First off let me say I am currently in a 3.5 campaign as we are too cheap for new material ^^
I'm fairly new to DnD i guess, it is only my second campaign though I have been reading the books for a couple years now.
The DM I have currently has a lot of issues going on with the campaign (favoritism, changing npc's back stories to suit the situation, ect.) but that is not nearly the biggest problem.
I have horrible luck on my d20 rolls. Like, really bad. Last night we played a short session around 2-3 hours long, and I rolled above 10 on the d20 TWICE. And they were both on low dc out-of-combat checks. As a level 5 fighter with a 3 strength modifier, I get a plus 8 on my attacks, 10 when im charging, and I will still miss AC's of 16 consistently.
For combat Its annoying but w/e. For terrain movement say pulling my companion out of a tar pit (yeah it happened) my low rolls mean my teammates are always suffering because of my bad luck. Things take 20 times as long with me around because my fighter apparently sucks at everything.
I have tried talking to my DM (who has great rolls so opposing checks never succeed) and all he says is roll better. On top of that he constantly denies us the ability to take 10 on our check because we are too "distracted" but his arguement for it is bogus. (I was unable to take 10 on a craft check because I was too distracted by crafting, same happened to our ranger with survival and animal handling.)
I guess what I need advice with is, what do i do?? How do i approach my DM so he sees this as an actual issue? Or is there a way for me to really just roll better? :P
Thanks All
I guess what I need advice with is, what do i do?? How do i approach my DM so he sees this as an actual issue? Or is there a way for me to really just roll better? :P
Thanks All
Get some magic dice. My players seem to think that only specific dice are lucky or magic. Lol. It also sounds like your DM needs just a couple little lessons on DMing, or some more experience.
- - -
And if you're superstitious, you could always talk to your dice about it... or get new dice.
One thing that helps regardless is to have a sense of humor about it. Sometimes when one of my dice is behaving poorly, I will put it in "time-out", or berate it for being a jerk. Sometimes my fellow players will join in with me to "discipline" the offender. Do I believe that it actually makes a difference in later rolls? No. But it makes me feel better and makes for a few more funny moments at the table.
Sometimes if I am rolling really horribly one night, I go to great lengths to describe the results of my crappy rolls. Not "my PC misses", but "Mutengu drops the scroll in the middle of his chant, and tries to cover up his fumble by finishing the incantation in pig latin". I know that sounds really stupid, but it helps me stay in a positive mood even when I'm really unlucky, and thus increases my enjoyment.
I suppose the last thing you could do is make a character that specializes in avoiding rolls, like a mage who uses a lot of power-words and the like. Just find a way to keep having fun in the game, and it won't matter as much when you have a string of bad luck.
It is possible that your dice are actually weighted, though unlikely. You could try rolling them in a controlled environment (i.e. sometime when you have a few free moments and nobody around to judge your dice-rolling escapades) and tracking the results, looking for any bias. Or you could simply replace them.
One thing that helps regardless is to have a sense of humor about it. Sometimes when one of my dice is behaving poorly, I will put it in "time-out", or berate it for being a jerk. Sometimes my fellow players will join in with me to "discipline" the offender. Do I believe that it actually makes a difference in later rolls? No. But it makes me feel better and makes for a few more funny moments at the table.
Sometimes if I am rolling really horribly one night, I go to great lengths to describe the results of my crappy rolls. Not "my PC misses", but "Mutengu drops the scroll in the middle of his chant, and tries to cover up his fumble by finishing the incantation in pig latin". I know that sounds really stupid, but it helps me stay in a positive mood even when I'm really unlucky, and thus increases my enjoyment.
I suppose the last thing you could do is make a character that specializes in avoiding rolls, like a mage who uses a lot of power-words and the like. Just find a way to keep having fun in the game, and it won't matter as much when you have a string of bad luck.
I second this motion!
p.s. you could also purchase or manufacture a Dice Tower to roll your dice. Put "The Dark Tower" or "Mount Doom" on the side of it, and blame the tower for all your bad rolls in the future.
Get a die roller program/app.
put chips in a bag with the numbers 1-20 on them, grab a chip as needed. Throw it back in after you use it, to keep your averages from 1-20 even. OR throw them to the side, so that you are guaranteed to get all the numbers 1-20 in after 20 "rolls".
Ask the DM to roll 3d6 instead of 1d20, crit-ing on an 18. Gives you a nice bell curve with higher odds of hitting a 10 or 11, over the 3 or 18, giving you a nice consistent average roll. You crit less, but you also roll low less.
Consider playing a different class, bard, healer focused cleric, things that don't need to roll to do things.
Sure a bard and a healer focused cleric aren't as "powerful" but can still be fun.
Yadda yadda, dice superstition, etc.
Or, you could try this: One of the people in my gaming group has THE worst luck with dice, or really anything that requires luck. He sometimes takes a hammer to the dice that 'fail' him too often, and then leaves the broken bits in his dice bag as a lesson to the rest.
Edit: I forgot to mention, a dice rolling box may help. It gives you something for your dice to bump up against (the sides) and changes the results a bit. It also helps keep your dice in one place. I picked up a small wooden tray at a crafts shop, stained it, and then lined it with felt. Cheap and effective, and a bit classy, if I do say so myself. This year, I'm making one for each of my players.
Eric the GreyPLAN to roll poorly. Review your attacks/powers/skills as well as the buffs you can get from situations/other PCs. Try your best to create situatuations that keep stacking bonuses.
Work with your DM, ask him to run more at level encounters. Between the two you should be hitting on a 6+
I've just recently started gaming again, and had many years of bad rolls still embedded in my memory, so when I got back into D&D I decided to throw all my old dice away, bite the bullet and buy some of the dice I mentioned above. Now, I own 3 sets, and will never again buy anyother die from any other manufacturer.
Hello All,
First off let me say I am currently in a 3.5 campaign as we are too cheap for new material ^^
I'm fairly new to DnD i guess, it is only my second campaign though I have been reading the books for a couple years now.
The DM I have currently has a lot of issues going on with the campaign (favoritism, changing npc's back stories to suit the situation, ect.) but that is not nearly the biggest problem.
I have horrible luck on my d20 rolls. Like, really bad. Last night we played a short session around 2-3 hours long, and I rolled above 10 on the d20 TWICE. And they were both on low dc out-of-combat checks. As a level 5 fighter with a 3 strength modifier, I get a plus 8 on my attacks, 10 when im charging, and I will still miss AC's of 16 consistently.
For combat Its annoying but w/e. For terrain movement say pulling my companion out of a tar pit (yeah it happened) my low rolls mean my teammates are always suffering because of my bad luck. Things take 20 times as long with me around because my fighter apparently sucks at everything.
I have tried talking to my DM (who has great rolls so opposing checks never succeed) and all he says is roll better. On top of that he constantly denies us the ability to take 10 on our check because we are too "distracted" but his arguement for it is bogus. (I was unable to take 10 on a craft check because I was too distracted by crafting, same happened to our ranger with survival and animal handling.)
I guess what I need advice with is, what do i do?? How do i approach my DM so he sees this as an actual issue? Or is there a way for me to really just roll better? :P
Thanks All
No one really rolls bad all the time it's just that we remember all the bad rolls and not all the good rolls. I would suggest for a couple of sessions actually write down what you roll on the d20 through out the game.
Once you look at it on paper, it may not be as bad as you think it is
Roll two d20's for every roll... but declare which die you're going to be counting beforehand. The theory is that your die will try to roll better if it's competing against another.
Alternately, pay it a bribe. 
1=20
2=19
3=18
ect...
Obviously declare it before hand.
Last session however, they were rolling pretty bad, so I changed surface. My gf had just bought a huge battlegrid on which all the player dice were just doing awfull, so I snagged an empty glass bowl and just rolled in that. Suddenly they were doing much better and not long after all the other players joined in.
One of my players bought a whole new set of dice when he rolled a 1 twice in a row.
Other players seem to make sure they are good solid throws that get lots of "dice action" before settling on one side.
Still others think if they shake them long enough, or hard enough in their hands before letting go that the number resulting will go higher and higher.
I have even had some players who honestly believe they are cursed, and have "lucky" players roll their dice for them.
IMO, the best option is to find a way boost your attack bonus higher, so that the only possible way to miss is to roll a 1. I mean cmon, even if your luck totally sucks the odds of you rolling a 1 more than once a night has got to be astronomical.... (re-reads second line i posted).. then again.. You could just be cursed.
2- failed, willsave
2- +2, initiative
5- failed, willsave
12- failed, willsave
17- effin finally passed, willsave (I hate harpies)
1- crit miss, attackroll
7- plus 8 for 15, miss attackroll
8- plus 9 for 17, hit attack roll with greatsword. on my 2d6 I rolled a 3 and a 1
By now my allies killed the present harpies, we moved on, got ambushed by more.
1- failed, willsave
9- +2, initiative
11- failed, willsave
19- passed willsave
2- missed attackroll
9/7- spot/listen
1- crit miss, attackroll
20- natural threat attackroll, rolled a 1 on confirmation (FUUUUUU)
for my attack with the above rolled i had been using full power attack since i figured id roll high
if i was going to hit anyways. So even tho i rolled two 1's on my d6's, i got a plus 12 plus 4 so i did 20 anyways, killing the harpy.
after this point the session was rp'ing and camp setup. there was more combat but my fighter was not present.
So all in all I rolled above ten 4 times (twice as many times as last session), I rolled three 2's three one's and only succeeded in 4 rolls out of 14 (not counting initiative)
This guy made a simple spreadsheet that does it, too: giantbattlingrobots.blogspot.com/2009/08...
Not really sure why you needed to roll a "confirmation" after a natural 20.
You could always optimize your character to the point where you can only fail/miss on a 1? I have a lvl 12 ranger that can only miss same level monsters on a 1.
Not really sure why you needed to roll a "confirmation" after a natural 20.
3.X D&D (I assume). Oh those were the days.
But I guess its a 4e build not a 3.5e build. Good idea, though, still, to build a non-roller
As for my sample size... those were all my rolls from the entire session. I will continue to keep track but I was left out of over half the session because of our idiot rangers. (And dont even get me started on our DM)
Yeah we play in 3.5, sorry for not saying that earlier.
As for my sample size... those were all my rolls from the entire session. I will continue to keep track but I was left out of over half the session because of our idiot rangers. (And dont even get me started on our DM)
I think the intent isn't to have you track your game rolls, but to sit down when you have some spare time to kill and roll your die a couple hundred times and record the results. Perhaps doing so with multiple roll styles.
It won't help you with bad Save Vs rolls though.
The effect is increased when you have easily-optimized characters in the party with you, who have a little more leeway with dice numbers; you say you have more than one ranger in the party, so that would be the case. Honestly, the only way to circumvent the problem, as I see it, is to either wait for luck to change or min-max to the point that you aren't -as- dependant on dice rolls (though there are heavy limits to that).
Option 1. Change dice. Most D&D dice out there are actually lopsided because part of the manufacturing process involved time in a tumbler to smooth out and round off the edges. This creates dice that are slightly lopsided, enough so that most dice are not completely random. Therefore, get some dice from Game Science. They are the most balanced dice on the market.
Watch these two videos in order:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR2fxoNHIuU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmkWrDbn34&feat...
Option 2. Have someone else roll for you. As far as I know there is no rule that a player has to roll his own dice. So, if your luck is down let someone else roll for you.
Those youtube clips were actually very insightful.
I met Lou that very same year at GenCon, and I have to say that I can not think of many people who are as passionate about whatever as he is about dice. The man is a true nerd, through and through, and I mean that in the best possilbe way!
Those youtube clips were actually very insightful.
I met Lou that very same year at GenCon, and I have to say that I can not think of many people who are as passionate about whatever as he is about dice. The man is a true nerd, through and through, and I mean that in the best possilbe way!
Lou is indeed a very impassioned person, he's also pretty much "the man."
My group and I use GameScience dice exclusively, and have been amazingly happy with the decision since the first session after they arrived.
I stopped rolling 20 after 20 after 20 (I'm the DM), and my buddy stopped rolling 1 after 1 after 1 (He tends to play leaders and defenders, and their prior edition equivalents).
You can also test the dice if you are patient enough. Probably not worth the trouble though.
One major thing to check is that the distance between opposite sides is equal for the d20. I had a few dice that have a shorter span from 1 to 20 than from the other opposite sides. That skews the dice to roll more 20's and 1's.
There are some faults that you can detect, like deeply carved numbers tend to make the big numbers (double digits) more likely, because those dice facings have less weight than their opposite sides (which have all single digit numbers). This you find more of a problem if the dice numbering is done so that one "hemisphere" has all the low numbers. I did see one of these dice being used in a game once. I think they are meant to be used for tracking life in a magic game or something else (hence the numbers run in sequence).
After seeing those videos, I may just have to get some GameScience dice. Are they only available online or are they available to brick and mortar retailers, too?
I see them at my FLGS all the time, a little separate from the massive selection of Chessex dice but available in a variety of colors nonetheless
After seeing those videos, I may just have to get some GameScience dice. Are they only available online or are they available to brick and mortar retailers, too?
Not sure. Next time you are at your local game store ask them. If they do not have them point them in the direction of the videos and ask if they will order some.
You could always optimize your character to the point where you can only fail/miss on a 1? I have a lvl 12 ranger that can only miss same level monsters on a 1.
Not really sure why you needed to roll a "confirmation" after a natural 20.
3.X D&D (I assume). Oh those were the days.
Pathfinder also requires a confirmation roll on critical threats.
After seeing those videos, I may just have to get some GameScience dice. Are they only available online or are they available to brick and mortar retailers, too?
While GameScience dice are not the prettiest or blingiest, they are the closest thing to truly random polyhedral dice on the market. I had the pleasure of meeting Lou at last year's GenCon (apparently his last as he had sold GameScience to GameStation.net). I absolutely love GameScience dice, and recommend them all the time.
If your FLGS does not stock them, they typically can special order them through their distribution chain. They are available in opaque and gem (translucent) styles and are available either inked or not inked. Inking the dice is fairly easy using an extra fine point Sharpie or similar permanent marker.
Just a bit of trivia. Lou has a River named after him on the Avalon Hill Blitzkrieg map. He has been around games and gamers for a LOOOOOONG time
That is cool. I will have to try and find a copy of that map.
Nothing huge, but like 25% bigger.
Does anyone know where to get bigger then average dice?
Nothing huge, but like 25% bigger.
Good question. I have never seen a polyhedral dice set larger than the standard 12 mm, 14 mm, and 16 mm (also known as full-size) sizes. I know some manufacturers, like Crystal Caste, make d20s in large sizes but these are significantly larger than "25% bigger". Aside from that, I have only seen the large foam polyhedral dice that are made primarily for educational purposes, but these are also larger than what you seek. If you find any please let us know. Good luck.
Koplow Games makes "jumbo" polyhedral dice that are available in sets. You may have to contact them as their catalog page does not indicate the actual size:
www.koplowgames.com/page82.html
www.gmdice.com/products.php?cat=39