D100 flaws

[Eric J.]

I'm creating a D100 system.  Is it too complicated for the average person? It would almost always be if you roll a D100 is it lower than- X+Y=DC or
X=DC+Y.  Dealing with multiple digits hurts some. Does it hurt you?

[Jared A. Sorensen]

I'm creating a D100 system.  Is it too complicated for the average person? It would almost always be if you roll a D100 is it lower than- X+Y=DC or
X=DC+Y.  Dealing with multiple digits hurts some. Does it hurt you?

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what dice you use. That's like designing a car and worrying about the specifications when first you have to decide:

What is the car designed to do and who is it designed for?

Off-roading? Racing? City commuting? Family? Testerone-fueled teenage males? 40+ year old professionals? Commercial use?

What is the game about?
How does the game go about doing that?

- J

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Pyron,

While I have to agree with Jared, I'll address your question: I don't think a d100 system is too hard for most people, especially if it's "roll under a percentile." Percent is one of those things most of us have engraved in our head. (Along with the entire base10 system.)

I think if you stay with d6s, d10s, or percentiles, most average people will 'get it.' Dealing with stranger dice can lend to confusion, as (American) audiences aren't used to non-base10 numbers for calculations. (I once tried to design a game with d12's, as 13 was the Campbellian superheroic number, and a bunch of claptrap. In the end, even though the system was simple, no one got it, because I was asking them to basically count in base12.)

[Tim Denee]

Off-roading? Racing? City commuting? Family? Testerone-fueled teenage males? 40+ year old professionals? Commercial use?

Mutant-hunting in the wastes of AridZona?

[J B Bell]

Mostly a "me-too" here.

I like to call d6, d10, d20, and d100 the "rational dice".  d6 is really a special exception, but everyone is familiar with it.  The others are base 10 and people are able to intuitively evaluate its odds without much difficulty (as for the d6 and the many odd systems around it, well, people have trouble with the math, but not with the dice).

I'd say in considering dice, just be sure the odds do what you think they should do.  If you don't know the math of a system that "feels" right, make the effort to figure it out (or post here and say "this system is great!"  If it's not, people will correct you.  :) )  Otherwise, you risk abominations like the White Wolf deal where having more skill actually increases your chances of a botch!

--TQuid