Had a good gaming session today. At one point, I needed to cast a spell while adjacent to an enemy, so I chose to cast defensively, which meant making a concentration check. To succeed in the check, I just needed to roll a 5 or higher on the die.
Now, I was about to say "Okay, I just need to roll a 5 or higher", and then roll the die. However, usually when I make such a proclamation, the die decides to thwart me, rolling just a little bit lower than what I need. I knew that such a statement would all but guarantee a roll of 4 or 3. And my die had been acting particularly troublesome today, so I knew it was out to get me.
So I decided to trick it. I said, in a loud clear voice, "Okay, I just need to roll a 10 or higher." Then I rolled the die. It came up... 7. Success! Take that, stupid die!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How clever! You ought to write a book in the likes of "D20's Inner Psychology: Momentum and Murphy's Laws Thwarted".
Unless the dice Spirits themselves decide to write a book in the likes of "RPG Rollers' inner Psyche: Make Believe and Superstitions Overruled"? — Then what? ;-)
|
Your D20 reads these forums. Its quite angry about being fooled and is spreading the word to the other dice. You have rough times coming... Rough times, indeed...
A friend of mine once gathered all his D20's around a D20 that was being particularly and smashed bad the offending die with a hammer. He figured that the witnesses would learn a valuable lesson from what they'd witnessed.
Another friend punishes (he says charges) his D20's in his belly button... guaranteeing that no one would ever touch, borrow or steal his dice.
|
Your D20 reads these forums. Its quite angry about being fooled and is spreading the word to the other dice. You have rough times coming... Rough times, indeed...
A friend of mine once gathered all his D20's around a D20 that was being particularly and smashed bad the offending die with a hammer. He figured that the witnesses would learn a valuable lesson from what they'd witnessed.
Another friend punishes (he says charges) his D20's in his belly button... guaranteeing that no one would ever touch, borrow or steal his dice.
Your hammer toting, die smashing friend, wouldn't happen to be named Kyle would he?
|
Your hammer toting, die smashing friend, wouldn't happen to be named Kyle would he?
You know Kyle too?
BTW a Tom once got so pissed at an unruly die he picked it up, walked outside, and chucked the die into the street. A smart aleck decided to replace that die with an identical one. Tom was not amused.
My friend Al did that once, he threw 5 dice out side in a row, he had the worst luck with die, I think it was because he was mean to them.
I on the other hand once rolled 3 20 on three d20 in one roll while i was making an Attack on 3 different main bad guys, a lich, a death night, and a vampire PC who turned on us, and I was using a vorpal sword. The rest of the party ran but I figured we where all going to die anyway so I just attacked them all. I almost quit playing after that because there is no way I would ever top that.
So I am not saying I believe that Dice have a spirit, but I always take care of mine.
BTW a Tom once got so pissed at an unruly die he picked it up, walked outside, and chucked the die into the street. A smart aleck decided to replace that die with an identical one. Tom was not amused.
A true Tom would never be amused by such a trick!
|
I was consistently getting bad rolls with my d20. I planned to do a chi-squared statistical test to determine whether the die was fair, but one of the prob/stat teachers at the high school where I work said that would be a perfect project for someone in her class. The student did the test and found that the die was fair. I bought a new die anyway. My older die has been behaving better lately; I think it is afraid of beimg replaced by its new rival. I also think that having a monk with flurry of blows helps. I roll both dice simultaneously and they try to outdo each other.
Unfortunately, the GM won't let me roll to hit with my d30.
Hey.
Not all Kyles abuse dice :|
Unfortunately, the GM won't let me roll to hit with my d30.
I have that same problem too...
I've tried everything to scare my dice, but they'll have none of it...
Another friend punishes (he says charges) his D20's in his belly button... guaranteeing that no one would ever touch, borrow or steal his dice.
When I was younger I did something grosser than that. I won't get into it but I will say it was more disgusting than the bellybutton thing but probably not as disgusting as many of you are going to assume. Suffice to say, no one wanted to use my dice either. o.O
Had a good gaming session today. At one point, I needed to cast a spell while adjacent to an enemy, so I chose to cast defensively, which meant making a concentration check. To succeed in the check, I just needed to roll a 5 or higher on the die.
Now, I was about to say "Okay, I just need to roll a 5 or higher", and then roll the die. However, usually when I make such a proclamation, the die decides to thwart me, rolling just a little bit lower than what I need. I knew that such a statement would all but guarantee a roll of 4 or 3. And my die had been acting particularly troublesome today, so I knew it was out to get me.
So I decided to trick it. I said, in a loud clear voice, "Okay, I just need to roll a 10 or higher." Then I rolled the die. It came up... 7. Success! Take that, stupid die!
Now that's just silly. As if the die could hear you? However, as any veteran dice-roller know, there are a number of basic rules you need to adhere and respect if you want the die to roll your way in game:
1. Never borrow another man's dice. Actually, never touch another man's dice at all! And therefore it goes without saying...
2. Never lend your dice to anyone, or let anyone touch your dice. Not even family.
3. Never change dice because of bad rolls. Loyalty is A & O when it comes to successful die-rolling. If a die lets you down for several years... perhaps it's time to reconsider this rule but changing dice should NEVER be done lightly!
4. Never purchase dice from a so called "dice-bin". Dice need to be unmolested from factory to owner.
For the distinguished gamer there are many more rules, but these simple rules are an absolute must, for any self respecting gamer.
4. Never purchase dice from a so called "dice-bin". Dice need to be unmolested from factory to owner.
5. Buy dice that have sharp corners. Most dice with rounded corners have been tumbled (polished with grit) to remove mold lines from casting - this is never consistent and leads to 'untrue' dice. Gamescience makes 'sharp' dice, though you'll have to clean the sprue with a sharp knife. And don't step on them - it hurts more.
The Problem is, that you call them stupid!
The best thing to do is to like your dice.
That's hippie-talk. Take a good look at it, ladies and gents, and learn from it, 'cause this kid's luck won't last. "Liking" you dice is like dressing up little dogs. It's humiliating to all parties and it's sad to behold. Drooling over it, cuttling it or put it in fancy little bags won't make no difference. It understands a steady hand, respect and loyalty, nothing else.
That's hippie-talk.
LOL! That's pure awesome.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Player: I need a 10 or higher to succeed. *rolls a 7* YES!
GM: You fail.
Player: No I don't, I got a 7.
GM: And you said you needed a 10 to pass, so you failed.
Player: But I didn't really need a 10, I only needed a 5.
GM: Then why did you tell everyone that you needed a 10?
Player: Well... I was... tricking my dice into rolling what I wanted... you know, by lying to them.
GM: You... what?
Player: I tricked my dice into rolling high.
GM: I think maybe you should take a break from fantasy roleplay for a while. You seem to be losing your grip on reality.
Player: But...
GM: Go home.
I have a dice bag of no return for my unruly dice. Many of them are afraid of it that they don't mess up too often and when one does others are quick to make up for the bad one's mistakes. Mutanies have been known to happen from time to time.
My brother on the other hand "charges" his dice from time to time. Suffice to say, I will never touch his dice...ever.
|
|
I leave the dice I will use in a session with an 'honour guard'. The dice that have been performing well get my gargantuan black dragon, the mid performers get a frost giant and those who are being punished get a kobold. It keeps them in line.
Also, I keep the most offensive D4 inside the dragons mouth, as a warning to others.
My players all hate my dice as I roll so many 20's, so somethings working...
sometimes when my dice are being upity i remind them who is boss with a dremel tool and a small metal weight. That usually sets them straight.
I have a player who rolls better on d6s than his d20.
Oddly, his character (group is now 10th level) is the only remaining original member of the group.
I have a player who rolls better on d6s than his d20.
Oddly, his character (group is now 10th level) is the only remaining original member of the group.
does he strongly advocate your group shift from d20 to 3d6?
Player: Well... I was... tricking my dice into rolling what I wanted... you know, by lying to them.
GM: You... what?
Player: I tricked my dice into rolling high.
GM: I think maybe you should take a break from fantasy roleplay for a while. You seem to be losing your grip on reality.
Player: But...
GM: Go home.
It would have been kinda funny had it turned out that way, but everyone at the table was suitably amused. :-)
|
|
Player: I need a 10 or higher to succeed. *rolls a 7* YES!
GM: You fail.
Player: No I don't, I got a 7.
GM: And you said you needed a 10 to pass, so you failed.
Player: But I didn't really need a 10, I only needed a 5.
GM: Then why did you tell everyone that you needed a 10?
Player: Well... I was... tricking my dice into rolling what I wanted... you know, by lying to them.
GM: You... what?
Player: I tricked my dice into rolling high.
GM: I think maybe you should take a break from fantasy roleplay for a while. You seem to be losing your grip on reality.
Player: But...
GM: Go home.
That is a tad harsh. If I was DMing this game, I would've found it vastly amusing.
On topic, D20s simply love me. I'm always the guy at the table who seems to roll just as high as I need to roll on just about every roll. This happens because I usually mainly use two D20s. Normally, I'm the DM in the group. So in most of the games I play in, I'm using my DM d20. And as everyone knows, d20s hate the players. So naturally, my DM d20 will always roll well when it means something bad is going to happen to a player. My lucky d20 I've had for five years, and the luck never seems to run out. Whenever I'm the player, I very rarely fail a roll with it. It's an awesome dice.
I think the key to rolling well is:
1) Being the DM.
2) Being nice to your dice.
(Honestly though, I'm not superstitious, and this analysis was for fun only.)
Tonight, at the start of the game, im bringing out the hammer!!!!Your D20 reads these forums. Its quite angry about being fooled and is spreading the word to the other dice. You have rough times coming... Rough times, indeed...
A friend of mine once gathered all his D20's around a D20 that was being particularly and smashed bad the offending die with a hammer. He figured that the witnesses would learn a valuable lesson from what they'd witnessed.
Another friend punishes (he says charges) his D20's in his belly button... guaranteeing that no one would ever touch, borrow or steal his dice.
I do remember a post somewhere about a someone who would take his dice out into the driveway with a hammer, and smash the ones that had been rolling badly as a warning to the others.
Last year I lost my dice bag, with my first ever set of dice :(
I bought new dice and a bunch of d20's ....I did not crit for the entire Shackled city adventure path. I tried being nice from levels 1-5, 6-10 i tried a d20 by comittee, 11-15 i tried being strict and mean, 16-20 i just gave up, the dice won and it ended with my PC being the only dead one.
We recently moved into a new hosue, and while unpacking, a small bag fell out of the box, it opened and some dice rolled out, and there in front of me was my 1st ever d20, sitting on the kitchen floor, showing me a 20. My alchemist seems to crit a lot with her great sword.....
Last year I lost my dice bag, with my first ever set of dice :(
We recently moved into a new hosue, and while unpacking, a small bag fell out of the box, it opened and some dice rolled out, and there in front of me was my 1st ever d20, sitting on the kitchen floor, showing me a 20. My alchemist seems to crit a lot with her great sword.....
"Oh, the dice came back,
The very next yearHe thought they were a gonner
But the dice came back!
The dice came back!
They didn't want to roam!
The very next year they
Were home sweet home!"
does he strongly advocate your group shift from d20 to 3d6?I have a player who rolls better on d6s than his d20.
Oddly, his character (group is now 10th level) is the only remaining original member of the group.
No, because he knows that he has horrible luck regardless. He plays White Wolf (d10-based system where 7+, I believe, is a success, and you need X successes to pass a check; higher skill yields more dice to roll), and I want to share a story he's told.
He had a character with a shotgun. Character shot foe five feet away. Rolled some absurd number of dice for damage, like 14. Unfortunately, 1s take away successes, and he rolled enough of them that he managed to have only 1 success out of his 14 dice.
The foe soaked the damage, and therefore took none.
This is par for the course for this player, and has been for the 20 or more years that he has gamed.
Last year I lost my dice bag, with my first ever set of dice :(
I bought new dice and a bunch of d20's ....I did not crit for the entire Shackled city adventure path. I tried being nice from levels 1-5, 6-10 i tried a d20 by comittee, 11-15 i tried being strict and mean, 16-20 i just gave up, the dice won and it ended with my PC being the only dead one.We recently moved into a new hosue, and while unpacking, a small bag fell out of the box, it opened and some dice rolled out, and there in front of me was my 1st ever d20, sitting on the kitchen floor, showing me a 20. My alchemist seems to crit a lot with her great sword.....
The first ones are always the best arent they? Its something about the magic of the dice gods. It gets thinner and thinner as you spread it to new dice. But it stays strong in the old ones. I recently thought I had lost the D6 of my first ever dice set, but I found it in the dice bag of a friend a few weeks ago. It was quite a feeling to have my reds back together again.
Dice thief???? he deserves a wiping lol.
My best d6 came from my Risk board game. I had 2 white dice to represent my 2 mongolian defenders (the only asia area that a friend did not have) He threw 20 against my 2 and at the end, the 2 still stood. Since then those have been my favored d6
|
|
Your hammer toting, die smashing friend, wouldn't happen to be named Kyle would he?You know Kyle too?
BTW a Tom once got so pissed at an unruly die he picked it up, walked outside, and chucked the die into the street. A smart aleck decided to replace that die with an identical one. Tom was not amused.
Yes. He used to be a member of a group I gamed with in Paducah KY. How is Kyle these days? Haven't seen him since he moved away from Paducah years ago. Tell him Wes says hello, and I'd like to get his contact info if at all possible.
Ditching one d20 to use another is like changing lanes in a traffic jam. The lane that you want to be in is the fastest one right up until the point when you're in it, at which point it becomes the slowest.
That makes me think of special relativity...
d20 result = mass of the d20 x the speed of the toss squared?
Or is it that the speed is constant, so the speed of your toss alters the result? Special relativity always gets me bungled.
So in last nights game, we found a cave, I went in first and after advancing 20' the GM asked for my character sheet!!! Immediately i thought dead character! he then said roll a d20. Everyone was thinking the same as me, dead man rolling....
Good thing i complemented my d20 on here yesterday, cause that little orange guy came up with a 20! Turns out it was just a secret appraisal roll!!!!! but the point is I thought it was life or death and my D20 backed me up.
My dice are inconsistent, but at least they are consistently inconsistent. When I play, they roll low. So low that other players have bought me new dice to use. When I DM, they roll high. So high that my players ask me to switch dice.
The lesson: My dice hate players.
There seems to be a lot of dice hating players. Wonder which company submits their dice to player hatred during manufacturing?
There seems to be a lot of dice hating players. Wonder which company submits their dice to player hatred during manufacturing?
I believe its during the polishing stage. When their very flesh (though plastic) is scored and abrated by vile machines. All the while they are subjected to recordings of players cursing poor dire rolls. Its so whenever they roll low and the player curses them, they will feel like they are being polished all over again, and try to avoid it.
There seems to be a lot of dice hating players. Wonder which company submits their dice to player hatred during manufacturing?I believe its during the polishing stage. When their very flesh (though plastic) is scored and abrated by vile machines. All the while they are subjected to recordings of players cursing poor dire rolls. Its so whenever they roll low and the player curses them, they will feel like they are being polished all over again, and try to avoid it.
i'd give that a +1 but that wouldn't do justice.
Gold clap??? hmmmm perhaps
Lets just say, that gave me a very good laugh and i have disturbing images of the dice factory.
edit: Viva la revlolution, free the d20's!!!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So there's a friend of mine who is notorious for only being able to roll very low on a d20. He asks me (DM) if he can just reverse the numbers. 1 will be a 20, 2 to 19, 3 to 18, etc. I say sure. Pops 2 20s and a 17.
It's not the dice guys. It's the player!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I just remembered a funny story of a guy in my group who didn't have any dice when he first showed up so he asked to borrow one of mine. I said he could use any from this pound of dice that I had lying around. And he decided to pick a pink one because he thought that since it was so odd looking it would bring him good luck.
As the night passed he never rolled higher than 9 and couldn't figure out for the life of him why. That's when I took a look at the die and realized it was a d10 in the shape of a d20. Needless to say, he took a lot of crap for that.
|
|
I just remembered a funny story of a guy in my group who didn't have any dice when he first showed up so he asked to borrow one of mine. I said he could use any from this pound of dice that I had lying around. And he decided to pick a pink one because he thought that since it was so odd looking it would bring him good luck.
As the night passed he never rolled higher than 9 and couldn't figure out for the life of him why. That's when I took a look at the die and realized it was a d10 in the shape of a d20. Needless to say, he took a lot of crap for that.
Thats just..... sad.