Random tables with 4dF

[admiralducksauce]

I found this thread on rpg.net and wanted to share it.  Dude has a pretty neat setup for using the positive, negative, and neutral axes on a 4dF roll to make some random tables.

Note: I didn't come up with this, I'm just sharing the info with you guys.  It seems counter to FATE's narrative-based, you-all-agree-what-you-want initial impression, but I think there's plenty of room for some random charts in DFRPG.  Flavorful randomized spell trappings for NPC wizards when you don't have time to do a full writeup but you want something more than, "durr, they use... uh... fireballs... I guess."  If your group can't be arsed to do city creation all the way through you could generate the starting status quo of the major players and factions.  Plenty of uses here, from top-level to minutiae.

[EdgeOfDreams]

That's fascinating.  I like how it is more complex than just ranging from -4 to +4.  There's definitely scenarios in any game where the GM could use something like this to poke his brain into creativity.

[Bubba Amon Hotep]

I like this a lot.  I can see some home brew random charts filtering through my mind as I type.

[Blechpirat]

I like this a lot.  I can see some home brew random charts filtering through my mind as I type.

Don't forget to share.

[Mij]

It took me some time to get to the article (Firefox kept shutting down when I tried to click the link) but once I got there, I liked the idea.  I can see some uses for this -- particularly for us old folk who are used to more "D&Dish" systems.

BTW, I double-checked his math (since he said he wasn't sure) and he's fine.  The percentages are listed below, for those interested (please forgive the spacing, I wasn't in the mood to mess with the tags).

       0           +           +          +          +
0   1.23%    4.94%    7.41%    4.94%    1.23%
-   4.94%   14.81%   14.81%   4.94%   
-   7.41%   14.81%    7.41%      
-   4.94%    4.94%         
-   1.23%            

My group was discussing this during our session tonight, and we came up with the following for uses:

- Character Aspect generation, particularly for things like open play at a convention.  It helps to avoid people "just not knowing what to choose".
- Random events.  We discussed it in terms of "What if player X puts a CONFUSED aspect on character Y?  We could use a random action table to determine Y's actions each exchange until the effect wears off."
- Random scene aspects.  This is similar to our first point, and the original author's example table.

If I get around to actually generating any of these, I'll post them here.

Mij
[Edited for content and to correct table spacing]

[EldritchFire]

I also ran the numbers, and did it for 2dF, 3dF, and 4dF. You can find the spreadsheet here.

I have not only the percent chances, but also the odds, if you're interested.

-EF