GM no-roll

[RenleyRenfield]

I tried to look this up to see if this had been asked but I could not find much, so here I ask =

What do you think of games where the GM never rolls dice?

Would you be happy if D&D and Pathfinder and GURPS and RuneQuest switched to GM never roll? (players only rolled to react/deflect/counter to attacks and such)

If you LIKE GM no roll games, what is a time when it failed you or didn't help roleplay? (if only for a single action or scene, if ever)

If you DONT like GM no roll games, what is a time it was fun anyway and worked ok (if ever)

Some such systems are =

• Powered by the Apocalypse (et al)
• Cypher system
• Symbaroum
• Forged in the Dark (et al)
• Tales from the Loop

Other thoughts on GM no roll games?

 

[Morrus]

I think it's fine in games designed like that, but I don't see a need to shoehorn it into games that are not. Different games are different for a reason!

 

[aco175]

I played as the DM at a convention recently where I only had a d20 to roll to hit for the monsters. The players rolled for monster saves and for monster damage on their PCs. Some of them seemed to like it fine, especially to casters who seemed to only cast save spells. I could have had the player roll to hit for the monsters as well, but I like to roll some dice as well.

 

[RenleyRenfield]

I think it's fine in games designed like that, but I don't see a need to shoehorn it into games that are not. Different games are different for a reason!

Could you see it working well in D&D 5e? Would it make much of a difference?

 

[RenleyRenfield]

I played as the DM at a convention recently where I only had a d20 to roll to hit for the monsters. The players rolled for monster saves and for monster damage on their PCs. Some of them seemed to like it fine, especially to casters who seemed to only cast save spells. I could have had the player roll to hit for the monsters as well, but I like to roll some dice as well.

You are right! I have forgotten to add a option in the poll for = "But me the GM likes to roll dice too!" (despite if GM no roll dice mechanic works well or not)

Would it cause you to give up on your fav system if it turned into GM no-roll? Or would you still run it anyway?

 

[Morrus]

Could you see it working well in D&D 5e?

Did I stutter?

No, I don't see a need to shoehorn it into games that are not designed like that.

 

[billd91]

I can't say it's not fun at all because I've played Masks and that game was OK without GM rolling. That said, GMs like rolling dice as much as other players do. Grabbing up a handful of d6s for damage in Champions or a fireball to see how much damage comes up - FUN whether I'm GMing or playing.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I ran the BtVS game with it many years ago and it was--okay. I'm not sold there's any real solid virtue to it (I don't consider the time savings all that much a virtue) but I don't think its horrid either. I think it somewhat constrains design space in a way that isn't always ideal.

 

[User51]

I've played both Outgunned and Numenera. They were both fun, but I also like the idea of the GM rolling secretly for things the players should not have a die-signal for. If a player always rolls, even if they don't know the DC, they know a 20 is a really good roll.

 

[overgeeked]

Depends on the referee, the players, and the game. Some find it fun, some don’t.

You can absolutely make it work in most games. Weird how the idea of the reverse, the players never rolling, basically never comes up anymore. It used to be standard in the earliest days of the hobby.

In D&D you could easily make AC an active defense roll by subtracting 10 and having the player roll. That might make players more engaged when it’s not their turn. It would be dead simple to flip rolls from one side to the other.