D&D General Do you have any table rules regarding die rolls?

[el-remmen]

I was thinking about the common table rules over the years in games I've run or played in and how they apply to dice rolling.

For example, in my games cocked dice are always rerolled regardless of what is "mostly" showing. On the other hand, if a die rolls off the table on to the floor, it is up to the player to apply a consistent approach to the results. Some people take whatever comes up no matter where it lies when it stops rolling. Others only accept rolls on the table, so even if a nat '20' pops up as the die bumps into a dust bunny under the table, it still needs to be re-rolled. As long they are consistent, the player can adopt whichever approach they want. Other players have instituted their own personal "If it is not on my rolling tray (or whatever) it does not count" rules.

We have had other standing customs around dice, like not touching anyone else's dice without permission. Leaving a die where it rolled on the table until others see the result as well (don't really enforce that because I trust all my players). And other things that I try to remind my players of, esp. as their characters rise in level, which is, "Don't assume you failed just because you rolled low if you don't know the target number." Some players get frustrated, see a '4' come up on the d20 and snatch it up angrily assuming they missed without doing the math and I don't want them to screw themselves out of a success that way. Better to tell us what you rolled and see if you succeeded or not.

Something I am thinking about instituting is a cup for players to roll their "secret rolls" in that they are not allowed to see the results of yet (rather than me as DM rolling for them behind the screen) which I can then look at, see the result, and then pop the die out and pass it back.

Oh, and before a bunch of people come to this thread to say they don't use dice anymore because they play remotely, good for you, that's not what this thread is about (though if there is some custom around electronic rolling I'd be interested to hear it).

 

[overgeeked]

Everyone rolls in the open, even the referee. Unless the act of rolling would provide info the players/characters wouldn't have and unless the outcome of the roll would provide info the players/characters wouldn't have. So searching for secret doors is rolled by the referee behind the screen. Things like that.

No touching or picking up dice to read them. Have had so many people pull this nonsense. If you touch the dice, the roll doesn't count. Keep re-rolling until you can keep your hands off the dice until after it's read. Dice must be plainly visible to the table, and rolled on the table, or the roll doesn't count.

Players shouldn't assume the referee will ask for a roll. Players don't declare a roll and throw dice. The player describes or narrates the action they want to take, then the referee decides if it's an auto success, a roll, or an auto failure.

Players shouldn't assume the outcome of a roll. Players don't decide what the DC of a roll is, so don't know if a low roll is a failure any more than they know a high roll is a success. Make the roll, add the modifiers, and report the numerical result. The referee will then tell you what the narrative result is.

 

[Lyxen]

No customs, we just trust everyone to be fair, and the DM rolls behind the screen mostly for convenience.

At some point in time (before it came out with a mistake in 3e UA), we did "players roll all the dices" and it ended up being less fun, so we dropped it.

The only thing that we do is use "blind rolls" where the player rolls but only the DM knows the result, it gives excellent result in terms of avoiding even unconscious metagaming (most VTTs support this and it works in face-to-face too).

 

[DND_Reborn]

1. Players don't roll until DM asks them to roll.
2. Players roll where others can see (if they want to).
3. Die roller uses best judgement on cocked dice (may ask others for confirmation). May reroll without penalty if no result obvious.
4. Dice off the table are rerolled. Dice off of table twice is auto-fail (even for DM).
5. Dice out of box/ tray (if you are using one) are rerolled. Dice out of box/ tray twice is auto-fail (even for DM).
6. Only one die is rolled at a time (no rolling d20 for attack and initiative, for example), except multi-dice rolls (like Fireball).
7. Dice must be read before they are gathered.
8. Don't borrow others' dice without asking first.
9. Players roll "secret dice" behind the DM screen so the DM sees the result.
10. DMs can roll behind screen or in front of players, as they want.

I think that's it.

 

[the Jester]

Yes. If it rolls off your surface, you reroll. Cocked dice are also rerolls, no matter how small the cock is- we've rerolled dice that are plainly showing a result but are on a tiny crumb.

 

[Jack Daniel]

I concur with those who re-roll any cocked or off-the-table dice. I also prefer that my players not shotgun their dice across the table with projectile force (some players just can't seem to help that); lightly drop their dice onto the table in front of them so that only they can see the results; or use heavy metal dice at all if they're playing on my nice wooden table (regardless of the presence of mats and dice-trays).

Everyone rolls in the open, even the referee. Unless the act of rolling would provide info the players/characters wouldn't have and unless the outcome of the roll would provide info the players/characters wouldn't have. So searching for secret doors is rolled by the referee behind the screen. Things like that.

No touching or picking up dice to read them. Have had so many people pull this nonsense. If you touch the dice, the roll doesn't count. Keep re-rolling until you can keep your hands off the dice until after it's read. Dice must be plainly visible to the table, and rolled on the table, or the roll doesn't count.

Players shouldn't assume the referee will ask for a roll. Players don't declare a roll and throw dice. The player describes or narrates the action they want to take, then the referee decides if it's an auto success, a roll, or an auto failure.

Players shouldn't assume the outcome of a roll. Players don't decide what the DC of a roll is, so don't know if a low roll is a failure any more than they know a high roll is a success. Make the roll, add the modifiers, and report the numerical result. The referee will then tell you what the narrative result is.

I follow similar practices, except that I'm also inclined to announce any success–failure parameters to the table before rolling. There are almost no instances I can think of where it's beneficial to keep things like Armor Classes or hit point totals a secret from the players, so the moment a player commits to attacking a monster, I'll say something like, "Roll to hit Armor Class 7," and if they hit, I'll go ahead and give the monster's hp before the player rolls damage. I like to keep everything fair and above-board as much as possible, only rolling things like search and listen rolls behind the screen.

 

[el-remmen]

Only one die is rolled at a time (no rolling d20 for attack and initiative, for example), except multi-dice rolls (like Fireball).

I feel like this might slow things down. Back when we were playing a heavily modified 3E we'd roll two different colored d20s for each attack roll (one for attack and the other to confirm potential crits) and rolled the damage die and a knockdown die (a optional rule we grandfathered) all at once to save time!

These days, even with 5E I roll my d20 and the damage die at the same time, so if it is a hit I already know how much damage I do.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I feel like this might slow things down.

It doesn't really slow things down IME, at least not enough I would notice it, since most of the time the players wait for me to confirm the hit (unless they obviously know its a hit...). I had a player who did this (rolling d20 and damage dice) and it just annoyed me, so I asked him to stop. He's since left the group and no one else ever got the habit from him.

 

[el-remmen]

I had a player who did this (rolling d20 and damage dice) and it just annoyed me, so I asked him to stop. He's since left the group

Wait, I had a group I left for not letting me roll both dice at once. . .

(just jokes)

 

[Yora]

Dies that land on the floor always mean a failed roll.