Okay, just exactly what is a "d-star"?
A "d-star" (or d* as shorthand in text) represents a 50-50 chance in getting a 0 or a 1.
How do I "roll" a d-star?
In the game, a d-star can be generated using a die, a coin, or one of the star tokens included in the box.
When using a die, simply declare before rolling the die which three sides will yield a 0 and which three sides will yield a 1. The most common choices are Low/High (where a die roll of 1, 2, or 3 yields a 0 and a die roll of 4, 5, or 6 yields a 1) and Odd/Even (where a die roll of 1, 3, or 5 yields a 0 and a die roll of 2, 4, or 6 yields a 1).
When using a coin, simply declare before flipping the coin which face will yield a 0 and which face will yield a 1 when the coin is flipped. For example, you may have a coin flip of Heads yield a 0 and a coin flip of Tails yield a 1.
The star tokens included in the game have one blank side and a star on the other. When using one of these tokens, simply throw it with your other dice and count a blank as a 0 and a star as a 1.
Can I simplify d-star rolling?
Yes. But it's a matter of taste.
The easiest way to simplify making d-star rolls is to adopt one of two methods:
METHOD A: NET OUT. Using this method, players only roll the net d-stars remaining after adding up all the avatar's d-star bonuses and subtracting all the avatar's d-star penalties. For example, consider an avatar with 3d-star in attack bonuses and 2d-star in attack penalties. That avatar would have a net 3 - 2 = 1d-star attack bonus and roll only 1d-star. As another example, consider an avatar with 2d-star in attack bonuses facing a creature with 4d-star in attack bonuses, the net effect would be that the avatar would have 0d-star in attack bonuses and the creature would have 2d-star in attack bonus.
METHOD B: FIX ONCE. Using this method, players roll their d-star outcomes once for the battle at hand and treat them as constants for the entire battle. For example, suppose an avatar with 3d-star in wound bonuses rolls its wound bonus at the start of battle and the result is 0, 0, 1. For the entire battle, the avatar would have a 1 wound bonus.
Many players dislike both these methods because they like to bet on their avatars "rolling high" and their opponents "rolling low." Nonetheless, both methods speed up combat substantially and, on average, even out over game play.