DMs - What rolls do you make for your players?

[The Levitator]

Nobody rolls dice in our game. We use the autoroll option in DM Genie. I've got 2 groups running right now and every time I've brought it up, nobody is even slightly interested in going back to dice. It makes combat exponentially faster, nearly eliminates metagaming and definitely adds suspense to almost every aspect of the game. All of that said, it's our favorite way to play, and won't work for every group.

I get beat up here frequently for our blasphemous ways , but you can't really blame folks. Dice are very important to some people, and they need to throw them around to feel like they are having some kind of an impact on the results. The best thing to do is just ask your players how important rolling dice is to them. Do they want to make every roll, or have some suspense in their game by having you make some of the rolls, or be really crazy and play like we do? Just like every other aspect of D&D, take everything you hear from everyone else's gaming group with a grain of salt, talk to your players, and find the method of play that works best for your group. The only people who truly have the right answers for you are the players in your group, not us strangers! Seriously though, forums like these are a great resource for ideas, as long as you don't treat anything like tablets being handed down from the mountain. Roleplaying is as individual as the people who do it, so 10,000 different groups can all be playing the game differently and all be right; for their prospective groups.

 

[kigmatzomat]

None, I have the players roll for me.

Every 2-3 sessions I pass around a sheet with a grid on it, character names down the left side. The players fill out their line with d20 rolls.

Players tap their row horizontally, from the left-most entry.

NPCs tap this list vertically, start in the left-uppermost entry. For instance if I need 20 NPC rolls and have 5 players, I mark off 4 rolls from each player.

It encourages absolute honesty as they never know if the nat 20 they roll will work for them or against them. Same goes for those nat 1s. Not that I worry about my players' honesty but I like systems with built-in safeguards if I ever run into a stinker player.

Combine with my quick-reference sheet with the key data GM needs on each character (AC, flat footed, touch, saves, social skills, sensory skills, disable device, etc) and I can use this at any time to address player/NPC conflicts without letting them know anything other than I'm consulting my notes.

 

[Jaws]

I let them roll for everything that the PCs are doing. The players know the penalties I enforce if they metagame.


Jaws

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

I generally follow the DMG list, but I also roll initiative rolls behind the screen (actually with DMGenie). This makes round 1 suspense very high.

Very cool! Why have I not thought of this before?! Catsclaw, I'm going to try this with my group. Thanks for the idea!

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

Anything that I don't want the PCs to metagame over, I usually remove the chance by referring to a column of about 10 pre-rolled d20 results that the players roll and jot down on their initiative cards (we use laminated RPGA initiative cards). To further prevent any metagaming, the players roll for a random fellow player. They never know who's card they are rolling for.

During play, I simply glance at the card and cross a d20 roll off from top to bottom. It's usually done without them even knowing, unless it's a specific event that everyone is waiting to hear the results of like Player A trying to disarm a trap or tying a knot in a rope that they hope will hold so it doesn't come loose and send them falling to their deaths.

 

[catsclaw227]

Very cool! Why have I not thought of this before?! Catsclaw, I'm going to try this with my group. Thanks for the idea!

It has really added a lot to the game, and it takes away some metagaming in the first round combat planning. How do the PCs know that the BBEG goes 3rd from the last, before the PC cleric, but after the PC sorcerer? (or even what their OWN parties' initiative rolls are?)

 

[Kyrail]

Any role that would ruin suspense or surprise.

Their listen and spot checks mostly.

 

[Agamon]

The DMG suggests making rolls for the following on players' behalf:- Bluff, Diplomacy, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Use Rope, Search, Spot.

Bluff - Only if the outcome is in question. If it will be obvious that the bluff works or not right away, I let them roll.
Diplomacy - No, not usually.
Hide - Yes, always
Listen - Usually, yes.
Move Silently - Yes, always.
Use Rope - No, since the roll isn't made until something happens anyway.
Search - Only for elves that unknowingly walk by a secret door.
Spot - Usually, yes.

The only other roll I make for PCs is Appraise - Always, since a bad roll can mean a bad appraisal.

 

[DonTadow]

Very cool! Why have I not thought of this before?! Catsclaw, I'm going to try this with my group. Thanks for the idea!

I do this, but for a bit of extra flavor I've got a script in dmgenie that lets me reroll initiative every round. Really symbolizes the chaos of the battle for me.

 

[robberbaron]

I let my players make all their own rolls, but they have to make them when called upon.
I think they are capable of not metagaming too much by knowing how they rolled.

Did annoy me, however, when some of them took to making their rolls out of sight while other players were in the spotlight. It's not that I don't trust them, it's that I'd rather see them roll, everyone doing the same. Hmm, that does sound like I don't trust them, doesn't it?