to the specifics of the mechanic - how it works, how the odds work out...

But wait, that contradicts my earlier approach which involve including a specific mechanic's strengths for certain applications and such.   So ignore me whilst I ruminate some more on this.

Quote from: flyingmiceRats! That ruins the fun!

What about ORE with it's yahtzee-like mechanic? I don't mean the wierd dice, I mean the base mechanic.

-clash

Many dice-variable target with a gimmick?

BTW - once again, an excellent post, Spike.

Quote from: BrantaiMany dice-variable target with a gimmick?

BTW - once again, an excellent post, Spike.

That's what it sounds like to me too. And thanks.

OK! Thanks, Spike and Brantai! The gimmick was obscuring the many dice-variable target aspect for me. Lord, ORE drive me bughouse!

-clash

The Yahtzee aspect makes me think of Weapons of the Gods. I'm not going to stand here and say that I am the end all of all dice type knowledge. I've never even seen ORE. Heard of it, sure. I  could be wrong.

It's not likely, but possible. :cool:

Has anyone ever seen a 'Fixed Pool' dice mechanic?  One where the number of dice rolled was constant throughout the game (to some extent...), regardless of character, and changes were wrought in other areas?

If not, does anyone want to speculate how that might work?  Obviously, becuase I used the word, POOL in there we are not talked single die or bell curve die mechanics.

Quote from: SpikeHas anyone ever seen a 'Fixed Pool' dice mechanic?  One where the number of dice rolled was constant throughout the game (to some extent...), regardless of character, and changes were wrought in other areas?

If not, does anyone want to speculate how that might work?  Obviously, because I used the word, POOL in there we are not talked single die or bell curve die mechanics.

There's one single shared pool for all contested/disputed actions. The Players and GM bid from individual pools of points on how many dice each gets out of that pool.

OR

Each Player gets 4 dice and the GM gets 6, roll to beat fixed TN, count successes. Players can sell dice to each other for points. Winner narrates.  

Hmmm - none of those quite do it...

Howabout each Player gets 4 dice and the GM gets 6, roll to beat fixed TN, count successes. Players can add auto-successes from limited resource of points. Each Player and GM narrate 1 thing for each success.

-clash

How about fixed pool, fixed TN, count successes. Number of success + skill rank + stat = total. Highest total wins. A LOT more trad.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceHow about fixed pool, fixed TN, count successes. Number of success + skill rank + stat = total. Highest total wins. A LOT more trad.

-clash

That one would definitely count as an example. Of course, I'm interested in looking at those other ones you were talking about.

Quote from: SpikeThat one would definitely count as an example. Of course, I'm interested in looking at those other ones you were talking about.

I think they fall into the nether regions of Silly Dice Tricks. Not really worth pursuing. I can imagine a game based on them, but I can't imagine liking a game based on them.

-clash

Ours is not to like or hate, but merely to catagorize and explain

Quote from: SpikeOurs is not to like or hate, but merely to catagorize and explain

Speak for thyself, Spike!

All of those are meta-level mechanics  - they don't refer to characters at all. With these mechanics, the characters are pure puppets of the players, and stats and skills just window dressing. They aren't needed at all. It's let's pretend with a player-level mechanic. Some folks would love it, but I'm not particularly drama driven. Put it this way - my favorite death scenes in movies and TV are Wash's death in Serenity and Tasha Yar's death in ST:TNG.

-clash

At the risk of crapping my own thread:

Wash's death was pretty damn dramatic, for all it seemed abrupt and pointless.  Whedon spent a great deal of time in the movie subtly broadcasting that Wash was doomed, everything from killing off Book (to prove he would) to the weird cut/framing on Miranda when Wash said some line about everyone being dead... all designed to set you up for the all too realistic 'oops, now he's dead' moment.  No dying words, no forecasting of the one that got him, no expectation of death from the characters PoV.... I'm reasonalby certain people watching the movie in theatres were nodding along with Kaylee when she asked 'Where's Wash?' five minutes later just because it WAS that abrupt and 'unfocused'...


but hardly undramatic.

In retrospect I guess you could see it coming, but at the time, I saw no build up, no drama. Just the horror of losing a kind of friend.

Aaaanyway, back to dice mechanics!

-clash

Quote from: flyingmicePut it this way - my favorite death scenes in movies and TV are Wash's death in Serenity and Tasha Yar's death in ST:TNG.

That's nothing.  Try watching some Japanese dramas from the late 1980s and early 1990s when very dark stories were all the rage.  The Fuji dramas ran about 12 episodes with a beginning and an end, so pretty much anything could be done to the characters.  Characters would die in random car accidents, end the series heavily brain damaged, die from terminal diseases (that happened in a comedy), in the first episode, of suicide after having their lives ruined for being nice people, and even the point of view character could die before the last episode.  It was so bad that my wife and I would physically wince whenever and upset character would run toward a busy street because it was entirely possible that they would run out into the street or slip and get run over and killed.  I loved that, because it was such a refreshingly unpredictable.