The Reliques of Tolti-Aph
An interactive fiction by Graham Nelson (2005) - the Inform 7 source text
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A die roll is a kind of value. 3d20+9 specifies a die roll[1] with parts dice, sides (without leading zeros), adds (without leading zeros, optional, preamble optional).[2]
To decide which number is roll of (dr - a die roll):
let the total be the adds part of dr;
say "[dr]: ";
repeat with counter running from 1 to the dice part of dr
begin;
let the roll be a random number from 1 to the sides part of dr;
if the counter is not 1, say ",";
say the roll;
increase the total by the roll;
end repeat;
if the adds part of dr is 0 and the dice part of dr is 1, decide on the total;
if the adds part of dr is not 0, say "+", adds part of dr;
say "=", total;
decide on the total.
Test rolling is an action out of world applying to one die roll. Understand "dice [die roll]" as test rolling. Carry out test rolling: say "For your own amusement, you roll "; let the outcome be the roll of the die roll understood; say ", making [outcome in words]." [3]
Notes
[1]. RPGs are games of chance as well as skill, and the actual rolling of the dice is as much a part of the experience as the randomised outcome. The polyhedral four-, six-, eight-, ten-, twenty- and even hundred-sided dice ubiquitous to RPGs are pleasingly exotic in the hand, but also make possible a wide range of random distributions. W&W uses the traditional notation for such rolls (which evolved as the D&D rules went through successive printings, but became standard around 1980): "3d6+2" means we should roll three six-sided dice, add up the scores showing, then add 2.