"Replacing buckets of dice with 2D6" Topic

One of my major dislikes of FoW is how many dice are needed. Inevitable the dice wind up all over the table, which really ruins the visual appeal of wargaming for me. So I was wondering how to replace them with a table and 2D6?

I imagine a table with columns labeled from 3 to 30 to replace the dice. The rows are labeled 2-12 for a 2D6 roll. The main part is easy – assuming a 4+ hit/success it's pretty easy to fill in the table. But how to account for die roll modifiers? Is there a way to have one table so I don't need to make 6 (one for each "to hit" number?).

I'm guessing it's either do 6 charts or put it all on a computer? Anyone ever tried this?

dice for rolling or dice as counters/chits?

if just for rolling can't you have a lacky roll them out of sight and have him/her advise of teh results? That way the visual integrity is preserved.

Dice for rolling.

I could easily program it but one thing I know – players like to roll their own dice if given the choice!

"a lacky"? Am I the only one who wondered who would volunteer to be "a lacky"?

You don't volunteer for that-- you just are or you aren't one.

Buckets of dice vs. a few D6….an unending debate.

Have you tried a dice tower? They're easy to make and can be disguised as scenery.

Have you tried a dice tower? They're easy to make and can be disguised as scenery.

Or a box lid.

I LIKE Buckets O'Dice. So there.

I usually call my lackeys "Lickspittle" and names like that. That could explain why I have so few lackeys.

Folks have tried (and failed) to reduce Watch Your Six results to a 2D6. Does not work -- not at all. You end up with something entirely different.

mjc

Just roll the dice in a box lid…
You can even disguise the box lid as a walled field so it looks nice on table.

When I get to play Songs of heroes with the boy he makes me get the Yatzee game out aswell to roll the dice in the tray.

You'd essentially be replacing a bunch of individual rolls, which tend to average out, with one, which can yield very different (good or bad) results. You may rid yourself of the objectionable rolls, only to off players because it really does come down to one lucky roll.

Also, the odds of a 2d6 roll result are not linear, so you're going to skew towards the middle. The odds of getting a 7 are much higher (6 in 36) than a 2 or 12 (1 in 36 ea.)

And now, instead of those nasty little dice, you'll have each player with a half dozen sheets strewn across the table! Using a computer never seems to work very well, as everyone has to move around to the keyboard to use it. Use a rolling tray, box lid or tower rather than changing the game. And get your players to quit being slobs!

- Bob

You wouldn't necessarily be able to convert to 2D6 and a chart, but you could certainly convert to something and a chart. This is, after all, essentially what Seekrieg does (chart I in 4th ed.).

Actually, the more I think about this, the more interesting the problem of coming up with a chart sounds. But I'm not familiar with FoW. I take it players roll from 1 to 30 d6, and each die that meets or exceeds a target value is a hit? What are the target values? Not 1-6, I trust, since you wouldn't need a table for hits on 1+!

Yes. You roll a certain number of D6 per firing stand. Each roll that succeeds causes a hit. Generally, every firing unit has the same chance to hit. So I'd just like to replace rolling 30 dice with two dice.

A preliminary look and i can already see I need to roll 2D6 reading one as the tens digit and one as the ones digit. That gives me 36 results to play with (and I'm okay with altering the odds slightly – I'll just squeeze the bell curve toward the middle so to speak).

Working on a chart now…

If you do it right, you shouldn't have to "squeeze" the bell curve. The only difference between the bucket of dice and the 2D6 should be rounding to the nearest 2.7%.

Surely it's just easier to get people to pick up their dice after they've rolled them? We usually amanage to keep our dice tidy, but that's because we don't want to get our dice mixed up.

This chart PDF link is all 2d6. It's worked for us for over 30 years. Although ancient-medieval, the system is "periodless" and might offer some ideas….

I don't know how many dice in FoW, but if it is handfulls like Warmaster, you'd be better converting to %, as there are more results, and you don't get the bell curve.

Heresy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I'll drop the 2D6 idea and use 3D4 instead…

3d17, thats the way to go.

I tried that. Problem is one of my d17 is loaded and always comes up 42…and I can't tell which one it is.

I'm telling you, they're crafty and they're organized…

I would also go with building a dice tower, once you use one you will use it for all your games.

Ok eveil twin I am placing these thoughts here instead of at your brother's similar thread! LOL!

Why are you rolling a bucket of die lets just say 12 dice? That is a mechnic that might require the 12 dice or the needed result % wise may seem to require the use of fewer dice.

Is it the number of firers? Then 12 dice need to be rolled since it is a chance for each firer to hit. Is it the artillery and you have a low troop ratio which means a lot of castings are attacking you? Then you still to roll 12 dice as that indicates the number of possible casualties with 3+ indicating the chance that a hit is acheived.

If your troop scale is a larger (1:30 or higher) then different mechanics can be used to lessen the number of dice needed to be rolled.

I would have thought that in most cases, the decision of which type of 'randomiser' to use is integral to much of the system desigbn from the outset ….. and should be left that way.

for buckets of dice, I use a small box lid, lined with a felt or some other off-cut material to cushion the dice.

I would suggest you have a net modifier value and a series of headings at the top indicating a column that you roll on.

Look a the fire points system for fire and fury, but thibk dice instead of points

I hate buckets of dice but I find consulting reams of charts really slows down a game, making the dice the lesser of two evils. Fewer dice and fewer charts is the way to go.

KevanG, that sounds similar to Rapid Fire. I don't know the exact rules as such (my mate is the rule monkey for this game) but it uses a combat/casualty chart for small arms and HE fire that breaks down into multiple columns. It factors in the firepower of the weapon, the number of firing troops and their quality, the armour of the target, cover and the range to the target. Whew! Just one D6 is rolled and chart-hopping is minimised. It's an old-fashioned ruleset but tidy and fast.