Auto success and failures, rule of 19

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by RobW

Yes, the chance of auto-failure on 4d6 is really the only visible difference between LE p9 and the Rule of 19

If that feels uncomfortable, you can limit the Rule of 19 to rolls of 5+ dice

Yes, I thought about that tweak, but it does damage one of the primary advantages of your rule: simplicity.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by RobW

TLDR
On rolls for success, include 3 colored "critical dice". Add up all the dice and compare to the required stat as usual, but the result on the critical dice may override that.

The critical dice can be read for auto/critical success and failure just as in a 3d roll. For example, an 18 is a spell backfire, a 3 is a triple success.

The chance of automatic failure increases with the number of dice rolled according to the rule of 19, if the total on the critical dice + the number of dice rolled >= 19, automatic FAILURE

This works out virtually identical to the table on TFT p9, but it's much easier to interpret critical success and failure (and no table required).

Just getting around to seeing this simple solution. Great idea!

[Terquem]

Now we need the powers that be to offer us a special, limited edition, brightly colored special marked "Critical Success and Failure" 3d6 set

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by Terquem

Now we need the powers that be to offer us a special, limited edition, brightly colored special marked "Critical Success and Failure" 3d6 set

I think octopus dice would be nice. Or the megahex dice that have been discussed.