4 of the Most Common TTRPG Dice Systems

Designing my own ttrpg at the moment, and found this video very useful. I’m thinking of using 2d4 for the average of 5, and wondering why this hasn’t been done before. Is 2d4 too basic?

I can appreciate that you didn't want to go into great detail on how Blades and Savage Worlds work, but you could have at least explained the base mechanics.
Rick

ngl, sometimes I LIKE not knowing exactly how likely I am to succeed. having to go off the context of the narrative instead of thinking in terms of out of fictions percentiles and figures.

Specifically with the “without numbers” system, I like how the duel dice rolling system implies how you can have “chaotic engagements” and “measured engagements”.

One thing that Ive thought about conceptually is how I could mechanically illustrate the “pace” of a scene. Stars without number doesn’t specifically state this, but I thought it would be cool to play longer form combats using skill roles. like if you want to defend a chokepoint over a 30 minute onslaught, or get through a bunch of mooks quickly, or executing a preplanned attack, you could use the 2d6 skill role in combat so you can feel the more cat and mouse nature of those protracted engagement types. And maybe vis versa you could try to use the d20 for a usually more down time skill in more hectic situations, like trying to convince someone in a hostage situation, or rewiring a ship thats T minus 3 minutes to crashing into a sun.

It would be really interesting to see if that change in dice type would add to a sense of pace.

Great overview. I'd like to have seen a few more systems reviewed, including an in-depth overview of Savage Worlds and the Cortex Prime systems.

D20, Dice Curve, D100, Dice pool

2d20 is a dice pool system

Why not the Dice Pool systems are not using the binary dice, like D6/3? That would be good for efficiency

Crikey, I thought I was watching Daniel Negreanu.......d6+1, x.

i like 3d6 under stat, 3 is equal roll. as long as you roll under the stat score its a pass. some people boohoo it, but if your a halfling with the strength of a toddler your not kicking the door down or lifting the portcullis where the 18 strength half-orc barbarian failed. sure there is a chance but it should not be a swingy like a d20. but the dm shouldn't do skill checks for dumb things like walking down the street with out tripping, or can you drink a glass of water without choking ect.
and avoid dex checks like 5e since ad&d had percentages like climbing based on class and armor. usually if the players try something they get to do it.

or even better let the player choose between a d20 or 3d6 roll under. and occasionally say roll d6 under stat if you wanna make it easy. and 3's stats are equal or lower.

Cool video. I'm definitely going to have to check out your other videos.

clear, neat, that 's it ! awesome analysis.

I would add the 'luck' warning of d20 to d100 systems too. These are basically the same exact system, except using different pieces of plastic. A d20 is basically 5-100% chance, broken into 5 percent increments. But the main thing is that they are both flat and without a bell curve. For some reason, no one ever complains that in d100, you are just as likely to roll a 01 as you are a 100 - but it's just as reasonable a complaint. All you have to do is take the number of d20 and multiply by 5, and it becomes clear that d20 is just a simpler way to play d100.

The FFG/edge Narrative Dice System is my current favourite. It's a Dice Pool System, but it adds in some extra Narrative effects, so that Success and Failure isn't so binary. Does take some getting used to, but it's a lot of fun once you do.

Information like this needs to get out more. I have found it borderline depressing trying to get folks to understand systems that aren't D&D and they struggle because they're looking for parallels to D&D (made even more confusing for them when it's not even a D20 system) that aren't there, with questions like "how do I determine my AC" or "what's my attack roll modifier" in a system that doesn't use those concepts, or at least not in the same way D&D does, and they end up trying to force a square peg through a round hole trying desperately to try and find the parallels to find an ease of familiarity that just isn't there. It often feels like if they're not rolling a d20, they can't fathom how the system even functions because using a d20 is just how TTRPGs function in their minds. It makes it really hard to teach someone when the first lesson has to be reiterating several times how this isn't a d20 system and that, yes, there are systems other than the d20 systems that are still TTRPGs.

You missed the fact that d100 and d20 share the con of swinginess. In fact d20 and d100 are basically the same either multipling or dividing by 5. Otherwise great video!

EDIT: Also, i do the mix/match of attributes in any system that combines attributes and skills for the test (D&D 3e for example). Doesn't work in RuneQuest or Hero System in which the attribute is baked in to the skill roll. Probably my least favorite part of those systems to be honest.

Best Dice Pool system is Greg Stolze's "One-Roll Engine", or "O.R.E" for short - in my opinion.

The d20 system and the D100 systems are largely functionally the same. D20's just roll in 5% increments rather then 1 at a time. you could swap in a D20 into a D100 system and i'd bet it would play very very similarly.

1. I’m in love with your rpg library
2. You’re an amazing teacher and I really appreciate how you have surveyed an incredibly wide breadth of game systems here
3. Question, isn’t a d100 system be just as swingy as a d20?
4. I look forward to discovering more on your channel
5. Your recommendation of Mythic GM Emulator has been so helpful. As someone confused and intimidated by GM-ing it’s just the thing I’ve been looking for

Shadowrun isn't that extreme... My augmented only had 44 dices of armor.

I actually hate degrees of success systems, because it leads to too many instances where because someone got a single point higher, they did THAT much better than I did. I much prefer dedicated damage rolls as everyone is assumed to be fighting at max capacity. My favorite is a system where the damage is static based on the weapon, and your actions on the attack roll modify how deadly the attack can be before the defenders actions (if they choose to take any)

Weird that you call it BitD Systems - it is based on the pbtA (powered by the Apocalypse) System, in later games they use the title Forged in the Dark. The Tag System of City of Mist is based on it too, while wildly different. Some like Gumshoe use a D6. Cypher uses a D20 but in a different way. Oh and the biggest german ttrpg uses 3D20. All those are very common. Kinda weird for such a video.
(I love how diverse the hobby is in dice systems alone. The upcoming Gloomhaven RPG will even use cards instead)

I never liked RPG roll under games but it makes a lot of sense with
D100 systems to me.
And the D100 system I found and love best is D100 Dungeon with the Mapping Game.
Books 1,4,5. Of D100 Dungeon.

i use 2d10 instead of d20s

Cortex Prime has a very well thought out and thoroughly play-tested dice pool system that's modular as well as multi-genre capable. It has been formally used to replicate such genres as Marvel Superheroes, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica. Well worth checking out.

d20 is a percentile dice system but in steps of 5% instead of 1%

Regarding roll over / under couldn't you reframe it?
Instead of 30% chance to succeed with a roll under, there is a 70% chance of failure that you have to OVERcome.

Something I’ve only seen in Neoclassical Geek Revival but think is absolutely great is kind of an extension of Stars Without Numbers. What dice system you use depends on your character’s stress level. If you’re calm and everything is going right for you add a flat +10 to your modifier, when something first goes wrong, you fail a check or take damage you’re shifted up to 3d6 and when you’re totally panicked and don’t feel at all in control of the situation you roll 1d20. You need to get back to somewhere safe and get a full rest to go back down to calm. Playing that system really got me to appreciate how big a difference die mechanics can make to the tension of a moment in game.

The issue with a d100 system is not that people don't know how to read the results or dislike roll under systems... It's the d10 is not a platonic solid. It's an abomination! 😜
(The only way around this is two twenty sided dice numbered 0-9 twice!)

I wholeheartedly agree with the notion that system matters and we should introduce more people to as many games as possible from relatively well known once like Vampire to indies such as Brindelwood Bay.
However I have an innate aversion to roll under games and d100 systems in particular. The former is simply explained by my autistic brain demanding numbers go up and not down. The latter stems from how humans misunderstand probability and therefore take chances they can read on their character sheets as certainty rather than something that would come up after hundreds of rolls under ideal conditions. Considering that the seeming simplicity of the system and specifically calculating/reading the chances of success are its main selling points I remain sceptical towards them.
For the record my favourite system is dice curve as I'm a big fan of PbtA games.

Good to hear people saying that D100 is their favourite system.
When I started the first time playing d&d I was so confused because I already knew about the Call of Cthulhu system and how to read the skills. It was so confusing. I think the d100 systems are the most intuitive to understand and very good if you like story telling more than strategy!

problem with d100 is that you use only two die. it is % but its not

Great video, very well described! I have been thinking on a dice pool system where you roll your dice at beginning of a conflict then spend your successes on actions. I'm not sure if this would be less fun taking away the tension of the "gamble" of rolling every action. The goal would be to eliminate the "i rolled crappy, so I do nothing" situations changing it to "i know how much I can do"

Hey mate, this was very helpful. Looking to develop my own trrpg and getting a good grounding on the types of systems is what I needed. Thanks for the video.

re: "dice curve systems". Now that he mentions it. I think it's a good option to modify certain actions in d20 games, so probability is more likely average results (3d20 divided by 3) or 2d20 divided by 2.

Must admit that the main reason I am put off d100 systems is that I hate rolling d10s. After d4s they just feel so awful to roll. Way prefer d20s, d12s, or d6s (heck even d8s).

It’s one of the only things that irks me when playing Call of Cthulhu.

Super informative and educational. Thank you! I was wondering about this exact topic (title of your video) and was reading through rpggeek's top 100 and seeing things like "dice pools" and not knowing exactly what that meant. Great information! Clearly explained!!

Frequently I like to ignore x-lows, or x- high, within a specific roll to create a success or failure within a specific segment of a roll (effectively focusing on decisions of pc’s or NPC’s)

It would be nice to have a series of videos similar to this one outlining other mechanics of rpgs that are done differently: injury and pain, fear and madness, equipment load etc...

d100 is a system I hate because it encourages, if not requires, percentage counting, which I define here as paying attention to the specific mathematical chances of every roll. No one in the real world calculates exact percent chance of accomplishing tasks. No athlete walks up to the line and thinks "I have a 72% chance of winning." Thus I find it gets in the way of thinking from the character's point of view because it draws attention to the metagame math.

Great video! Thanks for broadening the horizon for those uninitiated!

Great video! 😄I’m going to share with my players.

And let's be honest. While Wizards of the coast want your money, they don't like you, respect you or do much to deserve it.

The big reason for confusion regarding d100(2d10) is there are multiple ways people use to run them depending on the way the dice are set up.

00 through 90,
0 through 9,
1 through 10.

The way i was taught, which is additive. You add the 2 values shown. So a 100=90+10, 1=00+1, 56=50+6, etc.

The example you used, with 100 rolling as trip zero.

It just creates an aura of confusion to some folks, and now has a reputation similar to THAC0

I like how you presented the quick tutorial how to interpret a d100 roll. Drives me nuts that quite a few people think you HAVE to ADD the two dice together. I rolled an 80 and a 0, 0 means 10 so 80+10 is 90! Huh?

Shout out to the dice pool system. White Wolf/ Onyx Path represent! Where are my Changeling The Lost peeps?!

Maybe it's just the aesthetics of it, but I've always liked d100 for sci-fi style games. It just feels more "technical".

Sw/o# is exactly that, traveller procedures and tables adapted generic dnd

D20 roll over never made much sense to me. I think I started out with FASA Trek, a D100 system and roll under is just the way I approach percentage odds and of course 1 in 20 is 5% and so on. Other than that, dice pool, roll and add like WEG/D6 are what I used to run most often. Tea leaf systems, where you read the dice for cues/prompts is what I usually think when you say 'dice pool' though, like Godbound/OneRoll

I really like this discussion, as I am super interested in how these games work - sometimes more so than actually playing them. I'll sometimes buy games with no intention of actually playing them, just to read through the rules and figure out how they work.

At the same time, I find it difficult myself to pick one as my favourite or one over the other. They all have aspects that are like and aspects I dislike and sometimes they're at odds.
Here's my take on these systems, in short.

d20: easy to understand, but often dependant on modifiers (which I'll straight up come out and say I hate) and, as Trevor said here, very swingy
dice curve: haven't got too much of an experience with these outside of some PbtA games, but in those I've struggled myself as well as seen other people struggle with having to come up with "success at a consequence" results that are very prevalent in these
d100: intuitive, usually very in-depth, however also often times very brutal for fresh characters
dice pool: frankly, I do not like these at all and avoid whenever possible - I don't enjoy counting successes and depending on the system, just assembling the dice pool can feel like a chore (add one dice for this, remove 2 dice for this, add one again for this, etc...)

also, my personal honourable mention would go to Ironsworn. I find it incredibly unique, especially since the rules of the game are so strongly interwoven with each other that it is almost impossible to extract one from the others. But at the same time, this system feels incredibly "gambly" and unpredictable, more so than any d20 system imo.

Edit: I just remembered, The One Ring (2nd Edition specifically, as I'm not familiar with the original) might be the only dice pool system I like. Largely because you don't count successes and honestly just for it's use of the oh-so-often-forgotten d12.