Post by geoffrey on Mar 14, 2010 17:00:29 GMT -6
The dice conventions in Supplement V: CARCOSA require a lot of dice. That can be unfortunate or even impossible in some situations.
What does everyone think about the dice conventions? Be honest. I like criticism. It helps me see my own work better. So no need to pull punches.
Do you love the dice conventions? Would Carcosa not be Carcosa to you without the dice conventions?
Or do you hate them and think that they are way too wacky?
Or perhaps you don't really care one way or the other.
Any and all comments appreciated!
For convenience, here are the dice conventions quoted from the book:
DICE CONVENTIONS
DETERMINING TYPE OF DICE TO ROLL
Often the three rulebooks (as well as this supplement) will instruct the referee to roll dice, but will not specify what sort of dice to roll. The two most obvious examples are hit dice (whether for characters or for monsters) and dice to determine damage in combat. In such cases where the referee is unsure which dice to roll, he may roll on the following table to determine which dice to use:
Roll Type of Dice
1-2 4-sided
3-4 6-sided
5-6 8-sided
7-8 10-sided
9-0 12-sided
ROLLING HIT DICE
At the beginning of each combat, each player/character rolls on the above table. He then rolls the indicated type of dice for his hit points. For example, Yogthag the Binder (who has 5+1 hit dice) is attacked. He rolls a “7” on the table, indicating that he rolls five 10-sided dice for his HD for that combat. He rolls them with the following results:
0 (read as “10”)
8
5
3
3
He leaves the dice lying on the table as rolled.
A character with a constitution of 15 or higher gets +1 per die, and a character with a constitution of 6 or lower has a -1 penalty per die (with a minimum score of 1 on any die). When such a character rolls his hit dice, he must manually adjust each of his hit dice. Suppose Yogthag the Binder has a constitution of 15. The player of Yogthag would manually adjust the HD to read as follows:
11
9
6
4
4
(To indicate that a 10-sided die reads “11”, simply leave it reading “0” and place a 4-sided die on top of it. This method will work for all types of HD save for 4-sided dice. To indicate that a 4-sided die reads “5”, simply leave it reading “4” and place a 6-sided die underneath it.)
Of course, a character with a constitution score of 6 or lower who rolls a 1 on a given hit die would leave that die unchanged.
At many levels, a character has an addition to his hit dice, such as Yogthag the Binder with 5+1 hit dice. Such hit points can be represented by any marker desired, such as poker chips, with each chip representing 1 hit point.
Each player rolls as an individual to determine his HD type in any given combat. The players do not roll as a group. Thus they will typically have differing HD types from each other. Monsters of a given type are usually treated as a group. Unique monsters or special individuals are typically rolled for separately. For example, for a mixed group of six Diseased Guardians, four Deep Ones, and the Inky Crawler, the referee would roll three times to determine HD types: once for the six Diseased Guardians, once for the four Deep Ones, and once for the Inky Crawler.
ROLLING DAMAGE
Each time that a character or a monster does 1 die of damage, a handful of six dice (one of each type: 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided) is rolled. The 20-sided die (which must be numbered 0-9 twice) is read and the chart above is consulted to determine which of the other rolled dice indicates the actual damage done. For example, suppose the 20-sided die reads “3”, which indicates on the table that the damage die is 6-sided. The 6-sided die already rolled reads “5”, which is the actual amount of damage done in the attack. The other four dice are ignored.
Each time that a monster or a character does 2 or more dice of damage with an attack, the referee or the player rolls on the above chart to determine which sort of dice to roll for damage. For example, suppose a monster which does 3 dice of damage hits a character. The referee rolls on the chart and gets a “9”, indicating that the damage dice will be 12-sided for this attack. The referee then rolls three 12-sided dice and totals them to find the actual damage done by the attack.
GETTING WOUNDED
As damage is done, dice are taken away or reduced in value, always starting with the highest die. Suppose that in the course of combat with a group of Deep Ones, Yogthag the Binder took a total of 24 points of damage. The referee would have literally taken away Yogthag’s hit dice that read:
11
9
The referee would also have turned the highest of Yogthag’s three remaining HD from “6” to “2”, thus leaving him with three hit dice that read:
2
4
4
Let us suppose that the wounded Yogthag decided to leave the dungeon in search of healing. On the way he is ambushed by a Swordsman. Yogthag would roll on the table on page 11, and let us say he rolls a “0”, indicating that he gets to roll 12-sided dice for his hit dice this combat. Unfortunately, he has only three hit dice left. He trades his three 10-sided dice in for three 12-sided dice, and rolls them:
11
5
3
He would then manually adjust his dice for his constitution bonus:
12
6
4
Combat would then ensue.
HEALING WOUNDS
Each week of complete rest will restore two hit dice. Each day of complete rest will restore 1 hit point. For example, a Super Hero has 8+2 hit dice. Suppose he lost all his hit dice and 1 of his hit points (being reduced therefore to a single hit point). It would take him 29 days of rest to be fully healed: Four weeks (28 days) to restore his 8 HD, and one more day to restore his additional hit point.
COMMENTS
The above system of rolling hit dice and damage dice gives an overall average of 4.5 hit points per die. The system allows for greater uncertainty in the game. Cthulhu has 57 hit dice. Perhaps the players will be lucky and Cthulhu will get mere 4-sided hit dice when they attack. Or perhaps the lowly peasants will get lucky and have 12-sided hit dice when the greedy player characters attempt to rob them of their few copper pieces. In short, many hit dice do not necessarily mean many hit points, and few hit dice do not necessarily mean few hit points. Characters can be hopeful even against monsters with high numbers of hit dice, and at the same time cautious about attacking even those with only 1 hit die. Only after combat ensues will anyone (either players or referee) know what sort of hit die everyone involved gets to roll for that combat.
The same idea holds for doing damage. From round to round one’s weapon will be doing different ranges of damage. On some rounds, he will be reading the 4-sided die. On other rounds, he will be reading the 8-sided die. Etc. The pitchfork held by that lowly peasant could do as little as 1 point of damage in a given round, or as much as 12 points of damage.
What does everyone think about the dice conventions? Be honest. I like criticism. It helps me see my own work better. So no need to pull punches.
Do you love the dice conventions? Would Carcosa not be Carcosa to you without the dice conventions?
Or do you hate them and think that they are way too wacky?
Or perhaps you don't really care one way or the other.
Any and all comments appreciated!
For convenience, here are the dice conventions quoted from the book:
DICE CONVENTIONS
DETERMINING TYPE OF DICE TO ROLL
Often the three rulebooks (as well as this supplement) will instruct the referee to roll dice, but will not specify what sort of dice to roll. The two most obvious examples are hit dice (whether for characters or for monsters) and dice to determine damage in combat. In such cases where the referee is unsure which dice to roll, he may roll on the following table to determine which dice to use:
Roll Type of Dice
1-2 4-sided
3-4 6-sided
5-6 8-sided
7-8 10-sided
9-0 12-sided
ROLLING HIT DICE
At the beginning of each combat, each player/character rolls on the above table. He then rolls the indicated type of dice for his hit points. For example, Yogthag the Binder (who has 5+1 hit dice) is attacked. He rolls a “7” on the table, indicating that he rolls five 10-sided dice for his HD for that combat. He rolls them with the following results:
0 (read as “10”)
8
5
3
3
He leaves the dice lying on the table as rolled.
A character with a constitution of 15 or higher gets +1 per die, and a character with a constitution of 6 or lower has a -1 penalty per die (with a minimum score of 1 on any die). When such a character rolls his hit dice, he must manually adjust each of his hit dice. Suppose Yogthag the Binder has a constitution of 15. The player of Yogthag would manually adjust the HD to read as follows:
11
9
6
4
4
(To indicate that a 10-sided die reads “11”, simply leave it reading “0” and place a 4-sided die on top of it. This method will work for all types of HD save for 4-sided dice. To indicate that a 4-sided die reads “5”, simply leave it reading “4” and place a 6-sided die underneath it.)
Of course, a character with a constitution score of 6 or lower who rolls a 1 on a given hit die would leave that die unchanged.
At many levels, a character has an addition to his hit dice, such as Yogthag the Binder with 5+1 hit dice. Such hit points can be represented by any marker desired, such as poker chips, with each chip representing 1 hit point.
Each player rolls as an individual to determine his HD type in any given combat. The players do not roll as a group. Thus they will typically have differing HD types from each other. Monsters of a given type are usually treated as a group. Unique monsters or special individuals are typically rolled for separately. For example, for a mixed group of six Diseased Guardians, four Deep Ones, and the Inky Crawler, the referee would roll three times to determine HD types: once for the six Diseased Guardians, once for the four Deep Ones, and once for the Inky Crawler.
ROLLING DAMAGE
Each time that a character or a monster does 1 die of damage, a handful of six dice (one of each type: 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided) is rolled. The 20-sided die (which must be numbered 0-9 twice) is read and the chart above is consulted to determine which of the other rolled dice indicates the actual damage done. For example, suppose the 20-sided die reads “3”, which indicates on the table that the damage die is 6-sided. The 6-sided die already rolled reads “5”, which is the actual amount of damage done in the attack. The other four dice are ignored.
Each time that a monster or a character does 2 or more dice of damage with an attack, the referee or the player rolls on the above chart to determine which sort of dice to roll for damage. For example, suppose a monster which does 3 dice of damage hits a character. The referee rolls on the chart and gets a “9”, indicating that the damage dice will be 12-sided for this attack. The referee then rolls three 12-sided dice and totals them to find the actual damage done by the attack.
GETTING WOUNDED
As damage is done, dice are taken away or reduced in value, always starting with the highest die. Suppose that in the course of combat with a group of Deep Ones, Yogthag the Binder took a total of 24 points of damage. The referee would have literally taken away Yogthag’s hit dice that read:
11
9
The referee would also have turned the highest of Yogthag’s three remaining HD from “6” to “2”, thus leaving him with three hit dice that read:
2
4
4
Let us suppose that the wounded Yogthag decided to leave the dungeon in search of healing. On the way he is ambushed by a Swordsman. Yogthag would roll on the table on page 11, and let us say he rolls a “0”, indicating that he gets to roll 12-sided dice for his hit dice this combat. Unfortunately, he has only three hit dice left. He trades his three 10-sided dice in for three 12-sided dice, and rolls them:
11
5
3
He would then manually adjust his dice for his constitution bonus:
12
6
4
Combat would then ensue.
HEALING WOUNDS
Each week of complete rest will restore two hit dice. Each day of complete rest will restore 1 hit point. For example, a Super Hero has 8+2 hit dice. Suppose he lost all his hit dice and 1 of his hit points (being reduced therefore to a single hit point). It would take him 29 days of rest to be fully healed: Four weeks (28 days) to restore his 8 HD, and one more day to restore his additional hit point.
COMMENTS
The above system of rolling hit dice and damage dice gives an overall average of 4.5 hit points per die. The system allows for greater uncertainty in the game. Cthulhu has 57 hit dice. Perhaps the players will be lucky and Cthulhu will get mere 4-sided hit dice when they attack. Or perhaps the lowly peasants will get lucky and have 12-sided hit dice when the greedy player characters attempt to rob them of their few copper pieces. In short, many hit dice do not necessarily mean many hit points, and few hit dice do not necessarily mean few hit points. Characters can be hopeful even against monsters with high numbers of hit dice, and at the same time cautious about attacking even those with only 1 hit die. Only after combat ensues will anyone (either players or referee) know what sort of hit die everyone involved gets to roll for that combat.
The same idea holds for doing damage. From round to round one’s weapon will be doing different ranges of damage. On some rounds, he will be reading the 4-sided die. On other rounds, he will be reading the 8-sided die. Etc. The pitchfork held by that lowly peasant could do as little as 1 point of damage in a given round, or as much as 12 points of damage.
