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11 The D20 dice system is the dialogue and decision layer of Rewinding Cadence. When the player picks a high-stakes option in a conversation, the game rolls a 20-sided die, applies a modifier based on the character's stats, and uses the result to choose between branching outcomes. The mechanic is borrowed directly from tabletop role-playing games, and the developer has cited that lineage in promotional material.
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33 How a Roll Works
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55 When a dice-gated option appears, the game rolls a 20-sided die in the background, adds a stat-based modifier, and compares the total to the threshold for that option. A high enough total succeeds and unlocks the favorable branch; a lower total fails and routes the conversation through the unfavorable branch. The exact UI presentation of the roll, the precise threshold numbers, and the full set of stat modifiers have not been published outside the closed beta and should be treated as unconfirmed in detail until the developer publishes them.
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77 Stats and Modifiers
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99 Each dice option references a stat. The player's base stats and any situational modifiers are added to the raw die result before it is compared to the option's threshold. Stats grow through the Returner's progression and through certain story-driven boosts. Concrete stat names, exact threshold values, and the full list of modifier sources have not been published in detail and will be added to this article as material is confirmed.
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1111 Outcomes
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1313 In broad terms a dice roll resolves into one of two states:
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1515 ResultEffectSuccessFavorable branch unlocks. Persuasion, recruitment, or unlock proceeds.FailurePath closes for this attempt; consequences may compound for the rest of the loop.
1616 Whether the system also features special tiered outcomes for very low or very high results, the way a tabletop game treats critical successes and failures, has not been confirmed publicly. The wiki does not list tiered effects until they are confirmed.
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1818 Story Impact
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2020 Because dice rolls happen during the active time loop, failures are not permanent across the wider game. They lock content for the current cycle but not for the entire game. This is by design. Players are encouraged to try ambitious dialogue routes even with low odds, gather what information they can from the failure, and try again on a future loop with better stats or different supporting choices.
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2222 The Dice Minigame
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2424 Separate from the dialogue checks, the First Playthrough Test (一周目测试) build carried a standalone dice mode that testers describe as a self-contained run of roughly ten stages with an optional speed-up toggle. It is a diversion rather than a story gate, and the reported difficulty was mild; the main cost was time. Whether it survives into later builds in the same shape, and whether it feeds any reward into the main game, has not been stated.
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2626 Announced Changes
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2828 In its post-test optimization list the studio said it intends to add assist items to the dice layer and to improve the feedback a player gets on a failed roll. Neither change has shipped in a public build, so the behaviour described above is still the current reference. The wiki will revise this section once a build with those changes is playable.
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3030 Tips for Using the Dice
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3232 Save big roll attempts for the period when the relevant stat is at its strongest, especially on routes that cannot be retried for many in-game days.Treat a failed roll as data. The dialogue that follows a failure usually reveals what stat or item the system expected, which is information for the next loop.Dice options stack within a single conversation. Failing an early roll can lock the better-modifier branch later in the same scene, so the order of attempts matters.Combat and the Star-Wanted system do not roll dice; the system is exclusive to dialogue and explicitly choice-driven moments.
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34+Modifiers and Check Skills
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36+A check resolves as a twenty-sided roll plus modifiers. Modifiers come from two places: the acting character's base attributes, and character-specific check skills that only certain party members bring. Two examples were described by the development team at the 2025 convention build: a dragon-like companion able to re-roll a low result, and a lion-type companion with a chance to skip the roll and force a success outright.
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38+That makes party composition a question of check utility as well as combat power, and it is why the same scene can play very differently depending on who is standing in the party when it starts.
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40+Failure Is Not a Dead End
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42+Failed checks are written as branches rather than as blocked doors. The development team has described the design goal as letting players see every branch, and the systems around the dice support that directly.
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44+MechanicChineseEffectRe-roll重掷Certain items allow a roll to be taken again.Node rollback节点回溯The player can return to an earlier story node and choose differently.
45+A worked example from the city gate makes the point. Succeed on the check and the protagonist reads a corrupt official's anxiety about losing his post and simply walks in. Fail, and the route becomes gathering leverage elsewhere and returning to apply pressure. Only the failure path reveals that one of the party can produce phenomena through her companion. The longer, messier road is the one that shows more of the game.
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47+Not every failure is grim. One published example has a character leaping at the protagonist, with options to catch her, dodge, grab her and dance, or simply watch. A failed roll on the catch turns it into a shoulder throw.
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49+The team has also confirmed that checks and action combat are deliberately independent systems, so investing in check skills does not weaken a build in a fight and vice versa. See Dialogue System for how checks are presented in conversation.
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3451 Related
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3653 See also time-loop system, FAQ for common questions about how rolls behave across loops, and Getting Started for first-loop dice strategy.
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