I keep AC of my monsters secret until the players figure out what the numbers are, and I give approximations of a monster's HP rather than the exact number (near full HP, above half health, under a third HP, almost dead, etc.).
As for monster rolls against the players though, I roll openly and secretly, but I do not consciously think about it most of the time, so it is mostly on a whim. There are times when I consciously decide to roll openly or secretly depending on whether I want fate to decide the outcome or if I want to reserve the power to overrule destiny.
I probably should have worded the poll differently, but I don't mean do you hide the dice roll itself, but the result of the roll (or fudged total for those that do that sort of thing).
For example, I roll an attack roll behind a screen, but I tell the players, "The goblins lashes out at your belly hitting an armor class of 15." I know the character's AC is a 14, but I give the table the information incase they wish to use any number of reactions that the game has given them to alter the out come.
I hide them, sometimes I even [CONTROVERSY]fudge[/CONTROVERSY] them, but I will declare crits and nat 1s (not because it's an autofail, but usually it leads to a fail that gets noticed in narration).
On DCs, I usually withhold target numbers (though in person play my screen has a small chart facing them noting common DCs as guidelines and what certain types of armor are likely to yield in unmodified AC). If I got someone with insightful fighting or war magic, or some battle master in them, or if they don't have any of that and go a few rounds, I may give over the AC since any of those factors or having actually tested the targets mettle a bit should lead to the combatants' sense of their targets horsepower, and I do not trust my narrative ability to convey that as soundly as flavoring it around an AC reveal would.
EDIT: conversely sometimes I'll narrate whether the armor deflects the blow, or "if it weren't for your shield", a blow missed due to quick dexterity, or "missed by a mile" and give the number. My table doesn't spend a lot of time on it one way or the other. If I don't do the AC reveal, some players will start logging the whole tables rolls and deduce the AC in that fashion.
I do let then know how many damage dice are being rolled against them before giving the damage.
Always on the open, I feel that it is better to be transparent with rolls. It creates trust and foster a good environment for players to do whatever they want.
I personally despise the concept of fudging, I think it takes away the game aspect of the game.
My games are all online, and the combat rolls are out in the open. The only time I do hidden rolls are when I want to roll for something without making the party worry. Like if I say, do a roll to see if anything will attack the camp that night and if so, during which watch shift.
Attacks, saving throws, damage, the DCs attached to enemy abilities, they all show up plain as day to help keep things transparent and flowing. I enjoy combat as a player and DM but tend to like keeping it fast paced and clear.
I often do and often dont. It depends of many factors, online play or in person, mood, habbit etc
When i run games online, it depend how the VT specs are set up. Roll20 by default hides DM roll so i will change it for campaign but not always for one shots.
When i run games at home, i usually roll behind a screen if i'm sitting, but i tend to walk around when i talk and roleplay and roll wherever i am. If i'm next to player's table i can even roll one of their d20 in the open, when i straight up don't walk around with one of mine in the end.
The only roll i care not to make in the open are rolls that they could metagame the result and that i want to keep them in the dark as to the result of it. Contest Deception vs Insight, Stealth vs Perception, Persuasion or Intimidation etc are exemples if i want a creature to be able to pretend it didnt spot hidden character, dicern its deceptions or been pursuaded or intimidated. These happens rarely though.
When i run games at home, i usually roll behind a screen if i'm sitting, but i tend to walk around when i talk and roleplay and roll wherever i am.
You'd drive me nuts!
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There seem to be 2 questions getting confused for one another in this thread:
Do you tell the players the result of a roll. Ie The Goblin rolled a 17 to hit you vs The Goblin hits you.
Do you roll the dice publicly or hide the dice. Roll out in the open/public vs behind a screen/whisper
There are 4 combinations of answers here.
You roll publicly and tell players the final result. Ie. they see the d20 landed on a 14 and that the total was a 17 to hit.
You roll behind a screen and tell them the final result. Ie they don't know what the d20 was but the final result is a 17.
You roll publicly and don't share the result. Ie. they see a nat 14 and you tell them the goblin hits. (This would be a weird one imo)
You roll behind the screen and don't share the result. Ie Only "The goblin hits you"
I use option 2 most the time.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Telling the roll for me doesn't serve much as i don't keep my player characters' AC on hand. I prefer to tell the total result of my rolls and let the player tell me if its character is hit or missed. For spell's saving throws, i tell the total roll results as well and we figure if it failed or succeeded.
I don't, I only do when my players have been complaining about my roles. The other DMs at the table start to mildly panic when I start to roll in the open. With good reason.
Never fudge rolls, always roll in the open. I also tell the players the enemy ACs once they start landing blows.
Rarely, I have fudged remaining HP if it turns out I misjudged the difficulty of the fight. Once or twice, I've had enemies drop with significant HP remaining. That was out of desperation, though, and something I try to avoid (I haven't had to do it recently).
I do tend to obscure the HP of monsters, partly as a safety valve, but I'll let the players know once a monster gets really low so they can anticipate a killing blow.
Honestly: I do and endorse both; each has their use.
Usually "mundane" things like enemy attacks can be rolled openly pretty well.
BUT: being able to script things by hiding/fudging rolls can be quite the useful tool. Players not knowing the results until you describe them can build a good deal of tension, and sometimes you want to make something cool line up for story purposes.
I roll openly, for many reasons. Mostly because I want the players to know that the threat of character death is real. If the dice say your character dies, then they die. In exchange I give them some additional goodies to make them a bit more robust, like max HP every level. Have still had several close calls where an enemy has critted and done so much damage so as to nearly cause instant death (do not pass go, do not roll a death saving throw).
Honestly: I do and endorse both; each has their use.
Usually "mundane" things like enemy attacks can be rolled openly pretty well.
BUT: being able to script things by hiding/fudging rolls can be quite the useful tool. Players not knowing the results until you describe them can build a good deal of tension, and sometimes you want to make something cool line up for story purposes.
Honestly, if you want to make something line up for story purposes as a DM, don't "hide" or "fudge" the roll - just don't roll. Create whatever context there needs to be for what you want to happen. Just deus ex machina that $h*t. But accept responsibility for removing player agency in that context. Don't get me wrong, this can be a good thing, when used in appropriate amounts.
I'm a firm adherent to the notion that there should only be a roll if the outcome is determined by chance. Otherwise, they players say what their characters are attempting, and the DM determines what actually occurs (which may involve asking the player to make a roll).
Outside of combat I don't allow my players to attempt a roll unless I ask for it based on what they say their characters are doing.
After watching a few streams where some are in the open and some are not and the DC/AC/HP is stated sometimes and sometimes not, I prefer situational and not an always or never method. It can add to drama and reduce confusion depending on what method is used in what situation.
If the party is completely ignorant about a situation, it might be better to let them figure out how tough a situation is through context of results rather than comparing stats.
If the characters should know that something is obviously a weakling, it might be okay to let the players know what seriously underleveled stats they're facing if they might decide something's not a physical threat with that knowledge.
That's just two examples of oodles of possibilities and neither examples are set in stone.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
You roll publicly and don't share the result. Ie. they see a nat 14 and you tell them the goblin hits. (This would be a weird one imo)
This method is the version that I've typically used at most of the tables for which I've [recently] been the DM. Most of my rolls are out on the table in front of the group, so they can see the results of each individual die roll. If I get a natural 20 (or a natural 1), then everybody lives with the results of what fate has determined. However, I don't specify the specific results of the roll beyond a success or failure... I've found this approach keeps some of the initial mystery of the encounter until the group starts figuring out what die results succeeded or failed (at least for my tables). Tends to feel more organic as the characters/players learn more about their foes through prolonged interaction versus just handing them the numbers at the start.
Rarely, I have fudged remaining HP if it turns out I misjudged the difficulty of the fight. Once or twice, I've had enemies drop with significant HP remaining. That was out of desperation, though, and something I try to avoid (I haven't had to do it recently).
Yeah, since I make most of my rolls in front of the group, I never fudge roll results. However, I do occassionally fudge HP totals during the course of a battle. Usually, I need to add some extra HP to an enemy to ensure that the party doesn't drop something in the first one or two rounds; such as allowing a mini-boss or BBEG get an extra round to finish their monologing or some other special aspect for the story. Rarely, but sometimes, I may need to reduce an enemy's HP if the party's rolls are truly that horrendous...but I more often play out the enemy getting cocky at that point, which means they aren't pressing their attacks to their full extent.
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I keep AC of my monsters secret until the players figure out what the numbers are, and I give approximations of a monster's HP rather than the exact number (near full HP, above half health, under a third HP, almost dead, etc.).
As for monster rolls against the players though, I roll openly and secretly, but I do not consciously think about it most of the time, so it is mostly on a whim. There are times when I consciously decide to roll openly or secretly depending on whether I want fate to decide the outcome or if I want to reserve the power to overrule destiny.
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I probably should have worded the poll differently, but I don't mean do you hide the dice roll itself, but the result of the roll (or fudged total for those that do that sort of thing).
For example, I roll an attack roll behind a screen, but I tell the players, "The goblins lashes out at your belly hitting an armor class of 15." I know the character's AC is a 14, but I give the table the information incase they wish to use any number of reactions that the game has given them to alter the out come.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I hide them, sometimes I even [CONTROVERSY]fudge[/CONTROVERSY] them, but I will declare crits and nat 1s (not because it's an autofail, but usually it leads to a fail that gets noticed in narration).
On DCs, I usually withhold target numbers (though in person play my screen has a small chart facing them noting common DCs as guidelines and what certain types of armor are likely to yield in unmodified AC). If I got someone with insightful fighting or war magic, or some battle master in them, or if they don't have any of that and go a few rounds, I may give over the AC since any of those factors or having actually tested the targets mettle a bit should lead to the combatants' sense of their targets horsepower, and I do not trust my narrative ability to convey that as soundly as flavoring it around an AC reveal would.
EDIT: conversely sometimes I'll narrate whether the armor deflects the blow, or "if it weren't for your shield", a blow missed due to quick dexterity, or "missed by a mile" and give the number. My table doesn't spend a lot of time on it one way or the other. If I don't do the AC reveal, some players will start logging the whole tables rolls and deduce the AC in that fashion.
I do let then know how many damage dice are being rolled against them before giving the damage.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Always on the open, I feel that it is better to be transparent with rolls. It creates trust and foster a good environment for players to do whatever they want.
I personally despise the concept of fudging, I think it takes away the game aspect of the game.
My games are all online, and the combat rolls are out in the open. The only time I do hidden rolls are when I want to roll for something without making the party worry. Like if I say, do a roll to see if anything will attack the camp that night and if so, during which watch shift.
Attacks, saving throws, damage, the DCs attached to enemy abilities, they all show up plain as day to help keep things transparent and flowing. I enjoy combat as a player and DM but tend to like keeping it fast paced and clear.
I often do and often dont. It depends of many factors, online play or in person, mood, habbit etc
When i run games online, it depend how the VT specs are set up. Roll20 by default hides DM roll so i will change it for campaign but not always for one shots.
When i run games at home, i usually roll behind a screen if i'm sitting, but i tend to walk around when i talk and roleplay and roll wherever i am. If i'm next to player's table i can even roll one of their d20 in the open, when i straight up don't walk around with one of mine in the end.
The only roll i care not to make in the open are rolls that they could metagame the result and that i want to keep them in the dark as to the result of it. Contest Deception vs Insight, Stealth vs Perception, Persuasion or Intimidation etc are exemples if i want a creature to be able to pretend it didnt spot hidden character, dicern its deceptions or been pursuaded or intimidated. These happens rarely though.
You'd drive me nuts!
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
There seem to be 2 questions getting confused for one another in this thread:
There are 4 combinations of answers here.
I use option 2 most the time.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Never really considered this one since I play on r20, might have to try it. Will def slow the game with rolling manually tho.
Er ek geng, þat er í þeim skóm er ek valda.
UwU
Why i keep moving around is because the table where the players sit is where the map is. So usually its more when im in combat. :)
I will tell my players what my monsters rolled for their attacks but thats it. Everything else is just communicated in success or failure.
#OpenDnD
Telling the roll for me doesn't serve much as i don't keep my player characters' AC on hand. I prefer to tell the total result of my rolls and let the player tell me if its character is hit or missed. For spell's saving throws, i tell the total roll results as well and we figure if it failed or succeeded.
I don't, I only do when my players have been complaining about my roles. The other DMs at the table start to mildly panic when I start to roll in the open. With good reason.
Never fudge rolls, always roll in the open. I also tell the players the enemy ACs once they start landing blows.
Rarely, I have fudged remaining HP if it turns out I misjudged the difficulty of the fight. Once or twice, I've had enemies drop with significant HP remaining. That was out of desperation, though, and something I try to avoid (I haven't had to do it recently).
I do tend to obscure the HP of monsters, partly as a safety valve, but I'll let the players know once a monster gets really low so they can anticipate a killing blow.
Honestly: I do and endorse both; each has their use.
Usually "mundane" things like enemy attacks can be rolled openly pretty well.
BUT: being able to script things by hiding/fudging rolls can be quite the useful tool. Players not knowing the results until you describe them can build a good deal of tension, and sometimes you want to make something cool line up for story purposes.
I roll openly, for many reasons. Mostly because I want the players to know that the threat of character death is real. If the dice say your character dies, then they die. In exchange I give them some additional goodies to make them a bit more robust, like max HP every level. Have still had several close calls where an enemy has critted and done so much damage so as to nearly cause instant death (do not pass go, do not roll a death saving throw).
Honestly, if you want to make something line up for story purposes as a DM, don't "hide" or "fudge" the roll - just don't roll. Create whatever context there needs to be for what you want to happen. Just deus ex machina that $h*t. But accept responsibility for removing player agency in that context. Don't get me wrong, this can be a good thing, when used in appropriate amounts.
I'm a firm adherent to the notion that there should only be a roll if the outcome is determined by chance. Otherwise, they players say what their characters are attempting, and the DM determines what actually occurs (which may involve asking the player to make a roll).
Outside of combat I don't allow my players to attempt a roll unless I ask for it based on what they say their characters are doing.
After watching a few streams where some are in the open and some are not and the DC/AC/HP is stated sometimes and sometimes not, I prefer situational and not an always or never method. It can add to drama and reduce confusion depending on what method is used in what situation.
If the party is completely ignorant about a situation, it might be better to let them figure out how tough a situation is through context of results rather than comparing stats.
If the characters should know that something is obviously a weakling, it might be okay to let the players know what seriously underleveled stats they're facing if they might decide something's not a physical threat with that knowledge.
That's just two examples of oodles of possibilities and neither examples are set in stone.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I roll in secret, gotta get my monies worth from that screen 😛
This method is the version that I've typically used at most of the tables for which I've [recently] been the DM. Most of my rolls are out on the table in front of the group, so they can see the results of each individual die roll. If I get a natural 20 (or a natural 1), then everybody lives with the results of what fate has determined. However, I don't specify the specific results of the roll beyond a success or failure... I've found this approach keeps some of the initial mystery of the encounter until the group starts figuring out what die results succeeded or failed (at least for my tables). Tends to feel more organic as the characters/players learn more about their foes through prolonged interaction versus just handing them the numbers at the start.
Yeah, since I make most of my rolls in front of the group, I never fudge roll results. However, I do occassionally fudge HP totals during the course of a battle. Usually, I need to add some extra HP to an enemy to ensure that the party doesn't drop something in the first one or two rounds; such as allowing a mini-boss or BBEG get an extra round to finish their monologing or some other special aspect for the story. Rarely, but sometimes, I may need to reduce an enemy's HP if the party's rolls are truly that horrendous...but I more often play out the enemy getting cocky at that point, which means they aren't pressing their attacks to their full extent.