Cheating and D&D

[Crothian]

It says in the 3.5 DMG that DMs cannot cheat. (Page 18, in the section labeled "DM Cheating and Player Perceptions)

So, DM's cheating would be a house rule

 

[Aus_Snow]

What do people do in situations like this?

It doesn't happen.

If it did, they'd be warned. If it still happened, they'd be gone.

Cheating in any kind of game ruins the game. Simple as that. I'm not going to put up with that kind of juvenile disrespect either, for that matter.

Luckily, as I said, it's not an issue for me in the games I play.

 

[Asmor]

It used to bother me - a lot.

I'm not talking from a convention point of view here - just that of my home game. Over the years, my feelings towards it have changed drastically. Now it doesn't bother me at all.

Luckily, D&D isn't a competitive game. One person cheating doesn't necessarily detract from the enjoyment of anyone else. And if the DM has figured out that somebody in the group tends to like to play fast and loose with the rules, I figure - why not just let 'em? Compensate for it occasionally if you need to, but if everybody is having fun, then it doesn't matter to me.

Perhaps the cheating person would have more fun if he/she didn't cheat; or perhaps not. But that's that person's choice to make. If he gets more out of the game by doing that, then he may as well go for it. I'm not going to be able to stop him, and doing so doesn't necessarily benefit me anyway.

So, now it doesn't bother me at all. I find it mildy amusing, in fact. When it comes down to it, the rules are just a tool to facilitate the enjoyment of everyone there. They're a means, not an end. As long as the end is being met, it doesn't worry me in the slightest.

I've gotta say, that's really impressive. I hope that one day I could be that forgiving.

That said, cheating is one of my few cardinal sins. If a friend of mine was cheating, I'd lose a lot of respect for them and quite possibly wouldn't be their friend any more. If I caught someone in, say, an RPGA game cheating... I'm not sure what I'd do. I'm not the confrontational type, so I'd probably just try to ignore it and hope the DM noticed and did something.

 

[Xyanthon]

I don't mind someone casting an extra spell, fudging a die roll, etc. I think the only time that it would really bother me is if the person was cheating in such a way as to say "see, I'm better than you". You know, the type of person that has all 18's and always scores a critical hit, the type of person that MUST be the center of attention ALWAYS. That would bug me and I wouldn't game with that person. However, minor infractions such as the original poster described, I'd overlook it. In my experience, no one has been really egregious in their cheating.

 

[Cor Azer]

I actually take a view fairly similar to Morrus'... if a player feels the need to cheat to find the fun, as long as it doesn't hinder the fun of anyone else, I'm not going to call them on it.

That said, the big caveat of that is the "as long as it doesn't hinder the fun of anyone else", so "misreading" a die roll here and there probably won't hurt, unless it causes the character to become an unequalable force in combat or some such (at which point the character starts to overshadow the others, lessening their fun).

 

[Zimri]

Besides, if they cheat at a game who knows what they'll do outside of the game where things become more problematic? Does anyone need someone dishonest in their home around their family and personal belongings?

I have to say this comparisson seems quite distasteful to me. Yes as you might suspect I am a player who will fudge a die roll on occassion. I play with friends and we are there to blow off steam after a long work week. We are currently three people playing sub-optimized characters (sorry no we don't post or read "optimize my charcter type" threads). In WOTC eberron modules calling for 4 or more characters.

I find the suggestion that because I will alter fate to make a save roll or hit an enemy combatant that I would also take pleasure in physically harming my gaming group or taking a hundred dollar bill I saw lying in the open rather distasteful.

 

[Barak]

*shrug*

I have a player who "cheats" a lot. I mean, it's obvious. He uses those stupidly tiny dice, sits far away from whomever DMs, rolls high 75% of the time, etc. I know it. All the other players know it. They also know I know it.

Thing is, the dude's a nice guy, a friend. He often gives me rides home when I need 'em. Anytime he brings food or anything, he shares it freely. Another player needed his car towed two weeks ago, the dude showed up with his truck that has towing capabilities, and spend time and gas helping him out. He's also the youngest of the group. He also has no tactical capabilities whatsoever. The other payers also trust me to counteract his.. Hmm.. high rolls. Which I do. So it all turns out alright. Could we make a big deal out of it? Probably. Should we? I think not. The dude's a nice guy, and just likes to feel useful. He does, and we don't mind.

 

[Bardsandsages]

There is no unauthorized cheating at my table.

I have on occassion "authorized" cheating. For example, after watching a player suffer a series of terrible rolls and having them faced with a Save or die scenario, I've been known to say. "You made your saving throw, right?" and nod my head up and down vigorously to signify the correct answer is "yes" even if they failed. I consider that compensating for their dice not cooperating for an entire evening.

My players are too scared to try to cheat without my OK, anyway. I have a standing rule. I will not look up rules during gameplay. I expect people to know their characters and powers and what they can and can't do. There is too much going on for me to have to track everybody's characters to make sure they are doing what they can. If something doesn't sound right, I will look it up later when I am prepping for the next session. If I find you used a spell or power in a way the rules don't allow, the first time you get a warning. If it happens again, YOU LOSE THE POWER. Period. The Gods of Law simply decide to cut you off from the ability. Maybe you'll get a quest to get the ability back.