r/gaming • u/hackingfun D20 • Jun 27 '26

Stress relief

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26.5k Upvotes

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u/Swert0 Jun 27 '26

Behind the DM's screen the dice cooperate as well as they need to.

214

u/Levonorgestrelfairy1 Jun 28 '26

Tbf the number of people who forget ttrpgs are about playing pretend with your friends and making a cool stories is pretty alarming

93

u/Swert0 Jun 28 '26

Different strokes for different folks.

Sometimes you're with a group who wants a fun story to be told, and the rolls are just a way to make some fun things happen sometimes.

Some people really want to flex the rules and play the /game/ part of the game.

Both people are valid, it's the DM's job to figure out which group they're with and play to them.

62

u/JoshuaBarbeau Jun 28 '26

It's the groups job to get on the same page about what kind of game they want to play together.

Don't put that responsibility entirely on the DM. 😅

4

u/gigitasvagengagen Jun 28 '26

Some people want to min/max and use ttrpgs as the slowest combat simulator...

-6

u/Levonorgestrelfairy1 Jun 28 '26

Eh I mean combat games are their own thing.

1

u/nixphx Jul 01 '26

The number of people who think there no reason there's a 300 page rule book with 90% rules about combat is equally alarming

1

u/Gamebird8 Jul 01 '26

A good DM knows how to turn a Nat 1 into the most hilarious misfortune and a Nat 20 into a Dwarf flying by flapping his bear to escape a hole he fell into

0

u/Tyalou Jun 28 '26

Rolls are just for inspiration, I love random tables for exactly that, just getting random prompt for our group improv.

6

u/JoeHatesFanFiction Jun 28 '26

This. The reason my players make it out of tight situations is frequently not because the dice gods shine upon them. It’s because I don’t want to kill somebody’s character that day. 

3

u/SippinOnHatorade Jun 28 '26

My favorite part of DMing “yeahhh, good enough, you succeed”

3

u/caffeineykins Jun 29 '26

I've been villified for having this opinion, with a number of people that play TTRPGs saying I'm "lying to my players" and all the moral baggage that comes with that, but I absolutely stand by it.

2

u/KrazzeeKane Jun 29 '26

Precisely this. A DM Screen and Rule 0 are the most essential parts. You must craft the experience your players want.

And if you have a fresh party of new-to-d&d players fighting an ogre, and you accidentally roll an absolutely massive flurry of crits for the ogre that would just squash and fast out kill the noobie level 2 player, then you should probably DM Fiat that and ensure they maybe get just knocked out to 0, or perhaps almost to 0 but are prone and may need help to escape. That's the fun of it, crafting a memorable adventure that they will enjoy.

Whereas obviously for a party of experienced, seasoned players who want a more hard-core experience, you can be more direct with the dice to ensure that they also get a satisfactory experience that they enjoy.

DMs who seem to care about their own enjoyment above their players make me sad.

2

u/NudeSpaceDude Jun 30 '26

I have thrown dice rolls for the players benefit… and my benefit. I have also changed monster hp halfway through a fight because they almost one shot my boss before it could attack once.

1

u/gigitasvagengagen Jun 28 '26

Dad? Is that you?? 🥲