The tables are the numbers on the faces of a d6 for that element - each element has a die with different markings. To start, everyone uses one die at a time, and yes, you are supposed to roll one die of all four elements and take the highest to determine your primary. Unless you're playing to ludicrous numbers of VP, you shouldn't ever have more than four or five dice at the very most for one roll, and even five would be 200+ VP as written above, which considering you subtract high roll from low roll and the high rolling player gets the result in VP is a pretty large number itself. Given that you could have all of the dice in your roll be of your primary element and possibly reroll all of them, that can get high at the upper end, but it's still not terrible if you've got four or five d6 to compare to the table, or have printed and folded up a bunch of each type.
To take it step by step like you asked:
I'm starting up a rousing game of non-Transitive Elemental Dice with my chums. Having accquired a glass of ginger-beer apeice and settled in the drawing room, we dump out the Big Bag O Dice on the gaming table and grab a few of each type. By some means, perhaps an amusing belching contest, we have determined an order of play, and skillful fellow that I am mine was the longest so I get to go first. Snapping up one of each type of die I give them a good shake and let fly! After retrieving the dice form the corner of the room and under the Chesterfield, I give them another good shake and release them more moderately. w18, a5, f23, e12 Huzzah! I've lucked out and gotten a Fire affinity! From now on, any time I roll a Fire die, I can reroll and use the better result one time per die. My chums repeat the procedure, though happily without the bit where their first attempt goes bouncing off like Br'er Rabbit into a hedgerow.
Now it's time the first round of contests, so I turn to Tuppy - capital chap, that Tuppy! - and challenge him with a bolt of Fire, while he, having an Air nature, judges it better to use Earth, less favorable to him but strong against my own burning spirit, to defend. f8 e13 Botheration! Fortunately, as I am a Fire user, I can reroll to try to fix that pesky score, and succeed smashingly with a 23. 23-13=10, I gain 10 VP and the attacker's role moves on to Tuppy, who was only able to reach the letter P in his bid for turn order.
Some rounds later, I've accumulated an enviable 56 VP, and though Tuppy isn't far behind at 48, he can only use two dice to my three. Looking to add a bit more consistency to hedge the fickle nature of Fire, I shroud him in superheated ash with Fire-Fire-Earth, and as the averaging effect of multiple dice makes the reroll more valuable in absolute terms than raw affinity he attempts to deflect it with a heavy Air-Air crosswind. f23+f7+e11 vs a4+a22, but each of us can reroll our affinities in hopes of a better result and do so, though mine is even lower while Tuppy, the rotter, manages a second 22. 23+7+11=41 vs 22+22=44, 44-41=3 means Tuppy comes out ahead of this one and gains just enough VP to put him over 50, able to use three dice as he moves on to attack the next fellow. Irked, I go to the sideboard to refresh my ginger-beer, but its cool fizzy texture and snappy flavor restores my good humor by the time the round is done.
I'll show Tuppy what for this round, equal numbers of dice or not! He shan't beat Bertie to the evening's winning VP total!
- CD, really ought to go to bed now
ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontransitive_dice]Wikipedia page link
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
To take it step by step like you asked:
I'm starting up a rousing game of non-Transitive Elemental Dice with my chums. Having accquired a glass of ginger-beer apeice and settled in the drawing room, we dump out the Big Bag O Dice on the gaming table and grab a few of each type. By some means, perhaps an amusing belching contest, we have determined an order of play, and skillful fellow that I am mine was the longest so I get to go first. Snapping up one of each type of die I give them a good shake and let fly! After retrieving the dice form the corner of the room and under the Chesterfield, I give them another good shake and release them more moderately. w18, a5, f23, e12 Huzzah! I've lucked out and gotten a Fire affinity! From now on, any time I roll a Fire die, I can reroll and use the better result one time per die. My chums repeat the procedure, though happily without the bit where their first attempt goes bouncing off like Br'er Rabbit into a hedgerow.
Now it's time the first round of contests, so I turn to Tuppy - capital chap, that Tuppy! - and challenge him with a bolt of Fire, while he, having an Air nature, judges it better to use Earth, less favorable to him but strong against my own burning spirit, to defend. f8 e13 Botheration! Fortunately, as I am a Fire user, I can reroll to try to fix that pesky score, and succeed smashingly with a 23. 23-13=10, I gain 10 VP and the attacker's role moves on to Tuppy, who was only able to reach the letter P in his bid for turn order.
Some rounds later, I've accumulated an enviable 56 VP, and though Tuppy isn't far behind at 48, he can only use two dice to my three. Looking to add a bit more consistency to hedge the fickle nature of Fire, I shroud him in superheated ash with Fire-Fire-Earth, and as the averaging effect of multiple dice makes the reroll more valuable in absolute terms than raw affinity he attempts to deflect it with a heavy Air-Air crosswind. f23+f7+e11 vs a4+a22, but each of us can reroll our affinities in hopes of a better result and do so, though mine is even lower while Tuppy, the rotter, manages a second 22. 23+7+11=41 vs 22+22=44, 44-41=3 means Tuppy comes out ahead of this one and gains just enough VP to put him over 50, able to use three dice as he moves on to attack the next fellow. Irked, I go to the sideboard to refresh my ginger-beer, but its cool fizzy texture and snappy flavor restores my good humor by the time the round is done.
I'll show Tuppy what for this round, equal numbers of dice or not! He shan't beat Bertie to the evening's winning VP total!
- CD, really ought to go to bed now
ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontransitive_dice]Wikipedia page link
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows