BOOM GO THE DICE!
Atomic Shadows RPG was designed with the Exploding Dice rule in mind. Every time you roll the maximum number on any dice, you roll it again and add to that number.
For example; let’s say you roll a d6 dice and get a 6, you roll again and get a 3, giving you a total of 9. If the second roll was also a 6, you roll that again, until you do not roll another 6.
If you roll maximum on a d20 when attacking, you gain the benefit of an additional damage dice.
If you are hit with a natural 20, your armour is damaged (suffering a -1 to AC) until repaired.
The Exploding Dice rule replaces the Critical Hit rule from the Shadowdark RPG, so you cannot benefit from both.
This rule applies to ALL rolls (with the exception of rolling for stats and numbered chart lists), for both players and GMs alike. Combat can be deadly very quickly on some lucky (or unlucky) rolls. This may heavily skew your outcomes and can create a lot of chaos and fun.
Hit points and healing can greatly benefit from this rule. In my groups we have had 1st level players with 3HP and one with 18 because of lucky rolls. Characters who use low damaging weapons like daggers can potentially do a lot of damage as a d4 with “explode” 25% of the time. On the flipside, 1d4 wandering monster encounter can suddenly turn into 14 Giant Fire Ants on some unlucky rolls for the player characters.
I run two different groups, with 2 different play styles, and the chaos that this can bring to any situation is crazy fun. A couple of lucky rolls and your low level character can one-shot a boss enemy – or that same character can be obliterated from a grenade exploding at their feet.
Of course, like all rules, you can choose to ignore it at your table. I strongly suggest trying it out for at least one full session though. We now use this rule for our Shadowdark games as well.
HAPPY ROLLING!
Raflar the Wanderer
