How do you deal with bad Die rolls as DM?

[randcortin]

I was DMing my group for the first time today and they tore through my golblin warren with ease, primarily because I could never hit them! With Javelins, or Morningstars, I think I hit all PC's including my own NPC a total of like, 6 times out of 6 encounters. I tried changing dice, as if that works, I tried all sorts of supersticious good luck signs (and the worst part is, I'm not supersticious!) but still the dice failed me, for the monsters and for my NPC. Now the dwarven barbarian calls my NPC an "elf-fighter" for the way he fights, they're complaining he's taking up a share of the experience when he isn't contributing, and I built him well (+6 to hit ranged attacks within 30 feet) but I can't do anything about it when the dice fail me! I never even considered fudging the rolls in my favor (I rolled for the most part within sight of the players) and even with I was lucky enough to score a critical hit, it did only 3 damage. Talk about lame. I included an NPC because I thought the players would need the help, but it ended up just getting in the way.

Any suggestions from experienced DM's?

 

[jgbrowning]

let 'em roll! eventually things will average out.

joe b.

 

[Crothian]

Sometimes the bad guys have a bad day, just like the PCs can. Reverse is also true.

 

[hong]

Just let the dice fall where they may. If the players are whinging about your NPC, have him leave the party. By Murphy's law, the next session will be the one where they get their butts kicked....

 

[Samnell]

Now the dwarven barbarian calls my NPC an "elf-fighter" for the way he fights, they're complaining he's taking up a share of the experience when he isn't contributing, and I built him well (+6 to hit ranged attacks within 30 feet) but I can't do anything about it when the dice fail me!

Why does it matter that the PCs (one of them, anyway) don't like the NPC?

EDIT: And I was just joking about the XP share.

 

[Kaji]

Don't mess with the die. The PC's will find it that much more fun and amusing when the NPC finally crits, and others here have pointed out that eventually, the law of averages will make it all work out. Besides, when he's powerful enough that even the worst rolls are likely to hit, you'll all look back and laugh at the old "ElfFighter" days...

 

[Numion]

I've got two tips:

1) When not using dice, let it lie on the table with a high number upwards. This way you're "teaching" the dice to roll high. However, you don't want to put a 20 upwards, because then you're wasting the valuable "20-time", which is oh-so-rare. 17 or 18 will do fine for teaching a d20.

2) You've got to keep the dice warm. If they're cold, no good. A little artificial warming might be in order if you're having difficulty getting any good results.

+) Bonus advice: The dice usually take the hint if you forcefully throw the dice at least 20 feet on to a hard surface after a bad roll.

Always works for me. Oh well, at least 1/20 of time..

 

[Numion]

And one more thing: Do not roll the dice without reason! You'll "waste" good numbers and frustrate the dice, which is never good!

 

[Wicht]

And one more thing: Do not roll the dice without reason! You'll "waste" good numbers and frustrate the dice, which is never good!

I am not actually superstitious, but if I am rolling for no reason and roll high, I feel compelled to roll some low numbers so that statistically I feel the dice are more likely to come out high when I need them.

 

[randcortin]

Yeah, that would qualify

I am not actually superstitious, but if I am rolling for no reason and roll high, I feel compelled to roll some low numbers so that statistically I feel the dice are more likely to come out high when I need them.

Yeah, I would qualify that as being supersticious. With the exeption of weighted or shaved/misshapen dice, the chance of rolling any number on a D20 is 1 in 20, regardless of previous rolls. I was just having a bad day rolling, and was wondering if there's any DM tricks you can use when the dice are failing to roll good, something that doesn't necessarily involve dice.