Do you trust the people you game with?

[moritheil]

IMC, there have been at least six reported full hit point level up dice, in a group of 10 people. Of course, there have been approximately 20 level ups. It's just slightly on the implausible but possible side.

What really raises my eyebrows is when someone submits a character with 3 18s, 2 17s, and no stat below 14. Gee, that looks more like 6d6 drop 3 than 4d6 drop 1 . . .

 

[Greylock]

Yes. Absolutely and without question.

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

One of my players insists on having me watch him roll stats, just so that I know that he didn't cheat. On one occasion, I watched him roll, in order: 18, 18, 17, 16, 18, 15. One of the few times I've ever seen it happen.

This same player was involved in another game, this time in a Shadow World/MERP/WoT Rolemaster combo that saw a mutual friend of ours fire an arrow at a balrog. IIRC, he rolled something on the order of 7 or 8 straight 00 on the percentiles. I don't remember what he needed, but I do remember that if he rolled just one more 95-00 on those dice, he would have killed the balrog instantly. Instead, he ended up doing little to no damage at all.

BTW, this event was confirmed by all involved in the campaign, something like 6 or 7 people, including the GM.

 

[twofalls]

I have some play standards that I enforce. No roll is accepted without a second player to witness it (I don't want to be a player's witness). All Hit Dice rolls are made in front of me (fighter classes reroll 1's and 2's, all others reroll 1's, second roll sticks regardless). I run two groups, and these standards are across the board. I don't suspect anyone of cheating, but I don't ever have to with these rules and no one will be able to suspect that another player is as well. I use point buy in all my games, so thats a non issue as well (no I don't double check their stats, they can do math, that's enough).

Now all this being said, its not that hard to fudge your bonuses and cheat anyhow, this just discourages it and gives the illusion of a fair game for all. My rolls are usually behind a screen and I freely fudge as needed to create the best story. Sometimes the best story is to roll in the open to increase tension and I use that technique as well.

My players are my friends, if I didn't trust them I woudn't game with them.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

If they rolled a nat 20 for the seventh time straight, do you question that?

If a player has rolled 7 nat 20's in a row, I want to see it my self. Odd's like that (1,280,000,000 to 1) you just have to see for yourself. Even though the odds are statistically the same, I think it's more likely someone in my group will roll 7 nat 1's

Do you beleive them when they say they rolled 18's for their character's attributes?

We use point buys, so multiple 18's means multiple 8's too

Do you demand they roll in front of you for hit points?

I like to see hit point rolls myself. That's even more tempting to fudge than a combat roll because it's usually more permanent.

 

[James Heard]

I don't trust anyone much though, so it's not as if they're singled out. People are unethical dangerous predators, and while that fills me with a certain sense of pride it doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down around any of them. At some point though, it's just a game. Who cares if they cheat on game rolls? I'm more concerned about them stealing/breaking/fondling things that mean more to me than fiction. Cheat all you want, but I'd have Survivor style film crews following them around if I could near my bookshelves.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I pretty much trust them, I just have them roll on the table, and always reroll if it falls off, no matter what it's resting on or if it's sitting flat.

 

[D-rock]

Most of the people I game with are family or friends so I have never once thought about them cheating.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Sure, I trust all of them. They are all good friends or people who have shown that they could be trusted (otherwise, they wouldn't be in my house).

It's a game. If they want to fudge one roll to make a big hit, well, so be it. They almost always roll out in the center of the table, so it's not like several of us don't see the roll anyway. Not that I condone fudging, but we play to have fun. I trust that they are truthful when rolling, and they trust that I don't fake rolls behind the screen. Which I never do. Nope, never. Won't catch me doing that.

 

[Henry]

I trust my fellow players, but curiosity still gets me checking when someone rolls, say, the 5th 20 in a row or some such. We have one younger player who used to be bad about picking up his dice before anyone got to see them, but he's growing out of it now.