Shield Defense for Dice Neutral Attack Tables

Wednesday’s dice neutral combat table did not include shields, for a couple reasons. One being: There’s just too many ways shields get changed in house rules.

In standard D&D, upgrading your body armor from leather to chain, or from chain to plate, effectively adds +2 to your defense. Keeping your current body armor but adding a shield is half as effective, adding +1 to defense. If a GM prefers the standard approach and is using a d20 (or 4d6 drop 6,) they can either add +1 to the target number or (my preference) subtract 1 from the attack roll to get the same result.

But that’s not the only way GMs handle shields in D&D. Some people think shields should be more effective, giving them a +2 defense. Or they add different tiers of shield. For the flat +2 approach, the GM can just shift right one column, so that adding a shield is just as effective as upgrading your body armor. For shield tiers, just subtract 1, 2, or 3 from the attack roll based on the type of shield.

Another idea for a shield houserule. If an attack roll hits exactly (roll = target number, not roll > target number,) roll 1d6. On 4+ the shield blocks the attack. A GM can also adapt this for shield tiers, with weaker shields only blocking on 5+, better shields blocking on 2+ or 3+. Or keep the target number static (5+) but use different dice types for different shields: 1d6 for bucklers, 1d8 for standard shields, 1d10 for tower shields.

Or another option: merge the idea of a shield roll with Shields Shall Be Splintered. Roll a 1d6 to block any successful attack. If the result is higher than the damage rolled, the attack is block, but if the result is 5+, the shield is splintered, whether it blocks the attack or not.

If the GM is not using 1d20 for attack rolls, but is using 1d6 or 2d6, then upgrading body armor is only “worth” 1 point of defense. If you modify the target number or the attack roll, this means that a shield will be just as effective as upgrading to a heavier class of body armor. If that’s not what you want, you should use one of the “shield roll” house rules, or use another houserule, like reducing damage.

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Dice-Neutral Attack/Saving Throw Table, Adjusted

Almost immediately after I posted the Saving Throw table last Thursday, I realized I screwed up. Oh, sure, the table entries are correct and the table is usable – if you use the table a specific way. A non-intuitive way. But it can be improved.

The way I was expecting the table to be used:

1. Use the header to equate a saving throw category to an armor type, if necessary.
2. Find your dice rating or level title in the columns on the left.
3. Read across the row until you find the armor class you are attacking/saving against.
4. Move down the column to find the target number for the dice you are rolling.

This all works, but the headers are barely getting any use, and aren’t being used in the traditional way. Plus, you have to do some weird math adjustments if you are attacking a weaker armor class at higher levels. I made several attempts at explaining how to make the adjustments, but none of them sounded very clear, and I was not satisfied.

Simply reversing the entries on each row and changing the way you read the table fixes that. So, I made a new table. Here’s how to use it:

1. Look in the header for the column for your target armor type or saving throw category.
2. Move down the column to the row for your dice rating or level title.
3. Read the adjusted armor type (for example, Heroes attack opponents in Medium armor as if they were wearing Light armor.)
4. Find the adjusted armor type in the Suggested Dice Rolls section and use the listed target number.

If the adjusted armor type in Step 3 is blank, count how many columns you have to move to the right to get to an adjusted armor type of None. Subtract that from the target number for Armor Type None, if rolling 1d6 or 2d6. Double this modifier if rolling 1d20 or 4d6-4. This is easier to explain than the adjustments for the previous version of this table.

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Last-Minute Keys and Locks: 4d6 Lockpicking

I’ve been thinking a little more about last-minute keys and locks. First, there was a brief discussion in the comments about whether the process was too convoluted. Ynas Midgard suggested going back to the idea of d4+d8 instead of 2d6 for the reaction roll, because then it’s easier to specify that the d4 can be used for the number of keys that must match for a Close Match result. But there’s also the possibility of just changing a Close Match to mean “at least half the keywords match”. At first, I thought this was a viable optional rule and that I’d stick to 1-4 matches for my personal use… but the more I thought about it, I think “half the keywords match” is just a better rule.

But I have also been thinking of adapting this to the" 4d6 drop 6s" idea. Specifically, the approach mentioned in reaction rolls with four dice. It’s not just for the fun of playing with an alternate table, as you’ll soon see. First, though, the table.

4d6 drop 6	Reaction	Detailed Explanation
Up to 1	Broken!	Key snaps off and jams lock.
2-3	Wrong Key	Lock jammed on 5+ (1d6).
4-7	Might Fit	All keywords must match.
8-12	Close Match	At least half must match.
13-16	Fits	Lock opens if any keywords match.
17-18	Lucky Fit!	1st letter of a keyword must match.
19-20	I Made It Fit!	No matches necessary.

Table should be self-explanatory now. Curses shift the result one category worse. Blessings shift the result one category better.

Now here’s the tricky part: when adapting this keyword trick to other situations that involve skills, you need to distinguish unskilled people from skilled people. For example, you could have a set of lockpicks instead of a single lockpick, each with a different keyword. Anyone trained as a thief rolls 4d6, dropping 6s. The thief class would add their level to the roll. Anyone who’s still in training would only roll 2d6, though, again dropping 6s, for a range of 0 to 10. So:

• An untrained character picking a lock requires one lockpick for every keyword on the lock (two picks for a green copper lock, for example.)
• A trained lockpick must use at least half as many picks as there are keywords on the lock.
• A true thief (class) never worries about jamming the lock.
• A 5th level thief has a good chance of opening any lock with one pick, but two picks are still a safer bet.
• An 8th level thief can open any two-keyword locks with only one matching pick.

It will probably get more interesting when adapted to “metaphorical keys and locks”, but that’s for later. The important point, here, is that I used to talk about dividing the reaction roll by two if a person was untrained, but rolling half as many dice is a lot easier.

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Reaction Rolls with ... Four Dice?

I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’m thinking about the viability of “4d6, dropping all 6s” as a possible alternative dice mechanic. It give you a 0 to 20 range, within the parameters of some D&D rolls, but with a bell curve… but also, you can use the 6s in a different way to alter results.

Here’s an idea for a 4d6 drop 6 reaction roll table.

4d6 drop 6	Reaction	Detailed Explanation
Up to 1	The Worst	Enraged, immediate attack.
2-3	Very Bad	Hostile , will attack. No further offers.
4-7	Bad	Unfriendly and threatening. Refuse offer.
8-12	Normal	Neutral but uncooperative. Ask much more on offer.
13-16	Good	Open and cooperative. Ask a little more on offer.
17-18	Very Good	Friendly and helpful. Accept offer.
19-20	The Best	Enthusiastic, offers help or discount.

As with a standard reaction roll, this is used for two main situations:

1. Potential combat situations (Will the opponent be hostile or even attack, or will they be open to parlay?)
2. Negotiations (Will the NPC accept the offer, ask for more, or reject the offer and refuse further haggling, or even hurl a string of insults or accuse the PCs of being a thief?)

If the result is 4 or more, but one or more 6s were rolled, a special effect may be triggered, if one is present. Some special effects:

• Lying: The NPC or monster pretends to have a different reaction, usually to trick the PCs.
• Personality Trait: NPCs or monsters may have unusual behaviors or goals that trigger if one or more 6s are rolled, for example “looking for the perfect sacrifice to their dark god”. Alternatively, PCs who have personality flaws, such as “accident prone” may exhibit these flaws, perhaps explaining a bad reaction, or simply causing embarrassment during an otherwise successful negotiation.
• Curse: If a PC has a curse effect waiting to be triggered, it takes effect at this point. For example, “haunted by a shrieking ghost” might result in the ghost appearing while trying to find a room at the inn.

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