Prerolling dice?

[garhkal]

Who here pre-rolls any sort of dice for their SW games.. Whether its charting out a round or two of a large group of baddies for their shots/dodges against the pcs, secret 'spot checks' for the pcs to notice things when you don't want to ruin the moment by having them roll there and then, or for anything else?

If you do, what Do you pre-roll? How much?
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[Naaman]

Prerolling for PCs could be a problem if thd player wantsto spend a CP, but doesnt get a chance because he never got to roll (remember: CPs may be spent after the player sees his total... and by some readings of the rules, after he has been informed of a failure).

If the dice are prerolled, it may alter the wayCPs are spent. For example, if the preroll was a 27 and still failed, that would be different from a player's perspective of whether a CP is likely to yield a success than if the original roll was an 8.

Having said that, I have never prerolled, but I do see the value in it for large groups or events involving lots of NPCs.

[Bren]

I've done that in some systems, but except for prerolling the NPC vs NPC combat for a couple of big battles (one was a fleet action) I've never bothered with pre-rolling in D6. I can roll and add D6s pretty fast.

[Whill]

I never do prerolls for PC rolls because they roll all their own rolls live. I've done that for NPC rolls though to save time in big battles. I would just have pages of columns of each die value. As you use a preroll, you mark it off. Pips can be added as needed to the preroll. CPs aren't an issue because they can be live rolled on top of the preroll value.
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Star Wars D6 Damage

[garhkal]

[Ray]

My group set up a spreadsheet to do the rolls, way back when, for the big battles. Saved time and let the capital ships fire all their guns at last. But that was oh, so long ago...

[Bren]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

I don't do it as a general rule, but sometimes, when I'm setting up a game session, I may pre-roll some things.

As mentioned above, CPs make pre-rolling more difficult (but not impossible) to achieve fairly. I use First Edition, so I don't have to worry about CPs, though.

So, I may pre-roll a PER check to know, before the game starts, when a character gets to a certain part, whether he notices something.

For example, let's say I've got a nifty spider-creature clinging to the dark ceiling of a cave that I am sure the PCs will explore. I may pre-roll the PER check to see if the spider-creature is noticed as the PCs enter the cave.

Otherwise, calling for PER checks might tip off the players that there is something to notice, whether anyone succeeds or not. Pre-rolling allows the element of surprise to remain intact.

Players generally like to roll their own dice, though, so I strive to keep pre-rolls to a minimum.

[garhkal]

[Naaman]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

I've tried both of those methods above, and use them in games--the roll for nothing, and the list of pre-rolled dice by players.

I like pre-rolling myself, the few times that I do it, because it lends itself to descriptive narrative--the drama of the game.

I've never liked the pre-rolled lists. It's just cold. I don't think it flows. I find it awkward to use.

As for the phantom rolls, those don't always do the job. They say, "Hey, their might be something afoot!" Players still prick up their ears on these.

Plus, I'm Old School. Though I try not to, there's nothing wrong with the GM rolling dice for a PC.

[Whill]

I guess I misspoke. I do sometimes roll passive awareness Perception checks and the like for PCs when it is appropriate to do so. Those could be prerolls or live rolled. And I occasionally randomly roll dice behind my GM screen for no reason at all.
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[CRMcNeill]

These days, it'd be just as easy to get a dice rolling app for your cellphone, then turn the sound off. Most dice apps will do the math for you, and having it muted means no telltale dice-click.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[garhkal]