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<blockquote data-quote="GoodKingJayIII" data-source="post: 3117638" data-attributes="member: 13804">For three years I played under a DM who rolled all the dice.&nbsp; To-hit, damage, skill checks, everything.&nbsp; It was a style choice and he probably came to the same decision based on some of your concerns right now.&nbsp; He was always a very evocative DM, so I enjoyed being able to focus on his descriptions and characters and things like that.&nbsp; His sessions were always fun and very cinematic.Now, rolling all the dice is a lot of work.&nbsp; I've tried it myself and it's not for me, and even for him it became a challenge after three or four or five hours with lots of dice rolls.&nbsp; But if you're serious about it, give it a try.&nbsp; Remember though that rolling dice is part of the entertainment, and if you're going to take something away you should provide something to replace it, e.g., be sure to keep up exciting combat descriptions.I don't see this as metaknowledge.&nbsp; Does the 16 hit on a touch attack?&nbsp; If so then their sword strikes glanced off some armor or couldn't penetrate a creature's skin.&nbsp; If not, perhaps the creature has supernatural speed and zipped out of the way at the last minute.&nbsp; An attentive combatant learns more about his opponent as a fight progresses.&nbsp; It shouldn't be any different for the players.&nbsp; Ok, your players now know that ugly orc with the ramshackle armor has an AC of 17.&nbsp; I say, so what?&nbsp; It's not going to help them hit the bastard.&nbsp; It doesn't provide some concrete bonus.&nbsp; If they're focusing on that knowlege in combat, let them.&nbsp; Why shouldn't they focus on that kind of information in a life-or-death situation?&nbsp; Finding a way to use that knowledge creatively is the trick.Now, if they see an NPC's spot and listen checks opposed to their Hide/MS checks... that's knowledge they probably shouldn't have.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GoodKingJayIII, post: 3117638, member: 13804"] For three years I played under a DM who rolled [I]all[/I] the dice. To-hit, damage, skill checks, everything. It was a style choice and he probably came to the same decision based on some of your concerns right now. He was always a very evocative DM, so I enjoyed being able to focus on his descriptions and characters and things like that. His sessions were always fun and very cinematic. Now, rolling all the dice is a lot of work. I've tried it myself and it's not for me, and even for him it became a challenge after three or four or five hours with lots of dice rolls. But if you're serious about it, give it a try. Remember though that rolling dice is part of the entertainment, and if you're going to take something away you should provide something to replace it, e.g., be sure to keep up exciting combat descriptions. I don't see this as metaknowledge. Does the 16 hit on a touch attack? If so then their sword strikes glanced off some armor or couldn't penetrate a creature's skin. If not, perhaps the creature has supernatural speed and zipped out of the way at the last minute. An attentive combatant learns more about his opponent as a fight progresses. It shouldn't be any different for the players. Ok, your players now know that ugly orc with the ramshackle armor has an AC of 17. I say, so what? It's not going to help them hit the bastard. It doesn't provide some concrete bonus. If they're focusing on that knowlege in combat, let them. Why shouldn't they focus on that kind of information in a life-or-death situation? Finding a way to use that knowledge creatively is the trick. Now, if they see an NPC's spot and listen checks opposed to their Hide/MS checks... that's knowledge they probably shouldn't have. [/QUOTE]

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