[4e] Players Roll All the d20s
Ry:
Last night I ran 4e for the first time. The game went very, very well. The only house rule in effect was Players Roll All the (20-sided) dice - which I used with 2nd, 3rd, and 3.5e. It was just a given that I'd bring it forward, and I didn't think much about it.
The Rule
All d20 rolls are made by the players. To do this, subtract 10 from all passive stats and defenses. Monsters don't roll; instead, their attacks get a static +12. Players win the tie. Critical hit when the player rolls a 1.
The session
The session was a very solid start with a new ruleset. We did 2 encounters, one 'moderate' and one 'probably too hard' fight. By the end of the session things were flowing very well. Since we managed 2 combats, plus some statting, plus a late player, in 3 hours, I've got the feeling we'll have major encounters down to a half-hour before long. The players stayed engaged and so did I. Afterwards I was thinking "hey, that went great!" and remembering how much I enjoy knowing that all the players are in every scene, and they're all working together to tear apart the things in front of them.
Why PRATD20s helps
Afterwards, Mike, who also GMs 4e asked about the math of players roll all the d20s, we worked it out to show that yeah, it's exactly the same math. When we were walking to the cars, I remembered why it worked so nicely.
(Obviously there's less things for the GM to manage. But that's not the important bit.)
When we get to that long GM's turn, instead of it being "sit around while you see if the GM did something" it becomes "see if you can dodge what the GM's throwing at you." Even though the math is the same, rolling feels more active. So the GM's turn becomes much more participatory for the players.
gsoylent:
I did something similar with my little homebrew sci-fi miniatures game we play on those night no one really wants to run anything. The game is sort of like Warhammer Quest; basically a series of rooms with a bit of exploration and lots of combat. Their is no GM, the monsters are totally automated.
Anyway, orignally I used to do the monster attack roll in the more obvious, traditional way - on the monster turn one of the players would roll the monster attacks. Then one day I had the bright idea of having the players roll their dodge against the flat level of the attacking critter instead. Made all the difference.
Sometimes it's the simple things.
Callan S.:
Perhaps off topic, but there was a game in development here awhile back...can't remember the name, but you played a theif. In that you only ever rolled for the monsters/opponents (who have their own target numbers)...in fact, the theif didn't even have stats. This was with the deliberate aim of freeing the player to describe their theifs movements as competently, hesitently, incompetently or whatever as they wished, as they dice only determined how well the opponents were performing.
And yay warhammer quest! We all rolled for the monsters that were (automatically) assigned to attacking our character. I think control over the pacing does improve handling time/the fun over time ratio. When someone else is rolling, you have to wait on them, but when you only have to wait on yourself it becomes a matter of realising there's nothing between you and fate except to reach for the dice and roll 'em! It's kind of a small, meaningful moment.
GregStolze:
That sounds really cool. "Only the players roll" was one of my favorite elements of the few FUDGE games I played, and I can only imagine it would be more fun on the other side of the screen.
Plus, "PRATD20" is just a great acronym.
-G.
gsoylent:
Funny you should say that, that mini game I was talking about used FUDGE as core mechanic.
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