i keep hearing about unballanced dice is it really a bad issue surely no die will be perfect?
No that i'll need to worry by the time the d&d partworks is over i'll probs have 50+sets as well as a few standees,maps and (ugh) over sized d20s(these will be given away i don't like them) oh and mini dice which i belive are metal so i'll use those to provide big story changing rolls(rolled in front of the screen)
unless a die is loaded, that is specifically weighted to produce or avoid specific results, then balancing issues from regular manufacturing isn't a big deal.
sure you can do the float test and see that there might be an air bubble in the acrylic. but you dont roll in tanks of salt water. you roll on hard or slightly padded surfaces. the amount of deviation the unbalanced portion may cause would be infinitesimal in the grand scheme.
unless a die is loaded, that is specifically weighted to produce or avoid specific results, then balancing issues from regular manufacturing isn't a big deal.
sure you can do the float test and see that there might be an air bubble in the acrylic. but you dont roll in tanks of salt water. you roll on hard or slightly padded surfaces. the amount of deviation the unbalanced portion may cause would be infinitesimal in the grand scheme.
yeah it's the float test that confused me
I see physical dice as the most random number generator you roll with a cloosed cupped hand or using a dice cup or tower so if your playiing fair you roll with no clues to go i'll roll now plus force will randomise the roll pattern
Where as things like bingo or lotto balls i see as semi random as wear and tear may affect things, a tombolla the drawee choices how far down to pull a ticket so again semi random and digital dice and random number generators will have to be programed to be almost random but i get the feeling they will avoid set patterns where as real dice won't
I feel like as a player you see a roll of 12,12,2,5,12,5,12,8,12 and you see a pattern thats nothing more then luck as the odds are still 1/20
I think for me using a dice made for the game i feel like i'll get better rolls but in reality this is just that i'm used to say the cluedo dice being bigger with a symbol not a 1
If all else fails and as a dm you get too many nat20s or as a player too many nat1s dice jail it and give it bail when thr next dice is naughty
That said i love a nat1 or nat20 when it means you miss a clue room or trap it can change the story alot
There are a lot of people in the hobby have obsessions with details. All dice have imperfections and have slight preferences for certain numbers. So long as you're not playing competitively or gambling or otherwise having something on the line, then most dice will not be an issue. So long as:
1. The dice are not returning certain numbers noticeably more often than others.
2. You cannot exploit said deviations.
Then you're fine. If the die seems to be returning a certain number more often than you think it should be, then note the results of the next 100 rolls. If it returns that number more or less often than you're comfortable with, then track it to 500. If it's still out, then I'd consider getting new dice. Otherwise, it's probably just your imagination.
If you're having to float it in water to find an imbalance...it's not a problem. As I said, there are a lot of people who are quite particular and focused. They need the reassurance that their dice are "fair". That's fine and if it makes them happy, go them; but pragmatically speaking, it's pointless. Nobody cares if you get a nat20 6% of the time rather than 5%.
There's only been one time I've been concerned about dodgy dice. A player kept rolling nat1s. All the time. Like, in a session, others would roll maybe one nat1 during the game, and they would, no exaggeration, roll at least half a dozen, if not a full dozen. Session after session after session. I did suggest getting new ones because something was wrong, but they enjoyed the consequences so I let them be. Still, that's when you get concerned, not "oh, I rolled an extra nat20 this session and the dice show a slight imbalance in water.
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i keep hearing about unballanced dice is it really a bad issue surely no die will be perfect?
No that i'll need to worry by the time the d&d partworks is over i'll probs have 50+sets as well as a few standees,maps and (ugh) over sized d20s(these will be given away i don't like them) oh and mini dice which i belive are metal so i'll use those to provide big story changing rolls(rolled in front of the screen)
in a hole in the ground you notice a halfling
unless a die is loaded, that is specifically weighted to produce or avoid specific results, then balancing issues from regular manufacturing isn't a big deal.
sure you can do the float test and see that there might be an air bubble in the acrylic. but you dont roll in tanks of salt water. you roll on hard or slightly padded surfaces. the amount of deviation the unbalanced portion may cause would be infinitesimal in the grand scheme.
yeah it's the float test that confused me
I see physical dice as the most random number generator you roll with a cloosed cupped hand or using a dice cup or tower so if your playiing fair you roll with no clues to go i'll roll now plus force will randomise the roll pattern
Where as things like bingo or lotto balls i see as semi random as wear and tear may affect things, a tombolla the drawee choices how far down to pull a ticket so again semi random and digital dice and random number generators will have to be programed to be almost random but i get the feeling they will avoid set patterns where as real dice won't
I feel like as a player you see a roll of 12,12,2,5,12,5,12,8,12 and you see a pattern thats nothing more then luck as the odds are still 1/20
I think for me using a dice made for the game i feel like i'll get better rolls but in reality this is just that i'm used to say the cluedo dice being bigger with a symbol not a 1
If all else fails and as a dm you get too many nat20s or as a player too many nat1s dice jail it and give it bail when thr next dice is naughty
That said i love a nat1 or nat20 when it means you miss a clue room or trap it can change the story alot
in a hole in the ground you notice a halfling
There are a lot of people in the hobby have obsessions with details. All dice have imperfections and have slight preferences for certain numbers. So long as you're not playing competitively or gambling or otherwise having something on the line, then most dice will not be an issue. So long as:
1. The dice are not returning certain numbers noticeably more often than others.
2. You cannot exploit said deviations.
Then you're fine. If the die seems to be returning a certain number more often than you think it should be, then note the results of the next 100 rolls. If it returns that number more or less often than you're comfortable with, then track it to 500. If it's still out, then I'd consider getting new dice. Otherwise, it's probably just your imagination.
If you're having to float it in water to find an imbalance...it's not a problem. As I said, there are a lot of people who are quite particular and focused. They need the reassurance that their dice are "fair". That's fine and if it makes them happy, go them; but pragmatically speaking, it's pointless. Nobody cares if you get a nat20 6% of the time rather than 5%.
There's only been one time I've been concerned about dodgy dice. A player kept rolling nat1s. All the time. Like, in a session, others would roll maybe one nat1 during the game, and they would, no exaggeration, roll at least half a dozen, if not a full dozen. Session after session after session. I did suggest getting new ones because something was wrong, but they enjoyed the consequences so I let them be. Still, that's when you get concerned, not "oh, I rolled an extra nat20 this session and the dice show a slight imbalance in water.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.