Loaded Dice

[Janx]

What you describe are weighed decisions not arbitrary reactions.

tomayto, tomahto

The point is, some dude was under the impression that the "odds mattered" in D&D. There are for more dramatic factors on your PCs survival and success than whether another player is using loaded dice.

I can't speak for Morrus, but there's some common threads on why player cheating is more of a "what a sad soul you are" problem than "OMG, that MoFo is ripping me off" kind of problem. While there is likely SOME harm to you if I cheat, even though we're on the same team, large scale harm is largely exceptional. As opposed to if I cheat at card or basketball. The opposition is harmed because they lost the competition. D&D doesn't generally have a loser or competition. The GM ain't gonna cry in his soup if you beat all his encounters that were generally put there to be beaten (or runaway from).

 

[GM_Chris]

These sorts of games don't really work if people play to win. I used to play in an online group and practically everybody there was a min-maxer, it meant that story couldn't happen effectively and that the game eventually ended.

Simple solution: use your own glass precision dice, that way they can't be loaded and are usually far better.

 

[jasper]

I agree with Chris, a few people I have gamed with want to win at D&D. Never could wrap my brain around that train of thought.

 

[delericho]

First up, I would talk to the DM again. Explain that it's really bothering you, and you would much rather he dealt with it than you make it an issue. If he refuses, then you have three choices: suck it up, leave the game, or make an issue of it at the table - either by loudly calling out the cheat at the table, or by passive-agressively asking the player if he's going to use his loaded dice again for this roll.

Personally, I wouldn't allow a player at my table who used loaded dice, and I wouldn't play in a game with a player (or DM) who used loaded dice. IMO, the odds matter - one of the things I like about role-playing games as opposed to simple collaborative stories is that I don't know all the odds in advance. The use of loaded dice (or even excessive fudging by the DM) ruins that.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Cheating at D&D is in many ways just a very bizzare thing to do, but given human nature it should not be entirely surprising that it happens. In D&D there is no "winning" as such in the traditional sense, but the success of your character DOES have some emotional significance for players.

It isn't as if players win real money, or real-world prizes, or actual fame, but nobody rolls up a character WANTING to see them underperform, fail, and ignominiously die. Some players are going to have... issues. Those issues are with the fate of their character being tied with their own real-world sense of worth and importance in the eyes of others. In that sense, yes, it CAN be serious enough to wander into the territory of mental health. They will cheat in an attempt to make themselves look superior through the prism of their PC. They cheat to be "better" at D&D, more successful, than the others sitting at the table.

I really can't fathom any other reason to cheat at D&D than feeling that your self-worth is endangered or your manhood impugned if your PC does badly, or dies, or simply isn't superior to everyone else's PC's. If anyone can think of some OTHER explanation why someone would cheat at D&D I'd love to hear it. But AT BEST I think that makes it outrageously pathetic. But it also makes it seem not a whit less tolerable to me than cheating at actual gambling, business dealings, or the like. Those would at least have material rewards for getting away with cheating, whereas with D&D your cheating really isn't going to destroy the game - it simply spits in the faces of everyone else at the table who DOESN'T cheat - and despite seeing PC's do badly and even die still manage to enjoy playing. There's LESS justification for cheating at a game which YOU DON'T EVER "WIN" ANYWAY.

Nope. I personally will not tolerate players cheating at D&D. I won't stand for a DM who tolerates players cheating either. If it's obvious enough to be noticeable by everyone at the table it's truly outrageous. I wouldn't care to debate the matter, to plumb the depths of someones motivations for doing it. I'd just want it stopped immediately and be able to carry on without even needing to mention it again.

 

[was]

UPDATE: Emailed the DM with my concerns. DM contacted the other players and found out that they agreed with my views. DM then emailed the offending player and told him not to bring those dice to the sessions anymore. Player showed up at the session without the dice in question and a good time was had by all.

 

[nerfherder]

Result! Glad it worked out for you and your group.

 

[Jhaelen]

DM then emailed the offending player and told him not to bring those dice to the sessions anymore. Player showed up at the session without the dice in question and a good time was had by all.

Now, wasn't that easy to solve? Cheers!