Exploding Dice

Phase 2 feature. When a die rolls its maximum value, it “explodes” — the value is kept and the die is rolled again. Additional rolls are added to the total. A die can explode multiple times.

Notation (Phase 2)

NotationDescription
3d6!Roll 3d6, explode on max (6)
3d6!5Explode on 5
3d6!>=5Explode on 5 or higher

Variants

  • Exploding (!): Each explosion adds a new roll. Can chain indefinitely.
  • Compounding (!!): Like exploding but additional rolls are summed into the original die’s result rather than shown separately. Used in Shadowrun, 7th Sea, L5R.
  • Penetrating (!p): Like exploding but each additional roll has -1 applied. Used in Hackmaster.

Note

The ! notation is free from collision with Crit Mechanics since crits use c/C.

See also: Notation Spec, Roadmap