Mechanics Have Feelings Too: Dice, part 2
Mechanics Have Feelings Too: Dice, part 2
Modifiers Create Characters
BRANDON GUTOWSKI, C22 SYSTEM
Last time we discussed how dice evoke feelings in our games through anticipation and actualization of the dice results, using the d20 and the 2d6 as examples. But in ttrpgs when discussing the dice system you need to consider more than just the moment to moment rolls. Auxiliary mechanics also have an impact on the feelings those dice evoke in the game.
This article will focus mostly on dice modifiers, the additions or subtractions that affect the dice results, and the feelings they encourage given the dice’s target number. More than just affecting the actualization of the results, the existence of modifiers impacts our feelings regarding the anticipation of the results.
Going back to the feelings to target number mapping we established in the first article, and continuing to use the d20 and 2d6 to provide examples, we can continue to explore how our dice system choice evokes feelings in game.
How Modifiers Impact a d20
Considering modifiers in games with a d20, we are adjusting our chance of success through these bands with +1 or -1 modifiers, making a 10 feel like a 9. In both cases this encourages a feeling of “I hope I will succeed” anticipation, but we can still jump to the next feeling, with about a +4. Think about your games, did you feel noticeably more confident for rolls where you had an extra +4 or greater?
On the GM side, the base difficulty the game uses for the d20’s checks set the tone of the game. For example, in Dungeons and Dragons 5e, in early levels most checks are between 12 and 14, setting a tone of “I will probably fail” unless I am trained. To counter this, characters are granted +2 to +6 in benefits from various Skills and Attributes, counteracting this effect for some situations based on the Skills used. This in turn creates a structure where the players feel they have set and known “I will probably Succeed” and "I will probably fail” Skills. These feelings are then associated with the character, and thus the narrative situation in which they would be used, creating an impression of the character being more confident and willing to handle some situations over others.
This situation with modifiers creating narrative encouragement is not unique to the d20, but due to the granularity of the d20, it offers a healthy spread where each individual point it’s noticeable but not narrative changing. This effect of creating narrative encouragement via modifiers, enables a character growth focus in games. The granularity of the d20 allows this to happen over a longer time, and therefore is strongest for long-running games, in my opinion. For 2-4 session games, other structures may perform better.
What a 2d6 feels like
So, considering modifiers with 2d6, the same +1s and -1s adjusts our results significantly, especially near the average rolls. A +1 when the target is a 6 increases our chance of success by 13% while a -1 decreases our chance by 17%! From a player’s perspective, this is noticeable and therefore significant. This is effectively a lot less granular than you would see on the d20. With a +1/-1 changing feeling tiers by near the average difficulty challenges, and a +2 changing difficulty tiers near the ends of the dice.
As with the d20, modifiers still create a situation of specialization when paired with the dice. The difference is that the severity of an increase or decrease in a target number is more impactful. While a d20 modifier system can give 3 or 4 increases per level, a 2d6 system would give out 1. But that same increase creates the same narrative result of some characters being more confident and willing to handle some situations over others.
The Target Number
The target number is the GM’s perception of the struggle, the obstacle, and the experience required to deal with it. While Players rarely know percentages, they have feelings for each target number from their gaming experience, so the target number is their perception of the risks associated with the narrative task, and their particular character’s ability to resolve it. Those two feelings are what we are targeting here.
Every combination of die results will always end with certain set feelings, because the feelings we set first is our GM’s and player’s perception of the narrative.
A Comparison
Analyzing both the d20 and 2d6 in terms of mechanically generated feeling, we see how modifiers can change these feelings. The differences between the d20 and 2d6 are subtle, which is why these are two of the most used dice systems in the industry, but there are differences that suit different games in different ways.
The d20 has more numbers, thus more granularity. This allows for more increases in power and ability for the characters creating more moments of enjoyment from mechanical growth. It also allows for a larger mechanical variety of challenges. It is a simple die to understand due to its flat probability distribution. Because of this, GMs can rely more on the numbered results to understand their encounter difficulties, while also allowing the numbers to be more forgiving due to the granularity.
In my opinion these points encourage games with more incremental moments of character growth, where sometimes the meaningful change is not from the numbers themselves but from an additional character ability. D20s fit well in being forgiving and mathematically easy to understand. I believe this makes them beginner friendly to numbers-focused players and more beginner friendly to new GMs.
The 2d6 has less numbers, thus more impact per number. This creates a situation where every character change is meaningful when using modifiers. Small number changes lead to big effects, especially early on. The 2d6s bell curve distribution creates a natural mapping to player perception of their chances while the advantage system of highest 2 of 3d6 creates an easy tool to express significant narrative effects on the mechanical results.
Ultimately, the 2d6s are mathematically, naturally elegant when applied to ttrpg’s success and failure driven narratives. The impactful nature of the modifiers means the dice fit better with games that have fewer moments of character growth to emphasize that those moments are meaningful and narrative changing. Due to the dice’s nature of aligning well with player’s perception, the 2d6 are more beginner friendly to feeling-focused players.
Closing
The result vs target number in a ttrpg is in essence, how well a character dealt with an obstacle.The interesting phenomenon is that for all dice types the feeling of barely succeeding or failing is not based on percentage, but on actual number. The differences in math and the differences in feelings are not the same, which is something to keep in mind when designing.
This article is part of the Indie Game Developer Network’s blog series. The content of this article reflects the views of but one member of the IGDN. This IGDN blog article is brought to you by Brandon Gutowski of the C22 System. If you want to get in touch with the contributor he can be reached on Twitter at @c22system, on Facebook @PagodaGamesLLC, or visit their website at www.c22system.com.