Forums » RP Discussion » Dice

i get why people use them, and i get why they can be useful.

and imma be honest, ive never used a dice system in my life, ever

i'm trying to set up something, and i feel like the combat aspect should include some sort of dice mechanism in place.
i have stats and that set in place, modifiers and that

my main question is: when in a combat situation should dice be used?

using dice for every attack seems like it'd be tedious and unnecessary (like every punch & kick), but at the same time, some of the larger attacks wouldn't call for a dice roll in my opinion either.

i just dont know when a dice roll would be necessary so i thought id ask for help :c

I have a link from the group I made about the dice rolls and all sorts of mechanics that make the experience in fighting feel like there's a really heavy situation at hand and that there can be actual consequences for characters to deal with - https://www.rprepository.com/g/WoUD/9610

While it is understandable most people don't want to deal with such heavy elements in roleplays, and I typically don't see the reason in most 1x1 rps to be any dice rolls, unless you want some anticipation and excitement when you're posting in battles. I personally like feeling there's stuff that are at stake, because naturally - when you fight, you're fighting for your own life or maybe someone else's.

Besides, in group roleplays its typically about the fairness, we're all biased about what happens to our characters, but when there's more people involved, everyone would want to win and leave the situation unscathed, which is lets face it - kinda boring. When you roll the dice, its basically the virtual luck and chance.

I personally don't think dice rolls are necessary for most roleplays in 1x1s. But in a group like World of Darkness, stakes are always incredibly high, so dice rolls kind of create a situation and pave the path for other actions in the near or far future. That's just my opinion on this. And as an old-school roleplayer, I always loved the dice rolls because they make me more invested not knowing what will happen or how my character will take it.

I agree that most 1x1 paragraph style RPs don't require dice. As long as you and your partner are respectful to each other, communicating and not auto-hitting or dodging every attack you should be able to craft the story without it. Perhaps the only time I'd see dice being necessary would be when you genuinely could not decide how you wanted a situation to unfold and you could roll a dice like flipping a coin.

Dice are generally used in RPs where there’s a DM (Dungeon Master – also sometimes called GM or Game Master) who controls all the puzzles and enemies. The players are both playing with and against the DM. And yes – you roll for every single punch and kick. And the character you're attacking will also be rolling to see if they can avoid the damage. I personally find this is a really fun way to play because it’s humbling. Even if your character is built for speed and strength you’re eventually going to get a 1 on the dice and you’re just going to have to deal with the consequences. Or you’re going to be forced to roll for something your character is not very good at. Characters failing make for some of the most fun game moments!

But it takes planning (an agreed system of play – such as D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowrun etc) characters to be given stats ahead of time, the DM to plan encounters (and giving every single monster and thief stats of their own!) It’s a game built around dice usage, and not just thrown in to a general forum based RP.