Dice

Drawbacks: Some of the suspension of disbelief is lost as they are transported swiftly from your world into the real world of dice, paper, and pencil.

3. Let players make all of their own rolls. This is the system I use because I am a creature of habit, but it is not necessarily the best. The players roll everything. I make this work by reversing the result needed. For example, if they needed high, now they need low, and vice versa. And I never tell them modifiers. Benefits: The players feel this is fair, they are controlling their character's destiny, as it were. Less work for you, so you can concentrate more fully on the story Drawbacks: Many story interruptions for the characters; cheating is more likely for those prone to it.

Fudging The Roll

Cheating for the players, and occasionally, against them is a time honored tradition. Not only is it OK, it is necessary. On occasion you will make a mistake. The antagonist will be too strong, the player will critically fail, and rightfully die. A fudged dice roll can fix this. Fudging can also make the character's tow the line. If there is an awful lot of horse play, rolling as if for a random encounter, can quieten them down very quickly. Especially if you are known for particularly bloody random encounters.

Whether or not you have a few or hundreds of dice, you will need a place to keep them. Some use a simple cloth bag, or even fancy velvet ones. I personally use a tackle box. They has several small compartments to hold and seperate your collection, and are inexpensive. Mine was under three dollars.

No matter how you choose to use them, or store them, you will need to find a supplier. Many hobby stores carry them, as do many comic book shops. Role-playing stores are now coming into their own, and will carry all of the dice you could ever need. There are also a few great online spots. For example Irony Games has alot of great resources, including a system for electronic rolling, that will even email your results to your GM. Highland Games has a very nice selection of custom, hand painted dice.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic