Dice Rolling is Weird

So, what’s the point of rolling dice? Why does every major ttrpg system use dice rolls as the foundation? What are the different types of dice systems? Or for that matter, why are there even different systems at all?

Is asking a bunch of questions to set up a point pedantic and annoying and the crutch of a bad writer?

This is a D6 dice pool.

The answer to all those questions really boils down to the answer to one more fundamental question- what does the rolling of dice actually accomplish?

On the surface, especially for anyone whose experience with RPGs in general is as a casual player, the answer involves simulating reality within a fantasy world.

Take for example Dungeons and Dragons’ D20 system, where most actions require a player to roll a 20-sided die and add modifiers to the number to see if they succeed or fail. On its face, this system exists to allow anyone at least a slim chance of succeeding at any action they want to try in game. At the same time, this system seems to reward expertise in a given field without guaranteeing success. Even novices can get lucky, and even experts fail sometimes.

The reality of the situation is that the D20 system does not simulate reality so much as it simulates is the Dunning-Kruger effect. I, for example, know how to use power tools. I have access to high quality building materials, and if I needed to, I could devote all my free time to one thing. Even with all that, there’s not a chance in hell that I can build a stable house. That requires a level of training and knowledge that even a natural 20 can’t provide.

Dammit Steve, we would have insulation and drywall up by now if you ever rolled about a 12.

But what the D20 system does do well is let people have fun. Dungeons and Dragons (and Baldur’s Gate), KOTOR I and II, Call of Cthulhu, all these games allow players to try things that are fun, even if it wouldn’t really make full rational sense. Because they are games, and that’s not the point.

Okay, so rolling dice is meant to illustrate the roll chance plays in determining an outcome. That’s a fair take. Even in the purest analysis, not every variable can be accounted for or controlled. But there’s way better ways to simulate randomness, even in analog. Pulling a card from a shuffled playing card deck offers more varied outcomes. You can even assign an alternate value to the cards to allow for more levels of success or failure.

Then again, you could say that the purpose of rolling dice is precisely because they have a level of mathematical predictability to them. On average, a six-sided die (D6) will produce an outcome of 3.5. That becomes 4.5 for a D8 and 5.5 for a D10. If you rolled two D6s, you would get an average of 7. We can get even more technical, and say that in terms of likelihood, rolling two D6s a few times will most likely result in a 5, a few 6s, a bunch of 7s, a few 8s, and a 9.

That’s just Catan though. I was describing Catan

The thing is, what you gain in predictability, you lose in overall ability. A system based on predictability can only reward playing predictably, which sort of takes the role playing out of an RPG.

Now that we’ve gone in circles a few times, maybe taken the time to appreciate the polyhedral scenery, maybe we can get to the goddamn point?

What does rolling dice actually accomplish? Whatever you need it to. The important thing is that the method or system of dice rolling fits the purpose and intent of the game.

There’s currently a new page live about the dice rules of Whalefall. The next blog post is probably going to be about that, and why I went with a dice pool system.