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Conducting the Game	-	AD&&D	-	DMG

In many situations it is correct and fun to have the players dice such things
as melee hits or saving throws. However, it is your right to control the dice
at any time and to roll dice for the players. You might wish to do this to
keep them from knowing some specific fact. You also might wish to give
them an edge in finding a particular clue, e.g. a secret door that leads to a
complex of monsters and treasures that will be especially entertaining.
You do have every right to overrule the dice at any time if there is a
particular course of events that you would like to have occur. In making
such a decision you should never seriously harm the party or a non-player
character with your actions. "ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"

Examples of dice rolls which should always be made secretly are:
 

There will be times in which the rules do not cover a specific action that a
player will attempt. In such situations, instead of being forced to make a decision,
take the optoin to allow the dice to control the situation.  This can
be done by assigning a reasonable probability to an even and then letting
the player dice to see if he or she can make that percentage.  You can
weigh the dice in any way so as to give the advantage to either the player
or the NPC, whichever seems more correct and logical to
you while being fair to both sides.

Now and then a player will die through no fault of his own. He or she will
have done everything correctly, taken every reasonable precaution, but
still the freakish roll of the dice will kill the character. In the long run you
should let such things pass as the players will kill more than one opponent
with their own freakish rolls at some later time. Yet you do have the right
to arbitrate the situation. You can rule that the player, instead of dying, is
knocked unconscious, loses a limb, is blinded in one eye or invoke any
reasonably severe penalty that still takes into account what the monster
has done. It is very demoralizing to the players to lose a cared-for-player
character when they have played well. When they have done something
stupid or have not taken precautions, then let the dice fall where they
may! Again, if you have available ample means of raising characters from
the dead, even death is not too severe; remember, however, the constitution-
based limit to resurrections. Yet one die roll that you should NEVER
tamper with is the SYSTEM SHOCK ROLL to be raised from the dead. If a
character fails that roll, which he or she should make him or herself, he or
she is FOREVER DEAD. There MUST be some final death or immortality will
take over and again the game will become boring because the player
characters will have 9+ lives each!
 

Q: My players want to roll their own dice.
Do I have to let them?

A: No. The DM is free to establish whatever
"table rules" he wishes. Most players
will enjoy the game more, however, if they
are allowed to make their own die rolls. If
you are worried about cheating, you can
still allow players to make their own rolls
but require any roll to be witnessed by at
least two other players.
(121.14)
 

THE FORUM
I feel compelled to respond to an idea that has
circulated in recent forum articles, and has now
been championed by Frank Mentzer
(DRAGON issue #101). This idea is that somehow
for a campaign to be fun, the DM must
cheat on his die rolls. As Mr. Mentzer put it, ?I
make up results regularly, to keep the game fun.?
(DRAGON #101, p. 17.) I contend that DM
cheating does not make a game more fun; quite
the contrary, it makes the game less enjoyable for
the players.

The type of cheating that Mr. Mentzer con
dones is the type in which the DM is a nice guv.
The DM is nice because he cheats to help out the
characters. Instead of killing the PC, the DM lets
the PC live by cheating on his (the DM?s) die
rolls.

But Mr. Mentzer erroneously states that this is
more fun. First of all, this type of campaign all
too easily degenerates into the type of campaign
where players don?t fear death. The players do
incredibly stupid acts, knowing that the DM will
save them. While this may be some fun initially,
it quickly wears thin.

Furthermore, when a DM cheats to help
players, it is not nearly as much fun for the better
players. Typically the DM will end up helping
the players whose characters deserve to die.
Therefore, the better players don?t get the benefit
of their superior play. It also stifles creative
solutions to problems that players find themselves
in. Instead of relying on their wits, the players
learn to rely on the DM?s ?kindness? to save
their characters. Additionally, the poorer players
won?t ever learn that their poor play would hurt
their characters. Without the sharp lesson of
death, the DM can?t show the players that foolishness
has its own reward.

Perhaps the worst result of DM cheating is that
the players? victories are tarnished. It?s not
difficult for players to comprehend when they slay
the dragon and they only have one hit point left
that perhaps the DM had something to do with it.
This can only take away from the players? fun
and their sense of accomplishment.

Besides being less fun for the players, cheating
DMs are cheating themselves. If a DM knows
that his players will survive every encounter,
there?s no sense of excitement for the DM. If the
DM has a truly tough encounter for a special
item, and the DM knows it?s a fair battle, then
it?s just as exciting for the DM as it is for the
players. And it?s not all that difficult to make
balanced encounters. Mr. Mentzer?s excellent
article ("Plan it by the numbers," issue #101) is a
great aid for the DM. If the DM is worried that
an encounter is too tough, he can always playtest
it beforehand. DMs should put in the extra time.
This will let the players and the DM have more
fun, and more unpredictable and exciting times
will be had by one and all.

Thomas E. Wolff
Edina, Minn.
(Dragon #103)
 
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Storm Raven
Too true. Often I have found when I am DMing that the solution for a game session that is in danger of becoming stalled is to simply say "roll initiative".

Okay, but...

You neglected to add "or die!" after "roll initiative..." <paranoid>
 

GaRY
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikosandros
Indeed you're far too lenient... 

P.S.
Just kidding... I agree on the second save.

As a matter of fact I really hate to see players that are doing things well, thinking, having their PCs interact as a group, with the environment, lost their characters because of bad luck, sheer chance. I will do my best as the DM to see that does not happen, save to a PC that is better off eliminated, a new and better one then created to take his place. That is rare...

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by airwalkrr
I can't restrain my morbid curiosity. Do any particular cases come to mind from your campaigns, Gary? What do you consider a PC "better off eliminated?" An overpowered one? An underpowered one? An annoying one? All of the above/other?

The most obvious sort is the PC that had wretched stats to begin with and in the course of adventuring lost even more due primarily to chance, not bad play.

I do indeed find over-powered and badly played PCs annoying, so if the player with such a character foolishly allows his PC to get into a situation where loss of potent magic itesm, levels, and/or life can occur, the dice are rolled in the open; whatever occurs from the result syands without and "judge fudge" to prevent it.

Gary