Your d20...an inny or outy?

[Man in the Funny Hat]

As a DM I almost always roll behind the screen. As for players doing calculations to figure out the degree of bonuses I'm not really concerned. Though it happens (and sometimes it's useful when they realize just how AWESOME a foe they've picked a fight with) it's normally not an issue. Heck, they've generally got years if not decades of experience enough to know the MM's pretty well.

As for trust, I almost DON'T want them to trust me. If they trust me too much then they're using me as a crutch. "Duane wouldn't kill our PC's - WE TRUST HIM. We don't have to think about what our characters are actually doing because we can trust our DM to protect us from our own stupidity."

I keep my rolls hidden because combat in D&D is part of the GAME - it is not just a procedure. When a monster keeps hitting hard I want them to WONDER if it's because it's more than they thought or because I'm getting lucky with the dice. If it keeps missing them I want them to wonder if it's really that weak, if it's actually an illusion, or if I'm maybe even setting them up for something nefarious. I don't care if they manage to reverse engineer the math. That's just players doing what their characters will naturally be doing anyway - calculating their own survival chances. But part of the point of the game is that they don't just have that answer handed to them.

I hide rolls behind a screen for the same reason I hide my maps and notes - to maintain the mysterys of the game and not just play "follow-the-procedure". One of the advantages of keeping rolls secret is that when I do roll in the open it can often be a SIGNAL to the players: "Look, THIS is how low of a roll this monster can hit you with." Or, "You know what your chances here are for life and death and you put yourself in this position so I'm not going to shield you from the consequences - let the dice fall..." Or it might just be that I haven't put up the shield and am not hiding my dice because we all know that this combat holds no secrets or question marks for anyone... or maybe I just want you to THINK that.

Oh yeah, and I DO fudge rolls occasionally. I try to avoid it but I have declared for years - DICE do not run my game: _I_ run my game.

As a player, while I sometimes do wish I could see more of the DM's rolls, I more often have wished that he WOULD hide his dice because _I_ want him to keep more mystery in his game.

If a DM is chronically fudging dice or just ignoring them players can tell. It doesn't keep that flaw hidden from players for long because it will manifest itself in ways beyond just dice results. IMO, trust in the DM has almost NOTHING to do with whether he's rolling in the open or not. I actually think that a good DM WILL cheat his rolls or even ignore the dice when he can manipulate a more fun/interesting outcome FOR THE PLAYERS by doing so.

 

[hemera]

To start, when playing D&D (any edition), I am 60/40 a player. Games outside of D&D, I am like 90/10 a GM.

I generally prefer rolling behind the curtain as it keeps the flow of the game going. That and I do occasionally like messing with player's heads by rolling dice for no real reason. Roll a few dice, go hmm.... and watch them get a little worried. A little dramatic tension is always good.

Of course, one thing I don't really like is using the anonymity to pull punches, but that's just a personal preference. I grew up dying a LOT in 1e, and COC, so character death is just part of the experience for me. As I said, my preference.

 

[anest1s]

DM, behind screen.

If the players want me to roll behind the screen they can expect that I will fudge - for or against them.
If not, they can expect a not so heroic death from a-lot-more-than-I-would-expect criticals.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Good question. I would say that I play 60% of the time and DM 40% of the time, so it's pretty even.

As a DM, I'm like Piratecat. I like to roll behind a screen for most rolls, but when it's the "life or death" rolls, I like to roll those in the open.

As a player, I really don't care either way honestly. I leave that up to the DM who is running the game and let them do what they like to do. I know I don't like others telling me what to do and how I should run my game, so I feel that I shouldn't tell a particular DM that he's wrong to roll one way or the other.

 

[wedgeski]

99% GM.

I prefer to roll behind the screen, but very important rolls are thrown in the open. This is less about player trust than it is a tool for ramping up the tension. My players know that if a die falls on their side of the screen, something big is going on.

 

[the Jester]

I'm the dm, and I roll almost entirely in the open, except when I'm rolling for something the pcs shouldn't know the odds of or (for instance) when they're searching and the like.

 

[DragonLancer]

I'm GM 90% of the time and I always roll behind the screen. The only time I don't is for ethereal 50% miss checks and that sort of thing, as I just figure it's fair for the players to see that.

As a player I prefer the GM to keep their rolls secret.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'm mainly a GM. I run games using MapTool, either online or with a projector in-person. When I first started running games online, I coded up my monsters so that the results of their rolls would only be visible to me. I asked my players what they thought of this, and they said that they preferred to see the rolls in the open, so I've done it that way ever since.

Now, for the in-person games, no one else can see the results of the rolls on the computer screen. It's not that I'm trying to hide them, but I just don't have a way to display them. So, they're hidden, but it's not intentional. I haven't found it to make a difference in my GMing at all.

If I ever feel the need to fudge, I might do so with monster hit points or with monster tactics / recharging of powers, etc. I've done this in both directions - a hit that should have killed a monster too soon might instead just take it down to a low hit point total if the battle is too easy, or a hit that didn't quite drop the bad guy might finish him off if the battle is too hard. A once-per-encounter power might get a second use if the battle is easy, or I might not bother to see if a nasty power recharges if the fight is hard, etc. I don't even use this degree of "fudging" very often, so I don't feel the need to have more fudge power on the die rolls themselves.

 

[Dordledum]

As player (50% of the time) - I prefer not to see them. I don't want to know the stats of the monster attacking me, helps me in the suspension of disbelieve.

As a GM (other 50% of the time) - I tend to roll everything hidden. I also think some rolls should always be rolled hidden by the GM even if they are player actions: spots/ listens/ searches / disable devices / etc.

 

[Elf Witch]

I am about 50% DM and 50% player.

As a DM I roll behind a screen. I roll players sense motive, spot, disable traps, diplomacy. I have found that some players play differently when they know they rolled a low sense motive or disable trap.

As a player I prefer playing with a DM who rolls behind a screen I don't want to know the monsters stats. I want the DM to feel free fudge if he thinks it is important to the game.

I trust my DMs if I didn't I would not play with them.