COMBAT (Optional Rule): "Modifying Dice + Adds": Why changed in 4th edition?

[MrPibMan]

Hi,

I remember in GURPS 3rd ed. on the sidebar of p. 114, there was an Optional Rule called "Modifying Dice + Adds: An Optional Rule." It stated that any +7 to damage could be turned into 2d of damage and any +3 could be turned into 1d of damage.

Now, in GURPS 4th ed., on p. 269, it says in the Optional Rule that any +4 becomes 1d of damage and any +7 becomes 2d of damage.

Why has the 1d changed from +3 to +4 ??? Why is it harder now to get that +1d ???

[Maz]

My guess:

Because being able to turn +3 into +~3.5 is unbalancing.
Changing +4 to +~3.5 is more fair because you have to give something up for the "benefit" of getting to roll a die more (and thus getting a higher max damage).

[panton41]

If I had to guess it would be the fact the "average" roll on 1d6 is actually 3.5 and 4th Ed. introduced new rounding rules, which mean the half point is rounded up instead of down. ]

[MrPibMan]

Originally Posted by ciaran_skye

If I had to guess it would be the fact the "average" roll on 1d6 is actually 3.5 and 4th Ed. introduced new rounding rules, which mean the half point is rounded up instead of down. ]

Thanks Ciaran and Maz. I'm just starting to learn the 4th ed. rules, so I guess I'll see the new round-up rules as I study the combat system in preparation for my group's adventure.

Sincerely,
Mr Pib.

[Kromm]

This is simply because +1d is actually +3.5 on average, and neither +3 nor +4, but +4 is more consistent with the damage progression the game uses:

.
.
.
Nd-1
Nd
Nd+1
Nd+2
(N+1)d-1
(N+1)d
(N+1)d+1
(N+1)d+2
.
.
.

Notice how shifting up three steps doesn't give you a full die on this sequence, while a four-step shift does. This is why we equate +4, not +3, to +1d. There's no need to use this logic for +7, since +2d averages +7 and not some fractional quantity.

[ericbsmith]

I never did like the +3 = +1d rule. I've used a different option going back to the 3e days:

+3 = +1d-1
+4 = +1d
+5 = +1d+1
+6 = +2d-1
+7 = +2d

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by ericbsmith

I never did like the +3 = +1d rule. I've used a different option going back to the 3e days:

+3 = +1d-1
+4 = +1d
+5 = +1d+1
+6 = +2d-1
+7 = +2d

Well, in my 3rd ed days, I simply used the standard progression, and converting adds to dice was mandatory. The progression was:

Nd+0=Nd
Nd+1=Nd+1
Nd+2=Nd+2
Nd+3=(N+1)d-1
Nd+4=(N+1)d

This sort of nerfed big bonuses (+8 was only +2d, while it should be +2d+1), but hell, it was enough. Of course, I was young, and English is not my native tongue, so I understood about half of the rules, and sort of improvised the rest.