Valezra
09-07-2010, 11:15 AM
I'm sure someone has already posted this and I am sorry if I am repeating the general intent but I couldn't find a thread about it.
The new hit dice descriptions are not accurate at all. I understand the intent was to simplify damage descriptions for newer players but I think Turbine has confused them even more.
Example:
A spell that does 1d6 / Level (max 20d6) means a level 20 will roll 20d6 for damage.
The description now reads "does 20 to 120 damage" which is technically correct but is statistically wrong. Saying it does 20 to 120 damage correctly communicates that the average damage is (20+120)/2 which equals 70; but does not represent the statistical probability of being any one damage value.
Stating it does 20 to 120 damage implies there is a .99% (or about ~1%) chance for any given damage number. So if a caster were to cast 100,000 of these spells he could reasonably expect to see about ~999 of them doing 120 damage. However that is statistically unlikely given the 20d6 mechanic. In fact, in over 1,000 iterations I have yet to see one cast do less than 45 damage or more than 95 damage.
The description "20 to 120" is hugely different from the reality of say 45 to 95 damage.
Below is a graph representing 100 casts of a 20d6 spell. (Each iteration looks similar)
http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv320/Valezra/20d6-2.jpg
Since the description is inaccurate I would recommend going back to the normal hit-die descriptions and simply putting a note stating something like: "Example: 1d6 = any number between 1 and 6. 2d6 is any number between 1 and 6 plus another number between 1 and 6." And leave it to the players to educate themselves.
Otherwise, I hope this helped clear up some possible confusion for newer players.
PS - I understand that the actual hit-die mechanic appears to be weighted in the player's favor (ie - 2d6 actually equals 2d3 + 3) but that is a discussion for another time.
Val
The new hit dice descriptions are not accurate at all. I understand the intent was to simplify damage descriptions for newer players but I think Turbine has confused them even more.
Example:
A spell that does 1d6 / Level (max 20d6) means a level 20 will roll 20d6 for damage.
The description now reads "does 20 to 120 damage" which is technically correct but is statistically wrong. Saying it does 20 to 120 damage correctly communicates that the average damage is (20+120)/2 which equals 70; but does not represent the statistical probability of being any one damage value.
Stating it does 20 to 120 damage implies there is a .99% (or about ~1%) chance for any given damage number. So if a caster were to cast 100,000 of these spells he could reasonably expect to see about ~999 of them doing 120 damage. However that is statistically unlikely given the 20d6 mechanic. In fact, in over 1,000 iterations I have yet to see one cast do less than 45 damage or more than 95 damage.
The description "20 to 120" is hugely different from the reality of say 45 to 95 damage.
Below is a graph representing 100 casts of a 20d6 spell. (Each iteration looks similar)
http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv320/Valezra/20d6-2.jpg
Since the description is inaccurate I would recommend going back to the normal hit-die descriptions and simply putting a note stating something like: "Example: 1d6 = any number between 1 and 6. 2d6 is any number between 1 and 6 plus another number between 1 and 6." And leave it to the players to educate themselves.
Otherwise, I hope this helped clear up some possible confusion for newer players.
PS - I understand that the actual hit-die mechanic appears to be weighted in the player's favor (ie - 2d6 actually equals 2d3 + 3) but that is a discussion for another time.
Val