A fantastic game and a great article to get you thinking.
In terms of your question, I'm keen on people knowing the percentage chance of a roll succeeding. If I can figure it out (maths geek wave) when I'm playing, then I think it's fine for other players to have access to the same information. I'd hope they still act in a way that is fitting for their character, but knowing just how bad your chance of success is leads to louder cheers when, against all odds, you pull it off.
If you already know you need a 10+ on the lowest two of three dice, then you have a feel that you're in trouble. Having that information handily translated into a percentage just confirms it and removes the barrier of not being able to convert the one into the other while playing.
When I'm writing a mechanism, I've probably calculated or modelled the probabilities of success/failure to see that I'm happy with them, so I'm very happy to show players the machinery behind the scenes so they can get a feel for their choices.
Nice simulation, EP! And a clean presentation with those charts too.
To your question, I think I am in the same boat as you are: undecided. On the one hand, I think there's something fun about saying you're going to do something because it's what your character would do regardless of the odds. (C3PO: "your odds are..." My Character: "Never tell me the odds.") And there's nothing like the tension of stating what you rolled and waiting for the DM to tell you whether or not you succeeded!
At the same time, I can see how knowing how different choices might affect your chances of success (as in, do I do something to get the advantage? or do I just take the straight roll with my higher modifier?) might make playing the game more satisfying.
After writing all of this out, I'd say in a TTRPG with a GM, I would not want to know the odds, because my character would not know them. For a board game, I think knowing the different odds would make me feel like I can play better. The same probably goes for solo-RPG, but I have less experience there, so I'm not sure.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I was thinking about the same Han Solo quote, and it's very fitting. I agree that keeping the chance of success obscured in TTRPGs makes a lot of sense. When it comes to board games, I'm a bit more uncertain. I would *think* that I'd be against it, and yet having it shown in John Company 2nd Edition enhanced the game, rather than detracting. Perhaps it will always be a case by case basis.
A fantastic game and a great article to get you thinking.
In terms of your question, I'm keen on people knowing the percentage chance of a roll succeeding. If I can figure it out (maths geek wave) when I'm playing, then I think it's fine for other players to have access to the same information. I'd hope they still act in a way that is fitting for their character, but knowing just how bad your chance of success is leads to louder cheers when, against all odds, you pull it off.
If you already know you need a 10+ on the lowest two of three dice, then you have a feel that you're in trouble. Having that information handily translated into a percentage just confirms it and removes the barrier of not being able to convert the one into the other while playing.
When I'm writing a mechanism, I've probably calculated or modelled the probabilities of success/failure to see that I'm happy with them, so I'm very happy to show players the machinery behind the scenes so they can get a feel for their choices.
Nice simulation, EP! And a clean presentation with those charts too.
To your question, I think I am in the same boat as you are: undecided. On the one hand, I think there's something fun about saying you're going to do something because it's what your character would do regardless of the odds. (C3PO: "your odds are..." My Character: "Never tell me the odds.") And there's nothing like the tension of stating what you rolled and waiting for the DM to tell you whether or not you succeeded!
At the same time, I can see how knowing how different choices might affect your chances of success (as in, do I do something to get the advantage? or do I just take the straight roll with my higher modifier?) might make playing the game more satisfying.
After writing all of this out, I'd say in a TTRPG with a GM, I would not want to know the odds, because my character would not know them. For a board game, I think knowing the different odds would make me feel like I can play better. The same probably goes for solo-RPG, but I have less experience there, so I'm not sure.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I was thinking about the same Han Solo quote, and it's very fitting. I agree that keeping the chance of success obscured in TTRPGs makes a lot of sense. When it comes to board games, I'm a bit more uncertain. I would *think* that I'd be against it, and yet having it shown in John Company 2nd Edition enhanced the game, rather than detracting. Perhaps it will always be a case by case basis.