 May 2, 2008 - 11:12am | I was emailing Larry a moment ago, and I thought of a great randomization device. Have the players roll a set of d100s at the beginning of each game session. Number the results (1 to 10 or whatever) and then whenever a secret check needs to be made, you just check the number rolled at the beginning of the session. Then cross out that result so it does not get picked again, and continue. That way, if the person needs an INT check to see the blaster poking out of the dung pile, you can make that check and not physically (or electronically) roll the dice, which sometimes makes PCs suspicious. |
 May 2, 2008 - 1:09pm | Used that technique in running my GURPS and True 20 games. Saves a great deal of die rolling and goes straight to the roleplay. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
May 2, 2008 - 1:58pm | Another twist is to further randomize the rolls into a grid. Then it is possible for a different PC's roll to be taken from the pool of pre-rolls. That way, you can avoid a PC saying "Well I shouldn't try to do that - I rolled really crappy in my pre-rolls." |
May 2, 2008 - 2:02pm | That's something I never thought of, ImpLord. What I usually do is take the best remaining pre-roll from the list and run with that. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
May 2, 2008 - 2:04pm | Burp. Double post. Excuse me. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 May 2, 2008 - 2:34pm | That's not a bad idea. Of course the PC's don't have to do the rolling, you could prepare the number list in advance. In fact you could make the grid in any spreadsheed in a couple of minutes. The other option is to do what my old Ref used to do (and what I do), just always be rolling dice, whether is was needed or not. We never knew if he was rolling because it was important or just passing time waiting for us to decide on what we were going to do. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
May 2, 2008 - 2:54pm | Terlo - Love the first idea, not so keen on the second. Lots of noise and my arm gets tired! |
May 2, 2008 - 5:14pm | Yeah, the second is old school from before computers and spreadsheets were common place. Plus you don't have to roll all the time, just more often than necessary. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 May 2, 2008 - 7:57pm | Sometimes I just roll for unimportant things (i.e. 1-50 she's got on a blue cloak, 51-00 it's red) so everytime I pick up the dice it doesn't seem like a give-away. |
 May 2, 2008 - 9:32pm | I like to roll dice, I could do it all day. In fact I carry dice in my knapsack. Sometimes I roll at work on my des.... uhm... During game play I'm always rolling dice in the lull of events. Anyway, Bill does this 1d10 thing when our party is in a situation, 1 this happen 2-8 this happens 9-0 I'll make something up. He rolls. A ONE! - then we have a great time trying to get out of that situation. I find gaming fun when your taking out the bad guys or when your getting a What For yourself. It's all good in the end. I like all your ideas and I don't mind rolling or having the Ref roll to see what happens next. |
May 3, 2008 - 8:52am | I prefer having the ref do the pre-rolls, simply because ya can't trust the players to declare in advance which one's going to be the tens and which one's going to be ones.... I should know, cos I'm guilty of doing the same thing as a player, especially in Twilight 2000, where the hits just kept on coming.... "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
May 3, 2008 - 8:54am | That's not a bad idea. Of course the PC's don't have to do the rolling, you could prepare the number list in advance. In fact you could make the grid in any spreadsheed in a couple of minutes. The other option is to do what my old Ref used to do (and what I do), just always be rolling dice, whether is was needed or not. We never knew if he was rolling because it was important or just passing time waiting for us to decide on what we were going to do. Some of the best gaming expiriences come from springing stuff on players, while they're bogged down in table talk or arguing about who's going to do what next..... "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 May 3, 2008 - 9:31am | Some of the best gaming expiriences come from springing stuff on players, while they're bogged down in table talk or arguing about who's going to do what next..... When I first started gaming, we were playing alot of Call of Cthulhu, and when the conversation would get out of hand, the gm would say "click" and start counting to three on his fingers. Then he went around the table and asked what the characters were doing. Sometimes it took a tense situation and escelated it, like in the middle of combat, or it took an average situation and blew it out of proportion. But it got everyone back in the game. I had a large Rifts group (10-12 people), and I did something simular. I would start by asking each person "what is your character doing?" If the reply was "whats going on?" I left it as that character being confused and often losing initiative or missing a critical hint or clue to what was going on. I would try to jump around the table at times, so it was difficult for them to prepare. Time flies when your having rum. Im a government employee, I dont goof-off. I constructively abuse my time. |
May 3, 2008 - 10:24am | I ran a Cyberpunk game at MOC 7 where the characters were holed up in a hotel room(as, of course, the result of a gig going wrong and the patron siccing the Psycho Squad on them)and while most of the group started arguing for what to do next, the one playing the psychotic female Solo whispers to me,"I take my lighter and set off the sprinklers in the room...." That got things going in a hurry.... "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
May 3, 2008 - 6:30pm | I ran a Cyberpunk game at MOC 7 where the characters were holed up in a hotel room(as, of course, the result of a gig going wrong and the patron siccing the Psycho Squad on them)and while most of the group started arguing for what to do next, the one playing the psychotic female Solo whispers to me,"I take my lighter and set off the sprinklers in the room...." That got things going in a hurry.... Passing notes to the GM would be cool - so other players could react. Bill ran a game where he prepared each character a one to two page sheet that they read to themselves. Then could share the information with other character around the table. I remember want to build a ship bridge and have each person attend a station -- my station would feed their station information that they had to relay to others on the bridge, if they didn't it could be catastrophic! Of course technology in the early 80's did much allow for home computers. :-) I think I wanted to live Star Frontiers. So get this, since Bill came to town I've play (looks at hands) 5 times in my life! Hahahaha. *ahem. |
 May 3, 2008 - 6:53pm | Reminds me of a thing we used to do for OAD&D. Create a grid of 10 x 10 on graph paper. Roll a 3d6 x 100 times and fill the squares with the results. When you are done circle 6 numbers in a straight line (horizontal or vertical or diagonal). They are your characters starting stats... Insane but fun. You had to keep your grid in case your character died to select a new set of statistiques. We ruled that a grid was good for 5 characters. (In hack&slash you died often...) The grid idea is good : (10x10) d100s rolls you would have to keep it from game to game until all the numbers are crossed. «Language is a virus from outer space» William S. Burroughs |
May 4, 2008 - 10:08am | I ran a Cyberpunk game at MOC 7 where the characters were holed up in a hotel room(as, of course, the result of a gig going wrong and the patron siccing the Psycho Squad on them)and while most of the group started arguing for what to do next, the one playing the psychotic female Solo whispers to me,"I take my lighter and set off the sprinklers in the room...." That got things going in a hurry.... Passing notes to the GM would be cool - so other players could react. Bill ran a game where he prepared each character a one to two page sheet that they read to themselves. Then could share the information with other character around the table. I remember want to build a ship bridge and have each person attend a station -- my station would feed their station information that they had to relay to others on the bridge, if they didn't it could be catastrophic! Of course technology in the early 80's did much allow for home computers. :-) I think I wanted to live Star Frontiers. So get this, since Bill came to town I've play (looks at hands) 5 times in my life! Hahahaha. *ahem. The one thing I did like about the FASA Star Trek RPG was being able to simulate running stations on the bridge. Problem was that the counters and handouts for the various bridge station controls were a pain in the rear to keep up with. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
