In this Design & Development article, David Noonan writes:
So we decided to just codify what most DMs (and to a lesser extent players) have been doing for years. We rebuilt the damage expressions so that the dice accounted for about one-third of the output and the constant (the number after the plus) accounted for the remaining two thirds. And I rounded up to the next 5, just to make it look even simpler still.That's something you're going to see more from us in future products: rational dice expressions that assume you've got better ways to spend your time than doing a lot of arithmetic in your head. Yeah, we know it's fun for you to drop a big pile of twenty 6-siders on the table. But it's only fun the first time, and everyone else at the table is waiting for their turn while you're having fun with dice. The game flows better (and you get quicker gratification for your high-level effects) if you convert those unwieldy "20d6 points of damage" expressions to more rational "one-third dice, two-thirds constant" expressions.
Aside from the fact that you now have to rework Empower Spell, what do you think? A max-level fireball becomes 3d6+24 or 4d6+21, max-level cone of cold becomes 5d6+35.
On the one hand, it is certainly the case that most people count dice slowly. As a GM, I cringe inside when the wizard casts magic missile and rolls 1d4, adds one, says the total, rolls it again, adds one, adds it to the total and says it, and repeats two or three more times. Of course, my primary thought is bring more dice, but even with a full set of dice, it takes people a long time to calculate 4d4+4, let alone the pure ridiculousness of the current version of disintegrate (30d6 or so!).
But on the other, everybody loves it when your 10d6 fireball rolls 52, and it's dramatic when it fizzles with an 18. And I gotta think that 10d6 is simpler and easier to comprehend than 4d6+21 ("What? Why? ...OK, I roll 4d6 <count> 14 and add what again? 21? That makes 35? 35!") And as a GM, I've been annoyed by the new stat block formulation, which (among other things) forces all hit points to average. (Dragons don't get d12 hit dice; they get 6.5 hp per hit dice, plus Con bonus, doncha know.)
So I think I probably don't see a happy medium here. You might be able to make a case to do pure average with no random component, but, hey, average is boring; if I wanted boring, I wouldn't be playing games.
That sucks, IMNSHO. You're right - if everything is average, where's the randomness? It's cool to end up with monsters that look tough, but crit failed their HP rolls. It's cool to drop 10d6 on the table and be looking at tons of boxcars.
Of course, my Palm does all of my dice rolling for me now, so I don't need math...
Before that, I learned from another GM to print out a sheet full of random numbers - different dice sets for each sheet, and just cross off the used numbers. Makes it harder to fudge, because players could ask to see the sheets and make sure the crosses were in order, though how are they to know... ;-)
Your palm does the rolling???
Dude whats the fun in that?
Probably off the subject but my friend says he's got an awesome way to get up to 22 on one stat at LV 1. That aint possible but he says if I find it he'll give my 10$ so im looking.....HELP