"The D6 Mechanic" Topic

Yep, that would be a good idea :-) I never really wondered about such things as probability until I got interested in doing a game from scratch recently.

2d6 gives you a pyramid - I think 3d6 gives you a bell curve

The only balanced d6 dice are the Casino Craps 'Gambling' dice which are very expensive. My son did a school Math project on probability and various types of dice. With internal air bubbles 'game' dice are always unbalanced to some degree.

Phils comments look right. I personally prefer d10 with only a 10% variance per number. Also in comparison rolls with other players there is less chance of a tie.

I definately vote D10 over D6 if you re rolling one dice. Nore potential range for modification and range for target numbers as well.

Jeff

I think I actually rather like the jumps in odds you get with a modified D6. For the kind of quick & dirty techno-gothic skirmishrules I'm creating it makes for a clear & transparent mechanism where basic stats variation between the troop types isn't too large. just a +1 or +2 here & there, along with some situational modifiers. Regular troopers from opposing factions don't need to be radically different statswise, and for special trooptypes working with rules exceptions & modifications that allow them to do things the regulars can't, looks more satisfying.

"With internal air bubbles 'game' dice are always unbalanced to some degree."

However, if every die is differently unbalanced, and you roll up enough dice, things might balance out pretty much in the end.

Griefbringer

True Grief, but based on the probality tests you might get a variance of 5% (a specific number = #6 occurs 22 times instead of 16-17 in 100 rolls) as a result another number (#1 can occur as little as 9 times instaed of 16). All of these tend to be more important in games using only d6 for play as they will result in unfair advantages. One die in the experiment (rounded edges) had a variance of 11%.

So dice do have a tendacy to roll specific numbers (low or high). Based on discussions with Casino personnel, the casino relys on the balanced chance for numbers with each roll rather than based on probability.

Even with d10 the 5% variance is average but it means that the number range is greater than d6 especially if you use a variable number of numbers to 'hit'.

Actually d20 had the least average variance but they roll forever.

Hmmmm, now that you mentioned it - I have somewhere one casino gambling dice, bought as a souvenir from Las Vegas when I was kid (and wasn't allowed anywhere near an actual gambling area). I guess I should use it more often ;-)

Griefbringer