DMs: Do you tell players the DC before they roll?

[Filcher]

Usually, no. I don't tell the players what AC they need to hit on a monster either. I'm of the DM school of "fudging when necessary" (already discussed to death in other threads). If I tell them the DC, I can't fudge. However, there are times where I do tell them the DC because I feel it engenders a certain amount of drama about the roll. I won't do it when life or death is in the balance (that's when I usually fudge).

This is my exact style, except for the last part. When the chips are REALLY down is when the players need to know we play for keeps. (I fudge like hell, for drama, up to that point.) Then, when we all know it is life or death, I call out the DC, have everyone (including myself) roll out in the open, in the center of the table.

Basically I'm praying to the dice gods to carry the PCs through at that point. The last con I was at, we did exactly this, and the PC (out of healing surges and down to single digits HP) defeated the unholy snake god with a natural 20.

Perfect D&D moment made possible by a lot of cheating.

 

[JeffB]

Hmm... I'm the opposite. As both a player and a DM, I'd rather not do that. I find it easier to maintain immersion if I reduce the frequency of tossing numbers back and forth..

I'm with the mouse

I simply call for a check the majority of the time. As a player, I don't car e much to know what I need to hit, but whether I've succeeded or not. I enjoy *all* the unknown of the game...always have. The less I know, the better

 

[Toben the Many]

I do both. Sometimes I tell the player the DC, sometimes I don't.

Typically, I tell the player the DC, if there are incremental results that might arise from their check. For example, I might say, "You'll find out okay information on a 15, better information on a 20, and really good information on a 25." I usually do this with things like Knowledge checks, Gather Information checks, etc. This is because I feel that most people generally know if they know something or not. For example, you might realize that you don't know that much about cars, but you know a good bit about computers.

The way I see it, this provokes a great deal of mystery for me as the DM. Because once I've laid out the DC, I can't take it back. So when the player rolls the die, I honestly don't know what's going to happen next. Am I going to be making a big revelation, or am I just going to give them a little hint about something. As a DM, I like not knowing what is going to happen next in my own game.

Like some people here, I like to do that so that the player knows I'm not BSing them. Too often as a player, I have rolled only to see in the DM's eye that he's probably not going to tell me something unless I roll really, really well, or that he's going to give it to me anyway unless I roll pretty poorly. I dislike that, because it makes me feel like my skills don't really mean anything and that whether or not I succeed is really the result of the DM's fancy.

Now, I won't give DCs when it is necessary to maintain a certain mystery. For example, I'm not going to tell someone their DC for a Hide or Move Silently check - as far as they're concerned, they are moving as silently as possible.

Occasionally, too, I'll keep the DC secret if I want to preserve a bit of mystery to the results.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

If there is a reason why a PC would be able to determine how difficult something is then I would give some sort of answer (how close to the actual DC may vary).

So a DC be a out-of-game term for saying, say... "okay that jump is 2 meters".

 

[LostSoul]

Yeah, most of the time.

 

[cougent]

I find that I am probably inconsistent on this issue.

I know there have been times when I heard myself say "You need to beat a 12" and then other times when it was "This is going to be pretty tough for some of you" if they needed a 17 or so.

I try NOT to use numbers for the very reasons mentioned by Mouseferatu, I don't want this to turn into Yahtzee. "Come on anything over 9!"

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

I usually do.

I also usually roll out in the open too.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Generally no, I don't tell the players DC's for skill checks and saves. However there are exceptions. If it is something that they could easily calculate for themselves anyway, like a tumble, jump or climb check then I will. Also, if they are in combat with a creature that requires the same save at the same DC over and over again I will eventually just tell them what the DC is. After a few successful/failed saves they will work it out for themselves anyway.

Olaf the Stout

 

[billd91]

For me, it depends on the task. Skills with generally set DCs like climb, jump, and tumble, I let people know the DCs. There's no need to hide the information and the characters should have a general feel for how difficult the task would be, in character.
But for opposed checks, I don't tell the players the DCs.

 

[Jack99]

Very rarely. Mostly I just say easy-average-hard-very hard, if it is something obvious (like jumping between two rooftops). Mostly I just call for the roll and smile