New method for interpreting dice rolls

[angelroble]

I came up with this method after reading one thread in which one of the players (new to the game) complained about having to sum the attack modifier all the time. I don't now if it has been developed before (maybe it's very old because it's really simple), but as I haven't seen it I will take credit for it.

In this method, when you roll 1d20, you don't add the modifier to the roll. You are succesful if you roll equal or higher the DC (the AC for an attack) or if you roll lower or equal your bonus in that skill or attack. What we are doing here is transforming the roll directly into the modified roll.
Example: if your bonus is +5, you could roll for 6-25. So we transform the unmodified 1 into 21, 2 into 22, etc. up to 5. If we roll an unmodified 6, it's like if we were normally rolling a 1 and adding the +5 bonus.

For DCs higher than 20, you should roll lower/equal than your bonus and higher/equal than the DC-20. Example: If the DC is 22 and your bonus is +5, you should roll 2-5.

Critical hits: you rolled your bonus number (which would be a 20).

I think this method could be useful for some people:
- Introducing kids to the game.
- Speeding up play. Especially the DM time, when he has to roll that save for 8 orcs.
- Reducing arithmetic errors
- Rolemaster players! 74+58???? No!!! If you roll below your bonus, just add 100. I wish I would have this method when I played it...

please share thoughts comments and possible developments

[littlehewy]

Very clever.

A couple of my players are... er... mathematically challenged, so I'll be certain to float your idea at the table.

[angelroble]

littlehewy wrote:

Very clever.

A couple of my players are... er... mathematically challenged, so I'll be certain to float your idea at the table.

Great! Tell me about what they think of it, and how it works if you finally use it.

[Midnight_Angel]

Question: What are you going to do if the bonus starts to exceed +20?

[stringburka]

That's... Really cool actually.

[Odraude]

Indeed. As someone that adds a lot of circumstantial modifiers (melee bard), I could really get into this. This reminds me of the alternative way of rolling a d20. Use a d10 and a d6 and roll both. If the result on the d6 is 1-3, use the result on the d10 as is. If the result on the d6 is 4-6, then use the result on the d10 plus 10. It's pretty cool.

[angelroble]

Midnight_Angel wrote:

Question: What are you going to do if the bonus starts to exceed +20?

You have to roll over/equal the DC-20 or below/equal your bonus-20

OR if you want to see the other way, you always add 20 to your roll, and 40 if you roll below your bonus -20.

Example my bonus is +23 and AC is 38. I hit if I roll 18+ or 3-.
A roll of 13 would be a total result of 33.
A roll of 19 would be a total result of 39.
A roll of 2 would be a total result of 42.

[Epic Meepo]

I've pondered something similar to this in the past:

When you add a bonus to a d20 roll, round the bonus down to the nearest +10. If the number on the d20 is less than or equal to the last digit of your bonus (the remainder after rounding), add an additional +20.

For example:
A +5 bonus means you roll 1d20+0 and add +20 if you roll 5 or less.
A +15 bonus means you roll 1d20+10 and add +20 if you roll 5 or less.
A +25 bonus means you roll 1d20+20 and add +20 if you roll 5 or less.

[Marthian]

Honestly for mass rolls, I really think there should be a program on the computer for it. So if you need to roll 8 saves for orcs, it would speed up time. On the other hand, some people don't trust computers and random numbers. (I personally like them better. I don't have to deal with dice hate.)