THIS is why I roll in the open...

[Henry]

I do both, actually - I mix and match a bit. Some sessions I'll roll in the open, some I'll roll behind a screen, but it more depends on my mood than an actual reason.

One thing is certain: Rolling in the open DOES increase the dramatic tension for my group. Diaglo seemed to frame this as a negative, but when they get to know what rolls of mine succeed and fail for an enemy, they actually get anxious every time I roll the die, because they get an immediate gratification if they see me succeed or fail!

 

[diaglo]

Diaglo seemed to frame this as a negative, but when they get to know what rolls of mine succeed and fail for an enemy, they actually get anxious every time I roll the die, because they get an immediate gratification if they see me succeed or fail!

well it depends.

not all encounters end with one side killing the other. so if one side retreats or gets away...

i don't mind calling out my total.

 

[azmodean]

Similarly to someone else, we are too spread out for everyone to actually see my rolls, so "in the open" is kind of pointless, heck, I don't even have a DM screen. On the other hand, I never fudge rolls. If I created an encounter that turns out to be unexpectedly deadly, I might adjust the attacker's abilities mid-battle, but I can't justify fudging a roll for any reason.

 

[Belen]

I use a screen in my home sessions. This way, my cats cannot see the dice. They go nuts foir the dice.

I always roll in the open at game days or when I am at the game store, unless I am rolling for certain checks. It is no fun it you know the surprise is coming!

 

[WizarDru]

yes and no.

i like rolling in the open.

but it also means telling or showing the players what the total is...

you roll 14... AC of PC is 25... and you still hit.... meaning the players now know the opponent gets +11 to roll at least.

and then it also means telling them feats and stuff... like power attack.

That's true...but I think in the dark or not, they'll still be able to reverse engineer some of that stuff, anyhow. I usually chalk that up to battlefield knowledge and the fact that the system wasn't meant to handle a certain degree of granularity (nor should it, IMHO).

 

[Crothian]

Why does it matter if you roll in the open or not? I trust my DM not to lie to me about the rolls. A little trust really helps the game out a lot.

 

[Psion]

That's true...but I think in the dark or not, they'll still be able to reverse engineer some of that stuff, anyhow. I usually chalk that up to battlefield knowledge

As do I. I figure that an experienced combatant is going to notice when his opponent is THAT GOOD.

 

[Selenim]

I roll in the open since I don't need to fudge dice rolls (luck is part of the game). Metagaming is not a problem on my table and even there I agree that a character would be able to determine how good his opponent is after a few swings. I can even discuss game plots with my players. Their feedback helps me to plan ahead since my campaign is character oriented.

Besides I just love to see the player's faces when I roll a 20 (or a 1 ). I occasionly use rerolls if the dice are getting too one sided.

 

[Mystery Man]

I usually do not roll in the open but when I roll 3 20's at once or something equally crazy I'll have a player look over the screen to witness just so they don't think I'm making it up. It happens often enough.

I hardly ever fudge dice rolls and the only time I do is early on in character development just to give them a fighting chance.

 

[shilsen]

It was the climactic encounter that the party had at the end of a multi-session expedition into the Depths of Sharn. There they encountered a group of Dolgaunts leading some Dolgrims and their created abomination, the Gibbering Mouther.

Get out of my brain, damn you ! 2nd session in one of my Sharn games involved PCs going into the Cogs and running into a group of dolgrims and a dolgaunt (and 2 chokers). After defeating them, the PCs followed a couple of fleeing survivors down a side tunnel and ran into the dolgaunts' "pet", a gibbering mouther.

And I've been rolling in the open for a long time now and would never bother to use a DM screen again. Firstly, a screen is too much trouble. Second, I never fudge, so why use a screen anyway?