penalty for cheating

[HomerJS]

First id kill his character. then when he does a new character give him sub par stats. he will either play knowing hes gimped because he cheated or quit. Im guessing he would quit. problem solved.

 

[William Ronald]

There is a personal saying of mine that I have used in game a few times: "Respect is given, trust is earned.'

If the player is essentially a decent person, give him a chance to try to earn the respect of his DM and his fellow players. Let him use other people's dice for a while. Then, after a probationary period of a few months, tell him you will let him use his own dice, but you will occassionally look at them. Perhaps he will get to the point where you can fully trust him again.

Personally, I do believe in giving people second chances. I am very far from perfect myself.

Ousting someone is a possible solution, but there can be hurt feelings. I have had one situation where a group split up because of hurt feelings. (In this case, it was a player deciding to betray her fellow players and a few real world issues besides. She was completely oblivious to the hurt feelings of others.) So, do try to consider other people's feelings.

Clearly, the cheater is in the wrong. However, sometimes a person who gets a second chance becomes better than before. I wish you well with this problem, BVB.

 

[jgsugden]

You're not the law. You're a friend. It isn't your place to punish him. Anything you do should not be done to punish, but to make sure the game is fun for everyone.

If I were the DM, I'd ask the other gamers what they wanted to do about the situation. Did his cheating hurt the game? Do the other players want to continue playing with them? DO they think they could rust him not to cheat again?

I would then work from their responses to figure out what should be done to preserve a fun game with no regard to 'punishing' the cheater. If the group can't play with him anymore I'd kick him out, but not as a punishment.

 

[howandwhy99]

I just want to back up jgsugden here.

This is sound advice.

 

[ph34r]

First id kill his character. then when he does a new character give him sub par stats. he will either play knowing hes gimped because he cheated or quit. Im guessing he would quit. problem solved.

IMO it's too easy to play gimped in 3e, assuming that's what he's playing. Let's say he get's standard array...a smart min/maxer could make due with that still be effective enough to not feel punished. So I think a different route should be taken.

If he's your buddy and you know him personally, let it slide and just tell him to use some other dice. If he's just there to play and you don't know him on a personal level, MAKE him use new dice, and tell him he doesn't get another chance.

 

[Coik]

Assuming this is first offense, I'd be all for giving the player a second chance. Honestly, how many here can honestly say they've never cheated? Goddess knows I have. Ya'know how it is...you report a number to the DM that's a wee bit higher than what you actually rolled, or you purposefully roll the die over an uneven surface or near an obstruction so you can get a cocked die mulligan if it comes up with a result you don't like...

 

[Lela]

If there are some current bad feelings, I'd talk to everyone (perhaps individually). Ask them how they feel about it, remind them that the game was still fun when he was cheating, and warn them that this is the kind of thing that can tear entire groups apart.

You certainly need to talk to him directly (and alone). Ask him why he felt the need to cheat. I'm sure you'll get the "I don't know" common among grade school kids (believe it or not, this is a good sign). It might be better to move on before you even get an answer. Tell him that this kind of thing can tear a group apart even if it seems harmless. Next (and the order of this is important), tell him that you've come to expect great things from him (insert genuine stuff you know about the player) and you hope he can help you make everything right with everyone else.

All in all, the whole conversation shouldn't take more than a miniute, with you doing almost all the talking. Avoid letting him say more than a word or two. The idea is to attack his behavior and not him and then build him up again via your feelings about him (personally) and express your expectations of what he can do in the future.

 

[Ds Da Man]

Ummm....Its still just a silly game played by a bunch of geeks with big imaginations. It isn't life-threatening. Just laugh that he got caught, don't take the game to seriously, and move on. If he really bothers you, get rid of him. If he is a friend, let it go. Remember, JUST A GAME!

 

[jdavis]

Ridicule him, he went out of his way to get a loaded dice so he could role better, that's just pathetic. The game isn't about winning it's about having fun, cheating at the dice is just silly (and yes I know everybody does it but that doesn't make it any less silly). If you don't think he is sincere about it then he probably isn't sincere, you should point at him and laugh at how pathetic he is if he actually went out and bought a loaded dice to play D&D with. Myself I'd be so ashamed I'd probably never show my face again.

(oh yea all sarcasm aside I'd discuss it with the whole group before I did anything, find out how all the group members feel about it first, besides pointing and laughing works much better if the whole group does it. )

 

[Haradim]

The first time, I would give a warning.

The second, friend or not, they would probably not be playing anymore (unless others/the player in question can convince me otherwise). I make it fairly clear that I have little tolerance for cheating; I don't use the rules so that they can be broken.

If I wanted an anything-goes/freeform game, I'd be running one instead of a rules-heavy game.