Sorry, have to disagree. The force in this case is gravity and mass. If a die is not weighted correctly it will effect how it rolls. Now that doesn't mean you need "precision" dice but getting "precision" dice takes that one fear off the table. It's because I use those dice that it never pops into my head that maybe the dice are weighted incorrectly. - Also why are "precision" dice not "normal" dice?
Is it not the desired definition of normality for a dice to be well-weighted?
As far as your decision making portion - I
want to agree but I've seen too many players make all the right choices/decisions but have those decisions nullified by bad dice rolls vs good dice rolls
at the right time or juncture in a game. To me there are 3 pillars to an ASL game and you need two to win:
1. Skill - this is obvious. If your skill is better than the other guys or you're playing up to your level, and the other guy isn't.
2. Situation - mostly game balance, but sometimes this can be when you're a good player but you don't do as well with Japanese as some but you're great playing Russians.
3. Fate - I don't mean dice rolls, I mean the right dice rolls at the right time. You can roll the same number of snakes as the other guy but if he's rolling snakes on shots when he really needs them to happen and you're rolling snakes on things like PTC's - that's fate, imo. Fate is a part of the game although I see tons of people refusing to admit this.
If your opponent is a better player, then you better have great fate and perhaps a scenario slightly favoring your side.
If you're playing a game that is weighted against you, you better be a better player and a little better fate wouldn't hurt.
If you're playing a guy who is going through a long streak of luck, then you better be a better player....and so on.
Doubtless I will get a lot of responses to this arguing that everything about ASL is skill, but deep down we know that's simply not true, just as it's not exactly true in actual combat. Fate and situation play a huge role. Same with sporting events too. That's actually one of the reasons I love ASL - it's what makes it more "combat-like" or "sport-like". If I want skill only and a perfectly balanced scenario with no fate, I'll play chess.