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[SirPeebles]

Lottery
$6 Victory

At the end of the game, this card is worth 1d6 victory points.

Raffle
$4 Action

Gain a card costing up to 1d6 coins.

What do you think of cards like these?  Do you think dice could have a place in Dominion cards?

[Awaclus]

I don't think I would ever buy a Raffle: sometimes I'll get a Goons and sometimes a Curse, so either it's very good or very bad or anything in-between. And because it's a gainer, it's an early game card, and unpredictable early game cards aren't very good (see Treasure Map). Also, it's statistically worse than Workshop (gaining cards costing up to $3.5 on average), though that doesn't necessarily mean it should cost less than Workshop because gaining $5s and $6s sometimes is possibly more important than always gaining $4s.

Lottery on the other hand is a fine card IMO. It's a late game card, so you can buy it and hope you get 6VP if you're about to lose, or you can ignore it and go for Duchies instead if you're about to win. Also, it makes games more exciting and reduces rage quitting. It's also correctly priced at $6, because on average, it's 0.5 VP better than Duchy.

[LastFootnote]

I don't find the mechanic terribly compelling, but I suggest 2d4 rather than 1d6 for Raffle.

[Warfreak2]

Do people really play Dominion and think, man, there isn't nearly enough randomness in this game?

[SirPeebles]

Hmm, at 2d4, I feel like Raffle would be much too strong to cost $4.  It was intentional that you would sometimes roll $1 and have to pick up a Copper, but in exchange you a chance at gaining a $5 or $6 card.  Also, 2d4 will mean you could potentially gaining a Province, which is maybe a bit much?  I think having a 1/3 chance at an endgame Duchy is already nice.

I'd be worried that Lottery is too swingy.  Its presence would shake endgame certainty, with neither player being able to confidently end the game with a win in many cases.  Maybe giving is a value of 2+1d4, rather than 1d6, would help things.  Then it would "always" be a better purchase than Duchy and worse than Province.  At the same time, it feels less interesting when there is no chance at whiffing and having paid $6 for an Estate.  I think it could be fun in casual play, but perhaps not in tournament play.

[SirPeebles]

Do people really play Dominion and think, man, there isn't nearly enough randomness in this game?

I think this is psychological, much like Treasure Map.  People see dice and immediately think randomness.  Dominion has lots of mechanics which employ randomness.  I wouldn't want to introduce dice purely for the sake of introducing dice.  But similarly I don't think they should be dismissed. 

Raffle, above, I think could be a compelling card.  It allows gaining $5 or $6 cost cards while providing some balance.  Similar to Swindler, it may cause your deck to fill with cards you weren't anticipating, but which you find a way to make work.

Lottery, I believe isn't a particularly good way of using dice.  I think it is too swingy.  Other the other hand, in a casual game with friends, I think it could be fun for someone who was clearly behind to make a "come back" by rolling straight 6s versus straight 1s.

[LastFootnote]

Hmm, at 2d4, I feel like Raffle would be much too strong to cost $4.  It was intentional that you would sometimes roll $1 and have to pick up a Copper, but in exchange you a chance at gaining a $5 or $6 card.  Also, 2d4 will mean you could potentially gaining a Province, which is maybe a bit much?  I think having a 1/3 chance at an endgame Duchy is already nice.

Well, look at it this way. With 1d6, there's a 1/3 chance that you're gaining crap on a board with no good $2 cards. Even with only a 1/6 chance to gain a Copper, I don't think I'd buy it. On the other hand, the chance to gain a Province makes the card much more compelling.

I suggest you playtest the stronger 2d4 version. If it's too powerful, either bump the cost to $5 or try the 1d6 version. Even 1d6+1 would be nicer, but I like 2d4 a lot more.

Coins	Prob. as Fraction	Prob. as Percentage
$2	1/16	6.25%
$3	1/8	12.5%
$4	3/16	18.75%
$5	1/4	25%
$6	3/16	18.75%
$7	1/8	12.5%
$8	1/16	6.25%

[Asper]

My opinion is that dice are generally a bad idea for Dominion, especially if some rolls are so much less desirable.

If dice, i'd so something like this where choices are worth "about the same".

Casino
Action, 4$
+ 1 Action
Roll a d4. If you roll a...
1: + 2 Cards
2: You may trash up to 2 cards from your hand.
3: +2$, + 1 Buy
4: + 1 Card, + 2 Actions

Edit:
By the way, when i presented a dice-treasure in the bad cards thread, somebody told me it was almost like Harvest (which it was). I guess many "dice"-cards can be done with the Harvest mechanic, even adding a little more strategy.

[heron]

I would have picked 3d2 for raffle personally; I don't really think that people should be gaining lucky provinces off of it, and 3d2 is always useful.

[sudgy]

I would pick 2d3 for raffle, gaining $2-$6 cards.

I think lottery is too swingy.

[Archetype]

Or you could just set a base price.

"Roll 1d4. Gain a card costing up to $2 + the number you rolled".

[Warfreak2]

Raffle, above, I think could be a compelling card.  It allows gaining $5 or $6 cost cards while providing some balance.  Similar to Swindler, it may cause your deck to fill with cards you weren't anticipating, but which you find a way to make work.

Lottery, I believe isn't a particularly good way of using dice.  I think it is too swingy.  Other the other hand, in a casual game with friends, I think it could be fun for someone who was clearly behind to make a "come back" by rolling straight 6s versus straight 1s.

I think it's far more compelling to use the randomness already produced by having a deck of cards that you shuffle... that way there is some room for strategic depth. If you want something that works but unreliably, make it need something to be (or not to be) in a particular place, like Tournament wants a Province in your hand, Harvest wants diverse cards on top of your deck, Cutpurse wants a Copper in your opponent's hand, &c. Then there can be an opportunity for the better player to get more out of the card by... well, playing better. You just can't manipulate your dice outcomes in a comparable way (at least, not without cheating); they have no interaction with your other decisions. Dice also don't even themselves out, like when you draw all your green cards together, you know your next hand is going to be better.

The situation you describe doesn't sound fun, I don't want to pat myself on the back and say "I am GREAT at rolling sixes!", and it can be nothing except frustrating for the opponent. Here's a classic game in which WW makes an epic comeback, it is tense and exciting; WW does clever things, and his opponent makes some mistakes, in order for WW to overcome a seemingly insurmountable lead. If it was just WW rolling 6s and his opponent rolling 1s, that would feel cheap, it would be a rip-off, not great play.