When characters engage in a unique conflict, normal rules aren’t always sufficient. Even if the rules cover something like a tense, hours-long interrogation session, reducing it to a pair of random die rolls can feel cheap.
You can reduce that tense, hours-long interrogation session to a tense, minutes-long dice-stacking session.
A Dice-Off’s rules are simple.
1. Players gather a bunch of d6s (only dice with pips, not dice with numbers).
2. Whichever player rolls a 6 quickest goes first. Place a d6 with the 6 pips facing up within easy reach of the participants.
3. The first player rolls a d6 and places on top of the 6. (At least one whole pip from the top of the bottom die must be visible.)
4. The next player rolls a d6 and places it on top of the previous die. (At least one whole pip from the top of the die below must be visible.)
5. Repeat step 4 until one player knocks the stack over. That player is the loser.
6. For each face-up 5 or 6 among the fallen dice, the winner gains one asset from or advantage over the loser once normal play resumes.
Let the Dice-Off commence!
I wanted to create a system-neutral mechanic that gives players the feeling of a tense, one-on-one duel without depending wholly on a character’s statistics.