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Another thread made me realize that we can identify a lot of different dice mechanics, but we don't always have names from them.

So I am going to update this post with all the dice mechanics that we identify, and hopefully we can also name the ones that don't have standard names. So please suggest names and point out the ways games use dice that I have missed here

Reroll- players can choose to roll unfavorable results hoping to obtain better ones (usually limited)

Locked Dice- Dice that are not eligible to be rerolled

Placed Dice- rolled dice results can be changed to a face if the player's choice -either to any face or limited choices

Exploding dice- dice that roll the best result add extra dice to the roll

Roll to Hit/Outcome Roll- dice are rolled after a decision is made to determine the decisions success

Action Selection Dice- dice are rolled before a choice is made to determine what options are available (Dead of Winter, Warhammer Quest)

Target Roll/Check for Success Roll- attempting to roll above or above a certain number to determine success

Precision Roll- attempting to roll a specific number on the dice rather than over or under (Craps)

All Faces- getting a different result for each different possible number on the dice (Catan, Dice Forge, event tables)

Linear Roll- Roll a single die for even distribution or results

D66- roll two D6 but treat one as the tens place for eve distribution or results

XdY/Bell Curve Roll/Additive Roll- roll 2 or more dice ad add the results for bell curve results (X being the number of dice and Y being the number of sides on the dice)

Dice Pool- roll more than 1 die with each individually determining its own status as a success or failure (World of Darkness, Shadows of Brimstone

Auto Success/Failure- the highest dice result is always a success and lowest is a failure regardless of the relevant numbers in the game

Hit and Wound- action requires several steps of dice success before the actions success is determined (Warhammer's roll to hit/wound/armor)

Saving throw- a defensive roll to negate a negative game effect

Dice Pull/Bag Pull/Dice Draw- dice are drawn randomly from a bag

Stat Dice/Tracking Dice- dice are left in place and used to track stats

???- Dice results are either a single success or failure (ie- any successful roll causes a single wound)

Margin of Success- Dice results grant more success based on the margin of success (ie- a hit causes wounds based on how much you exceed the armor value)

Critical Hits- Rolling the highest value on the dice grants a bonus effect

Critical Fails/Botch- Rolling a the lowest value results in an extra negative effect

Doubles Bonus- Rolling doubles that result in success cause bonus or critical effect

Wild Die- an extra dice that can be added to each roll that can alter the results for good or ill (Savage Worlds, Middara)

Cascade- Rolling 2+ dice and gaining an exploding dice effect if you roll doubles (as with exploding dice, this can continue)

DX- Dice with X sides

Standard D6- Regular 6 sided dice with pips on each side

Standard Dice- Dice with progressive integers on every side starting at 1

Custom Dice- Dice made for a game with unique symbols on each side or non-standard numbering

D-Percentile- Rolling two 10 sided dice and using one for the tens place to generate evenly distributed results between 1-100

Left Handed Dice- D6s with the 5/2 sides switched out with the 4/3 side from the standard format

Dice Placement- using dice as 'workers' in a worker placement game

Anti-successes- Certain dice results cancel successful results

Opposed Roll- two players roll dice in opposition to each other abd compare rolls to determine which payer is successful

Dropped Dice- adding extra dice to a dice pool then eliminating the best/worst result before checking results

???- Rolling multiple dice and using only the result of one die (either chosen or applying the highest/lowest result)

Difference Roll- rolling two dice and subtracting one from the other to determine the result to be applied

Swappable Faces- dice with faces that can be swapped for other die faces

Roll Modifier- numbers that are added or subtracted from a roll before determining results

Growing/shrinking dice- to upgrade or downgrade to better/worse dice in games with clear dice hierarchy

Story Cubes/divination- players narratively interpret dice faces after a roll (dice have pictures or words)

Dice stacking - dice must be stacked on top of each other. Sometimes called a Doom stack / doom stacking if the dice falling have a negative result.

Dice drafting- players draft dice of varying value

Combo Results- Dice combinations are considered rather than individual numbers (Yahtzee, Dice Throne, Poker Dice, Rail Raiders)

???- Dice are rolled then saved for later so that they can be used either in place of rolling or to replace a new roll

???- Dice are rolled/flicked or fired at components to physically move them for game effects (faces can still matter)

Flipping a die- turning dice upside down to change them to the opposite result

 odinsgrandson wrote:

???- rolled dice results can be changed to a face if the player's choice -either to any face or limited choices

We refer to this in MEdge V2 as a 'Dice Flip', where certain characteristics allow you to flip one or more dice by up to the value of those characteristics.

If you can describe it so quickly, does it need a name?

It probably doesn't need it, but two words are easier than ten, provided everyone understands the context.

I think I didn't get those in your list yet: in an RPG we play there are:

Median roll: roll 3, pick the middle
Extended Median roll: roll 4, pick the second lowest
(Both are used for the rare instances of rolls on attributes)

Drama roll: used in D20 systems, outcome is either a critical failure (1-10) or success (11-20)

"Reißend" (~ "tearing" I believe): roll X+Y dice for damage, pick the highest X.
=> example: you weapon does 3d6, you got tearing 2. Roll 5 dice and pick the 3 highest)

Cascade damage dice: roll two D6 for damage, pick the highest. But if it is a double, you can roll again and add it up etc. No cutoff, so theoretically you have unlimited damage.

Cascade dice: used in some chaotical spells. Roll Xd6 after casting. For each 6 the spell is duplicated without additional cost.

Risky dice: used for the same chaotical spells. If you roll at least one 20 when determining the spells mana cost, you loose control and can't determine the spells targets (it might even hit yourself)

Called dice: used in a system where you roll skills by rolling three d20 representing associated attributes. Lower one attribute by 3, gain the ability to change one of the three dice by 1. (Sounds non sensible, but is actually quite nice if you have an attribute >15 and at least 3 points above the others which is common in that game system)

 Pyroalchi wrote:

Called dice: used in a system where you roll skills by rolling three d20 representing associated attributes. Lower one attribute by 3, gain the ability to change one of the three dice by 1. (Sounds non sensible, but is actually quite nice if you have an attribute >15 and at least 3 points above the others which is common in that game system)

I don't think I quite understand this one without the full context of the RPG. Is it a target number game and you're making the target number higher by 3 in exchange for the ability to alter one of the dice faces by one? I can't be understanding that right.

Sorry, left out the context.

So in contrast to DnD the mentioned system works like this:
You have attributes (usually in the range between 8 and 21, but might be higher/lower through magic) and skills like... knowledge (magic) with a skillvalue and 3 attributes. If your skill is tested you roll the three attributes with d20 and try to stay BELOW the attribute, but you can use skillpoints if you roll higher.

The amount of Skillpoints left determine the degree of success.

Example (because its easier to understand) lets say I'm a mage and want to know something arcane. My Knowledge (magic) skill is 12 and it is rolled on Intelligence/Intelligence/Wisdom. I have 16 INT and 10 WIS
I roll 2/17/12. The first roll is good, but I'm 1 above in the second and 2 above in the third. I have to use 3 of the skill points to balance that and can announce I have 9 left.


Damn now that I wrote that down it is very complex but believe me once you get the hang of it its rather easy.

Anyway: I won't bore you with the math but it comes down to it that your chances rolling skills are highest if your attributes are equally distributed, but other mechanics reward single high attributes. The option to purposely lower your highest attribute to get what is basically anothe skill point is increasing the chances of success in that case.



On the System in general: the described dice mechanics make success and failure a lot less swingy than for example DnD. Also the combination of attributes and skill points make character concepts like a rather dumb (low INT) but extremely experienced (high skill points) investigator work. Or the other way around if your attributes are high enough you can succeed even with low skills.

Last but not least as the amount of left over skill points as degree of success reward the specialist over the generalist. It doesn't matter if the power character has all attributes on 20+ and chucked a Dexterity potion for good matter. If he had no Skillpoints in woodworking he can at best succeed with 0 points... and the product will look like it. His friend, the level 1 peasant who has woodworking 7 has a chance at producing a much better... whatever.

I like insaniak's two word comment:

I use "dice roll" myself, occasionally going wild with "x's to hit/wound/save/whatever"

Good list.

Dice swapping: Replacing one or more dice with one or more other dice. Typically used alongside other mechanics. (eg. Swap a die for two or more lower-valued dice, then placing dice on the board as worker placement dice).

> Swappable Faces- dice with faces that can be swapped for other die faces

Flipping a die: Flip the die over and use the opposite die face. For a d6, both sides add up to 7. I've seen this mechanic used in Solomon Kane, in which opposite die faces are "light" and "dark". Similar but not the same as a reroll or swappable face.

> Target Roll/Check for Success Roll- attempting to roll above or above a certain number to determine success

In RPG's, I've heard this mechanic called "Difficulty Check" (eg. DC 10 for D&D), and "skill check".

> Dice Pool- roll more than 1 die with each individually determining its own status as a success or failure (World of Darkness, Shadows of Brimstone
> ???- Rolling multiple dice and using only the result of one die (either chosen or applying the highest/lowest result)

I've seen dice pool used more generically, in which a player rolls a bunch of dice and picks out one or more of the dice to do something with it or them.

> ???- Dice are rolled/flicked or fired at components to physically move them for game effects (faces can still matter)

Dice Flicking! (: Would love to see this mechanic more often in dexterity games! Maybe a d12 would be a good choice vs. d6 or d20?

Then there's Dice Chucking. That's any game that relies too heavily on throwing dice around.