Earthdawn 4E: Rules Variant 28 — Step Table Plus

This is the twenty-eighth Rules Variant, part of an ongoing series about Earthdawn Fourth Edition. Introduction and Index.

Everything contained here is the work of a fan and not associated with FASA Games.

For all the elegance and utility of the Step table, it's not the easiest to become fluent with because this means memorizing how Steps translate to dice types and the pattern. This is also based on the edition for the exact version of the table:

• 1E, 2E, and Classic have a 22 Step pattern (it's like an 11 Step pattern alterrnating D20 and D10+D8 — which is still 22 Steps), which isn't very helpful in terms of what a repeating pattern brings to the table
• 3E has a seven Step pattern based around the D12 — every multiple of 7 adds another D12
• 4E has an eleven Step pattern based around the D20 which starts at Step 19 when the first D20 is introduced

There are arguable advantages for each — do you have access to nearly limitless D12s in your area? Do prefer only needing two full sets of dice? Are you super into looking at charts? — but this is and attempt to create a Step table that addresses a few concerns, though not without sacrifices.

The first point is to include the D20 because I detest fistfulls of D12s (I depleted all loose D12s in my area for a period of time because of an Everlasting game I was running at the time). Also, that table already exists, nothing to innovate on there. A complaint about the D20 is the variability and our selective memory bias where we only recall it rolling poorly, thus it always behaves that way. It doesn't. If you think that, you're objectively wrong. Human, but wrong. Which is also human. We'll get back to this.

The next part is an easy to remember pattern. Base 10 patterns are the easiest for us to remember. However, a D20 is Step 11. Which presents a problem. The current (4E) Step table delays implementation of the D20 until there are three dice to help alleviate the distribution of results issues from Step 14 in the 1E table (D20+D4) when it's first introduced. These specific issues are the high variance of results compared to previous Steps due to the mismatched dice sizes. Adding a third die to the Step minimizes this variance and provides a more normal distribution of results.

To have these shifts at multiples of 10 to make remembering them easier, this means shifting when the D20 is introduced from Step 19 to Step 20 and treating the D20 as Step 10. This is the sacrifice as the expected result once a D20 is introduced increases by 1 over the Step number. The mathematical elegance dies a little at the altar of accessibility. What some may see as a side benefit is this means there's an inherent benefit to getting access to a D20 and accepting the increased variance it brings (which is both good and bad) as opposed to incorrectly viewing it as only a net negative because of bias.

The actual effect of providing a slight benefit from modifying the D20 to be treated as Step 10 is likely minimal. However, minimal isn't none. Also, this modification benefits players as much as their opposition, so it's essentially a net neutral change in those terms and only affects games which regularly see Step 20+; these are typically reserved for damage Steps or high Circle games.

With that preamble, here is the Step Table Plus:

1. D4-2
2. D4-1
3. D4
4. D6
5. D8
6. D10
7. D12
8. 2D6
9. D8+D6
10. 2D8
11. D10+D8
12. 2D10
13. D12+D10
14. 2D12
15. D12+2D6
16. D12+D8+D6
17. D12+2D8
18. D12+D10+D8
19. D12+2D10
20. D20+2D8
21. D20+D10+D8
22. D20+2D10
23. D20+D12+D10
24. D20+2D12
25. D20+D12+2D6
26. D20+D12+D8+D6
27. D20+D12+2D8
28. D20+D12+D10+D8
29. D20+D12+2D10
30. 2D20+2D8
31. 2D20+D10+D8
32. ...

As you can see, Step 10 through 19 represent a repeating pattern where a D20 is added at each multiple of 10 starting at Step 20. It's a relatively simple progression which only needs two full sets of dice until Step 40 when three D20s are required. While many gamers have lots of dice or are using dice roller applications, this is a little detail that's important to me to make playing more accessible to more players.