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24

The Campaign: Superstition

July 2, 2021 by Tim

Update: Live on Twitch for a bit, working on Monday’s comic and playing Streamraiders!


 


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Dre
Dre
3 years ago

Hm yes, but how does this compare to the mouthdice?

Devil_Arcana
Devil_Arcana
3 years ago

A rigged D20? How much?

Dodgy
Dodgy
3 years ago
Reply to  Devil_Arcana

This game was rigged from the start.

SCIENCE!!
SCIENCE!!
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

And here I was, thinking it was just an 18-karat run of bad luck.

foducool
foducool
3 years ago

did he… roll a die on a cushion? is that even allowed?

Josh
Josh
3 years ago
Reply to  foducool

Strictly speaking, it’s not not allowed.

Gonfrask
Gonfrask
3 years ago
Reply to  foducool

Just my thoughts

DField
DField
3 years ago
Reply to  foducool

So… Gemstone D20’s are a thing, and they are also extremely fragile because most of the stones that are desirable for their color patterns, etc, are pretty brittle or soft. They make cushioned rolling trays specifically for them, and then suggest that you’re still gentle with your rolling anyway. No thanks. Gimme cheap dice I can haphazardly throw in wooden box or at the other players, or the sharp edged heavy metal ones I can murder a bloke with.

Merendel
Merendel
3 years ago
Reply to  DField

Agreed. Heck they make “Gemstone” dice that are basically costume jewelry. Colored and transparent like whatever gemstone you want but still just hard plastic. Still more expensive than run of the mill dice but it will hold up to being rolled off the table. at least as long as the ankle biter down there does not take a fancy to it before its retrieved.

Kaelin
Kaelin
3 years ago
Reply to  DField

Reminds me of an old DM when I was in high school. Full party of like 6 people.. plus the DM.. and no one really had a use for d12’s. So whenever someone said something stupid (read teenagers).. there was a shower of dice and ‘useless D12 attack’ constantly.

At least the cats were happy. so many play toys 😀

Zair
Zair
3 years ago
Reply to  Kaelin

Reminds me of this Order of the Stick comic.

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0121.html

Wesley Riot
Wesley Riot
3 years ago
Reply to  DField

I was completely and utterly disinterested in D n D, until you mentioned Murder Dice

Daniel Zaetz
Daniel Zaetz
3 years ago
Reply to  DField

Another thing about gemstone dice is that, due to imperfections in the stone, they can’t be guaranteed to be perfectly balanced. They can end up being weighted to one side, and some DMs refuse to let players use them for this reason. I have a feeling that is where this storyline is going.

DField
DField
3 years ago
Reply to  Daniel Zaetz

For what it’s worth, as long as the side geometry is consistent, even most poorly balanced die still roll within the margin for error over long periods of time. There is no statistically significant difference between a die that passes the salt water test and one that doesn’t. One of the current independent writers for WotC did a whole thesis paper on the subject with thousands of test runs. And it didn’t matter much whether it was a gemstone die, metal die, or any other variety. It typically takes a pretty substantial weighting, usually from an actual metal weight on… Read more »

Kaedys
Kaedys
3 years ago
Reply to  DField

Honestly, a number of the acrylic and similar types are way cooler looking than a normal gemstone manages most days anyway. The draw of the gemstone ones is the prestige of knowing what it’s made of, not actually using it!

Last edited 3 years ago by kaedys
Mr. Casual
Mr. Casual
3 years ago

Did he just roll a die onto a pillow? If I were DM I’d laugh the hell out of that, and tell him to roll for real.

Meye
Meye
3 years ago
Reply to  Mr. Casual

and I’d tell you to blow a duck

raven0ak
raven0ak
3 years ago
Reply to  Meye

Ok, so your roll counts as critical-1, have fun killing yourself or your team mates

Last edited 3 years ago by raven0ak
Wesley Riot
Wesley Riot
3 years ago
Reply to  Meye

Why has this comment so many downvotes, it is amazing

Johnny 5
Johnny 5
3 years ago
Reply to  Wesley Riot

It is necessary.

CloudHiro
CloudHiro
3 years ago
Reply to  Mr. Casual

These specialty dice actually are extremely fragile. you dont roll on something cushioned your losing the obscene amount of money you spent on a single die

Darth Credence
Darth Credence
3 years ago
Reply to  Mr. Casual

I’m color blind, so I may be wrong, but I think the color of the area it was rolled matches the table above, not the cushion. The rolling area also looks flat, while the cushion was clearly draw to not be.
I think that the implication is that the box containing the holy die was placed on the cushion, but the roll was still on a flat surface.

Rook
Rook
3 years ago
Reply to  Darth Credence

Nah, the rolling area is red and the cushion is red, the table is brown

Christopher Kinnee
Christopher Kinnee
3 years ago
Reply to  Darth Credence

The spot where the die lands has some impression marks as if it’s slightly sinking into the pillow.

Dodgy
Dodgy
3 years ago

Got to love those critical hits. In my time as a DM it did not matter how powerful the enemy was or what weapon you wielded. If you rolled a pure 20, it was end of story. Although if the player was to wield a pocket knife against an elder behemoth, I would at least expect them to motivate their kill on why it would be lethal.

Marco
Marco
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

we use the house rule of triple threat. You roll 2 20’s and hit on the third roll, it’s dead and the DM gets to decide how exactly this happens.

Rolan7
Rolan7
3 years ago
Reply to  Marco

“Exploding” dice rolls in World of Darkness are amazing for this. Roll 10 on the d10, it’s both a success and a reroll. It’s really common to get a few explosions on normal rolls, which is nice, but sometimes it surprises you. Like if you’re bullying some simple unaltered human and they happen to stab you right where it hurts.

Kaedys
Kaedys
3 years ago
Reply to  Rolan7

We used a variant of this on D20’s for natural crits. It was obviously quite a bit rarer, since it’s half the base chance per roll, but we used to play where a nat 20 was only a guaranteed hit, and that you had to roll again to hit in order to confirm the crit (actually, re-reading it, that may actually just be how D20 works baseline. It’s been near on a decade since I last played, sadly). If that roll nat-20’d as well, it cascaded, adding the crit multiplier each time. We also played it similarly for other D20… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by kaedys
Meye
Meye
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

oof what a terrible way to dm.

raven0ak
raven0ak
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

simple, elder behemot had one microscopic spot that would be lethal if pierced; and pocket knife managed hit center of it

Cragfast
Cragfast
3 years ago
Reply to  raven0ak

Don’t you think the chance of hitting such a spot should be less than 5% though?

Lord Hideous
Lord Hideous
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

We had a DM who had a house rule like that. He had just revealed the Evil Paladin, who was supposed to monologue at us, make a dramatic exit, then go on to be a recurring villain. Rogue threw a knife at him. Killed him and all the DM’s plans in one shot.

Next session, that rule was gone.

Kaelin
Kaelin
3 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy

One of my dm’s had a rule. if you rolled 3 nat 20’s in a row… it was dead. Period.

The team went up against a dragon.. and got wiped hard. Dwarf runs out of throwing weapons.. so picks up a rock, and throws it at the dragon. Triple nat 20’s. DM just stands up and walks out of the room.

The rock was found after, and became a group mascot. The ‘lesser, lesser elemental’.

Tim
Tim
3 years ago

Call me crazy, but I like a heavy dice set. My current set wasn’t super expensive, like $30, but it’s a really nice solid metal set. I want my dice like my keyboards: loud, heavy, authoritative, and threatening to damage whatever they come in contact with.

Doesn’t mean I don’t roll 1s here and there, just that I have my own fun doing it.

raven0ak
raven0ak
3 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I guess others on your table feel pressure of metal and fear the moment when you roll 1

Tim
Tim
3 years ago
Reply to  raven0ak

You want pucker factor? I had to roll deception against a young green dragon to convince it we were just trying to clear out the cultists that were plotting to enslave it. I didn’t even get a great roll, it was almost sickening to hear that particular “thud”. Until the DM revealed the dragon rolled slightly worse than I did for insight, so my warlock somehow managed, against all odds, to completely BS a dragon and prevent TPK (the cultists and their blood golem were BRUTAL).

Krasen Ivanov
Krasen Ivanov
3 years ago

Oh, come on! You can’t roll a dice on a pillow?

Austin Mills
Austin Mills
3 years ago

So far backing up my assumption on what’s going to happen in this session…

DanVzare
DanVzare
3 years ago

Did he seriously just roll his die on a pillow?
If you did that, you’d just be confused as to which side it landed on as it rests on an edge.
It can barely even roll on a pillow! So if you just dropped it, you can practically guarantee which side it kinda looks like it lands on.

I say he cheated.

Ziegfried
Ziegfried
3 years ago

Guys, he didn’t roll on the pillow, he puts the little box containing the D20 on it and then removes it from the box and rolls on table. Check the colors!

Mistfire
Mistfire
3 years ago
Reply to  Ziegfried

The table is brown. The surface where he rolled the d20 is red/pink.

SBlack
SBlack
3 years ago
Reply to  Ziegfried

He holds the box from below. You can barely see the fingers. On the other hand I think the die is on a table because the surface is flat. The setup seems a bit inconsistent

Christopher Kinnee
Christopher Kinnee
3 years ago
Reply to  Ziegfried

What’s the purpose of the pillow? And why are there marks on the surface below the die, as if it’s sunken in a bit?

Sebastian
Sebastian
3 years ago

The game is totally about player skill …

Anon A Mouse
Anon A Mouse
3 years ago
Reply to  Sebastian

It’s never been about player skill. I mean, it’s about player imagination and creativity but in the end it’s always been about stats and rolls. And a 1 or 20 is always critical failure or success.

Kaelin
Kaelin
3 years ago
Reply to  Anon A Mouse

Also on DM forgiveness.

If a player is being descriptive and creative and trying something unique or strange, I’d be more leanient to give them leeway, and bonus points for trying something new. If its ‘strong man hits thing very hard’… then yeah, thats gonna just be down to randomness.

James Dunn
James Dunn
3 years ago

Great comic.But (pushes glasses) But flaming sphere doesn’t require a attack roll it just a Dex save from the opponent

Kaedys
Kaedys
3 years ago
Reply to  James Dunn

Shhhhh

Phaet
Phaet
3 years ago

I don’t get these kind of comics. It’s like some interactive story or something? What’s with the dice?

Jacob
Jacob
3 years ago
Reply to  Phaet

Role playing is roll playing. Sure you know what you want to accomplish, but does your luck (and stat sheet) allow for it?

Life is about how we handle the roll we’ve achieved, and parrying that into driving our own stories forward.

Dorander
Dorander
3 years ago
Reply to  Phaet

You’re absolutely right, it is an interactive story. This particular one is called Dungeons and Dragons but there are many different systems and settings for people to play in, but the base concept is the same. One person at the table is the Game Master (or Dungeon Master in D&D), this person writes the adventure and tells the story. The rest are players, they control a character in that story and make their own choices, thus they determine the outcome and potentially steer the story in different directions. You roll dice to determine the outcome of what you attempt to… Read more »

Kaedys
Kaedys
3 years ago
Reply to  Dorander

It’s a fine line, but it can be managed, by a sufficiently skilled DM. The key is playing a member of the party without exerting too much influence or control over the players. It can serve as a somewhat more natural method of “nudging” the players in the right direction if they’re hopelessly lost. My of the DMs I’ve played with that managed this did so on a support character, like Yellow’s Cleric. It places them in the back line and usually reacting to their teammates rather than leading them. DMs do have to be cautious, though. In addition to… Read more »

Dorander
Dorander
3 years ago
Reply to  Kaedys

Agreed. Conversely some players will too eagerly fall back on the DM’s nudging by asking the DM’s character for the answer without trying to use their own character skills to solve the issue. It seems to work well in the comic, but this is a comic, in real life it seldomly ends up being perfectly nuanced. Also, D&D 3.5 has various spells that lets the party essentially ask the DM for a hint, which start as early as level 1. I’m a bit of a hardliner in this area, I’ll admit. I’m firmly convinced that the game offers the players… Read more »

Christopher Kinnee
Christopher Kinnee
3 years ago
Reply to  Phaet

It’s the Player characters playing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I’ve never played, so I don’t understand all the references, but sometimes I get a laugh out of them. If D&D isn’t your thing, wait a bit and some other comics will come ’round. 🙂

Josh
Josh
3 years ago

I have a player who keeps a moonstone in his bag and claims it blesses his gaming dice. And he consistently, without a rigged die, rolls 20s when in combat. So maybe it works.

I have another player who builds a dice tower and uses a second set of dice to game with and he prays to the dice tower before rolls.

Okay my gamers are weird.

BioRules
BioRules
3 years ago

Objection, Flaming Sphere doesn’t have a roll to hit.

Darth Credence
Darth Credence
3 years ago
Reply to  BioRules

But he cast “Greater flaming orb”, not flaming sphere, so we are dealing with homebrew or a different system than 5e.

Dorander
Dorander
3 years ago
Reply to  BioRules

D&D 3.5 had a well known line of “[lesser] orb of <element>” spells, that required a ranged touch attack to hit. Also, honestly, imagining that D&D has some kind of orb-shaped fire spell that requires a roll to hit, is pretty straightforward.

Lavander
Lavander
3 years ago

Alright, take your bets. How long till 4 steals that die? My bet’s three pages.

Fils
Fils
3 years ago
Reply to  Lavander

I would see 4 try to stab it.
But, i’m betting on 2.
I would’ve say next comic, but I’m going for the “long run”

Jacob
Jacob
3 years ago
Reply to  Fils

All dice can become mouth dice to the determined…

Mark F
Mark F
3 years ago

I gotta say I’m super impressed with your ability to accurately draw d20s! I love the attention to detail.

Rolan7
Rolan7
3 years ago

Hehe, “Cthilidu”, the public domain tentacle-mouthed monster.

Dorander
Dorander
3 years ago
Reply to  Rolan7

One wouldn’t want some lawyers to appear in the comic to take the monsters away…. oh wait, wrong webcomic :D.

Aza
Aza
3 years ago
Reply to  Dorander

Oh i see you are a stick of culture, i mean a man of culture

Vedrit
Vedrit
3 years ago

Don’t diss the die.

Cyrad
Cyrad
3 years ago

I rolled three consequence 1s on my first d20 rolls with a new set.

I was playing a Pathfinder gunslinger, a class that breaks their weapon each time they fumble.

I should have gotten my money back.

Duane E Naulls
Duane E Naulls
3 years ago

Viva La Dirt League may be doing a better job at getting me interested in D&D as of late…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSuJ9t1QTcw

Paul Mast
Paul Mast
3 years ago

Again…

I feel attacked.

Crestlinger
Crestlinger
3 years ago

‘I’m sorry, were you saying something?’
Meanwhile dice be flexing:
https://i.redd.it/p1ewbcp6rzz31.jpg

Johnny 5
Johnny 5
3 years ago
Reply to  Crestlinger

fascinating.