Another area I sometimes get flak on is weapons having:
1. A huge range. Ex:
Dagger - 1d8 - 4 attacks
Zwei-hander - 5d10 - 2 attacks

2. Different die types. I use pretty much the range of dice in your pouch for weapons. Generally, edged use d10, Axes do d12s and Hammers do d8s.

So, for V2, should I standardize dice types for weapons?

Ideas:
1. Standardize by type. I already have weapons split into piercing, edged, and  bludgeoning. Should I just say, d8 for piercing, d10 for edged, and d12 for Bludgeoning?

2. Standardize and MEAN IT! Make all weapons d6 or d10?

Goals:
1. Simplify combat and dice used.
2. Would like to preserve diversity in weapons.
3. Would like to avoid the "Fist o' Dice" you can get into if you try and make a d4 work and still differentiate between a pen knife and a Great Sword.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill

I prefer just the one die type - but how about if you 'standardize by type' but keep a limit on the number of dice rolled:

- so if edged weapons do d10, how about:

knives - roll 2d10 - use the lowest roll
normal swords - roll 2d10 - take the highest roll
great swords - roll 2d10 - take the highest roll - if roll double 10 then roll again and add.

Personally I don't like rolling more than 2 dice whatever the type.

I'm a fan of one die. The bigger die doesn't really feel like bigger damage as much as rolling a shed load of die. I remember liking that about the old star wars system, holding 12 D6 in your hands and thinking "This is going to leave a mark".

As for the dice you use, it doesn't really matter, everything is of relative scale. Choose you die value by what feels right.

Great ideas guys and thanks!

Another idea I have had, that kind of relates to Sean's idea, is open ended rolling. I have done this with skill checks in standard and would like to extend it in V2 to include damage which makes for interesting results. Here it is.

When you roll the max end of a die, you roll again and add. Yeah, nothing stellar new there but that kind of describes my appraoch to system design. So, for instance, if we standardize on type like so:

Piercing: d6
Edged: d10
Bludgioning: d12

You suddenly change the scape of the probabilities for open ended rolling. Arrows and spears will have a 1 in 6 chance per die of rolling and adding as opposed to 1 in 10 and 1 in 12.

I like this because it adds excitement to damage rolling without too much complication or additional dice.

Thoughts?

Bill

What's the logic of bludgeoning doing twice the average damage of piercing?

I rather like damage being tied to how well someone hits--the rest is debatable usually for me, but the single type of die per weapon is workable., I'd just like to know your reasoning.

Or you could use 1 type of die for all weapon damage. Say d6, then have a multiplier for each specific weapon.

ie

Knife X1
Short sword/gladius X1.5
Longsword X2
Greatsword X2.5

Mace X2
Pistol X4

etc, etc

I'm going to be contrarian - I like all the different dice. Makes it feel like there's a difference, to me...

Quote from: SilverlionWhat's the logic of bludgeoning doing twice the average damage of piercing?

I rather like damage being tied to how well someone hits--the rest is debatable usually for me, but the single type of die per weapon is workable., I'd just like to know your reasoning.

Oh, it just looks that way. Really, damage is comparable between weapon types. Like James mentions, it is an affectation to give a semblance of difference and variety to the weapons.

However, in V2 with open rolling, the advantage smaller dice will have is that they offer a higher probability to hit the high end and cause a roll and add. In this way, it can make smaller dice types advantageous.

Does that make sense?

Thanks,
Bill

Quote from: One Horse TownOr you could use 1 type of die for all weapon damage. Say d6, then have a multiplier for each specific weapon.

ie

Knife X1
Short sword/gladius X1.5
Longsword X2
Greatsword X2.5

Mace X2
Pistol X4

etc, etc

Dan,
I actually used this type of thing in the first drafts back in 85. Players nearly lynched me for making them multiply dice rolls...Yeah, go figure. I make need to revisit it though. I have always like the single die type, multiplier kind of thing.

That said, I think a lot of my current customer base is invested in different die types to a certain extent. I will run it past my play test network and see what happens.

Thanks,
Bill

Quote from: HinterWeltOh, it just looks that way. Really, damage is comparable between weapon types. Like James mentions, it is an affectation to give a semblance of difference and variety to the weapons.

However, in V2 with open rolling, the advantage smaller dice will have is that they offer a higher probability to hit the high end and cause a roll and add. In this way, it can make smaller dice types advantageous.

Does that make sense?

Thanks,
Bill

Yeah I noticed the "exploding die" aspect, not sure how well it works out in general when the base before exploding tends to be higher.


As for multiplying. Just say no. I'm not adverse to it entirely in games, but I've played with a gamut of players including those who multiplying numbers on the fly drags them out of the game. (My first attempt at a system for High Valor had base damage+margin of success times a dice rolled value, it just didn't have enough benefit for the extra time and work--even when it was just a few seconds per combat round)