Saving throw

Behold my current saving throw table:

Saving Throw (Attempt Throw) Table

Probability	2d20	Percent	Ratio
Very Likely	5	98%	>9:10
Likely	10	90%	9:10
Fairly Likely	15	77%	>7:10
Chancy	20	57%	>1:2
Fairly Unlikely	25	34%	1:3
Unlikely	30	16%	1:6
Very Unlikely	35	5%	1:20

I have no need for examples, because I am not trying to map a saving throw to an absolute target. Everything is relative. Relative to player class, race, experience. Relative to the issue at hand, the strength of the poison or the dragon's breath. And on and on.

This is fair. I almost never consult the players. They intuitively feel that the throw is fair if I describe the scenario clearly enough for them. If I am worried, then I consult the players and we work out likelihood together. Everyone is happy. The dice become the oracle.

You have probably noticed that I have in parentheses "attempt throw." I do not use "ability checks." But sometimes folks attempt to do things that inherently have probable outcomes. By using the bell curve and finding the center of the curve in what the character brings and what the situation demands I've found a great replacement for so-called "ability checks": attempt throws. Because we are not really testing abilities. One either has ability or not. What we are testing are attempts. And attempts are probable to varying degrees.

Again, I've never had a problem with players with this. It just feels intuitively right. And, again, if I am not sure what the likelihood is, we discuss it out and then roll. Again, everyone is happy, for the dice become the oracle.

Aren't dice fun?

Combat mechanics

My house rules mechanics for battle solves a lot of problems for me.

Don't get me wrong. I love d&d mechanics, but mainly because it just feels good rolling that d20 and then (if I am lucky) that d6. It is kind of like mechanical nostalgia. But it just doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to me.

The folks that put that together were war gammers, scaling down down down to one to one ratio of man to figure. But they still had the mechanics of mass combat in their bones where things are chancier (fog of war!) and where you don't mind troops getting swept away turn after turn because, a.) you want the game to move and b.) you've got plenty more troops coming!

But random, linear progression for "to hit" and then random damage (allowing for low damage after a perfect hit) just doesn't make much sense in actual one to one combat. Actual human beings have a skill set and are going to succeed within that skill set following a bell curve, not a linear progression randomly meted.

Furthermore, the notion that one's defense is based entirely upon ones armor makes sense if you are a ship of the line (the real source of "armor class" was naval warfare!) but makes no sense considering that self-defense in battle is actually one of your skills!

So here is my solution:

Attacker and defender each get an attack and defense roll, respectively, on 2d. The "d" depends upon what kind of beast or PC you are. So, let's say a human fighter is 2d10 and a goblin is 2d6. Most of the time the fighter is going to hit that silly little goblin. Most of the time that goblin is not going to be able to get past a human fighter's defenses. Human fighter, on average, is going to hit at 11, and the goblin is going to defend at 7, and vice versa.

The mechanic for determining damage is then built into the throws: Successful attack minus unsuccessful defense equals damage. So, in the above scenario, the goblin takes 4 HP damage.

This gives everybody something to do at every phase of the battle. That in itself is psychologically satisfying, and my "play testers" attest to the fact!

I am leaning on a great online article "A Treatise on Dice Mechanics," for this house rule. According to the author's three goals, 1. speed and ease of use, 2. precision and 3. "correctness," that is to say, correspondence to what you are trying to "map" in the real world, I am purchasing 3 at the cost of both 1 and 2, well, at least 1. But it is worth it to me. Yes, the players and the GM have to do a little math, but not hard math. Addition and subtraction. We can handle it. The mechanic is more satisfying because both attacker and defender feel like they are playing a role, as in real combat, and because the target is no longer absolute but relative. In other words, the attacker has a moving target. That, also, is more like combat. We obtain reflexivity in combat. It is a bit more "complex," and that makes play move a bit "slower," but we have fun all the same.

The author of that really helpful online article also worries about how to morph a bell curve as we have PCs that raise in level. I do not see a problem here. With every level my "knight" class (basically "fighting man" but all my PCs are "lawful") adds another bonus to their attack and defense rolls. My "scouts" (alignment neutral "thieves") add a bonus every other level up. Wizards every four levels. So the bell curve of relative skill remains the same, but one's "sweet spot" continues to improve. Much like the development of skills in real life.

Yeay bell curves and a mechanic that maps more to "reality" (whatever that means in a fantasy game!)!