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

[Stalker0]

I was curious how many people told their players the DC before they roll.

Do you say, make a jump (or athletics for 4ers) check DC 20? Or do you simply say make a jump check, and tell them if they passed or failed after the result is given?

 

[Wormwood]

As a DM, I always make sure players know their target numbers.

As a player, I appreciate DMs who do this.

 

[Victim]

It depends. In some cases, like jumping, the DC is typically based on obvious factors. If the PC needs to jump over 2 squares, then he should know the DC. Knowing how the rule works equals knowing the DC. If there are noticeable factors like say wind that might impact his jump, he should probably know about those too.

On the other hand, something like Insight or Bluff is typically going against an unknown circumstance, so the players don't know the DC.

Of course, I might be tempted to tell people the DCs - or at least relative difficulty - in a full blown skill challenge.

 

[El Mahdi]

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).
However, I will try to give a feel for how dificult something will be through narrative.

 

[Mouseferatu]

As a DM, I always make sure players know their target numbers.

As a player, I appreciate DMs who do this.

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.

It's not a big deal, and of course, in this game, you can't avoid a good amount of "number tossing." But when it comes to things like DCs (or for that matter, a creature's AC and defenses), I'd rather, as a player, not know until I figure it out via trial-and-error.

 

[blargney the second]

We use Eberron action points, so nope I don't tell the DC before they try. I do tell them if it's easy, insanely difficult, or the like so they at least have a ballpark.
-blarg

 

[Mephistopheles]

Only if it should be obvious to them.

I might give them some hints if appropriate, perhaps telling a would be pick pocket that his victim looks drunk or on guard, or telling a lock picker that the lock appears to be a make he's familiar with or totally unlike anything he's seen before, or telling a fast talker that the guard looks like he's still wet behind the ears or like he's been around the block a few times, but no numbers.

 

[D'karr]

I was curious how many people told their players the DC before they roll.

Do you say, make a jump (or athletics for 4ers) check DC 20? Or do you simply say make a jump check, and tell them if they passed or failed after the result is given?

It depends. In most circumstances I let the players know that a task is easy, hard, or nigh impossible, but I seldom give them the target number.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

My past couple of DMs were also that way as well.

 

[Masquerade]

No, never. I don't recall playing with a DM who announced DCs, either.