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

[Aus_Snow]

Nope, never.

 

[EATherrian]

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

That's how I do it too. I don't like to bring too many actual numbers to the table, it makes it too much a game if that's understandable. I've done this since I think MegaTraveller which was the first game I remember with skill checks. They arranged there's as (if I remember correctly): simple, easy, average, difficult, hard, impossible. I generally us the same terms. Now that I'm mostly playing I also don't want to know what my number goal is either. Just a personal preference I guess.

 

[Hussar]

I'm like the nutritionally challenged monotreme above.

I usually do and I always roll in the open.

 

[Orius]

I never tell players what AC, DC, or any other number that they have to hit. Smart and experienced players usually have a good idea of what it is, or figure it out after a few rolls with AC anyway. Players who don't pay attention, well....

I'll agree with the "it makes it harder for the DM to fudge" angle, but more importantly, I've always felt that players shouldn't know everything ahead of time. Either they'll be cautious and play smart because they don't know if they'll get their asses kicked, or they'll be reckless and bold, and that's what heroes are made of. Either way, it makes for more entertaining gameplay than a bunch of number-crunching.

 

[Drowbane]

as a general rule of thumb...

No.

We use Action Points...

 

[Trickstergod]

Not generally, no. If it's a set DC the players are more than welcome to look it up in the book and I'll just let them know if there are extenuating circumstances that may make the DC different than what it would normally be.

Otherwise, I just describe it in terms of difficulty or just describe it period and let the players figure it out from there. It's not like people can gauge how difficult something is beyond "I almost definitely can do that," "I probably can do that," "I might be able to do that," "I probably can't do that," or "I almost definitely can't do that." So players don't get any better of an indicator than that.

The only time I usually tell the players the DC is after they've been doing the same thing for a while - for example, I might tell them the opponent's AC on round 3 of a fight. I also usually tell them the difficulty of a save DC after they make the roll, so if the same effect comes up again, they'll know it then.

Otherwise, though? No. There's no reason for the characters to have any idea of the exact target number and how they statistically might fare against it.

 

[Nifft]

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.

Pretty much same here. Jumping across a pit: obvious DC. Jumping across a pit during a gusty wind storm: secret modifier. Search checks: totally secret.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Runestar]

Pretty much same here. Jumping across a pit: obvious DC. Jumping across a pit during a gusty wind storm: secret modifier. Search checks: totally secret.

Cheers, -- N

This. The significance comes when players want to use abilities which grant temporary skill check bonuses to boost their results, so they should be able to have a grasp of how difficult or easy a task is to better make an informed decision (subject to the aforementioned guidelines).

 

[Staffan]

Add me to the chorus who gives the DC when it should be obvious (jumping across a 10' pit is 11, or 21 without a running start; 3e tumbling is 15+2 per opponent) but won't give it out for non-obvious stuff (you need to get Perception 18 to see the ambush).

 

[Ginnel]

Nope never tell the DC's unless its a DC from the PHB, like a heal check to stabilise or a use magic device for a wand all of which are listed in the PHB's, same with jump checks, though as a player I copy the DC's and results to the back of my character sheet and tell the DM what I got and how far the PHB says I go