Should other sided dice be used in Heroscape?

[hextr1p]

While the d20 is thee die used in the Heroscape game, I was curious how other dice could be implemented into gameplay situations (i.e., d4, d6, d12, etc.).

Keeping the game simple by using one multi-sided dice for every purpose is great. However, I think it would be cool in terms of customization and house rule situations to further the reach of this 'gateway game' by incorporating the other dice somehow.

One thematic idea I had was a gunfighter with two special six-shooters. Thus, the unit would roll 2d6. The numbers rolled would then correspond to a special attack of some kind.

Currently in this situation, Heroscape takes the same idea and just divides the d20 results accordingly, which achieves the same effect as rolling 2d6. However, I'm big on theme, and such an effect would just be fun to play. Instead of a unit coming with certain markers (Negation, Grenade, etc)., you'd have two cool looking dice representing the attack or ability.

Just an idea, but what do you all think of this?

[shakey_snake]

I once created (well, talked about) a unit that flipped a coin at the begining of every round, and then placed that on their card. Heads was an "offensive stance", tails was a "defensive stance" that played with their a and d numbers.


Nobody liked it. They told me how "unheroscpae-y it was" they said I should just roll the d20 instead. Whatever.

[bunjee]

if you like the different die concept, check out Battleball (you can find copies for around $5)
Each fig has a die that corresponds to its move and attack. If nothing else you can get a bunch of different dice for cheap.

I'd link to the board game geek page, but they seem to be down at the moment.

[hextr1p]

Originally Posted by shakey_snake

I once created (well, talked about) a unit that flipped a coin at the begining of every round, and then placed that on their card. Heads was an "offensive stance", tails was a "defensive stance" that played with their a and d numbers.

That's a pretty cool idea.

For a long while, I've been toying with a 'Card Flip' mechanic of some sort. However, the player chooses when to flip the card. Each side would work with a different skillset of the hero or squad (eg., one side with melee stats and skills, the other side with range stats and skills). Each side is balanced accordingly, and wound markers carry over from one side to the other when the card is flipped...

... and I appear to be thread-jacking my own thread... so I'll stop now.

[hextr1p]

Originally Posted by bunjee

if you like the different die concept, check out Battleball (you can find copies for around $5)
Each fig has a die that corresponds to its move and attack. If nothing else you can get a bunch of different dice for cheap.

Battleball was actually the game that got me thinking about this dynamic. Though in just about every roleplaying game on the market, different dice are used for different situations.

And with Battleball, the multi-dice dynamic is so simple to play, I don't think such an element in Heroscape would mess up the game's wonder of simplicity if used in moderation.

But again, that's just my opinion.

[cbs42]

As you suggested, with a single roll of a 20-sider you can very closely approximate (within 4% or less) any odds achievable with any combination of other dice. So for the purposes of checking odds (such as whether a special event or ability triggers successfully) the 20-sider is fine.

But there's more to dice usage than rolling for odds. For example, imagine a figure whose attack range was based on the roll of a 6-sider. In order to approximate that with a 20-sider, you would have to make some kind of lookup table like:

 d20 Result |  Range
------------|----------
    1-3     |    1
    4-6     |    2
    7-9     |    3
   10-12    |    4
   13-15    |    5
   16-18    |    6
   19-20    |(re-roll)

Which is, needless to say, lame and overly complicated. So it seems pretty clear to me that (when used sparingly) other dice can actually help to simplify a custom unit or game variant.

My group has been a longtime fan of using a full range of polyhedral dice in HeroScape, so it gets a big thumbs up from me.

[jcb231]

Nice to see an actual good example of how other dice might be used. I'm normally on the side of "d20 covers it all" but that range example is pretty cool.

[endpawn]

I think enough people have d6 dice around that it wouldnt hurt anything nor would coin flipping. d4, d10, d12 might be going overboard.

[LilNewbie]

We use 6-siders all the time for teleporters and where you actually land and a 12-sider for marking rounds.

Newb.

[Agent Minivann]

I think the d6 is probably the most likely candidate for its ability to generate a random direction with hexes, and they are almost universal to your average boardgame. Basically what endpawn said, as far as having them handy, and others being overboard.