Variations and expansions Dice notation

1 variations , expansions

1.1 multipliers
1.2 percentile dice (d%)
1.3 selective results
1.4 dice pools
1.5 6-sided variations
1.6 10-sided variations
1.7 open-ended variations

variations , expansions

multipliers

in games, above notation expanded allow multiplier, in adx×c or c×dx, where:

× denotes multiplication, , can replaced / or ÷ division.
c natural number (1 if omitted).

for example,

1d6×5 or 5×d6 means roll 1 6-sided dice, , multiply result 5.
3d6×10+3 means roll 3 6-sided dice, add them together, multiply result 10, , add 3.

multiplication can mean repeating throws of similar setup (usually represented letter, x, rather multiplication symbol):

3 x (2d6+4) means roll 2 6-sided dice adding 4 result, repeat roll 3 times adding results together.

percentile dice (d%)

a typical pair of percentile dice including tens die

often, variable x in above notation 100, alternatively written % . although 100-sided dice exist, more common use combination of 2 ten-sided dice known percentile dice . 1 die represents units , other tens; typically these distinguished color, dice marked multiples of ten available use tens die. twenty-sided dice intended use percentile dice typically have no tens notation (the faces numbered such there 2 complete sequences of 0 through 9). roll of 0 on both dice may interpreted either 0 or 100, depending on game rules.

the d1000 (using 3 10-sided dice) seen, although more common in wargames role-playing games.

selective results

a number of notational strategies exist discarding types of results.

some games extend standard notation adx(ky)+b where, in addition above, y number of dice kept (k) roll. whether dice omitted highest, lowest, or player s choice depends on game in question. 7th sea , legend of 5 rings use 10-sided dice, notation of form 8k6, meaning roll 8 ten-sided dice, keep highest six, , sum them. although using roll , keep system, cortex plus games use roll dice of different sizes , keep 2 (normally 2 best) although plot point may spent keep additional dice, , abilities let keep third automatically.

an alternative notation used openroleplaying.org die roller allows use of plus or minus followed l or h instead of modifier b, denote dropping or re-adding lowest or highest roll on single die, respectively.

dice pools


fudge dice

a number of games including original ghostbusters role-playing game, storyteller system, , fantasy flight games star wars roleplaying games use system dice pool consisting of indicated number of dice rolled , total number of dice meet fixed condition recorded result. example, vampire: requiem has players roll pool of ten sided dice , note number come 8 or higher successes . companies produce custom dice, marked successes , failures, use in games use mechanic.

the fudge role-playing system uses set of dice each marked minus signs, plus signs , blank sides, meaning −1, +1 , 0 respectively. default 1 third of each, represented six-sided die 2 of each, known df.2 or df. 4 of these (4df) rolled determine results −4 +4, equivalent 4d3-8. variants include df.1, six-sided die 4 blanks, 1 plus , 1 minus.

6-sided variations

various games workshop systems such necromunda , mordheim use anomalously named d66 roll, meaning d6×10+d6. there 36 possible results ranging 11 66. d66 base 6 variant of base ten percentile die (d100). d66 combination of 2 six-sided dice, made distinguishable each other color, or 1 die rolled twice. first die represents tens digit, , second die ones digit. example, roll of 1 followed roll of 5 give total of 15, while roll of 3 followed roll of 6 give total of 36. mean result of d66 38.5, , standard deviation 17.16.

blood bowl, games workshop product, introduces block die special notation xdb or roll block dice x times, blocker/defender chooses (if more 1 die) x being 1 of 3, 2, 1 (usually omitted), -2, -3. alternatively words & against can used describe xdb (in case x > 0). example 2db against equal -2db both short ways of saying 2 dice block, defender chooses results rolled.

in nomine, game angels , demons steve jackson games, uses three-dice variation called d666. however, combination of 2d6 (for determining success / failure) , 1d6 (for determining degree of success / failure). notation of d666 reference number of beast.

10-sided variations

the cyborg commando role-playing game gary gygax uses dice mechanic called d10x. equivalent d10×d10 , gives non-linear distribution, results concentrated @ lower end of range. mean result of d10x 30.25 , standard deviation 23.82.

open-ended variations

several games use mechanics allow 1 or more dice rerolled (often die rolls highest possible number), each successive roll being added total. terms include open-ended rolling, exploding dice, , penetration rolls. games use such system include feng shui, , savage worlds. on anydice function make dice explode on highest value called quite explode. common notation shorthand exploding dice use exclamation point: adx! or 6d6!.

the storyteller system combines exploding dice dice pool threshold , target number. diana: warrior princess explodes successes, , hackmaster uses variant called dice penetration 1 subtracted total of rerolled dice.