November 24, 2024, 09:17:36 AM

Author Topic: Bigs don't roll blanks!  (Read 8671 times)

Wildhorn

  • Superior artificial brain, feel free to call me Blaine.
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1063
  • Banana Stickers 3
    • View Profile
    • Mage Wars Quebec
Bigs don't roll blanks!
« on: March 25, 2014, 08:55:56 AM »
Recently, I played a game named Mythic Battle. I didn't like the game, but I liked the dice mechanic.

Basically, a unit roll X dices (numbered from 0 to 5) and to get a hit with a dice (which gives 1 damage), you need to equal the opponent armor value.

The interesting thing is that you can scrap 1 dice to increase by 1 the value of another dice. I liked that idea because it meants that a powerful creature that roll alot of dice is sure to do some damage.

There I thought... That would be amazing for Mage Wars. If we could scrap like 2 dices to turn another blank dice into a normal 1 damage or a normal 1 damage into a normal 2 damage.

This would reduce some of the dice rolling luck, especially for big attacks. Nothing is more devastating than rolling 9/9 blanks. At least these 9 blanks would turn into 3 normal damages.

I think this would increase the dept of Mage Wars without unbalancing the current game.

What do you think?

Zuberi

  • Rules Guru
  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2504
  • Banana Stickers 57
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2014, 10:09:04 AM »
Sounds like a neat idea.

sIKE

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4172
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Ugh
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2014, 10:13:39 AM »
What is the number of dice that you would start this at? What if you had dice reductions on the attack, would you still get to reroll? What happens if you roll a blank(s) again? Sounds a bit slippery to me.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Wildhorn

  • Superior artificial brain, feel free to call me Blaine.
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1063
  • Banana Stickers 3
    • View Profile
    • Mage Wars Quebec
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2014, 10:33:57 AM »
What is the number of dice that you would start this at? What if you had dice reductions on the attack, would you still get to reroll? What happens if you roll a blank(s) again? Sounds a bit slippery to me.

You got it wrong. You do not reroll anything.

Lets says you get

5x blank
1x 1 normal
1x 1 crit

You could scrap (aka remove from the table) 2 of the blank to turn the 1 normal into a 2 nomal and also scrap 2 other blanks to turn the last blank into a 1 normal.

sIKE

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4172
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Ugh
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2014, 10:49:46 AM »
Ahh I got it, I think for balance purposes that the "bigs" dice number would need to be reduced as the number of dice they roll would no longer be offset by the chance to roll any blanks.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

ringkichard

  • Flightless Funpire
  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2564
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Kich, if you prefer.
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2014, 10:59:43 AM »
It's an interesting mechanic because it feels powerful, but it'd actually be extremely tame in Mage Wars. In your example, it results in 2 bonus damage, on an absolutely terrible roll. It reduces the psychological impact of rare dice catastrophes, but it doesn't actually change much in terms of attrition.

Tactically, it could be useful, though, because it would mean that a 6 die attack would be guaranteed to at least roll a couple of 1s, so there'd be less uncertainty in finishing off a badly wounded creature.

Oh, and it would hose Incorporeal, so probably don't do that.
I can take the fun out of anything. It's true; here, look at this spreadsheet.

Wildhorn

  • Superior artificial brain, feel free to call me Blaine.
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1063
  • Banana Stickers 3
    • View Profile
    • Mage Wars Quebec
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2014, 11:09:27 AM »
It's an interesting mechanic because it feels powerful, but it'd actually be extremely tame in Mage Wars. In your example, it results in 2 bonus damage, on an absolutely terrible roll. It reduces the psychological impact of rare dice catastrophes, but it doesn't actually change much in terms of attrition.

Yeha, it feel powerful, but in fact, it just gives a minimum of normal damage of 1/3 of your dice amount, because as soon as you get numbers on other dice, it means less blanks, so you can't do it more and you can't buff critical.

Quote
Tactically, it could be useful, though, because it would mean that a 6 die attack would be guaranteed to at least roll a couple of 1s, so there'd be less uncertainty in finishing off a badly wounded creature.

Which I think is a good thing, since my target is wounded, so it means it should be teared down, tired, exausted from all these wounds, so if I give the final blow, it should die (or at least has a higher chance to).

Quote
Oh, and it would hose Incorporeal, so probably don't do that.

I thought about that too, just add in the Incorporeal description that to use the <insert a name for that systeme>, it require 4 dices instead of 2. So you keep the "probabilities" even.

barriecritzer

  • Full Mage
  • ***
  • Posts: 197
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 11:56:30 AM »
I know how frustrating dice rolls in this game can be. I rolled 8 dice with Kralathor the other day and did not roll a single crit.

Shad0w

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2934
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2014, 09:34:00 AM »
Why wont this thread die.  >:(
"Darth come prove to meet you are worthy of the fighting for your school in the arena and not just another scholar to be discarded like an worn out rag doll"


Quote: Shad0w the Arcmage

Laddinfance

  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4646
  • Banana Stickers 2
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2014, 09:47:53 AM »
Why wont this thread die.  >:(

Because you rolled blanks?

Aylin

  • Sr. Mage
  • ****
  • Posts: 494
  • Banana Stickers 4
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2014, 10:36:56 AM »
Why wont this thread die.  >:(

Because you rolled blanks?

Fairly sure this thread is a zombie at this point. Now you need to roll crits.

Shad0w

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2934
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2014, 10:58:21 AM »
I do passive direct damage.  :P
"Darth come prove to meet you are worthy of the fighting for your school in the arena and not just another scholar to be discarded like an worn out rag doll"


Quote: Shad0w the Arcmage

sIKE

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4172
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Ugh
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2014, 10:59:31 AM »
You can just lock it....

>:-)
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

Shad0w

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2934
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2014, 11:23:46 AM »
I feel like joking about it for a bit. I have had a headache form nearly 7pm yesterday and it is now 12:20 pm.

Once it dies if anybody tries to cast res I will reveal the Jinx I have hidden.
"Darth come prove to meet you are worthy of the fighting for your school in the arena and not just another scholar to be discarded like an worn out rag doll"


Quote: Shad0w the Arcmage

Wildhorn

  • Superior artificial brain, feel free to call me Blaine.
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1063
  • Banana Stickers 3
    • View Profile
    • Mage Wars Quebec
Re: Bigs don't roll blanks!
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2014, 04:25:44 PM »
You seem to be anti-idea today, Shadow. Should cast Sleep to get ride of that headache.