“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed”
Francis Bacon, ‘Novum Organum’
Dice are used by Emergence to simulate randomness. One reason for this is to keep things unpredictable, so not even the Director knows how the Story will proceed. It can shift the balance somewhat, and can even be fun. Using dice in Emergence makes it more like other games, which can be good for Players who have experienced other games, and like Dice Rolling as much as Role Playing. There may be alternatives to using dice; for instance, many games use a deck of cards. (This option has is in fact being considered for Emergence, either as an alternative, or for use along side dice.)Basic Roll
You roll 1d10, a ten-sided dice. You can buy them at many game stores, especially where Role Playing or Strategy Games are sold. A result of 1 to 9 is the expected range. 1 is the worst likely outcome, 9 is the best likely, for the character(s) who is the subject of the roll.A 0 means something unlikely has occurred. Re-roll. 1 to 9 is the same outcome, only more unlikely. If another 0, it is even more improbable, re-roll to see if good/bad. Re-roll noting the number of 0s until a 1-9 is roll. Really wyrd stuff happens with a high number of 0s.
Why have Wyrd? The Wyrd is there to add an element of unpredictability. To a Director, it is a challenge to be inventive, and to entertain the Players. It is also a chance to steer the story his way, justifying things like the unexpected defeat of the master swordsman, or the sudden introduction of a whole new plot-twist ("What? The wand just went off? Who was controlling it?").Outcome Roll Outcome Worst 1 | 2 Almost the Worst Bad 3 | 4 Close to Even Even 5 | 6 Close to Even Good 7 | 8 Almost the Best Best 9 Wyrd 0**Re-roll. If 0 again, re-roll again, keep re-rolling until a 1-9 is rolled. The more 0s there are rolled, the Wyrder the outcome should be described.Wyrdness is determined by the number of 0s obtained after and including the original Basic roll. One 0 means Wyrd, two 0s are called Double Wyrd, three are Triple Wyrd or Third Wyrd, four Fourth Wyrd etc. Each additional Wyrdness level is even more improbable. Wyrd is just uncommon, Double Wyrd is rare, 3rd Wyrd is remarkable, 4th Wyrd is far-out! In addition to Wyrdness, the roll still has an outcome of 1 to 9, Wyrd Worst to Wyrd Best. In combat, Wyrd Worst can mean meeting the wrong end of your own weapon, whereas Wyrd Best might mean the evil henchman develops a death wish. It is time for the Director to describe something special. It is the Director's wake up call, demanding an alternative to just "You succeed" or "You fail".
Try to gauge the level of Wyrdness reasonably. A Single Wyrd means that an uncommon things has happened. It could mean nothing more than the send of sparks from two clashing blades, or am odd click while picking a lock, or a giggle from the audience as you try to make a speech. Don't send fireballs shooting from the eyes or the like, unless that is one of the Special Traits of a Character! Do not let Wyrdness spoil the Story. Use it to enhance it, and to turn the plot one way or another. It is there for entertainment and action.
Complex Rolls(Optional)
This dice system is included because not every Director wants to factor in every variable, and because many players love rolling as much as roleplaying. It is completely optional.Base: This is just a Basic Roll. If you want, it can be rolled separately from the modifier(s). In this case, the Base is rolled first, unless the Director wants to surprise you! Alternatively, you can use a particular die, a different color or style from the others. The Base Die is not important unless it is a 0. So if any of the dice just rolled are 0, read all dice from left to right, top to bottom. The Base Dice is always the most left and top dice, and the others are read in order.Modifiers: If 2+, you have an extra roll to make, and you get to take the highest. A 3+ has 2 extra dice, etc. A 2- means an extra but take the lowest.
Modifiers are rolled in addition to the Base. If any of the rolls are 0, the order is important, and should not be neglected. If there are no 0s, then the result is just the highest/lowest roll.
When the Base is 0, this is a Wyrd Result. If there are any Modifiers, the last one is ignored, even if it is the highest/lowest. The Base is re-rolled to find the Wyrdness level. If it is another 0, the circumstances are even Wyrder, and yet another Modifier is ignored, and so on.
When a Modifier is 0, all subsequent Modifier dice are ignored. Only the previous dice are considered in the result. So if you have 3+, and the rolls you made (in order) are 4,0,6,8, it means that the last two dice (6 & 8) are ignored, and all you get is a result of 4. This is too bad for you, but it could be a plus for someone with 5-! This means the full effect due to skill (or lack of) does not apply due to some unusual event. This is like a Wyrd result, but is restricted to mean only the skill is affected. No re-rolls are made. Generally, the more extreme the effect, the more specialized it is, and therefore is more affected when things are different than expected.
When the Base is 0 and a Modifier is 0, as above, and each additional 0 goes toward increasing the Wyrdness. You have 3+ Modifiers. You roll 0,4,0,7. Because the Base is 0, it is a Wyrd Result, and the last die (7) is ignored. However, the second 0 means that the result is a 'Double 0 Wyrd'. In this example, if the re-roll is 5 or more, the result is a 'Double Wyrd 5 or more'. If the re-roll is 4 or less, the result is a 'Double Wyrd 4'. If it is a 0, it becomes even more Wyrd.
ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE
If a Player describes the actions of his Character with enthusiasm, imagination and detail, you may sometimes want to reward them with an overall Advantage. Boring or dull descriptions would, on the other hand, lead to a Disadvantage to that Player's character.Other things which may shift the Advantage are Weapons, Armor, Magical Auras and different Traits. Remember to compare the Common Traits against what is required to achieve success. A door might only be busted down if the person is powerful enough to break it.
An Advantage means the all the likely outcomes are more favourable. For instance, in an running race, the quickest should win. So you might decide that the Best likely outcome is a huge overall margin of victory, yet the worst likely may be a narrow win, a mere stride away from defeat. Only a Wyrd Bad or Worse could mean the 'quickest' lost. Sure, the quickest, still wins 95% of the time, sometimes it is closer than at others.
A Disadvantage is obviously the very opposite. The Slowest should lose 95% of the time.
Some, perhaps many, outcomes can be decided upon without resorting to dice rolls. This is especially true when an overwhelming Advantage or Disadvantage applies, and randomness is not something desirable. The result of an Arm wrestle between a Giant and a Midget, under normal circumstances, is a forgone conclusion. Don't bother rolling unless it is important to the Story. It might be important to see if anything gets smashed or not, or whether the Midget can carry anything afterwards, but these really do not have to be decided randomly. If however, the Midget's only intention is to distract the Giant while his friends steal away his dinner, make a roll based on Cunning and the Midget's skill with Confidence Tricks. He may or may not get away with it. (Personally, I think he deserves to get caught!)
OPTIONS
Carry-over: At certain times, when one action may depend upon a the result of a previous action, the director may allow or enforce a carryover. This means that if best/worst was attained when there are still extra dice to be rolled, these spares may be carried over to the next action. This should only occur within the same "scene" and when there is a dependence between one action and the next. If a modifier is 0, all spares are cancelled, and nothing is carried over. Carry-overs may only ever apply to the next action.Random Carryover: This changes the meaning of 0s somewhat. A Modifier 0 means the rest are counted in the next action if applicable, but not to this action.
Effort: Sometimes a player might wish to not try as hard, or to try harder. If carry-over applies, then a player with 2+ or more may wish to not use a Modifier so it can be used in the next action. A player with 2-, 3-, etc., may take on an extra die (increasing the chances of a poor result) so that fewer dice may be rolled in the next action (decreasing chance of poor result next action).
NB: NO more than 2 dice should be added or subtracted in this way. Breaking this rule might unbalance the game.
Additional Modifiers: Sometimes, rather than figure in an Advantage or Disadvantage, the Director might prefer to add or subtract from the number of Modifier dice a Player need roll. When this thing affects luck or skill, then this is probably the better option. If it is permanent change, consider recording it under a one of the Trait Headings. Things that are static, like Strength or Confidence (described under Form & Soul: the Static Facets) should not change the amount of Modifiers, but occasionally, things like Dexterity or Wit (described under Agility and Intellect: the Active Facets) may affect modifiers. Form and Soul are considered STATIC because they are at the core of the Physical and Mental traits of a Character. They describe the make up of a Character in these respects. Agility and Intellect are considered DYNAMIC because they act or react according to the situation around the Character. They describe how well the Character does Physical or Mental tasks. Generally, this Addition modifier is taken on when the Learned Trait's level is first determined. Someone with better Agility will find it easy to begin with Agility based skills, like Weapon Attack or Dodge. They begin at a higher level because they have a natural ability. In addition, they still have the Advantage of being quicker and more powerful. Some one of equal skill, but with less natural talent will fail to match them exactly.
Other things you might want to consider DYNAMIC variables are: darkness; injury; confusion; complexity; slippery surfaces; fighting on horse back; combining two skills; using off hand; using a tool or weapon slightly different than your used to; passionate emotions; fatigue, drugs and alcohol effects. You can never be too certain how these things will affect the outcome of an action. The uncertainty raises or lowest the overall Level of competency.
Things which you should avoid applying Modifiers for are: higher ground (an overall advantage for one character); encumbrance; size; armour protection; solidness of objects (doors, tables etc.). In these cases, give or take an Advantage. Occasionally, even skills should be considered static when the difference between what is best, expected and worst is not much (1 you fail terribly upto 9 you fail badly, 0 you fail anyway because you are that bad!), or if luck doesn't really come into it, or it's not important to the Story-Game. In other words, you do NOT have to roll to work out every action a Character does.
Remember:
DYNAMIC variables affect the likelihood of a certain Outcome within the expected range of results.
STATIC variables affect the expected range of results.