How do you deal with bad Die rolls as DM?

[Wicht]

Re: Yeah, that would qualify

Yeah, I would qualify that as being supersticious.

It's not superstition however, its merely a bit of irrational compulsion on my part. I know it doesn't do anything, I am just compelled to do it.


However, dealing with your actual question, if the players are mowing through your forces you must ask yourself - is it the dice or is it the scenario.

If the scenario is set up right and the dice are just falling bad for you, just roll with it. If you try and compensate, you will invariably end up killing off all the party members when the dice inexplicably go your way. Just heap the praise on the PCs and let them bask. Their overconfidence will end up biting them later.

If the dice are falling your way as often as not, but still the PCs are having too easy a time of it, then you reevaluate on the fly making the scenario just a little tougher.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

Question- Are the numbers engraved into the dice or painted on? If they're engraved, then the sides with the smaller numbers will be heavier because less will be taken out of them, which means they'll go down more. If they're painted on, then there's that miniscule fraction more of weight on the HIGHER numbers instead. It probably won't make any difference, but ya never know...

 

[randcortin]

However, dealing with your actual question, if the players are mowing through your forces you must ask yourself - is it the dice or is it the scenario.

Looking at the scenario, I see 4 PC's and 1 NPC with above average stats, all first level, taking on a balanced-by-the-book goblin warren, with an average of 4 or 5 goblins per room (one had 3, one had 9), and for the most part it was just a matter of the PC's eventually hitting all the goblins, because usually the goblins couldn't touch the PC's due to crappy dice rolls. Even my NPC could barely contribute, my rolls were so crappy. The PC's were so bold, even the party sorcerer was going into melee with his short spear because I was rolling so poorly on attack rolls. The barbarian never even raged the first day into the dungeon. Next week, when they face the remaining goblins, if my bad rolling continues, I might throw in a bugbear to even things out.

 

[Wicht]

It has nothing to do with your scenario/dice problem, but if you have four players there should be no need for the NPC adventurer. I would get rid of him on general principle.

 

[Ravellion]

It has nothing to do with your scenario/dice problem, but if you have four players there should be no need for the NPC adventurer. I would get rid of him on general principle.

I have to agree with Wicht here. The thing is, it sounds like you're still playing at low levels. Later on, you'll be rolling a lot more often, and the chances even out even in single combat scenarios almost ("and the hasted Kurge attacks 8 times again... as does his identical friend" )

Rav

 

[Dagger75]

As a DM my dice always fail me. For the last year I can't can't hit nuthin. My players have even admitted as much. They do not fear my creature for they know I can't hit them. Last night was the exception with my 6th level barbarian Firegiant with an anti magic field around hit. The lowest AC was 25 and I had a +30 to hit with my first attacked. I ruled 1's always miss, 20's always hit and I still missed a few times.

My worst rolls was with my dragon that one day, +22 to hit, best AC in the group 27. I missed 3 times in a row. My die rolls added together would have been a 7.

 

[Ravellion]

I ruled 1's always miss, 20's always hit and I still missed a few times.

That's not a ruling, that's the actual rule.

Rav

 

[Heathen72]

Superstition No thanks!

It's not superstition however, its merely a bit of irrational compulsion on my part. I know it doesn't do anything, I am just compelled to do it.

I used to be superstitious, but I found out that its unlucky.

 

[Kibo]

Making some baseless assumptions I've got two comments which you may find to be of dubious usefulness.

1. Shift the burden of rolling the dice. If it's just Hall->door->"Who's there"->"goblins"->senseless slaughter how much opportunity for success and failure is there? Simple traps, that alert the goblins, simple obsticles, things to spot, listen for that change the encounter. Naturally stupid behavior can trump good rolls, just and brilliant ideas can trump bad rolls. A large forewarned contingent of goblins with short bows and light crossbows, you've got a lot of rolls to average your dice ugliness over. Let the goblins make a common knowledge check to determine if they know what a caster divine or arcane looks like. Maybe DC 10 fingers someone as a caster, but DC 15 can discriminate between the powerful and the novices. Likewise if the PC's are clever, they might end up facing a smaller number of goblins and possibly get a surprise round. Then there are pets. Goblins might keep mean ferral animals that have been abused and kept hungry. Wolves have trip among their feats, and decent speed. That barbarian might be quite the terror in combat. But should your wolf be the one who gets lucky, that same barbarian on his back probably isn't as effective. And I'll just mention it, but I'd probably avoid it as it is such a cliche, you could always have a carrion crawler in a garbage pile, and 8 paralyzing attacks around, with reach, well that almost demands you roll crappy to avoid a TPK.

2. It's all about the flavor right? I describe low rolls (particularly by PC's) from the perspective that they are quite competent. So a low roll is the result of a particularly competent opposed action which isn't rolled, the enemy nimbly dodges in some sweet cinematic fashion, or its the circumstances turn against them in some way. They don't suck, something causes them to suck. Now for goblins, they actually do suck. So this might not apply to them, but your NPC on the other hand. I just picture what the combat would look like as a movie with the results dictated by the dice. Seems to work ok.

As a postscript, if you don't have anything planned for the NPC story wise, I would be inclined to kill him off. There basically isn't a good way to do it, since his death wouldn't establish anything since the PC's wouldn't miss him. If you have him killed by a sweet trap, then he's the dumbass that facillitated our DM telling the story and pulling punches. If you have an encounter where he draws all the fire, then it's weird and the PC's get a pass. I might be inclined to introduce an encounter with two buffer advanced goblins with poisoned shortbows, and support troops. This would just happen to be the time your elf was walking point, and I would lie and say who ever was first was going to eat it, roll for the hit like always, if you set it up so that the elf is flat footed, perhaps so much the better. The elf automagicly fails his fort save and coincidently you roll two and change 6's for the con damage assuming both hit. Now, if the players for what ever reason insist they go first into the ambush, I'd probably just run it as if those guys were the elf. But that's me. Why be encumbered by something which isn't serving your story.