Normally, I make all my rolls in secret as a GM, and I let the players make all rolls for their characters. However, I don't tell the players what their target numbers are. No matter how well or how poorly they roll, there is still doubt regarding the outcome.
I changed this for my current game. I'm running the Savage Tide campaign from Dungeon magazine, using the D&D 3.5 rules pretty much as written. I started out using a GM screen, but found it got in my way too much. So I got rid of it, and have since made all my rolls out in the open. It's been fun, mostly. The players have taken away my favorite d20 more than once because I tend to roll too many 20's on it (two PCs have died from massive critical hits). There is definitely some tension as the players watch me roll, but it feels more like a mechanical tension rather than plot/story tension. I'm pretty sure I'll go back to rolling in secret for my next campaign.
One of my players also likes to GM, and when doing so refuses to ever roll the dice in the open. He says he likes the game to be more "heroic" and "dramatic". He has also admitted that he won't kill PCs. Ever. What this tells me is that whatever he rolls on his dice means pretty much nothing. He'll roll, then decide what HE thinks is most "heroic" or "dramatic", and go with that result. I really don't like this approach, and I'm not looking forward to playing in his games.
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Date: 2008-03-08 05:25 pm (UTC)I changed this for my current game. I'm running the Savage Tide campaign from Dungeon magazine, using the D&D 3.5 rules pretty much as written. I started out using a GM screen, but found it got in my way too much. So I got rid of it, and have since made all my rolls out in the open. It's been fun, mostly. The players have taken away my favorite d20 more than once because I tend to roll too many 20's on it (two PCs have died from massive critical hits). There is definitely some tension as the players watch me roll, but it feels more like a mechanical tension rather than plot/story tension. I'm pretty sure I'll go back to rolling in secret for my next campaign.
One of my players also likes to GM, and when doing so refuses to ever roll the dice in the open. He says he likes the game to be more "heroic" and "dramatic". He has also admitted that he won't kill PCs. Ever. What this tells me is that whatever he rolls on his dice means pretty much nothing. He'll roll, then decide what HE thinks is most "heroic" or "dramatic", and go with that result. I really don't like this approach, and I'm not looking forward to playing in his games.