In the limited number of references to the 6E's Wild Die, it is usually couched with language such as "but" or "imposed," as if it was a negative modifier. After all, while it does give a boon of +3 hits when it hits, there's the smaller risk of forfeiting all your 5s if it comes up 1. But, looking at things in the long run, what does the wild die's bonus actually look like?
OVERALL: It's a buff. A
really strong buff. So long as you're rolling more than 5 dice and less than 30, the wild die is - on average - a net gain. And, if you're rolling a test that is immune to glitching like, say, a Damage Resistance test of BOD, the wild die is a
massive bonus.
The full data table is at the end of this album, but the important part is the hit
distribution:
Link HereData assembled using a Monte Carlo simulation of dice rolls for varying dicepool sizes. Each dicepool size simulated 100,000 rolls: 50,000 normal rolls, 50,000 with the wild die imposed. If a wild die was present, the simulation rolled that first in order to determine whether it should count 5s as hits in future rolls. I am currently working on a modification to demonstrate how selective Edge application can further skew the results.
GENERAL FINDINGS:- The Wild Die flattens the curve of hit distribution, which increases the occurrence of lower-than-average rolls, but this is offset by the increase in higher-than-average rolls.
- For dicepools of N>6, the Wild Die can be generalized as a +5 dicepool modifier, with potency dropping as dicepool increases
- For dicepools N>30, the Wild Die becomes a debuff due to the increased occurrence of 5s that can be removed
- Damage Resistance tests universally benefit from the Wild Die, as with only 6 dice to work with the impact of losing all your 5s is reduced, and there's no risk of glitching.
SUPER FUN INTERACTIONS:- 6E edge actions basically neutralize the risk of the Wild Die. For 1 edge, you can reroll any die; reroll a Wild Die for a 1/3 chance of a hit and 1/6 chance of a 1. Or, if you need to be certain of neutralizing a bad Wild Die, for 2 edge you can increase the result of any die by 1 - useful for preventing glitches and, in this case, wild shenanigans.
- There is literally no reason not to roll a wild die if you're only rolling 1 die, though the circumstances of that ever happening are pretty much nil. Might make for a fun thematic build, where a 2 Agility character is using one of the Firing Squad weapons that impose a wild die without skill in that weapon type.
- The ToughWeave armor modification makes literal street clothes superior to MilSpec.
To explain that last one: ToughWeave is a new armor mod from Firing Squad. It's $15k per rating, but each level of rating confers a flat -1DV to all incoming attacks, "
but" imposes the wild die. But, as the math shows, using the wild die for Damage Resistance is a
huge buff. So, let's slap some ToughWeave on Armor Clothing (DR +2, Capacity 4, $500) - y'know, that stuff you give to randomly-generated mooks because it's worthless? So, we have some clothes with the following stat block: [DR +2, Social -, Capacity 1, Avail 9(I), Cost $15,500]. Compare this to Light MilSpec armor: [DR +8, Social -6, Capacity 10, Avail 9(I), $17,000].
DR is pretty much worthless for benefiting
your defense rolls ("It keeps attackers from getting Edge!" Yeah, that doesn't help you when you've already been shot), and unless the attacker is explicitly trying to do so you'll never
gain Edge on a defense roll. So, the that DR difference can be considered irrelevant. MilSpec
does have a leg up on internal capacity - theoretically, you could stack ToughWeave on MilSpec, but that would be massively cost prohibitive. However, give how most armor mods are against environmental damage, you can probably get away with skimping - especially if the table permits stacking armor mods (i.e. "I'm not getting a DR bonus from my lined coat, but it does give me a fireproof outer layer!"). YMMV on that one. Availability is equal. The armored clothes are $1,500
cheaper. Finally, the clothes won't penalize you in social interactions. Oh and, bonus, the book doesn't tell the GM to TPK you for daring to wear ToughWeave like it does with MilSpec.
So, stat-for-stat, all MilSpec has going for it is capacity. Once we actually get to dicerolls, the Wild Die gets to play - the performance difference between MilSpec and our Tough Clothes literally becomes the dicepool charts from the visualization posted above. Tough Clothes win. The difference is even more pronounced if you use Vashon Island style suits - those make up the DR difference (if you think it matters), provide extra capacity (want ToughWeave Rating
2?), and even better social buffs.
