D&D General How Do You Feel About Randomness?

[Distracted DM]

DnD5e: we do 4d6DL1, assign. If you don't like your rolls you can use point buy.

But... I'm critical of my own choices. I'm always looking to improve, so I ask:

What's the point of rolling stats if you're not going down the line?

 

[jmartkdr2]

DnD5e: we do 4d6DL1, assign. If you don't like your rolls you can use point buy.

But... I'm critical of my own choices. I'm always looking to improve, so I ask:

What's the point of rolling stats if you're not going down the line?

Rolled stats are likely to be a smidge better than standard array/point buy - mostly because you have like a 49.5% chance of rolling at least one 16 or better, which means you can start with an 18. That might not make a big difference on spreadsheets but it feels very different in play. Obviously you could just give players a better array than standard (16 14 13 12 10 8 would do it) but rolling gets you there without houseruling anything.

Rolling low can happen but isn't particularly likely so rolling just gets generally you slightly stronger pcs out the gate. Which can be more fun if the players weren't particularly interested in being challenged.

 

[Blue]

Question: If you claim to embrace randomness in RPGs, do you ever fudge your dice?

 

[Reynard]

Question: If you claim to embrace randomness in RPGs, do you ever fudge your dice?

I make a real effort to never fudge the dice. Rolls open on the table for all to see in combat, and sticking to results for hidden rolls.

The exception is sometimes I will reroll a result from a random table for generating things like treasure or encounters, but that isn't really fudging. That is the correct and expected use of a random table like that.

 

[Lanefan]

Question: If you claim to embrace randomness in RPGs, do you ever fudge your dice?

In play, no.

In prep I might decide not to roll e.g. for treasure, but if I do roll I'm kinda bound by it.

 

[ezo]

Question: If you claim to embrace randomness in RPGs, do you ever fudge your dice?

Of course at random times, otherwise you aren't embracing randomness.

 

[Maxperson]

Well, I mean, I would, but I don't like gambling. And heat.

That shows how little you like gambling. Those casinos are kept cool! I look at gambling as a way to have fun. I set a limit of a few hundred dollars usually and that will keep me going for the weekend since I'm decent enough at cards to not lose quickly. At the end of the day I've had a lot of fun and spent as much as I would going to Disneyland for a day. Viewing it as recreation allows you the perspective to lose and not really be that upset over it. And sometimes you win!!

On topic, I like randomness. We roll stats, hit points, d20s, all of it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

So, how do you feel about the various kinds of randomness in D&D? What do you use, and what do you reject? Do you think differently about it based on which version of the game you are playing, or what kind of campaign you are playing within a specific edition? If you are a GM, do you use random encounters, random hex or dungeon generation, or things like reactions and morale?

Roll 1d6 for my response.

1. I like them.
2. I like them quite a bit.
3. I think some of the best moments of any game I've played have come about because of random rolls.
4. I believe significant randomness is inherent to the enjoyment of TTRPGs in general because it increases tension and produces unexpected results that then become diegetic.
5. I think efforts to remove or reduce randomness from the game (as it is today) usually end up removing more fun than they add. Failure and catastrophe and weirdness are typically more fun to roll with than assured success everything going just according to keikaku.
6. I do think you can go overboard with randomness, and I think it's best used in planting inspiration and giving unexpected (but constrained) effects. Some feeling of control and agency is important, and we do generally want player choice to matter. We just never want the outcome to become predictable. Failure should always be an option.

 

[Maxperson]

Question: If you claim to embrace randomness in RPGs, do you ever fudge your dice?

I very, very, VERY rarely do. Once every campaign or two, and my campaigns last a year to a year and a half, there comes a time where the players have made no strategic or roleplaying mistakes, yet the dice gods hit with a vengeance. They roll a ton of 1s and can't seem to hit double digits at the same time as I'm dropping 20 after 20 after 20.

I'm not going to TPK a group that has done nothing wrong simply due to extreme bad luck coupled with my extreme good luck. When that happens I will fudge a few rolls in order to get them to where they have a fighting chance. They can still lose or TPK, but it's not going to be the extreme luck that causes it.

 

[Reynard]

I very, very, VERY rarely do. Once every campaign or two, and my campaigns last a year to a year and a half, there comes a time where the players have made no strategic or roleplaying mistakes, yet the dice gods hit with a vengeance. They roll a ton of 1s and can't seem to hit double digits at the same time as I'm dropping 20 after 20 after 20.

I'm not going to TPK a group that has done nothing wrong simply due to extreme bad luck coupled with my extreme good luck. When that happens I will fudge a few rolls in order to get them to where they have a fighting chance. They can still lose or TPK, but it's not going to be the extreme luck that causes it.

The dice won't TPK them. Their refusal to change approach or even straight up flee in the face of a run of bad luck is what will kill them.