Dice And Notation
In Obscured, we use various dice, with the (two ten-sided dice) being the primary set for most rolls. The roll outcome is the sum of the values on both dice (), where a roll of 0 or 00 represents a 10. This means the lowest possible roll is 2, and the highest is 20. Additionally, the system uses other common RPG dice, including:
four-sided dice
six-sided dice
eight-sided dice
ten-sided dice
twelve-sided dice
twenty-sided dice
one-hundred-sided dice
Throughout this guide, these symbols represent the type of dice needed. When a roll requires more than one die, the number of dice is indicated at the center of the symbol. For instance, three four-sided dice are denoted as .
High-level games may require multiple dice at once. While using an electronic roller for damage rolls is convenient, it's not a necessity. You can always keep rolling your dice and adding up the results!
When rolling a single die, each potential outcome, whether the best, worst, or average, has an equal probability. For a (twenty-sided die), each value has a 5% chance. However, in real-world scenarios, average outcomes are often more likely than extremes. Rolling (two ten-sided dice) mirrors this reality, offering a 10% chance of rolling the average value of 11, with the probability reducing by 1% for each step away from this average. This approach results in a more normal distribution, providing more predictable and realistic outcomes.
Moreover, this structure ensures that any shift in the average roll has a more impactful and consistent effect. For instance, a +2 in our system effectively shifts the average, meaning players proficient in a particular skill will consistently exhibit that proficiency, much like in real-world contexts.