For DMs: Ticked off players and funky d20's

[adwyn]

I had the same problem with a player a few years ago. I was less afraid of cheating and more frustrated by her taking the time to pick up the die and double check the other side before she could announce the roll with certainty.

I went with the buying her some dice, but she refused to use them, preferring her old ones. When I insisted that she change to easier to read dice she went ballistic, accusing me of thinking she cheated on the dice.

It was the biggest fight we've had in 7 years of marriage.

 

[francisca]

You can have my GameScience "+ 20s" when you pry them from my cold, dead hands!

A few spot checks during the game should keep him honest. If not, kick his keister from your table.

 

[cuteasaurus]

Does he sound like the most mature player ever? Umm, not so much. However, I'm not as quick to say that protests make him a cheater. If you have a set of dice that you prefer (for sentimental reasons perhaps) then having someone tell you you can't use them for no good reason (because you're not cheating) seems arbitrary. So, from that player's point of view, he (or she) is being told to stop something he/she does like for seemingly no good trade-off.

If the person in question isn't cheating, then to make the trade-off "worthwhile" you have to put it in terms of protecting group fairness (I need all dice to be easily read so that I can see the rolls in order to mentally check that no one has an unfair advantage or disadvantage due to the dice being used). In fact, saying that you want to make sure that the dice are "balanced" is a good, and perhaps more neutral, way of talking about the problem. Instead of talking about cheating, talk about protecting the players from dice that don't seem to be trully random.

Of course, depending on what has been said between you and this player, it may be too late for that train anyway...

 

[smootrk]

I had the same problem with a player a few years ago. I was less afraid of cheating and more frustrated by her taking the time to pick up the die and double check the other side before she could announce the roll with certainty.

I went with the buying her some dice, but she refused to use them, preferring her old ones. When I insisted that she change to easier to read dice she went ballistic, accusing me of thinking she cheated on the dice.

It was the biggest fight we've had in 7 years of marriage.

Very good case in point for not singling out the player. Use the subtle methods. I like the 2d10 method to address this.

I would also not 'increase' the player's foes or damage as suggested by a few. This just gives the player more activities to be a major part of. In the psychological aspect, it is counter-productive to 'award' the behavior with more attention and more 'spotlight'. It would be better to diminish the activities of the character and player. --ie. like the bad child acting up to get more attention. Better to ignore the bad behavior and reward the good behavior.

 

[drothgery]

Alternately, just start writing down his rolls. You should be able to collect a reasonable set of data from just 1 or 2 sessions. After 20 or so rolls, average them all together. If the results are higher than average (10.5), just show him the calculations. Tell him that you're afraid his dice aren't "lucky," they're "weighted". If you've got a statistics person in the group, do a nice analysis, with graphs and stuff.

FWIW, twenty rolls probably isn't enough for the average of actual rolls to converge with the average value on any given roll.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

FWIW, twenty rolls probably isn't enough for the average of actual rolls to converge with the average value on any given roll.

I agree. Twenty times twenty is, though. If you have the stamina to write down 400 results, go ahead with it. You can make a statistical chart and get average, how many times X is rolled, and standard deviation (the steps to test a die are out there)

 

[Axegrrl]

Another option: Buy one single *big* d20. I've seen some that are a good 2" across, foam ones that are 8" across, and most recently, plushies that are about 6" across. Make everyone use that particular die on the rolls that you think this player is most likely to fudge.

 

[Zelgar]

Use a Sharpie

If this guy is so upset about using a different die, suggest that he paint one set of the 0 - 9 so that it is plainly visible what set is the 1 - 10 and the other is 11 - 20. (Note: The entire face of the die should be painted, not just the number.) Since Sharpies and other permanent markers come in a variety of colors, it really shouldn't be too hard to find a color combination that would work.

Zelgar

 

[helium3]

Saying someone has "Brass Balls" is generally a compliment. It means you're tough and "ballsy." So, he was trying to put you down by pointing out that your wizard is weaker than his cleric, but really he complimented you.

Oh, and don't tolerate his crap. You're the DM. You put a whole heck of a lot more time into running games so that this guy can have free entertainment on a regular basis. If he doesn't like switching to different dice, then he can quit playing. If he convinces the rest of the group to kick you out, then I guess you won't be needing to waste hours of free time prepping games for a bunch of ungrateful jerks.

Also, be polite about it. The DM never loses his cool.

 

[HellHound]

He wants me to take away everyone else's favorite d20s if I'm going to take away his.

Do it.

But make it fun.

Go out and buy a set of REALLY UGLY big d20s. One of the booths at Origins was selling hiddeous orange ones with white lettering that were at least 3 inches across - since the colour was so nasty, they were only $3 each which is a steal for dice of this size. Get six of this size and put them in the middle of the table each game, and all d20 rolls by players have to be made with these dice. It becomes fun and can even help build a sense of camaraderie over the hideousness of the dice.