Does advantage disadvantage still work with the 3d6 bell curve?

[tedcahill2]

Is there a variant for using 3d6 in place of a d20 in 5E?

How would advantage disadvantage work with it?

I was thinking that if you have (dis)advantage you could roll 4d6 keep low/high 3. But do the statistics work if it's done that way?

[Tanarii]

It shifts the results up or down by about 2 points, and changes the curve slightly.
http://anydice.com/program/f08a

Edit:
Comparing 4d6b3 to best of 2d(3d6), the first has a slightly higher average, and a flatter bell curve.
http://anydice.com/program/9181

Edit2: sorry, I didn't see you were trying to replace 1d20 with 3d6. No, I don't think that will "work". You'd need to rewrite most of the system.

[Tiadoppler]

I think it's going to make the "average" result a lot more likely, and advantage/disadvantage would be a lot less swingy.

3d6 is far more likely to get 9-12 than a d20, and with a bit of optimization + bounded accuracy, your characters may be much more likely to succeed at attacks. Similarly, high AC PCs will get a big buff. If an enemy doesn't hit you on a 12 (3d6), they're going to hit surprisingly rarely.

Advantage/Disadvantage will be much less important if you use 4d6 (best 3)/(worst 3). The difference between disadvantage and advantage will be at most 5 (changing a 1 to a 6, or vice versa).




Edit: Imagine a fighter with plate armor, a shield and defensive fighting style for 21 AC.
They're fighting an enemy with a +5 to hit.

Using d20, the enemy needs a 16-20 on their roll to hit the fighter, a 25% chance
Using 3d6, the enemy needs a 16-18 to hit, a <5% chance

[opaopajr]

Play GURPS already! :smalltongue: Actually it'd be best represented by rerolling 3d6 entirely, IMO, instead of 4d6 best/worst 3. :smallsmile:

[NomGarret]

A more accurate comparison would be two sets of 3D6, take best or worst. You’re probably using two different colors in this example. Since you’re switching from d20 to 3D6, the overall effect is less as both rolls will skew towards the average.

A more severe method would be 6D6K3. Roll all 6, take the best (or worst) 3. This makes it more likely to get extreme swings, since the three 1s don’t all have to be the same color to screw you over.

[Eric Diaz]

This is easier to do with 2d10...

But what are you looking for exactly? You certainly don't want the same odds, since you're using 3d6.

Are you using this for attack rolls or just skills/abilities?

I think if you're not concerned with combat, the best way to go about it would be using 4d6 and pick highest/lowest, but fixing the DCs accordingly. Something like 6/10/14/18/22/26.

If you're using tis in combat, there is lots and lots of things to consider.

[Matrix_Walker]

Play GURPS already! :smalltongue: Actually it'd be best represented by rerolling 3d6 entirely, IMO, instead of 4d6 best/worst 3. :smallsmile:

And not for nuthin' GURPS Dungeon Fantasy is really good stuff.

[Elysiume]

This is easier to do with 2d10...

But what are you looking for exactly? You certainly don't want the same odds, since you're using 3d6.

Are you using this for attack rolls or just skills/abilities?

I think if you're not concerned with combat, the best way to go about it would be using 4d6 and pick highest/lowest, but fixing the DCs accordingly. Something like 6/10/14/18/22/26.

If you're using tis in combat, there is lots and lots of things to consider.The 3d6 variant generally replaces all d20 rolls with rolling 3d6. You get a bell curve that's far more heavily weighted towards average results, with 3s and 18s happening only 0.5% of the time, rather than 5% of the time.

[Malifice]

The 3d6 variant generally replaces all d20 rolls with rolling 3d6. You get a bell curve that's far more heavily weighted towards average results, with 3s and 18s happening only 0.5% of the time, rather than 5% of the time.

2D10 also gives you a bell curve. It's just not as steep as 3D6.

In a 2D10 system with disadvantage/ advantage, It just becomes 3D10 drop the highest/ lowest.

[opaopajr]

And not for nuthin' GURPS Dungeon Fantasy is really good stuff.

Yes! Yes, it is! :smallcool: