An Introduction To Dice Mechanics

"Right! Welcome to Dice Shit 101! We're your hosts, Coco..."
"And Polka!" The clown proudly states, grasping her own chest. Loud honking emanates while the blue and pink strands of her hair spin in a comedic little helicopter. A crowd somewhere erupts into laughter.
"Now, you're new to all this shit, right? That's fine, that's fine! Welcome! Kick your feet up! Grab a beer, do whatever you want!"
"Today, we're gonna show you how to fight! Or, rather, uh...what you can expect in a fight!"

The clown snaps her fingers. From thin air, a boy appears, looking incredibly confused and disoriented.

"What? What happened?" He gags, covering his mouth. "Augh, goddamnit! Why?!"
"This is Anon! He's the protagonist of our story!"
"Coco, what the fuck is going on?!"
"The world is a scary place, especially when you're only five feet tall-"
"Hey!"
"So there'll be plenty of times where Anon has to defend himself!"
"Despite the tiny frame, Anon's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve," Polka begins before grasping her cheeks in a look of mock surprise. "But how's he gonna use them!?"
"Simple! Combat is broken down in a very, very simple way - make sure to check the rolls sheet later! This is what an example turn would look like. Hey, Anon! Think fast!"

Turn 1:
Dodge: CRITICAL FAILURE! Rolled 1, seeking 7 or higher.

A friendly jab to the shoulder comes out with such blinding speed that it sends Anon flying off and away off stage with a scream. Coco lets out a nervous laugh.

"H-Haha...er...Polka I'm... gonna go get him, and-"
"Yep. I'll try to give a better example turn. Let's break down what just happened. Anon has a few chances to defend himself from harm. These are, in order; Dodging, Parrying and if the situation calls for it, Blocking. Anon has to beat a certain dice threshold with his own rolls to succeed, which is either set or rolled at the start of a turn. There's also the potential for the enemy to use a Dice versus Dice system for their fight, which is simply whoever rolls highest wins. If he can avoid, parry, or block an attack, Anon can counterattack with his own roll for damage. He can both critically fail and critically succeed - so can enemies! In certain situations, enemies can attempt to parry this blow themselves, resulting in a stalemate turn. An example where Anon doesn't critically fail immediately, would look something like..."

Turn 2:
Dodge: Failure... (Rolled 6, seeking 8 or higher)
Parry: Success! (Rolled 9, seeking 8 or higher)
Rolling DMG...22! (1D20, 17+5)
Flipping Soul Bleed...success! Enemy is bleeding!
Deal 24DMG total!

"See? That's a whole turn condensed. Sometimes Anon can use skills first to dish out damage immediately if the dice decree it. But for the most part, combat is incredibly straight forward!"
"Dice also affect what happens in the story, but you won't know what rolls were made until after!" Coco says, carrying the unconscious boy in a princess carry with a nervous look on her face. "Entire situations could be avoided altogether just because of a low perception check roll. Make sure to check the dice sheet! This shit actually matters! It isn't just flavor text - every dice roll directly affects the outcome! Nothing is set is in stone!!"
"Yep! Lots of stuff could happen...to anyone. With that out of the way, please, enjoy! Coco, should-"
"Yeah, we're taking him to the hospital."
"Ah. Okay! Buhbye!"

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Pub: 24 Jan 2022 16:33 UTC
Edit: 24 Jan 2022 16:37 UTC
Views: 317