D&D General Should players be aware of their own high and low rolls?


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Eh. Its an easy shortcut to having some idea how well things worked out within the range of their abilities. I don't understand the fixation about not letting process do its work because "metagaming".
Did you read the OP, that sort of explains the problem. If that isn't a problem for you, that's cool, but for others it is. 🤷‍♂️
 

do you guys not enjoy missed rolls as much as made ones? or at least close?
I would say that on any given action, I would rather succeed than fail, but in the bigger picture I don’t want to always succeed at every action I attempt. The genuine risk of failure is necessary to make the successes meaningful, which is why D&D uses dice instead of pure narrative action resolution.
I am so used to someone rolling a 1 or 2 looking for a trap saying "Nope this is safe" then opening the door and asking if they get a save...
I’ve definitely seen players who are like this. In my experience, it appears to be pretty common in games where the players can’t make meaningful predictions about the likely results of their actions. When the results feel unpredictable, the best way to enjoy the experience is to embrace the chaos with reckless abandon.
 

Did you read the OP, that sort of explains the problem. If that isn't a problem for you, that's cool, but for others it is. 🤷‍♂️
Well, the OP post a question: should the players know when their characters have succeeded/failed. Obviously, to people for whom this isn’t a problem, the answer is going to be yes.
 

I would say that on any given action, I would rather succeed than fail, but in the bigger picture I don’t want to always be successful. The genuine risk of failure is necessary to make the successes meaningful, which is why D&D uses dice instead of pure narrative action resolution.
my character always wants to succeed, but for me I am out of game am more worried about fun then winning, and if we can make a bad roll fun we do.
I’ve definitely seen players who are like this. In my experience, it appears to be pretty common in games where the players can’t make meaningful predictions about the likely results of their actions. When the results feel unpredictable, the best way to enjoy the experience is to embrace the chaos with reckless abandon.
I don't know if you need to have reckless abandon... more that no 1 roll is going to end the campaign or ruin the game, so you take the bad roll and move on.
 

Well, the OP post a question: should the players know when their characters have succeeded/failed. Obviously, to people for whom this isn’t a problem, the answer is going to be yes.
to answer this... I think yes they should at least most times. I just ask people not to meta game (with the exception of helping keep the game movieing... if 'not meta gaming' is going to stall the game or make the game go bad we would rather meta game a little to keep it fun... I can provide examples if you don't get what I mean)
 

my character always wants to succeed, but for me I am out of game am more worried about fun then winning, and if we can make a bad roll fun we do.
Do you not have more fun winning than losing? Of course I’ll make a bad roll fun if I can, but I’d rather try to avoid having to roll at all, and failing that, I’d rather make a roll I have a decent chance of succeeding at than one I have a poor chance at. In any case, if I do fail, of I’m still going to have fun with it.
I don't know if you need to have reckless abandon... more that no 1 roll is going to end the campaign or ruin the game, so you take the bad roll and move on.
Of course you take the bad roll and move on. That’s part of the game. The “natural 1? This seems safe enough! I open the door!” gave me the impression of reckless play, just diving into potential danger without taking any precautions. Which in my experience is the kind of thing players do when it feels like their precautions don’t make a difference anyway.
 

to answer this... I think yes they should at least most times. I just ask people not to meta game (with the exception of helping keep the game movieing... if 'not meta gaming' is going to stall the game or make the game go bad we would rather meta game a little to keep it fun... I can provide examples if you don't get what I mean)
I think you and I are pretty much in agreement there.
 

Do you not have more fun winning than losing?
depends some of the BEST stories and some of the MOST fun nights start with a failed roll... now some of those bests start with a lucky crit too.
Of course I’ll make a bad roll fun if I can, but I’d rather try to avoid having to roll at all, and failing that, I’d rather make a roll I have a decent chance of succeeding at than one I have a poor chance at. In any case, if I do fail, of I’m still going to have fun with it.
I never see the benefit of 'not rolling' Me and afew others have gone round and round about player skill vs character skill and I just don't get it, but I am happy for you if you enjoy it.
Of course you take the bad roll and move on. That’s part of the game. The “natural 1? This seems safe enough! I open the door!” gave me the impression of reckless play, just diving into potential danger without taking any precautions.
we DID take precautions, we searched for the trap and failed. So IN GAME we thought it was safe, even if out of game we were pretty sure it wasn't.
Which in my experience is the kind of thing players do when it feels like their precautions don’t make a difference anyway.
again we do take precautions (we search for traps if we think they are there, we put up buffs if we think there is a fight or we are going to pick one) we just take that if our character makes a mistake it isn't the end of the world.
 

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