The D20 Roll
Attacks, Checks, & Saves.
The d20R in Gameplay
Whenever you attempt to perform a task in Otherworld Odyssey (OwO), the game's AI Digital Moderator (DM for short) assesses whether or not the task has a chance of failure.
If the chance of failure is determined to be greater than 0, the DM prompts you to perform an Attack, a Check, or a Save, depending on the nature of the task. Doing so automatically activates the game's hidden d20 Randomizer (often referred to in dev notes as a "d20 Roll" or simply a "d20R"), which generates a random value between 1 and 20.
Relevant modifiers (bonuses and penalties based on your character's stats) are then added to the generated value. The total is then compared to a Difficulty Class (DC) set by the DM, which may be any value above 0 (e.g. DC 5, DC 10, DC 20, etc.). The more difficult the DM determines the task to be, the higher it sets the DC.
If the total for the d20 Roll equals or exceeds the DC, the d20R is a success and the task is accomplished; otherwise, it is a failure.
| The d20 Randomizer |
|---|
| The die-20 Randomizer (d20R) is a breakthrough in random number generation that is certain to usher in a new era of the VR gaming industry. Using the revolutionary Vigesimal Qudit technology developed by our own Chief Architect, Dr. Kai Ise, the d20R taps into the raw, chaotic nature of reality by, as Dr. Ise herself puts it, "rolling an icosahedral die on a quantum tabletop."
From this singular but infinitely iterative innovation has sprung a whole family of random number generators: the d2, the d3, d4, d6, d8, d10, and the d12. This arsenal of "quantum dice" exists for no greater purpose than to ensure that every single moment spent in Otherworld Odyssey is a wholly unique and thrilling experience.
With the Cosmos itself as the guiding hand to our AI-generated content, we can guarantee that you won't find a more personalized, high-fidelity fantasy world to immerse yourself in than OwO. 20XX-2XXX Überworld Ultima, Inc. / Kai Ise, PhD (ウーバーワールド・アルティマ会社 / 伊勢怪博士) |
The Three Types of d20R
There are three main types of d20R: the Attack, the Check, and the Save. Each of these three types is used in different situations with different outcomes based on whether they suceed or fail:
- You make an Attack when trying to injure or subdue an enemy with a weapon, a spell, or your own bare hands.
- You make a Check when attempting a more practical task, such as lifting something heavy or recalling important information, as well as when trying to overpower a foe, such as in an arm-wrestling match.
- You make a Save when trying to avoid harm, such as from a spell or status effect.
Attacks
The Attack is used to determine whether or not you hit your target with a Weapon Attack, Unarmed Attack, or Magic Attack. The DC for any Attack is equal to the Defense Stat (DEF) of the Attack's target. On a success, the Attack hits the target and typically deals damage of a specified type to that target. See "Defense Stat" and "Hit Points, Stun, & Dying" in the "Character Sheet" tutorial for more information.
EXAMPLE: You make a Weapon Attack against an enemy and roll a 10, adding your Attack modifier (+5) for a total of 15. The DM then compares this total to the enemy's DEF, which is 12. Since 15 is higher than 12, the Attack is a hit, and the game "rolls" your weapon's damage.
Checks
The Check is used to determine whether you accomplish a physical or mental task that requires some amount of coordination and/or technical knowhow. Examples of such tasks include:
- Disarming a trap.
- Appraising a magic item.
- Haggling with a shopkeeper.
- Gauging an NPC's attitude.
- Leaping across an open chasm.
- Sneaking past an enemy.
EXAMPLE: You are prompted to make an Aptitude (Athletics) Check in order to safely jump over a spike pit. The d20R results in a 10, to which your Athletics Stat of 10 is added for a total of 20. The DM has set the Athletics Check as DC 20. Since your total of 20 meets the DC, the Athletics Check is a success and you safely clear the pit.
Saves
The Save is the d20R used to avoid or resist negative effects, such as enemy spells, diseases, toxins, AoEs, and environmental hazards. There are three main types of Saves: Fortitude (FOR) Saves are made to resist harm caused by brute force, fatigue, sickness, and sensory overload.
- FOR (Impact) Saves are a subset of Fortitude Save made specifically to resist the effects of physical impacts, such as Prone or Thrust.
Will (WIL) Saves are made to fight off mental or spiritual influences, such as madness, fear, mind control, and psychic assaults.
- WIL (Concentration) Saves are a subset of Will Save made specifically to maintain Concentration on spells whenever you take damage (see "Spellcasting" in the "Skills & Magic" tutorial).
EXAMPLE: A dragon uses its fire breath, dealing 33 Fire damage in an AoE that encompasses your space. The DM prompts you for a REF Save to mitigate the Fire damage taken. The d20R yields a 15, to which the your REF Stat is added for a total of 30, which passes the fire breath's DC of 25. As a result, the Fire damage you take is halved from 33 to 16.
Degrees of Success
While some d20Rs have a binary pass-fail outcome, many have several different outcomes dependent on the roll's degree of success, of which there are four:
- Critical Success
- Success
- Failure
- Critical Failure
The main difference between a critical success or failure and a normal success or failure is that the former often comes with an added effect — a benefit in the case of a critical success, or a detriment in the case of a critical failure:
- Attacks deal more damage on a critical success and sometimes apply a status effect or some other affliction to the struck target.
- On a critical failure, an Attack will completely miss its target and possibly pose a threat to the attacker or one of their allies.
- Critically successful Checks may yield exceedingly positive results (e.g. a critically successful Rhetoric Check gets you a significant discount on a shopkeeper's wares).
- Critically failed Checks, on the other hand, may have unwanted consequences (e.g. a critically failed Rhetoric Check causes a shopkeeper to refuse you any service).
Critical Success. Target suffers no damage.
Success. Target is dealt 6d6 Fire damage, halved.
Failure. Target is dealt 6d6 Fire damage.
Critical Failure. Target is dealt 6d6 Fire damage and knocked Prone.
Natural & Total Results
Whenever a d20R generates a value, that value is referred to as the natural result. This is opposed to the total result of a d20R, which is the sum of the natural result and the roll's corresponding modifiers. EXAMPLE: A d20R made by the PC yields a value of 17, which is then added to the PC's modifier of +10 for a total of 27. The 17 would be the natural result (i.e. a "natural 17") and the 27 would be the total result (i.e. "total 27") of the d20R.
Natural 1's & 20's
In most cases, the natural result of a d20R is irrelevant to the success or failure of the roll; what matters mechanically is the total result. However, there are two notable exceptions to this pattern: the Natural 1 and the Natural 20.
In the event that a d20R yields a Natural 1, the roll's degree of success is lowered by 1 (e.g. from success to failure). Conversely, if the d20R yields a Natural 20, the roll's degree of success is raised by 1 (e.g. from failure to success).
This means that a Natural 1 can turn a critical success into a success, a success into a failure, and a failure into a critical failure, whereas a Natural 20 can turn a critical failure into a failure, a failure into a success, and a success into a critical success.
Advantage & Disadvantage
In addition to numerical bonuses and penalties, a d20R may also be subjected to Advantage (ADV) or Disadvantage (DADV). If a roll is made with ADV, the d20R generates 2 separate values (i.e. the "die" is rolled twice) and uses only the higher of the two results. If a roll has DADV, the d20R takes the lower of the two results.
ADV and DADV do not stack: if one effect applies ADV to a d20R at the same time that another effect applies DADV to it, the d20R is considered to have neither ADV nor DADV. This is true regardless of how many instances of ADV or DADV are applied to the roll (e.g. if 3 effects apply ADV to a roll and 1 effect applies DADV to the same roll, the effects all cancel one another out, resulting in a single "straight" roll).
ADV and DADV are most often caused by status effects. For example, the Prone status grants ADV to Melee Attacks against the Prone creature, while the Invisible status grants a character ADV on Attacks against other characters (see "Status Effects" in the "Character Menu" tutorial for more information.)
Contested d20Rs
While most d20Rs are resolved against a set DC, some rolls are directly contested by the roll of another character. When the PC makes a contested roll, their d20R succeeds if its total surpasses the total of the opposed d20R and fails if it falls short. As with other d20Rs, if the PC's roll exceeds the opposed roll by 10 or more, it is a critical success, and if the roll fails by 10 or more, it is a critical failure.
EXAMPLE: You are trying to hold a door shut while an NPC tries to pry it open from the other side. The DM prompts you for a contested Athletics Check. The NPC yields a total of 35, while your d20R yields a total of 40. Your total is higher, so you win the contest, sealing the door shut as the NPC is forced back.
Ties
In the event that a contested roll results in a tie (both totals are equal), there is no change to the status quo.
For example, if there is a closed door that the you are trying to hold shut while an NPC is trying to force it open, the DM may prompt you for a contested Athletics Check. If both you and NPC roll a total of 24 (a tie), there is no change to the status quo: the door remains closed, as it was before the contested d20R was made. Conversely, had the door been open to begin with, a tie would have resulted in the door remaining open.
Note that depending on the circumstance, a tie can be effectively the same as one side winning and the other losing. Referring to the outcomes described above, a tie is effectively the same as you winning in the former outcome, while it's effectively the same as the NPC winning in the latter case.
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