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Section 3 of 4 · 4 pieces
What the dice are actually doing
The visible half of a resolution system is a probability shape, and the shape decides how often a table is surprised. Four pieces on what each one buys, what it costs, and why two games with the same target number do not feel alike.
- What the dice are actually doing
A resolution system is a probability distribution with a story attached, and the shape of the curve decides how often the unlikely happens.
- d20 against 3d6
Flat against bell: one makes every outcome equally likely, the other makes the middle ordinary and the edges rare.
- Roll-under, and the appeal of a number you already know
Testing against a stat the player already has removes a layer of arithmetic from every check.
- Dice pools: many small chances instead of one big one
Counting successes across a handful changes the texture of failure as much as its frequency.
The other three sections
Every piece on the site, in one list: the full index.