Percentile Die Woes
Percentile Die Woes
I hope this doesn't come across as too stupid a question but I have a percentile die and I don't really know how to use it! It's a twenty-sided die numbered 0 - 9 and +0 - +9 with the + numbers indicating the tens. My problem is what happens if, for example, I roll a +8 followed by a +4. That gives me 120 and surely that can't be right? I've done a Google search on the issue but nobody seems to use the die that I do; everyone seems to roll percentages using two D10s. Whilst that method s straightforward enough, it seems a shame to have a dedicated die and not be able to use it.
- Joël of the FoS
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Re: Percentile Die Woes
- Just take the last number, ignore the tens. A roll of 4 is 4, a roll of 14 is 4.
- the first roll is the tens.
- the second roll is the units.
So your roll of 8 and 4 would be 84%.
- a roll of 10 or 20 +x gives a result of 1%, 2%, 3%...9% and 0 + 0 = 100 %
- ex: 10 (or 20) + 5 = 5 %
- the first roll is the tens.
- the second roll is the units.
So your roll of 8 and 4 would be 84%.
- a roll of 10 or 20 +x gives a result of 1%, 2%, 3%...9% and 0 + 0 = 100 %
- ex: 10 (or 20) + 5 = 5 %
"A full set of (game) rules is so massively complicated that the only time they were all bound together in a single volume, they underwent gravitational collapse and became a black hole" (Adams)
- Wolfglide of the Fraternity
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Re: Percentile Die Woes
I have been hunting around a bit, and from what I can tell, the idea of the numbering is to cut the different results in half, thus making a d20 more like a d10. It is the same logic which allows people to use a d6 as a d3 or a d4 as a d2.
I don't know why there would be a tens vs. ones place differentiation on a single die. If I were using a single percentile d20, I would roll once for the tens place, then once for the ones, disregarding whether or not there is a plus sign on the face.
I usually just roll a pair of d10s, but I do have a 100-sided die. It looks like a golf ball, sounds like a maraca, and is less convenient to roll, but it is fun to have.
I don't know why there would be a tens vs. ones place differentiation on a single die. If I were using a single percentile d20, I would roll once for the tens place, then once for the ones, disregarding whether or not there is a plus sign on the face.
I usually just roll a pair of d10s, but I do have a 100-sided die. It looks like a golf ball, sounds like a maraca, and is less convenient to roll, but it is fun to have.
Re: Percentile Die Woes
Many thanks. Having only recently resurrected my gaming activity, it seems that I'd forgotten a lot of what I knew twenty years ago! Consequently, my attempts to tell my players how to roll a percentage were somewhat lacking!
Sounds like I'm better off not using the percentile die as it's not really fit for purpose if I have to treat it the same way as I would if rolling two D10s. It's nice to look at, though; it's one of those crystal-effect dice where the numbers are indented into the sides and you have to use a special type of pen to colour them in.
Sounds like I'm better off not using the percentile die as it's not really fit for purpose if I have to treat it the same way as I would if rolling two D10s. It's nice to look at, though; it's one of those crystal-effect dice where the numbers are indented into the sides and you have to use a special type of pen to colour them in.
Re: Percentile Die Woes
The best use of a d100 is for the cat to play with so they don't decide to go after the other dice.
Re: Percentile Die Woes
Amen to that. It also takes at least 15 mins before it stops on a number LOLBrandi wrote:The best use of a d100 is for the cat to play with so they don't decide to go after the other dice.
- Zilfer
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Re: Percentile Die Woes
*literally watches his own cat playing with his dies across the way*
I hear you there....
I hear you there....
Re: Percentile Die Woes
Would it be too pedantic of me to point out that the plural of die is dice?Zilfer wrote:*literally watches his own cat playing with his dies across the way*
- Wolfglide of the Fraternity
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Re: Percentile Die Woes
I appreciate it when others make corrections, because I really have to suppress myself when grammar issues arise.
Re: Percentile Die Woes
I didn't want to appear a jerk, hence the smiley face. Usually people commit the error of saying "dice" when they mean "die" so at least Zilfer's error was unique!Wolfglide wrote:I appreciate it when others make corrections, because I really have to suppress myself when grammar issues arise.