BrokenPromise

Calling all dice mathematicians

I'd be really curious to see how much % chance switching from a D6 to a D8 actually affects your chances though. Now you've got me looking up the system...

@Mae

The chance of landing on any side of an 8-sided dice is 12.5%. Therefor, you have a 25% chance of rolling something that is unattainable on a 6-sided dice, and a 37.5% chance to at least get something equal to the highest number on a 6. Compare that to a 0% or 16%-ish chance respectively. Or if you prefer a non % based representation of this in the real world, let's do number of times out of 24 since that's a number both 6 and 8 go into. If you rolled both dice 24 times, the d6 would give you a 6 only 4 times, where the d8 would give you a 6 or greater an astounding 9 times.

Another fun test, let's pretend you have "perfectly normal" luck and you'll always roll each side of the dice the same number of times. in 24 rolls, You'd roll every side of the d6 4 times which is (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6) X 4 = 84. Meanwhile, with the 8 you would get each side 3 times for a total of (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8) X 3 = 108

Calling all dice mathematicians

Does rolling two of the same die and taking the higher result actually give you better odds of producing a higher result? This is what's really making my head spin.

@Clever Hans

Short answer: Rolling multiple die and taking the better result not only more frequently yields a higher result, it more consistently avoids lower rolls.

In the game you describe, you roll 2 dice, and you always take the die with the better result. If you were just rolling 1, you have a 1-out-of-6 chance to get a 6. This is easy to see, because all we need to do is count the number of sides on the dice, which will give us all our possible outcomes.

1,2,3,4,5,6

It gets trickier for two dice. Because to find every possible combination, we need to multiply this by the number of sides for each additional dice. 6 X 6 = 36, and all the combinations are as follows:

1/1,1/2,1/3,1/4,1/5,1/6,
2/1,2/2,2/3,2/4,2/5,2/6,
3/1,3/2,3/3,3/4,3/5,3/6,
4/1,4/2,4/3,4/4,4/5,4/6,
5/1,5/2,5/3,5/4,5/5,5/6,
6/1,6/2,6/3,6/4,6/5,6/6,

See? 36. If we rolled 3 6 sided die, we'd have 6 X 6 X 6 = 216 possible combinations. But we won't worry about that for now.

So going back to our possible outcomes for a single die, you can see that there's a 1-in-6 chance of getting a 1 or a 6. But when using 2 dice, it's clear things aren't quite so balanced. Statistically speaking, you have a 1-in-36 chance to get a 1 and a gnarly 11-in-36 chance to get a 6. Had you been rolling a single die, you'd roll a 6 6 times, almost half as frequently. And you'd have rolled 5 more 1s.

EDIT: should probably mention that the number of outcomes does not always equal the percent chance of getting a particular outcome. But in this case where all the dice have the same number of sides, each dice has the same % chance to land on any particular side.

Tense and Perspective in Roleplaying

I do not like to randomly change tense or perspective, and prefer to write everything in past tense from some variation of third person.

And in case anyone didn't know, there are (at least) three ways to handle third person. You've got omniscient, where the narrative knows everything that's going on, and limited, which tells the story primarily from a character's perspective or the narrator's perspective. I tend to prefer limited, and which type of limited depends on the character.

Tense just sounds better when it's past tense. But you're never writing exclusively in one tense because there will be times you need to explain when something is happening at the same time or how something correlates to things that have happened.

Lock down another finished RP.

It was messy at times, but we completed the RP. It only took 4 years.

If one of you lovely mods wouldn't mind putting a lock on this bad boy, it would be much appreciated.

Regardless of who locks it, I'll just give @Stormflyx a random ping for no reason whatsoever.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

“Pen pen.”

— Aighorost

I wonder if Penny’s going to appear. It would kind of be a shame if we didn’t see her again until the event ends. I mean I assume they turned down a proper fight against me because they wanted her to appear again. Oh well…

---

L O S T I N T H O U G H T

@DarkwolfX37

Needless to say, Nuncio was a little concerned when the doll girl randomly didn’t trust him and stubbornly waited for Penny to come back. He probably would have stayed with her, but that was one hell of a retcon that he had no intention of introducing He instead focused on leading Shion out of the overcity.

Needless to say, the overcity wasn’t exactly a convenient place to navigate. When they came out they were several blocks from Sanctuary.

”So uh, bit of an intermission there.” Nuncio folded his arms. ”Ya was sayin somethin’ about leaving Penrose?” He sighed. ”I ain’t gunna lie. For Faith, for Sammy? I think it’s in all of our best interests we get the flock outta here.”

---

S P E C I A L N E E D S

@Ariamis

Su wouldn’t even have time to think of a response to Helga’s question before she was cut off.

”Seems we have other things to be concerned about.” Su yanked the bandages off of her head. ”There no reason we can’t help an ally of Penrose. Let’s see what we can do.” And with that, they ran for the portal.

---

V I C T O R Y T H R O U G H V I O L E N C E

@FamishedPants@Majoras End@twave

The pile of cradle agents detonated, and everyone was thrown away from Veronica.

”What’s this? Another foe invades Penrose?” She pointed at the portal. ”We should follow the rest of Maura’s agents!” She blazed a trail straight for the portal, followed by a scrambling Trixy.

Viridian, on the other hand, seemed content to stay behind.

---

P A T C H N O T E S

Hello Patrons!

Like we promised, we’ve finally rolled out the newest balance patch for Oros, and it’s a pretty significant one!

The biggest and most notable change is that Oros is no longer a monster girl! She has a new purified skin.

In terms of balance, we wanted Oros to seem more like Mika, so we removed a lot of her monsterous abilities. Her VIT, MAG, and LCK have all been reduced slightly. She’s also lost a lot of her unfair survival options, which allows her to feel pain and survive attacks that would cause her heart to stop beating. She can also no longer void step, and her ability to sniff out Mint and Beacon players has been entirely removed! We know Beacon players needed a lot of help, and we all breathed a sigh of relief to see that go.

But it’s not all bad news for Oros mains. Oros’s martial training lets her make use of non-magical weapons in her hammerspace, and her memory link lets her share her memories with others. We understand that players who enjoyed Oros’s beast like qualities might not like this change, but it does give utility and role play opportunities to those who wish to use her more cautiously. The dev team is a really big fan of frying pan => Shotgun => Memory Link(“We dated in an alternate universe”) => Endless Eclipse => M4 => AA-12 => Tentacles => Pool Fist Dash => Memory Link(“This Was Your Death”) => Headbut.

We’re happy with how she is, but we’ll be keeping an eye on Oros until the season ends. We’ll likely have to roll out one more patch for her before the Christmas event starts.

-The Riot Team

Can You Call Yourself an Advanced Writer if You Only Write Female Characters? -Closed-

If you post a topic, be it to ask a simple question or get advice, the community is going to try and turn it into a discussion.

Even with most everyone here thinking advanced is an arbitrary thing, there's one camp that thinks writing everything makes you a better writer, and another that thinks it's better to write what you enjoy/can do well. This could be discussed further.

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Ending the Carnage

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

I was tempted to write a conversation between Kara and Alter Ego, but after thinking about it that both felt redundant and like sequel bait. So I’m going to call the RP done.

And there you have it. It took 4 years and a month, but we completed RPG’s first Danganronpa RP. This is the first time I’ve taken on a project that lasted longer than two years.

Being that I like to ramble like an old man, I’d like to talk about part of my creative process with Tower of Carnage. In particular, the theme and setting.

The setting was easy to decide. I hadn’t played DRV3 when it came out, but after playing SDR2, I knew I wanted everything to be a role playing game. This also ties into the theme for Tower of Carnage, which is conquest and carnage. On their own they are just words that people use to convey a lot of different things. Not too different from hope and despair really. The conquest and carnage I’m talking about comes from when you dedicate yourself to a difficult task. Some see it when they want to learn a new skill, others when they want to go up the ranks at their job, and you may encounter it when you post in an ongoing RP. Conquest is completing your goal, and carnage is the sacrifices needed to get there.

In retrospect, I probably could have called them determination and sacrifice.

Danganronpa frequently calls hope and despair two sides of the same coin, and you can’t have conquest without carnage either. Anything worth attaining comes with sacrifices. The good times don’t stay good forever, and the bad times pass too if you stick with it.

I think the high point for ToC was around the 2-3 year mark when activity was at its peak. Most of the old players came back and at a point we had more people than we started with. Then after the third case, life reared its ugly head and people scattered. The time to call it quits was then, and it was something I was seriously considering. But I said I’d finish the RP if I even had one other person to write with, and I don’t go back on my word easy. I was blessed with three.

@Majoras End @Mateotis @FamishedPants

And now with the RP completed, I’m forced to ask myself if it was worth it. Was it worth writing for that extra year or so with a fraction of the player base at a post rate that’s a bit slow?

Gunna be honest with you, I enjoyed every post.

It’s been really fun. I have too many favorite moments to name just one, but I really enjoyed everyone’s reactions during the final trial. That includes the DMs from players who left but still keep up with the RP. I know two lovers that exchanged gifts, and one of them was themed after this RP. I know a different group who were able to bond in our discord when it was still running. And I’ve conversed with a lot of great people and have memories that I doubt I’ll soon forget. It’s these types of encounters with people, however brief, that keep me invested in the hobby.

I think I’ll keep the RP open for another week in case anyone wants to drop a message or something. But I’m signing off. PMs and DMs are always open.

---

Life has been pretty crazy. A lot of big, positive changes are going to happen to me over the coming months. They’re also taking up a lot of my time however. So I don’t have the flashy header image I was going to prepare for the occasion.

I would like to announce an upcoming RP I’m going to be starting. Symphony of Espers (SoE) Is going to be a superhero/paranormal type gig. I haven’t nailed down all the specifics, but it’s going to have the player characters assume the roles of gifted people called espers who fight monsters and sometimes each other. While it’s clearly more combat orientated than ToC, it will have all the hallmarks of a good RP: Cunning antagonists, political intrigue, shenanigans, and soul crushing despair.

Also gunna tag @ERode for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON WHATSOEVER but he probably has a thing or two to do with the project.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

H A P P I N E S S, S E R E N I T Y, H A R M O N Y

Su did not care how ridiculous she looked with her head bandaged up so tightly. Nor did she care that her body was on display in a revealing swimsuit. The heat didn’t phase her, nor did her life threatening injuries. While Helga had to guide her, Su was able to walk unassisted to her location. It wasn’t hard to pick out the voice of the one she wanted to see.

“Mariette?” Su approached the portal witch. “You said you wanted to talk to me after the battle. I’m here now.” After examining her for a moment, it became obvious that something was wrong with Mariette. Her face looked pained, which was nothing Su had ever witnessed before. “Is something the matter?”

Mariette held fast as Hilaria told her Eli had been taken away. She thought back to what little she’d seen. The enemies present at the time… had only been the little samurai and the pink girl (MDP) over there. Except MDP was here now, so she couldn’t have been the one. There was only… Except, the samurai had been one of her allies on the other side? She was part of Crimson Cradle, and had even been given a key…

Then something spoke into her mind. Not that she knew, because all she heard was some vague words that happened to include “Eli”, “safe” and “Djinn Sisters”. Mariette spun around, visible eye wide, trying to find who had spoken, but only found Su, who had approached her. Indeed, Mariette looked a bit pained and quite frightened, hands on her chest. Su spoke to her, but…

‘I-I… I just… wanted to catch up… but Eli… someone took Eli, but…’ Mariette pants, looking past the bandaged Su for whoever could have spoken. After all, few here would know the connection between the Djinn Sisters and Mariette. They’d specifically avoided the connection for the sake of protecting them from the rest of Asengav’s champions. The ones that would know would be… those present in the restaurant that day. Su, Alexander, Lily… okay, then potentially anyone could know if they spoke… but if the samurai somehow knew the Djinn Sisters were their friends, then…

Mariette spun back to Hilaria. ‘Who was it that took her? How did they look?’ she asked, serious.

Helga was surprised by Mariette’s claim, and winced. “Oh, that’s bad. I didn’t even notice that she was gone by the time we ran out of there.” She turned to Su with a worried look on her face. “You have any idea what happened there, Su?”

“The last thing I remember was diving off the roof to stop Beacon’s advance. I didn’t see anything from the side of the mansion, or when you carried me away.” She looked to Hilaria.

"Hilaria saw her clearly~!" She exclaimed. "She was very small and cute with her little katana~!" she looked towards the frantic portal witch with a smile and pointed. "Hilaria thinks you should know the one~ Lillers went for the Hail Mariette straight towards her but she ignored it and went for Eli~"

“Hail Mariette? That’s a good one,” Helga commented with a giggle, and afterwards sheepishly smiled. “I think Hilaria’s referring to the little samurai girl. I wonder what her deal was?”

It was the small samurai. The one they call Ronin. That meant a member of Crimson Cradle had picked Eli up. Perhaps it had been a spur-of-the-moment thing seeing how Eli had been left behind and Overcity Shift? If so, Mariette needed to exit this dimension immediately… and just as she raised a hand to open a portal, she remembered that she couldn’t. Still, if she thought about it some more, why would Lily throw her at Ronin, then? If she knew Ronin was on their side, just saying it would have sufficed. She needed to talk to Lily…

‘… Thank you, Hilaria. For everything, today. If you ever need help with something, I owe it to you to help you,’ Mariette said, having calmed down… just a little. Hilaria nodded in response. More things were pointing to Eli being safe, now. She turned to Su and Helga.

‘The same goes for the two of you. Thank you, so much,’ she said, her intense distrust of Helga having lessened considerably now. She needed to go to the Djinn Sisters… but for some reason, she was afraid of going alone. Like, if it somehow had been a mental trap? But, she couldn’t take any of the Champions of Asengav to meet the Djinn Sisters, so… ‘… Would you two consider helping with one more thing for me? Back in Penrose. I… can’t talk about it here…’ she said, averting her gaze somewhat, highly aware of her information-girl-in-generic-appearance peering holes in her from only a slight distance. ‘Somewhere private, later?’

“That would be fine.” Su let out an exhausted sigh before looking at her phone. It still had Deni’s text message on it. “I need to get out of here myself.” She folded the phone shut. “We can meet up again at the Golden Trove. Just give me a moment to prepare a room for us.”

“Yeah, that won’t be a problem at all.” Helga also answered with a smile.

Hilaria frowned, seemingly dejected by all the talk of departure. She really wanted to eat a delicious meal with everyone but it looked as though she was going to be disappointed..

‘That’s fine. I have a few more things to take care of here. I’ll be there when I can,’ Mariette said, not mentioning that she actually literally couldn’t leave right now.

“That is acceptable. I should really get back to the hotel though.” Before departing, Su turned to Helga. “Helga, I understand you were one of Mika’s friends. I suppose a lot of people were, actually..” The hotel manager smiled. “I didn’t know how to react to her having switched patrons so suddenly, but I am glad she had you as a comrade. I don’t know if she will return to Penrose any time soon, but I hope you’ll look after her if she ever returns to Penrose.”

Helga took Su’s hand, and slightly rubbed her thumb on the back of her hand. “Of course, Su. When she’s ready to come home, there’s going to be lots of ice cream waiting for her.”

"Mika~? Hilaria has some unfinished business with her~!" Reaching into the depths of her bosom, Hilaria produced a bottle of sunscreen. "Hilaria will make sure she won't succumb to the sun's harmful rays when next she meets Mika~ You make sure to let Hilaria know when she comes back~!"

Su raised an eyebrow, but after some thought, she giggled. Her fingers coiled around Helga’s hand. “That sounds wonderful. I’ll be sure to send her over when she returns.”

Can You Call Yourself an Advanced Writer if You Only Write Female Characters? -Closed-

Writing from a bunch of different perspectives is great, and absolutely something everyone should do when they start out. It's a great way to find out what you truly enjoy playing, what works for you, what makes you stick with an RP the longest. I'll play both sexes, but there are certain types of characters I won't touch because I don't like writing exclusively from their point of view. Wouldn't you rather RP with someone who's writing a character they can play for years and years VS something they won't be as interested in a few weeks down the line?