Types of Rolls in TTRPG

As one would assume, LIFE happened, so I have not blogged for a while. Well, I did have some ideas for blog posts, but LIFE made opportunity attacks. Lots of opportunity attacks. 

I have been dipping in and out of TTRPG news and updates, mostly on twitter, sometimes on discord channels, so I've had a couple ideas or so. This one is from my 2023 drafts, while I was working on Tampalasan/Grip RPG (will have an update on that one soon-ish). Some musings about types of rolls.

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my dice pool at the moment, ready to roll out

As a system-hopping DIY RPG person, I get to tackle different mechanics from different games. And almost all games involve rolling the dice, in and out of session. And I honed in to the rolls within gameplay or session, not on character creation nor GM prep. Once I found the similarities and nuances, I got to categorize them. Here are 5 types of rolls, and some examples per entry:

1. SAVES - the quintessential roll. A moment in time, usually a reaction to an impending danger, hoping to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the effect. The GM will tell players to make this roll when GM declares the danger coming. The target number to beat is often static, derived from a stat or from a class-dictated number. There is often just a pass or fail, but some games might have degrees of success/failure (critical rolls, partial success, etc.)

Examples:

• The classis Saves from older D&D editions - Death/Poison, Wands, Stone/Petrification, Breath, Spells
• D&D 3.5, and Pathfinder Saves - Fortitude, Reflex, Will 
• D&D 5E and a lot of Knave- and Into the Odd-based games use Stat-based Saves. Most use the classis 6 stats (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA) or 3 stats (STR, DEX, CHA), but some use alternatives and derivatives of those. 
• Arguably, Dungeon World and other DW-based games' Defy Danger Move is a save, which appears in different versions depending on the game. The move itself is flexible in that it doesn't just save from an incoming danger but can be a save from a possibly bad position in fiction.
• Blade in the Dark and other FitD games' Resistance Roll, which appears in different versions depending on the FitD game. This roll is to negate or reduce the consequence that is already established from a prior roll or effect, turning it to Stress.
• Save-based "Initiative" Rolls - The danger is the encounter, and you roll to "save" against opponents acting before you or your team. They often simplify this with a DEX save (or a similar speed-related Stat, sometimes a smarts-related one). There are some differences in playing it out per game. Here are some examples: 
• In Cairn 2E, at the first round of combat, each PC makes a DEX save to act on the 1st round. Those who fail won't be able to act at all on 1st round. All PCs then act first during the 2nd turn. The initiative order is the same (PCs first) each round until encounter ends.
• In Black Hack 2E, before the first round, each PC make a DEX save. Successful PCs act before opponents. Failed PCs still act on the first round, but after opponents. This is rerolled every start of the round.
• In Into the Odd, before the first round, one PC makes a DEX save for the whole group. Success means the whole PC group acts first before opponents, failure means opponents act first. Every round, this sequence will be followed until end of encounter.
• MÖRK BORG's Defense Roll. It is essentially a Save vs Attacks, since MÖRK BORG has an "Only Players Roll" design philosophy.
• A special case is for Mothership 1E's Panic Check, which is both a Save and an Effect Roll (see #3 Entry). When the situation calls for it, a PC rolls 1d20 and attempts to roll greater than current Stress. On a success, nothing happens. On a failure, you match the result of the roll to the 1d20 Panic Effect table. Only one result is beneficial, which is natural 1 result. The higher the result, the more intense psychological condition the PC suffers.

2. TESTS - the other quintessential roll. A roll made when action is uncertain, risky, or simply dramatic. The big difference between TESTS and SAVES is timing: TESTS are actively chosen by characters, to bring about an effect when hit or miss is confirmed, while SAVES are reactionary, made to survive a danger, minimizing or negating the effect about to receive.

Time is often around 6 to 10 seconds, depending on the game, and is usually made during danger or combat. There is a clear picture of the action in everyone in the table's mind, but there are factors in the situation that we cannot simply say the action is impossible or trivial. The target number to beat is static, often derived from a stat- or a class-dictated number, modified by difficulties or scale.

Examples:

• The ability or skill rolls of various systems - a player acts on the situation, and there's chance it will fail or there are degrees of success. Use the appropriate Stat, Skill, or a combination of both, and modifiers and penalties are applied before the roll, coming from competence or circumstances.
• The binary attack roll - a character inflicts violence on another character, and opposition is aware of the attack. This is often just a hit or a miss roll. 
• In most d20-based games, the target number is often called AC (Armor Class). The modifiers may come from relevant Stat, or a dedicated Attack modifier from class features.
• The magic/tech/miracle/power/psychic roll - a character using supernatural power source - Divine, Arcane, Nature, Psionic, Technomagic, etc - in the middle of combat, usually an offensive or harmful effect. The nature of the roll varies from game genre and tone. Here are some notable examples:
• In Dungeon Crawl Classics, a spellcasting roll (1d20 + relevant modifiers) fails often when result is 11 or lower and rolling 12 or higher is a success. Rolling higher in casting a spell creates a more potent and powerful version of the spell. 
• In Dark Streets & Darker Secrets, the Gifted (a power using class) can make a Willpower test to use their Powers, which is a roll under, but high roll. If they succeed, the spell happens. Rolling over the TN (based on Willpower score) just means the spell fizzles, but rolling below the Difficulty (based on Power Level) means the spell backlashes (a magic mishap).

3. EFFECT ROLLS - As it says on the tin. The roll after characters made their tests or saves, and determining the impact or consequence of the preceding roll. It is also a roll when a triggering effect or state happens, and a new effect is presented. There is no target number, nor a pass or fail roll, just degrees of the effect. There is often a chart or table to match the result of the roll vs the effect.

Examples:

• The damage roll in most games with HP or similar health mechanic. From d4s to d12s, or a combination of those polyhedrals, modified by relevant Stats, we get to know how much damage is inflicted to the opposition. 
• A special mention to Into the Odd's "attack". As long as attack is possible, ItO attacks always hit, and you roll your damage die to determine damage inflicted.
• Another special case is Troika's damage chart. Instead of using the d6 roll result as damage, you check the weapon or spell chart to match the roll result to the actual damage dealt. It makes interesting nuances between weapon types and spell effects.
• The "heal" roll, the anti-thesis of damage roll. As it says on the tin, the amount rolled is the amount added to the HP or similar health mechanic, or even Stat loss. This is often as part of a healing effect or a resting mechanic. Here are some notable examples: 
• In Mausritter, you roll 1d6+1 HP on a short rest, and 1d6 to restore Stat damage on a long rest.
• In The Nightmares Underneath 2E, Disposition (the HP mechanic) behaves less like a health bar that is filled up, and more like a shield or buffer before getting wounds or injuries. When you get a good rest, you roll your HD (a class-based dice, ranging from d4 to d10) twice, and gain that amount of Disposition. On a bad rest - poor sleeping condition, being sick, festering wounds, etc - you instead roll your HD once. If the roll result is lower than your level, you use your level as Disposition value for that day instead.
• Spell Mishaps - games that have magic as strong but unpredictable power source will have these. Often happens when failing a spell roll, or an overuse of magic source. Here are some notable examples:
• In Dungeon Crawl Classics, rolling a 1 from a d20 on your spell check often results in Corruption or Misfire, or both. There is a generic Corruption (minor, major, greater) table and Misfire table, but a spell in DCC may have their own tables for these mishaps. Corruption mutates the caster's different body parts, while Misfire throws a vexatious spell effect. Rolling low on these tables gives harsher, more terrible effects.
• Forbidden Lands have special d6s with [skull] icons on it. Rolling 1 or [skull] on your spellcasting roll will incur a Magic Mishap, a d66 table. The original spell will still fire, but the Magic Mishap will give additional troublesome effects, from making you Hungry or Thirsty, to summoning a demon from another dimension. 
• A bit harsher version is on Five Torches Deep. Mishaps happen on spellcasting failures, instead of rolling a specific die face or result from previous examples. When a zealot or mage fail their spellcasting roll (1d20 roll vs DC 10+spell level), the spell fizzles, they can no longer cast a spell of the same level until they make a safe rest, and they roll on a 1d20 Magical Mishap table. Effects range from dealing self-damage or condition to emitting a flashy or dangerous spell effect.
• Wounds and Injury tables - often triggered when HP or similar mechanic drops to 0 or lower. These wounds vary from getting dizzy to outright mutilation, with grittier games leaning on the latter. Here are some notable examples:
• In Mothership 1E, when your Health turns to 0, you gain a Wound and roll 1d10 on their table. The wound you take depends on the type of damage that brought you to 0 Health, indicated in the weapon attack or as the Warden (their GM) chooses. Gaining a Wound this way would refresh your Health back to 10, assuming you are still alive. But you can only accumulate a certain number of Wounds.
• In Best Left Buried: Deeper Edition, they implement Injury a bit loosely, but the effect can be deadly. You can get an Injury when fiction dictates, from taking severe combat damage or a failed Stat roll. You can also voluntarily get an injury to reset your Grip (their mana/power point mechanic). Injury table is a d36 (a d3 and d6), aiming to roll high. The injury can be nothing at all, to losing permanent Stat score, to outright dying. There is no prescribed limit to Injuries you can receive.
• In BREAK!! RPG, when an attack reduces your Heart to 0, you roll d20 Injury table. The first time you are hit, you get a light Injury, 2nd time is severe Injury, and 3rd is critical Injury. These are all mapped on the same Injury table, where effects range from simply losing a turn from a shock to dying in a gruesome way. Light Injury Roll has a higher chance of getting non-detrimental injuries, while Critical Injury Roll has a higher chance of limb severance and death effects. Each Injury Roll result is either non-detrimental effects (Shock) or escalates on itself when rolled again (Severed) so Injury may happen many times.
• A neat case for Cairn 2E. In this game, HP is just a soak for damage before getting Strength Stat damage, which means the attack deals physical wounds. But if an instance of damage would reduce your HP to exactly 0 HP, you will gain a Scar. Unlike previous examples, you don't make a new roll for this, and instead you will check a table and gain a Scar based on the amount of HP lost from the triggering damage. This will have a detrimental physical effect, but it may give a boon to either HP or a specified Stat. This table invokes no new roll, but piles on the effect of the preceding damage roll made.

4. MONTAGES - These are roll made when characters make an uncertain or risky series of actions and the opposition or other involved characters or factions' actions or reactions against them are also brought out in the resulting roll. The actual time that passed thru this roll can vary, from one afternoon to years of planning, hence the name.

Unlike TESTS, there are a lot of factors with varying strength against the characters' original intent of the roll, that it helps the people in the session to find out the result via roll and fill out the gaps of the story thru conversation instead, rather than playing out every scene or beat on this action or plan. This roll also assume that the roll result considers the actions and impacts made  the opposition or involved characters as well.

Examples:

• Downtime Activities that requires a roll in most adventure games fall into this. From carousing to socializing to building institutions, the game would indicate an estimated duration, monetary cost, and other requirements for such activities. Quality of requirements would often play a part on the effect of the roll. Here are some notable examples:
• In Errant RPG, you can spend money to do Conspicuous Consumption and waste your troubles away - this is important as spending money = XP in this game. When you spend over your budget and failed a save against a creditor, you will roll on a d20 table of social and physical mishaps, ranging from getting beaten, robbed, diseased to making a fool of yourself to an important faction or NPC.
• In Lancer, you can Buy Some Time to stave off reckoning from a previous mission or an ongoing one or allow your team to get more opportunities for Reserves (a resource for missions). You present your plan to the table and make a 1d20 roll. Success means you were effective, and failure means you have to deal with the problem. The details are vague in the success and failed results, allowing players and GM to flesh it out, fueling other downtime actions in the process.
• Majority of Blades in the Dark's and FiTD games' rolls fall into this. They call it in the main book "Double-Duty Rolls" (page 23 of BitD), since players roll for both the action of the PC and any NPCs involved. A typical structure of rolls is that a pass means PC succeeds on their action, and a failure means the opposing NPC succeeds on theirs. Here are some examples:
• In Blade in the Dark, Engagement Roll functions both as an initiative roll for the players, as well as painting the starting scene of the heist. Like how TV shows and movies fast forward the main characters to the middle of a scenario, the Engagement Roll dictates if the PCs are already in place, ready to spring into action, or if the one of the PC's positions has been compromised and needs back up immediately.
• In Slugblaster, Doing Stuff is a catch-all mechanic for... doing stuff. You roll your action die, 1d6, then modify it when you Boost, Kick or Dare, or having relevant Playbook abilities. Success is straightforward, but failure means GM presents problems thru Snag - a complication of the situation, putting you in a bad position - or a Slam - an opposition or environment directly harms your body, mind, spirit, or gear.
• Due to the nature of the PbtA system, most Apocalypse World's and PbtA games' rolls fall into this. When you fail an AW move (rolling 6 or lower on 2d6), unless the triggering Move says otherwise, the Master of Ceremonies (their GM) makes an MC Move, which are detrimental scenarios or positions for the acting PC. This may also happen in partial successes of some Moves. Aptly titled in the AW book, Moves Snowball. 

5. CHECKS or QUANTUM OGRE ROLLS - A fact or status check, or a "does this exist/happen or not" roll. A randomized way to create shape and color to the current situation. Usually a GM makes these rolls, but there are specific instances when players make these as well. This is often more than a pass or fail roll, but a table of results to check from the roll result.

A distinction of Checks versus other types is that this roll is not affected by competence-based bonuses or advantages from characters. This also often overlaps with other roll types, as it can be triggered from situations or effects resulted from other rolls.

Examples:

• Any content generating rolls in every TTRPG book, GM guide, and adventures that GMs will roll during a session. "What's the loot in this corpse" table, "NPC Generator" table, etc.
• The Random Encounter Roll or Wandering Monster roll, popularized by older D&D games, shows up in a lot of fantasy adventure games. The effects and result brackets vary from game to game, but it is always rolled when venturing thru dungeons or wilderness. There are 2 facets of it:
• The first roll the GM makes is to check if an encounter happens. Rolling high usually means nothing happens, or an indication of time passing, usually expending of torch or another resource. Middle roll results often are clues or omens of an incoming encounter, which allows PCs to veer into it, or avoid it completely. Rolling low means a bad position to the encounter - monsters ambush, rocks fall, traps triggered.
• When something or someone is encountered, an adventure often has a separate table of what the likely creatures the PCs have encountered are. The dice to roll and the creatures will depend on the adventure itself. See examples in Sky Blind Spire (1d6 creature table) and The Primeval Holt of the Elk Lord (1d12 random encounters).
• Reaction Rolls - another mechanic from older D&D games, that show up in fantasy adventure games. When PCs encounter a creature and the GM is unsure of the new creatures' disposition, a reaction roll is made. Depending on the game, rolling high means they are friendly or fearful of the PCs, and rolling low means they are hostile or suspicious of the PCs.
• A special case of this is Troika's Mien table for monsters. Rather than a universal reaction table, each monster entry has their own demeanor or agenda table that GM can use. It also informs the GM the potential behavior of the creature at different circumstances.
• Morale Checks - also from older D&D games, that mainly used now by action-leaning dark fantasy games. This is indicator of how valiant a creature would fight against unfavorable odds. This is mostly a GM roll and vary from game to game how it is implemented. Here are some examples:
• In MÖRK BORG, each monster entry has a Morale score. When the situation calls for it, GM rolls 2d6 vs Morale Score. Rolling above it makes the monster demoralized, either fleeing or surrendering to the PCs.
• In Vaults of Vaarn, the Morale score is instead added to a 1d20 roll vs DC16, roll high. Failure means NPC flee, hides, or parley.
• An interesting version is the Check Morale move in Freebooters on the Frontier 2E. The first time you reduce an enemy's headcount or HP total to less than half of its original value, roll unmodified 2d6. Rolling 10 or higher means enemies flee or surrender, and a 6 or lower means they fight to the death.
• A misnomer is the modern Death Saving Throw in games, or "Status Check when Dying" rolls, which is a Check to see if a PC is alive or not. There are versions of it that includes either a constitution-related or luck-related Stat to the roll, but ultimately it is a "Are you dead yet" check each time. Here are some notable versions of it: 
• Pathfinder 2E's Recovery Checks when Dying. You roll at the start of your turn, rolling an unmodified 1d20 vs DC 10+Dying Value (a status score). Success means you reduce your Dying Value. Failure means you increase it. Having a Dying Value 4 means you died.
• In Shadow of the Demon Lord, the roll is simple but brutal. When you are dying, make a Fate Roll (unmodified d6) at the end of the round. On a 6, you are disabled, which means you have a small chance of recovery. On a 1, you die. 
• A blues-fueled version of it is in Orbital Blues. When your Heart (HP mechanic) reaches 0, you roll 1d6. When you roll equal or below the number of your Troubles (a summation of PC's past regrets, misdeeds, or vices - a narrative mechanic), your inner demons have finally caught up to you. You will die in this encounter, but you may do a Swansong (a final moment of awesome) before going down. When you roll above it, you go Knocking on Heaven's Door (a sad space cowboy way to recover), relying on your companion's help to survive. This is also a trigger to open up and share to your group, increasing your Troubles.
• Usage Die is tricky. It is technically a status check - how much do you have, how long will it last - but in a form of a Save and a countdown of sort. Some games demote the die size in 1-3 results, and some in 1-2 results. But it is a Check.
• D&D Initiative Rolls, or "Everyone rolls, and we track the results and put them in a line" is also a tricky one. It is a status check of sort, how each involved character acts in a scenario, but the rolls themselves don't affect the fiction, it's more for the players and GM to know their sequence. But I'd put it here.

You will notice that these are not hard lines of categorization as I've shown some examples that overlaps between multiple roll types. I've made this to dissect and organize the roll mechanics and understand better how games flow from system to system.

If you think there's a roll in a TTRPG you know that doesn't really fit in here, let me know so I can tie it and D&D Initiative Rolls together in a bundle of weird stuff we do in TTRPGs.