The Mood of the Room

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Aug 232012
 


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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=568981468 David Goodwin

    Neat!

    If folks are making tables like this, it may not be obvious that the different slots on the table have widely different probabilities. Here’s a rule of thumb: the more diverse your roll is (a mix of +, -, and blanks) the more likely that row is to come up on the dice. So a ++0- is actually 12 times more likely than a —-.

    • fredhicks

      Yeah, I didn’t have time to insert probabilities. I think of it more as “the further the sum is away from zero, the less likely it is”. :)

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=568981468 David Goodwin

      Except it gets funky with results like 0000 on this table. I think you’re very close to the ideal table, though – one in which the most likely results are the farthest away from the least likely results. So ++++ is least likely, you would get more and more likely and peak around ++0- or so, then get less likely towards 0000… then repeat the process.

    • fredhicks

      Yeah, I like how the quads are pretty rare. Homogeneity is rare in a variety of situations, too. :) It makes the ones with triples also pretty interesting — infrequent, but still likelier to show up (what, 4x likely, or something like that).

      This also gets interesting if information is partial (players only see some of the dice that were rolled).

      And interesting if the information is changeable (let’s try to turn that minus to a blank — silence our detractor, and move to a situation of multiple positive options).

      And interesting if some of the information is treated as suspect. (The red die is subject to a reroll in act two!)

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=568981468 David Goodwin

      Invoke to flip a single die to +! Compel to flip one to -! Or just to move up or down to slots…

      I’m sure you know the odds, but since I worked them out last year when I was making this thing, I’ll share them here: http://graphytedesign.com/clients/rpg/FATE_triangle_results.png

    • fredhicks

      Yup, this is really a version of that triangle, only without the triangle presentation b/c I wanted to see the individual components of the four dice so as I could tell a story about them. :)

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=568981468 David Goodwin

      Ah, right. :-) That’s the thing about Fudge dice, it’s so easy to forget they have three “sides” and not just two…

    • fredhicks

      I’ve updated the image with probabilities that map to your toned squares. Good stuff. I’m happy with the stuff that’s frequent being frequent, and happy with the rare stuff being rare. Nice shape.

  • David Steiger

    Hey, someone else came up with my idea too. I should really post my notes somewhere.

  • Scott Bonner

    This is a brilliant example of lateral thinking, and I intend to use it in non-fate games, too. Thanks for this!

  • Stephen Holland

    I know the odds are correct, but why do I keep finding the rooms with “utter apathy and bureaucratic paralysis”? Maybe I should roll the dice before I go anywhere so I’ll know what to expect….

    • fredhicks

      Well, that might be common in real life (though I think the other stuff in the -1 to +1 range is pretty common too), this table’s more about frequency of appearance in fiction, ain’t it? :)

  • http://twitter.com/inrepose Robin Fitton

    I like this concept, I just feel there are to many options. For example the difference between — and — is very slight. I would actually prefer a 3DF roll with a more limited set to give me a feel for the scene without the fine subtle gradient between the options. It is just a personal prefernce for smaller tables and quick guides to interpert.