Dice Mechanics as Atmosphere Builders

Babbling at the Counter #09 – Pen and Paper

Dice Mechanics as Atmosphere Builders

Hi, short babble today. It’s just that I’ve been thinking, when creating a game, it’s important to make sure throwing the dice helps players get the general feeling of the setting. I know it’s not easy, but when done right it feels great.

I’ve recently read a game, and I think it got all of this. I’m not posting it until I can actually playtest it, so today it’ll be just a simple explanation.

Danger Patrol is a game about 50’s sci fi shows, and it’s mainly focused on wild and dangerous stunts. The thing is, the more dangerous your maneuver is, the more dice you get to do it. And dice aren’t necessarily good, either. From each throw you get both your successes AND your failures. You can destroy a threat on a single throw, or knock yourself out of combat. So really, it’s a high risk high reward endeavor, like weird sci fi shows are supposed to be.

Never having played it with people, only by myself, I can’t tell you if the system works or is broken. All I can say is this: I get what the author was trying to do, and can’t wait to properly test it.

- The Storeman