Dice and the Wheel

[Luke]

As I was drifting into reverie, standing, assaulted by the crushing grooves of The Haunted, a jolt of insight shook me.

Burning Wheel can be played with nearly any kind of die.

The skinny:
d4= Doesn't work, not enough range to incorporate DN modifiers.

d6= Tight and deadly. DN's are: 4 for Black, 3 for Gray, 2 for White. DN Wound penalties (Superficials and Lights) are harsh and that's how i like it.

d8= Room to breath. Shade DNs: Black 5, Gray 4, White 3. DN wound penalties have slightly less impact.

d10= Fast and loose. DN's become: 6 for Black, 4 for Gray, and 3 for White. DN Wound penalties (Sups and Lights) have less impact but are still significant.

d12= Looser still. DN's become: 7 for Black, 5 for Gray, 4 for White. This dilutes the power of Shade somewhat. DN Wound penalties are laughable.

d20= Too Loose. I wouldn't recommend using these notoriously unreliable dice, but DN's become: 11 for Black, 7 for Gray, and 4 for White. DN Wound penalties need to be upped to Superficial +2 DN and Light +4 DN (at least).

As far as I can tell, no other mechanic or rule would need to change. Remember, no matter what you choose, BW still only uses one type of die in play.

If you choose to use non-d6 dice in your BW game make sure you use them consistently through out the campaign. Each die type generates a different "feel" in play, and switching them could really throw off player's understanding of the game.

-L
edited after nebmen's observation

[taepoong]

oh my god. he's lost his mind.

Quick! Someone turn off the unholy music!

[nebulous menace]

Utterly brilliant!

Now all I need is like twelve D8s of two different colors and I have NO complaint with your TN difficulties!

(We switched back to the "all TN numbers go up, not just one die" rules and a Superficial wound ruins your chances of accomplishing anything, ever.)

Edited to say: Did you want everything but D6's to produce "slightly more than 50% successes" for Black shade?

Black shade successes:

D6: 50%.
D8: 62.5% (4,5,6,7,8 = 5/8)
D10: 60%
D12: 58.3%
D20: 55%

Grey shades and white shades also become slightly more effective with larger dice, except D12/white.

I am truly the rain man of gaming.

[Luke]

Oh you're right about those pesky Black Shade DNs!

I am a math retard.

Must keep even odds for Black Shade DNs.

I am going to edit the post to reflect this (rather than rewriting the whole damn thing.)

thanks neb!
-L

[nebulous menace]

Definitely quantas.

[Luke]

Ah, the one other thing that would have to change if you were going to use alternate dice with BW is the Armor and VA rules.

D8: Quilting DN 7, Plated Leather DN 6, Chainmail DN 5, Plated Chain DN 4, Full Plate DN 3. Nearly all shields are DN 5 as well.

VAs can stay the same for a less deadly game or all be increased by one for a slightly more deadly game.

D10: Quilting DN 8, Plated Leather DN 7, Chainmail DN 6, Plated Chain DN 4, Full Plate DN 3. Nearly all shields are DN 6.

VAs for all weapons should be doubled. VA -- = 1 (fists should still have no VA), VA 1= 2, VA 2= 4, VA 3= 6, etc

Thus a fist has no VA, a club has a VA of 1, a sword has VA of 2, a superior quality axe has a VA of 4, a pointblank shot from an arquebus has a VA of 6.

Hunting bows have a VA 1, crossbows have a VA 2, long/great bows and heavy crossbows have a VA 4.

D12:  Quilting DN 10, Plated Leather DN 8, Chainmail DN 7, Plated Chain DN 5, Full Plate DN 3. Nearly all shields are DN 7.

VAs for all weapons should be doubled. VA -- = 1 (fists should still have no VA), VA 1= 2, VA 2= 4, VA 3= 6, etc

Hunting bows have a VA 1, crossbows have a VA 2, long/great bows and heavy crossbows have a VA 4.

D20:  Quilting DN 16, Plated Leather DN 14, Chainmail DN 11, Plated Chain DN 8, Full Plate DN 5. Nearly all shields are DN 11.

VA -- = VA 2, VA 1= 3, VA 2= 6, VA 3= 9, VA 4= 12.

Thus a fist has no VA, a knife or club is VA 2, a sword is VA 3, a mace has a VA of 6, a superior quality mace has a VA of 9 and pointblank pistol shots have a VA of 12.

Hunting bows have a VA 2, crossbows have a VA 3, long/great bows and heavy crossbows have a VA 6.

--
As the dice ranges get bigger, armor is less likely to fail. But it is also less likely to save you. A fair trade off.

finally, d20 Burning Wheel!