Redcap's Universal Table For Almost Everything

Longtime players of D&D will most certainly remember the original "Reaction Table", which was also used in the first edition of Gamma World, by the way. This table utilized the simplified mechanic of rolling two standard 6-sided dice, adding the total, and comparing to the chart. The beauty and simplicity of this minor table was never lost on me, and followed me throughout 39 years of gaming. Even when playing other game systems that didn't use a similar device, or have rules governing a particular circumstance, I would default to grabbing two dice and wing it. Not only has this kept the action moving along without interruption, but has kept my behind-the-screen decision making fairly consistent. Players can often sense when dice rolls are arbitrarily random, which does much to breed mistrust.

Back in July, I wrote an article on using Decision Dice ("Using The Dice to Improvise"), that touched on the subject of using random dice rolls during games, but only gave generic guidelines. The primary focus of that article was on showcasing Decision Dice. This article covers my personally preferred approach, using only two normal dice.

I prefer this method because rolling two dice allows for 36 random combinations, for 11 possible unmodified results, which I then further break down into 5 categories of severity. While this might appear very math intensive, it's actually quite simple in practice. The odds and percentages have only been included for those who are interested in how the system is derived.

2d6 Odds and Probabilities

My system uses five successive levels of possible outcome, ranging from the worst to best possible results. The Game Master may apply any bonuses or penalties depending on situational conditions, precautions being taken, quality of materials being used, a particularly favorable (or unfavorable) character trait the character might possess, etc.

2d6	Outcome	Probability
2	Unfavorable, Complication	3%
3-5	Unfavorable	25%
6-8	Neutral	44%
9-11	Favorable	25%
12	Favorable, Beneficial	3%

• 2 - Unfavorable, Complication - Not only don't things look good, but this result will further complicate the situation.
• 3-5 - Unfavorable - Things don't go well, but aren't overly complicated by further misfortune.
• 7-9 - Neutral - The situation is neither favorable, nor unfavorable.
• 10-11 - Favorable - Things fall into place in favor of the situation.
• 12 - Favorable, Beneficial - Not only are things good, but are further beneficial to the situation

Here are a few examples of possible outcomes, depending on the situation being determined:

Encounter Reaction:

• Attacks immediately
• Hostile, will probably attack unless the situation changes
• Uncertain, guarded behavior, but willing to parley
• Not hostile, possibly friendly
• Peaceful, makes overtures of friendship in good faith

Daily Weather

• The worst possible type of extreme weather for the climate, season, and region, be it a typhoon, massive blizzard, sand storm, whatever!
• Bad weather, possibly dangerous depending on prevailing climate
• Typical weather conditions
• Favorable weather conditions
• Best possible weather conditions

Character Attempting An Action:

• Not only has the action failed, but the proverbial Fickle Middle Finger of Fate makes an appearance!
• The action fails, possibly resulting in further problems (alarm goes off, etc)
• The character succeeds, but only just
• Clear success, fortune smiles upon the character
• Outstanding! Not only does the character succeed, but gains an advantage or added benefit doing so

Success of A Project: (for example -  crafting a magic item)

• Dismal failure! Not only are all materials ruined and wasted, but research notes may have been compromised (accidentally set on fire, etc)
• Failure. Only the natural results of failing may occur as a result
• Success. The item is crafted and functional
• Well done. The item is well crafted as though by a master craftsman
• Eureka! The item is an exceptional specimen of its kind, possibly with an unforeseen benefit

Optional Rule - Rolling Doubles:

Rolling doubles results in hard preset results that supersede any modifiers that may have been applied to the dice roll. This is done to ensure nothing is guaranteed to be an automatic success or failure.

2d6	Outcome	Odds
1,1	The Jolly Roger!	1 in 36
2,2	Consequences	1 in 36
3,3	Automatic Failure	1 in 36
4,4	Automatic Success	1 in 36
5,5	Beneficial	1 in 36
6,6	Outstanding!	1 in 36

• The Jolly Roger! - Named after a particular set of dice I had that replaced the 1 with a skull and crossbones.
• Consequences - Unfavorable outcome, resulting in possible consequences (alarms, broken equipment, etc)
• Automatic Failure - Despite your best efforts, you just fall short. You may attempt a re-do
• Automatic Success - Yes! Well done
• Beneficial/Excellent - You make this $@#! look good
• Bonus! - You succeed beyond expectations, and may enjoy an additional unexpected bonus

Using the Dice to Improvise - "Alea iacta est"

"Alea iacta est", translates from the Latin as, "The Die is cast."

One of the oldest pieces of advice I've heard, and have since passed on numerous times myself, is that the GM doesn't always have to arbitrate every situation themselves.. sometimes you simply leave it up to the roll of the dice. And I'll admit, sometimes I like to be just as surprised as my players.

Now, over the years I've used many different methods of using the dice to help make decisions. Often my default has been to take a die, any number of sides doesn't really matter, and give it a toss. Low roll is a bad/negative outcome, while high roll is a good/positive outcome. With lower, the worse, and the higher, the better, as a guideline, I simply increase the size (denomination) of the die to be rolled to determine the scale of success or failure.

For example, if my players ask me about the quality of the food and drink being served at the tavern they are in, I might decide upon rolling a 1d4.. and judge that a roll of 1 means poor, a 2 or 3 is mediocre, and a 4 is much better than to be expected. If I want more variation in degrees, I might choose 1d6 or larger, as the situation calls for.

I've even used this off-the-cuff arbitrary system for things not usually covered under the normal rules of whatever game system I might be using at the time. Such things as, does a PC catch an STD from a prostitute, does a character impregnate another, or what state of affairs the PCs return home to after being away for an extended period of time. My wife is still mad at me because her character once returned home to find the village had been attacked and burned down since she had left. (The couch is bad for my back, so I no longer burn down my wife's home village because of bad dice rolls.)

“Chance is not the same for all” - from The Ninth Gate, the Movie

Now recently, I chanced upon an article (linked below) by, S J Grodzicki from over on Low Fantasy Gaming, about using specialty Yes, No, But Dice, also called Improv Dice or Decision Dice. Then after further research, I found that several games made use of a similar mechanic, and that several dice manufacturers even made custom dice to facilitate such a system.

The basic idea is to use 1d6, and assign a negative or positive value, with modifier, to each side. You may use a staggered progression, or straight low to high progression. I prefer the straight progression, lows being negative and highs being positive.

1. No.. And
2. No
3. No.. But (Not quite)
4. Yes.. But (Sort of)
5. Yes
6. Yes.. And

No.. And - The character does not get nor accomplish what they wanted, and there is  a further complication or twist.

No - Denied, the character neither gets nor accomplishes what they set out to do.

No.. But - The character does not get what they want, but it’s not a total loss. They may try again later, or when circumstances change.

Yes.. But - The character gets or accomplishes what they wanted, but at a cost or complication.

Yes - Straight forward, the character gets or accomplishes what they set out to do.

Yes.. And - The character gets or accomplishes what they wanted, and something else.

As you can see, this simple system mechanic can be used independently of any other rules you may be using, and can be instantly modified to suit any situation you might need it for, from bad hair days, to weather, to will there be a bar fight that evening. The possibilities are endless.

Further Reading:

You can read the full Low Fantasy Gaming article Here.

Freeform Universe talks about several different sets of Yes No And But dice available, Here