Is frequently rolling lots of dice good design for an RPG?
I emphasize RPG because board games are different. I didn’t mind having large numbers of dice rolled in my game Britannia for a couple reasons. First, they’re spread over a game that lasts four to five hours, and help keep people “in the game” because both sides roll in a combat. (Dice are rolled only for combat.) Second, I wanted to avoid using any kind of combat table, because many board gamers don’t like to lookup tables whether for combat or anything else. But you rarely roll more than two or three dice at a time.
Do the rules fit the rules the purpose of the game? Don't worry about whether they’re innovative, worry about whether they fit your game's setting and style of play. Complex dice mechanics should be included if and only they fit that purpose.
Conversely, some games are all about the dice, such as Yahtzee. There are certainly gamers who like to roll a bunch of dice at one time. Dicefests like Risk and Axis & Allies are popular mass-market games, after all. But that doesn’t mean designers should make their tabletop role-playing games a dicefest.
In traditional fantasy RPGs, players roll dice for skill checks, and attack or avoidance is a form of a skill check to see if you’re skillful enough to hit the target. Players also roll dice for damage in most games, although there are exceptions where hits and damage are combined. Different checks create different results. Unless a skill is meant to be complex, you don’t traditionally roll “skill damage.” A simple mechanic (like exceeding a difficult number) makes for a quicker resolution. This tells you something about the focus of a game.
Conversely, damage is where dice are rolled most often. There is something very tactile in rolling a lot of dice, and damage is one way to express a character’s power. This applies to all kinds of games, but especially RPGs.
Match your mechanics to what you're trying to represent and keep it simple, and most players will enjoy the game more. More dice are not always the answer.
Your Turn: Gamers love collecting dice, but do you need to use them all in your games?
Board vs. Role-Playing Games
In my opinion, the less dice the better. Keeping the game’s mechanics simple is good for everyone, players and GM and observers. My design motto is “a designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Complexity is usually desirable in puzzles, yet RPGs are less puzzle-like, on average, than board games.I emphasize RPG because board games are different. I didn’t mind having large numbers of dice rolled in my game Britannia for a couple reasons. First, they’re spread over a game that lasts four to five hours, and help keep people “in the game” because both sides roll in a combat. (Dice are rolled only for combat.) Second, I wanted to avoid using any kind of combat table, because many board gamers don’t like to lookup tables whether for combat or anything else. But you rarely roll more than two or three dice at a time.
But Our Game is Different!
Some designers want to use different dice to differentiate their game, which may be where some of the complex mechanics in tabletop role-playing games come from. In some ways it’s an attempt to use mechanics to surprise players. It's better to have the game itself be interesting enough to not need quirky dice mechanics. In my experience, few players care about innovation like this, particularly if it hinders or slows down gameplay.Do the rules fit the rules the purpose of the game? Don't worry about whether they’re innovative, worry about whether they fit your game's setting and style of play. Complex dice mechanics should be included if and only they fit that purpose.
The Power of Dice
There is an argument that players feel powerful when they roll lots of dice. This comes from Dungeons & Dragons, where more dice is indicative of more damage. In these instances, power scales with dice. The higher the power level of the character, the more dice they roll, so it is immediately evident during play that characters are more powerful by the number of dice they roll. This is meant to be outside the power curve of traditional play however, and is perfectly acceptable because players look forwarding to rolling more dice as they level up.Conversely, some games are all about the dice, such as Yahtzee. There are certainly gamers who like to roll a bunch of dice at one time. Dicefests like Risk and Axis & Allies are popular mass-market games, after all. But that doesn’t mean designers should make their tabletop role-playing games a dicefest.
When Do You Roll Dice?
A good general game design principle is: keep the administrative part simple. Administrative parts tell you whether something happens or not, yes-no questions. What's important, though, is what happens in the game as a whole: should dice rolls be the focus of that?In traditional fantasy RPGs, players roll dice for skill checks, and attack or avoidance is a form of a skill check to see if you’re skillful enough to hit the target. Players also roll dice for damage in most games, although there are exceptions where hits and damage are combined. Different checks create different results. Unless a skill is meant to be complex, you don’t traditionally roll “skill damage.” A simple mechanic (like exceeding a difficult number) makes for a quicker resolution. This tells you something about the focus of a game.
Conversely, damage is where dice are rolled most often. There is something very tactile in rolling a lot of dice, and damage is one way to express a character’s power. This applies to all kinds of games, but especially RPGs.
Match your mechanics to what you're trying to represent and keep it simple, and most players will enjoy the game more. More dice are not always the answer.
Your Turn: Gamers love collecting dice, but do you need to use them all in your games?
