3d6 Revisited

After a few sessions (has it been two months already?) using 3d6 instead of d20, I’ve come up with a few revisions and clarifications of the original rules. These are designed to increase the fun; the balance has to be accounted for elsewhere.

1,1,1: automatic miss.
  • If the power has the keyword “weapon” or “implement” you drop the appropriate item;
  • If not (or if not possible) you fall prone.
1,1,2 / 1,1,3 / 1,2,2: automatic miss.
2,2,2:roll 1d2 and add that to the attack
3,3,3:roll 1d3 and add that to the attack
4,4,4:roll 1d4 and add that to the attack
5,5,5:roll 1d5 and add that to the attack
4,6,6 / 5,5,6: automatic hit.
  • If the attack would have hit anyway, replace [W] rolls with their maximum (crit).
5,6,6: automatic hit.
  • If the attack would have hit anyway, add maximum [W] damage (high crit).
    • If high crit weapon, add it again.
6,6,6: automatic hit.
  • If the power deals damage, add maximum [W] damage (high crit).
    • If the attack would have hit anyway, add it again.
      • If high crit weapon, add it again.
  • If not: use the effect progression *

* The “effect progression” is designed so you don’t feel let down when you that glorious ⚅⚅⚅ but don’t have anything to maximise. It came up when our first triple-six was the wizard casting his (non-damaging) “sleep” spell (the houserule there is: the targets automatically fail the first save, and if I’m feeling generous they don’t get the one round of slowedness first.) Since then I’ve come up with a basic guide to letting everyone enjoy the potency of that 1-in-216 chance.

For “negative” effects my progression is:

pushed/pulled/slid⇒ prone⇘ dazed→ stunned→ unconscious⇒ ¿ 1d4 damage ?
slowed→ immobilised⇗

Of course, if it’s obvious that a particular immobilising action should progress to restrained, for example, that’s perfectly alright too. Not to mention blinded, deafened, dominated, weakened, etc.

The “positive” progression is a bit trickier, because there are basically the three parallel progressions:

cover→ superior cover→ insubstantial
lightly obscured→ heavily obscured→ totally obscured
concealment→ total concealment→ invisible

… But at any point it could be totally reasonable for one branch to lead into another, or somewhere else. Those ones I just play by ear.

The overall goal with these progressions is that I want to make my players feel like they succeeded so well (or their spell was so potent) that the effect is the same, but turned up to 11.

  • July 28, 2010, 10:02pm