Why die pools?

[ShaneNINE]

I haven't played TROS yet, but I've recently started playing Exalted. It's my first die-pool game. I think the idea of die pool mechanics is pretty neat and you can do nifty things with them, but I'm finding that counting up successes when you have big die pools is a momentum killer. It really slows down the game. Sure, I guess you get better at it with practice, but it can't compare to rolling a die or two and comparing the result with some target number. It's also sort of a momentum killer when I have to count out 25 dice from the Can O' Dice. That's just my take on it. I like a fast resolution system. YMMV.

So I'm wondering why TROS was designed with a die-pool mechanic instead of a number-pool mechanic. What as it about die-pools that made Jake say "yeah, THAT'S what I'm going to use!"?

[Mike Holmes]

Probablility curves. One die is very linear, which models very little in reality. Multiple dice work to produce the sorts of higher orser functions that model life more accurately, and are often more interesting in terms of output. For example, if I roll d20 +10 I have a range that goes from 11 to 30. I cannot roll a zero.

In Jake's system, no matter your TN or the size of your dice pool you can always roll a zero, up to the number of dice rolled. This allows for all sorts of mechanics to come in that would otherwise be impossible.

Mike

[Jake Norwood]

My primary reason for choosing die pools is:

1) Rolling multiple dice is more fun than just rolling one. I'm a BIG fan of the belief that RPG die mechanics should be fun in-and-of themselves.

2) Sort of what Mike said. It was easier to wrap my head around the probablities involved.

3) Math and modifiers. Although its a tad slower counting multiple successes (and really...it's not that slow...plus, unlike Exalted, you don't have to keep an eye out for 1's that cancel 10's), it is a LOT faster to throw dice in and out of a pool than to add up modifiers in your head and hold on to them while trying to count dice and keep track of TNs. Also, in comparison to Exalted, there is only one roll during a round (if you count a round in Exalted like an exchange in TROS). I promise that combat (and all the rest) runs very fast. Really.

4) The biggest one to me is the tactile control you have over your pool. Instead of abstract "points" that allow you to increase your chance of success, you have tangible dice that you move from place to place, seeing your character's ablitity at a glance and hefting it in your hand. It makes a HUGE difference.

Hope that helps.

Jake,
who is irked that TROS was compared to a WW game, though that's probably inevitable...

[Lance D. Allen]

Sorry to say Jake, but it really was inevitable. The die mechanic in TRoS is so similar in basic function to WW games that it only took me a brief bit of work to tweak the WoD roller on OpenRPG to work for TRoS. I'm still working on a few things though, to make it work better.

I often tell people who ask about the game that the die mechanic superficially resembles WW games. However, the biggest difference is the way in which TRoS applies the mechanic, which, really, makes all the difference.

[Jake Norwood]

Sorry to say Jake, but it really was inevitable. The die mechanic in TRoS is so similar in basic function to WW games that it only took me a brief bit of work to tweak the WoD roller on OpenRPG to work for TRoS. I'm still working on a few things though, to make it work better.

I often tell people who ask about the game that the die mechanic superficially resembles WW games. However, the biggest difference is the way in which TRoS applies the mechanic, which, really, makes all the difference.

Yeah, like I said, it's inevitable, but I don't have to like it...

Jake,
who sold all his WW stuff to buy a suit of armor in the 11th grade

[Spartan]

Heya Shane!

I've been playing around with TROS for a while now, and let me tell ya, the dice pools are suh-weet!  It's kind of cool to have the tactile sensation of a bunch of dice representing a powerful swing.  And counting the successes isn't a big deal... it's a bit slower than HMC, but not by much.  In some ways it's faster... it depends on the maneuvers involved.  It's pretty easy to flick the failures off your mouse pad (or whatever you roll on) and count your successes.  Also, you start to remember how much of a margin you need to land a level one on your opponent in various areas, which speeds up the process as the combat goes on.

I've been having nothing but fun so far...

-Mark

[contracycle]

Jake,
who sold all his WW stuff to buy a suit of armor in the 11th grade

Rough school you have there.

A GM in a WW game used to use a sideed tray to roll on, which acted like a soundboard.  It's damn intimidating hearing the rumble of 15 dice...

[ShaneNINE]

Thanks for the responses.

Jake, I somewhat thought the fact that you might get to roll 20 dice at a time (or more) might have something to do with it.

[Enoch]

Actually if I'm not mistaken, in Exalted 1's only matter if you have no other successes.  If you have no successes and a 1 you botched (similar to tRoS...).  The previous version of the Storyteller rules would use the 1s to subtract from successes, but that apparently led to strange probability.  They changed it for Revised, and Exalted is kind of like a revised Revised.

Hmm...

Well I need to go to Biology now...

-Joshua