The guy who first ran D&D for me as a kid pretty much made it all up as he went along. No books, just a couple of dice and some miniatures. You rolled and he said if you hit or not. Maybe another die roll for damage. What was left was pretty much his getting his ya-ya’s out by killing my characters in whatever sick ways he could make up at the time.
So at some point I got rules books and started DM’ing. In those earliest days I winged it as far as reactions and random NPC things relating to character actions. Just like my first DM, I made some things up ( but was a much more player friendly DM).
I think in the earliest days I just rolled a D6 and let 1-3 be “no” and 4-6 be “yes.”
But some guys I knew in the early 80’s turned me on to their two dice “No-Maybe-Yes Method” of making an on-the-spot determination of some random factor.
Roll the two D6, and add them up. Let 2-5 be various levels of “no,” let 6-8 be various levels of “maybe,” and let 9-12 be “yes.”
It’s really mostly for if you need to make a quick determination that is a no through yes, with some maybe’s in-between
So you merely pose a question to the dice then roll them. Suppose you need to know if the farmer has a daughter because the bard in the party is feelin’ romantic. Just ask the dice “does he have any daughters?” No means no. Get a 2-5 and it’s “no.” Get a 7 and “maybe” means you should roll again in this case, and if you get a “no” this time he has no daughter, but if you get a “yes” he has a daughter/daughters but lies and says “no” (he knows all about those big city bards). Roll a 10 in the first place, then he has one. An 11 or 12 could mean two or more daughters.
You can use the method for a quick result anywhere, just pose your question. “Maybe” is always fun because that is when you get to stretch your wing-it muscles a bit. Is there treasure in that cubby hole? A “maybe” could mean yeah, there is some, but there is also a poisonous brown recluse spider hanging out in there as well.
You can modify the roll any way you like, depending on the situation. Does the farmer’s daughter find the bard attractive? If he has a high charisma, add a plus to the roll.
Do you have a No-Maybe-Yes method of your own?
So at some point I got rules books and started DM’ing. In those earliest days I winged it as far as reactions and random NPC things relating to character actions. Just like my first DM, I made some things up ( but was a much more player friendly DM).
I think in the earliest days I just rolled a D6 and let 1-3 be “no” and 4-6 be “yes.”
But some guys I knew in the early 80’s turned me on to their two dice “No-Maybe-Yes Method” of making an on-the-spot determination of some random factor.
Roll the two D6, and add them up. Let 2-5 be various levels of “no,” let 6-8 be various levels of “maybe,” and let 9-12 be “yes.”
It’s really mostly for if you need to make a quick determination that is a no through yes, with some maybe’s in-between
So you merely pose a question to the dice then roll them. Suppose you need to know if the farmer has a daughter because the bard in the party is feelin’ romantic. Just ask the dice “does he have any daughters?” No means no. Get a 2-5 and it’s “no.” Get a 7 and “maybe” means you should roll again in this case, and if you get a “no” this time he has no daughter, but if you get a “yes” he has a daughter/daughters but lies and says “no” (he knows all about those big city bards). Roll a 10 in the first place, then he has one. An 11 or 12 could mean two or more daughters.
You can use the method for a quick result anywhere, just pose your question. “Maybe” is always fun because that is when you get to stretch your wing-it muscles a bit. Is there treasure in that cubby hole? A “maybe” could mean yeah, there is some, but there is also a poisonous brown recluse spider hanging out in there as well.
You can modify the roll any way you like, depending on the situation. Does the farmer’s daughter find the bard attractive? If he has a high charisma, add a plus to the roll.
Do you have a No-Maybe-Yes method of your own?
If there's no BTB rule or house rule to cover a given situation, I just consider the variables, and what the player wants to do, and give them a ballpark percentage to roll over, or under. I've never gotten any resistance from players for this. Maybe because they don't expect Total System Coverage, or maybe because they don't know what I'm doing. I don't rock the boat.
ReplyDeleteI am also a 2d6 guy:
ReplyDelete2 = real bad (absolutely no)
3-5 = bad (no)
6-8 = neutral (maybe)
9-11 = good (yes)
12 = very good (You betchya!)
I use this for all sorts of stuff.
Clocks: 1d12
ReplyDelete--I use them for Frequency, Intensity, and Proximity.
Oracular: d%
--Basically the same as you guys, but I prefer single percent blocks to 16.67%.
:)
You make the excellent point that forcing yourself to roll for a random outcome encourages creative thinking and winging it. I must confess to over-planning in my sessions. I'll write pages of shit about NPCs and locales that will never be apparent in play.
ReplyDelete@Christian--Yeah, I try and make myself say, "I am not Tolkien" at regular intervals.
ReplyDeleteI use a single D6 in my Star Wars game—the higher the roll, the better 'luck' the player has. The lower, the worse. Thus, if they're on a mission and ask "Hey, do I see a landspeeder parked nearby?" I roll. On a six, they do, and its awesome. On a 1, there's nothing (or maybe a speeder that LOOKS good, but is actually broken down). I've never gone as far as codifying exactly what the results mean, but its a good, random gauge for how good or bad character luck is holding out.
ReplyDeleteYou will find this 'No-Maybe-Yes' on pages 21 (as Retainer Reactions) and page 24 (as Monster Reactions) of Moldvay Basic.
ReplyDeleteMonster Reactions
Die Roll / Reaction
2 / Immediate Attack
3-5 / Hostile, possible attack
6-8 / Uncertain, monster confused
9-11 / No attack, monster leaves or considers offers
12 / Enthusiastic friendship
I use them, not as a Y-N-M, but rather as contributing points toward success... frex the infamous Seducing the Serving Wench. Say I assign it a difficulty of 8 points. Roll 2d6, add/subtract the appropriate attribute bonus (Charisma for a seduction), and check the table. 2 and 12 are worth -5 and +5 respectively, with ±0 for 6-8 and -2/+2 for the other ranges.
@ Christian,
ReplyDeleteThe winging it and creativity are the fun parts. I had a post on by blog a while ago about this:
http://ode2bd.blogspot.com/2009/04/reaction-rolls-my-favorite-sub-system.html
Like this. Yoinked for great justice!
ReplyDelete