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Based on some questions I have been poring through lately regarding the usage of Insight and Deception rolls in D&D 4E, I came across the idea to add a sort of "gambling mini-game" to my campaign for my players. What I want to do is create a rather simple algorithm, primarily using a character's Deception and Charisma scores, along with the RNG of their rolls and something else to create a fair algorithm -- after all, it should be something quantitative, so the players know they aren't getting cheated; who would want to gamble off the whim of someone else, after all?

Anyhow, I'd like to ask a question here regarding what else I should put in the formula. Simply saying "get a score above 20 will make you win that round of poker" is too basic, boring, and easy to manipulate. I debated posting this on StackOverflow, but because this algorithm is designed to work in a decently balanced fashion using the rules and standard practices of 4E, I figured this would be significantly more relevant here. Is such a question allowed/encouraged here? I've never seen anything on this SE related to algorithm design, as discussion is usually focused on how to best use pre-existing systems, so I figured I'd check in here first.

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Unfortunately, this isn’t an algorithm design question, it’s an algorithm ideas request.

We could help with an algorithm, given available inputs and expected outputs. But we can’t help with “give me ideas for another term in the equation” — every answer is equally correct for such an answer, because they are all ideas.

Such idea-generation questions aren’t suited to SE’s Q&A design. They work fine on a discussion forum though, such as one from our list of RPG forums.

However, it may also be an XY Problem: focussed on an algorithm, when the purpose of that is to solve a more fundamental problem. You could ask about the base problem instead: how to resolve a gambling game of skill. Such a question is essentially on topic (pending seeing the actual wording as usual, of course).

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    \$\begingroup\$ I suppose that's the problem with XY problems, is ye don't always notice when you've run into one. Thinking from the mindset of "how to resolve a gambling game of skill" has lead me to different questions I hadn't seen and I think I've a better direction to take this. Thanks for the input! \$\endgroup\$
    – Seymour Guado
    Jul 30, 2018 at 1:10

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