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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Quixote" data-source="post: 6586043" data-attributes="member: 694">This is why I make most dice-rolls out in the open.  With the exception of things like skill checks on sneaking and searching, which obviously have to be hidden from the players so that they don't immediately know the results of failed rolls (which would be information they can't possibly have), I see no reason to be furtive here.If everyone can see the dice, then everyone can agree that I'm playing fair when I'm the DM.  And fair play is pretty essential to a genuine feeling of success or failure during the game.  If the monsters' hit points can secretly fluctuate, or if I can tacitly change the results of their attacks and saving throws, well, then why am I not just making it all up as I go?  The game has rules, and my job is to referee them, to adjudicate the rules without favoring either the monsters or the players.I'm pretty sure that just about everyone I've ever played with prefers it that way.  They don't want to fight Schrödinger's monster, they don't want to ride a railroad, and they definitely don't want the outcome of their gameplay diminished by petty illusionism.</blockquote>