D&D 5E Players Roll All Dice

[Jaracove]

Wasn't there a pdf going around that had rules for having just the players roll dice, thus leaving the GM free to concentrate on telling a story?

We already have set damage amounts as an option in 5ed, so I was wondering if anyone had taken this to the next step and had the players roll dice for everything.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

I can understand players wanting to roll Saving Throw Checks for their spells (agency, blah, blah), but not Defence Rolls, I still think the DM should roll monster attacks.

 

[Hriston]

It was the newest Unearthed Arcana article by Mike Mearls.

I wouldn't want to do this myself and besides the DM is a player too.

 

[CapnZapp]

Yep, ua.

As I remember, it wasn't well received because it suggested a needlessly klutzy way of calculating how you flip a roll (from monster to player) but I could be wrong.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I wouldn't want to do this myself and besides the DM is a player too.

I believe you understand both the meaning of the phrase, and the intent of the practice, though. Right?

Yep, ua.

As I remember, it wasn't well received because it suggested a needlessly klutzy way of calculating how you flip a roll (from monster to player) but I could be wrong.

I have no idea how well/poorly it was received, but I agree that the "flip the roll around" stuff seemed awkward. It's nice that they made the effort, but if I really wanted that, I'd probably just go play Dungeon World, where the playe--*ahem* humans with PCs really do roll everything. Except the damage dealt by monsters or the environment, IIRC, though I mean if the DM told you what to roll you could do that yourself too.

 

[Charles Rampant]

I'd find it tragically boring to be the DM and never get to roll a dice in anger.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

As a DM I elect when I want to roll damage dice or use the average provided in the stat block. I usually roll for crits. Otherwise I'm just rolling skill tests, to-hits and saves, unless I decide to use a passive skill total.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I was wondering if anyone had taken this to the next step and had the players roll dice for everything.

It wasn't a new idea when it hit the UA. It first came to my attention shortly after the release of 4e, because 4e had moved spells from subject-rolled saves in one of three categories to caster-rolled attacks vs one of three (precisely corresponding) defenses. That obvious 'inversion' seemed to spark some interest in the idea.

UA did present a particularly clunky way of inverting things, though, especially saves.

Edit: to be clear, I'm referring to the the recent UA article, not one of the UA suplements from prior editions. Apparently, the 3e UA had a 'playes roll' option, as well. No idea what it's like, I heard about Gestalts and never invested in the 3eUA...

 

[Jeff Albertson]

It wasn't a new idea when it hit the UA. It first came to my attention shortly after the release of 4e, because 4e had moved spells from subject-rolled saves in one of three categories to caster-rolled attacks vs one of three (precisely corresponding) defences. That obvious 'inversion' seems to have inspired the idea.

No, it started in the 3rd Ed UA, way before 4th Ed.

 

[Hriston]

I believe you understand both the meaning of the phrase, and the intent of the practice, though. Right?

Of course I do. I guess I should have included one of these .