Has anyone seen a PbtA game that uses the following mechanic:
w3d6+stat – roll 3d6, take the worst two dice, add stat.
b3d6+stat – roll 3d6, take the best two dice, add stat.
The idea would be used similarly to how the worst/best of damage dice is used in Dungeon World, but in a game where damage is expressed similarly to the Apocalypse World harm mechanic.
If you’ve seen it, please let me know what game uses it so I can have a look. If you haven’t seen it, let me know what you think.
Yeah, that’s been used as a replacement for +1 forward in a lot of games as ‘advantage/disadvantage’: Spirit of ’77, Pigsmoke, Legacy, etc.
I’ve used it and could’t cite a source where I saw it first. It’s a thing, use it.
Yeah, Legacy uses something similar.
Something you could fiddle with as well is doing it on the individual dice. Say you roll a black and a white d6 – you could then go with only white or black advantage/disadvantage.
If I remember my calculations correctly, advantage on one die is slightly better than an overall +1 while the advantage you describe (3d6, pick highest two) approaches a 2d6+2 in probability of rolling 7+.
I think I first saw it in a post Rob Donoghue wrote about hacking it into Dungeon World, though I could be wrong. I really enjoy how it bounds things and stops modifiers from stacking too much, though those are both reasons why you might want to avoid it!
Yep, tried it and enjoyed it a lot, but it is a mechanic I’ve enjoyed a lot ever since I first encountered it in Over The Edge. It does bias things a little positively, so I’ve found it a good match for when I want things to skew more competently or heroically.
(That said, the Blades in the Dark rolling scheme offers similar advantages, and a curve that may be more appealing, and is flexible based on where you put the zero)
I’ve tried a hack where players rolled (1-5)d6 with no stat modifiers, taking the best two. Once you pass three dice though, it skews toward success (which was ok for that game).
Thank you all for your help!