I'm making homebrew mechanics, basically my system to pathfinder is like pathfinder to dnd, but I've got two competing ideas for the core roll.
The first is to replace the d20 with a d12 and roll two dice based on ability scores (average being 2d4), which gives values in line with existing mechanics.
The second idea is to use 3d12 which requires adjusting all the other values of the system, usually by doubling them.
I love the idea of letting stats affect the dice sizes, but 3d12 would be more d12s (my favorite dice so I totally want to use them) and has the simplicity of always rolling the same dice and being easier to type into a dice roller.
Thus, I ask, which do you like more?
What about:
1d20 + Proficiency Dice + Ability Mod.Untrained - 1d4
Trained - 1d6
Expert - 1d8
Master - 1d10
Legendary - 1d12
For four reasons,
First, d12s. I love d12s. They are my favorite dice and I never get to use them, thus I'm making them part of the main roll.
Second, bell curve. I much prefer a bell curve over the flat spread of a d20. I don't want too steep a curve, but definitely middle values over extreme values. Your suggestion barely qualifies and even then mostly at high ability mod.
Third, I'm not doing proficiency. Both Pathfinder 2 and dnd 5e are moving away from the gameplay I love, and proficiency is a major part of that.
Fourth, I want to use two abilities per check. It drastically increase the flexibility and variation of skills without increasing the skill list a bunch. For example, an intimidation check might use str and cha to scare someone with physical presence, while intimidation with cha and wis might be used to intimidate by suggesting you can ruin someone's reputation.
I would use something like anydice.com to graph probability distributions if you’re unsure what they would look like
I would use something like anydice.com to graph probability distributions if you’re unsure what they would look like
Yes, I'm a big fan of anydice.com.
:)
The main issue with just doubling the DC numbers is that you are just adjusting the base dice used, which means that it starts out easy and end game becomes almost impossible even with max investment.
No worries, I already got that handled. Which is good as it seems the consensus among the extremely small number of responses (here and in person) seem to favor 3d12.