Holy crap, really? On rolling dice.

[October Daniels]

Hey guys,

I've been a huge fan of Munchkin since I first played it this summer. As a result, one of my friends just bought Munchkin Cthulhu, and we sat down to play together last night.

At this point, he informed me that EVERYTHING I KNEW WAS WRONG. Or, specifically, one very important thing.

While I've read the rules several times over, I had been taught by my friend that when you're in combat, you roll the dice for a "combat bonus" for your character (adding the numbers to your levels and item bonuses), then once for the monster you're fighting, before adding and comparing the numbers. Sort of like in Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, you know?

Welp, because I never read anything to the contrary in the rules, I assumed that was the case. My friend informed me that there's nothing about rolling in the rules in the first place. I was so embarrassed! I always thought that the die roll was a big part of it, as it gives you a fighting chance against monsters higher than you.

Is this real life?

[MunchkinMan]

The die's main purpose is for determining if your attempt to Run Away from a Monster has been successful. In some cases, the die can be used for something else, but that card will always tell you that you can roll the die and what to do with the result. Also, any reference to rolling will always refer to a six-sided die, unless otherwise stated. In no Munchkin card game is the die used as an add-on to combat strength without the use of a specific card which allows you to do so.

[emillang1000]

That may have been a house rule for d6s.

The Munchkin Bag of D6s was never given an official rule, so there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of house rules recorded on this site in the Munchkin section of the Forums for those dice. Your friend may have just been using one of those rules.

Either way, the basic rules as-written for Munchkin do not involve rolling any die except for deciding who goes first, determining if you successfully Run Away, or when a card makes specific mention of rolling a die.

[Andrew Hackard]

The question is about Munchkin. Stop talking about Quest.

[emillang1000]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

The question is about Munchkin. Stop talking about Quest.

I'm... not. I'm talking about this thread:

Munchkin d6 rule ideas

Unless I'm horribly mistaken, I assumed this was always intended for Munchkin and not Quest.

[October Daniels]

Everyone: thanks so much for the clarification. I actually like the "house rule" we've been unintentionally playing by, as it allows for a bit more "gambling," but playing by the actual rules is so much faster.

Amazing how such a simple misunderstanding can have so many effects on gameplay.

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by emillang1000

I'm... not.

I wasn't talking to you. There have been several posts deleted from this thread because they couldn't focus on the question at hand.

[sir_pudding]

I've always interpreted the reason that you don't have to roll dice for combat in Munchkin as a recognition that real munchkins always somehow roll a "natural 20" in the notional pencil and paper game the card game simulates. Therefore there's really no point in actually rolling dice.

[October Daniels]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I've always interpreted the reason that you don't have to roll dice for combat in Munchkin as a recognition that real munchkins always somehow roll a "natural 20" in the notional pencil and paper game the card game simulates. Therefore there's really no point in actually rolling dice.

You know what? I remember reading that somewhere. Funny how it only makes sense to me now!

[MunchkinMan]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I've always interpreted the reason that you don't have to roll dice for combat in Munchkin as a recognition that real munchkins always somehow roll a "natural 20" in the notional pencil and paper game the card game simulates. Therefore there's really no point in actually rolling dice.

I don't think that much thought was put into it. The original release of the game required you to provide your own die, and the Thief's theft ability and Running Away was already more than enough work for a die that you didn't get with the game.