Dice Issues

Hello!  This is my first time posting to the forums here, so please forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong place. I have been playing on roll20 for quite some time, and have DM'd a multitude of games, so I am by no means a novice.  Since starting up this new campaign, however, my players (and even myself) have noticed that a VAST majority of our rolls are 1s.  It's gotten to the point where we are all beginning to think that there may be something wrong.  Approx. every 3 to 4 rolls that are done (even by myself), a 1 will always show up. I realize that the rolls are supposed to be random, and this may just be the (un)luck of the dice, but simply due to the sheer multitude of 1's that have consistently been coming out, I am beginning to think something more is going on. Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks.

First, let's check to make sure that roll is not using any improper syntax that might result in the roll always returning "1". (e.g. /r 1 d20) Are you using a Character Sheet? If so, which are you using, and which roll are you attempting to make from it? If you're not using a Character Sheet, could you please post the relevant macro code?

Our group was thinking the same thing. A player rolled 4d6 6 times and had at least one 1 appear in each roll. Not a single 6 was rolled. He then started rolling some d20s messing around, four at a time, and a 1 appeared in each set of rolls (for like 5-6 rolls). Then I (the DM) started rolling and I was getting 20s, and other players starting rolling and got 6's and 20's all over, and occasional 1s.  We decided to call off the session partly due to this possible issue, as rolling a natural 1 on d20 in my campaign can be detrimental to a character. The players didn't want to take a chance using buggy dice. I'm hoping that the 1s you and my players saw is a huge fluke and just bad luck. But let's see if anyone else complains.  Edit: I personally didn't see an issue..all our rolls were manual /r rolls. Perhaps your issue is with a buggy macro or character sheet like Silvyre is suggesting. 

Barry Z. said: Edit: I personally didn't see an issue..all our rolls were manual /r rolls. Perhaps your issue is with a buggy macro or character sheet like Silvyre is suggesting. Right; in your situation, I would encourage you and your group to check out the QuantumRoll page of the Roll20 Wiki. QuantumRoll is actually more random than physical dice . Here are some further discussions and readings on this topic that you and your group may find useful: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/63487/from-the-source-roll20-rng-testing" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/63487/from-the-source-roll20-rng-testing</a> <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4517173/skewed-dice/?pageforid=4517352#post-4517352" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4517173/skewed-dice/?pageforid=4517352#post-4517352</a> <a href="http://cocosci.berkeley.edu/tom/papers/hard.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://cocosci.berkeley.edu/tom/papers/hard.pdf</a>

Silvyre said: First, let's check to make sure that roll is not using any improper syntax that might result in the roll always returning "1". (e.g. /r 1 d20) Are you using a Character Sheet? If so, which are you using, and which roll are you attempting to make from it? If you're not using a Character Sheet, could you please post the relevant macro code? We are using the Pathfinder Character Sheets.&nbsp; The 1's are being rolled with just about everything.&nbsp; From skill checks to attack rolls, we kept getting them this evening.&nbsp; I counted 17 natural 1's tonight, and rarely did players get many rolls above a 12.&nbsp; The frustration was felt by everyone, including me. I should note that this did start yesterday as well, during our first game.&nbsp; I went back to count total how many 1's we've had, and it's well into the twenties at this point.&nbsp; Also, to follow up on what Barry said, when my players rolled 4d6's as well, there was a ton of 1's that showed up in each roll.&nbsp; Exactly the same! We ended up fumbling our way through things this evening, but eventually, we did call things off earlier than usual, since the vast consistency of 1's was far beyond chance or balance, in our opinion.&nbsp; The players were definitely annoyed.&nbsp; Bad luck, perhaps?&nbsp; But for two days in a row, it seems very... Unlikely at this point. Edit: Typos

For what's it's worth, our group of 3 players and one GM had 42 , 1's rolled in last night's 3hr session...

[DM]ightyMaddie said: We ended up fumbling our way through things this evening, but eventually, we did call things off earlier than usual, since the vast consistency of 1's was far beyond chance or balance, in our opinion.&nbsp; The players were definitely annoyed.&nbsp; Bad luck, perhaps?&nbsp; But for two days in a row, it seems very... Unlikely at this point. You can check the dice engine yourself: /gr {999d20}=1 This will roll 999 d20 (the engine limits rolls to 999, I believe) and will count the 1s. You should get a result around 50 (1/20th of 999), plus or take. Repeat this a couple of times if you really want to be sure.

[DM]ightyMaddie said: Silvyre said: First, let's check to make sure that roll is not using any improper syntax that might result in the roll always returning "1". (e.g. /r 1 d20) Are you using a Character Sheet? If so, which are you using, and which roll are you attempting to make from it? If you're not using a Character Sheet, could you please post the relevant macro code? We are using the Pathfinder Character Sheets.&nbsp; The 1's are being rolled with just about everything.&nbsp; From skill checks to attack rolls, we kept getting them this evening.&nbsp; I counted 17 natural 1's tonight, and rarely did players get many rolls above a 12.&nbsp; The frustration was felt by everyone, including me. I should note that this did start yesterday as well, during our first game.&nbsp; I went back to count total how many 1's we've had, and it's well into the twenties at this point.&nbsp; Also, to follow up on what Barry said, when my players rolled 4d6's as well, there was a ton of 1's that showed up in each roll.&nbsp; Exactly the same! We ended up fumbling our way through things this evening, but eventually, we did call things off earlier than usual, since the vast consistency of 1's was far beyond chance or balance, in our opinion.&nbsp; The players were definitely annoyed.&nbsp; Bad luck, perhaps?&nbsp; But for two days in a row, it seems very... Unlikely at this point. Edit: Typos It sounds like you had a similar experience to Barry Z. : "bad luck".&nbsp; I would likewise encourage you and your players to check out the discussions and readings linked in my last post; they can be insightful regarding how the QuantumRoll system works and how the human mind can erroneously attribute patterns to randomness. The QuantumRoll Status page displays the last few hundred thousand d20 roll results; you can see that, at any given time, the average roll is very close to the expected value of 10.5. Arthur B 's suggestion might also be a fun test to help dispel any superstitions about the QuantumRoll system. My recommendation is using the roll he posted after your group perceives a slew of "bad" or "good" luck; this might help "break the pattern" and ensure you can continue your session.

Silvyre said: Arthur B 's suggestion might also be a fun test to help dispel any superstitions about the QuantumRoll system. My recommendation is using the roll he posted after your group perceives a slew of "bad" or "good" luck; this might help "break the pattern" and ensure you can continue your session. I'd even suggest to change it from `/gr` to `/r`, so the players can see the results as well. /r {999d20}=1