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

[wedgeski]

If a player asks me something which they have little chance of succeeding at, I will hint as much ("Give me an Arcana check, and make it good"); if the check is pivotal to the proceedings, I will probably specify the DC so we can all crowd around the table and enjoy the tension; if the check is just part and parcel of everyday gaming, I'll just ask for the check and describe the results appropriately. AC's I will normally reveal after two or three rounds of combat: enough time to maintain some mystery, and quickly enough that the players can take on the responsibility of telling me whether the attack succeeds. Like most things, revealing the DC -- or not -- is one more tool in the DM's tool box and should be used as such.

 

[Mallus]

Yes, I usually tell my players the DC before they roll, or soon after the 1st roll. I trust that they're capable of keeping player and character knowledge separate (as they have demonstrated many times during the past 4.5 years of our campaign).

 

[Hand of Evil]

As a GM, no - I try to use discriptions in place of numbers.

 

[Umbran]

If it is something familiar to them, without unseen influences that influence the target number, yes, I will usually tell them. That is usually, because I must occasionally withhold a normal target number so that the players cannot easily guess when there's something they don't know about.

If it is something well outside their normal experience, such that the character should not be able to easily gauge how difficult it would be to accomplish the task, then no, I don't reveal the target number.

 

[Zustiur]

For AC, Saves/defenses, spell penetration and such? No.
For actions that a character can weigh up beforehand? Yes.

Think of it this way:
You and I standing in front of a pit can give ourselves a good estimate of whether or not we can jump to the other side.
When you abstract that into a distance that you cannot physically see, it gets a bit harder. When that abstract is in imperial measurements, and your players are used to everything being metric, you need to give them a hand to understand the challenge. Knowing the DC gives them a good idea of the challenge in the same way that being able to see the distance, and know how good you are a jumping gives you a good idea of your chances.

Letting the player size up the DC is like letting the character size up the distance.

 

[MonkeyDragon]

I'm similar to a lot of folks here, I think.

Most skill checks, they're going to know the numbers. Jumps, climbs, balancing and all that jazz. For the most part, someone will have the PHB open and everyone will know how well they have to do. I'll tell them if there's a modifier to the check due to the environment. I think they have the right to know if they have a reasonable expectation of success based on what their characters can see.

For things like knowledges, they give me the check, and the better they do, the more they get. If they don't have the knowledge in question and want to swap something else (survival instead of know. nature, or arcana instead of planes), I'll generally allow a bit of stretch, but let them know they'll have to roll really well.

Finally, ACs and saves will be mysterious for a round or two, but by that time usually someone's missed by one or two, and someone's hit by one or two, so it doesn't hurt for them to know the exact number. And my players like knowing it to know exactly what they need to hit.

 

[Obryn]

I always give out DCs when it makes my job easier.

I seldom give out DCs when it makes my job harder.

-O

 

[El Mahdi]

I'm like the nutritionally challenged monotreme above.

Sweet! Maybe you should give Scurvy Platypus some lime?

 

[Arnwyn]

Sometimes - but only if it should be obvious.

Otherwise, no.

 

[Jhaelen]

Unless the DC is fixed (in which case the player might know the DC anyway and will actually tell me what the DC is) I don't mention it. Instead I ask almost after every roll:
"Do you want to use an action point?"