We have all run into the problem of when, where and how often, to roll the dice. Do we allow players to make all of their own dice rolls? Some of them? None of them? I must admit, I am fairly permissive. I let my players roll all of their own dice. I just never tell them what they need to roll. Also, is fudging the dice roll ok for the GM to do? I have come up with a few guidelines. But don't just mimic me. Use these as a stepping stone to develop your own style.
1. Make all of the rolls yourself. This is something I never do. Just do not have the patience for it. But I do know some GMs who use it exclusively. It is simple and fair. You make all of the rolls behind a hidden screen. Your players only use their own dice in character creation or development wherever your system may call for it. Benefits: You can fudge the dice rolls as needed to help players out. If you have one of those "I got 12 critical hits in a row" players, otherwise known as "the cheater" you can now circumvent him/her. Player's suspension of disbelief is not interupted by dice rolling, and they may better appreciate your brilliant storytelling. Drawbacks: Your players will always claim you were unfair. They may only do so in their hearts, but they will believe it. It craetes alot more work for you. While there is no excuse for not having a control sheet with all of your players' basic stats, saves, etc... who wants to have to keep it all out in front of them always?
2. Roll only secret rolls. Sometimes the success or failure should not be known. such as high tech repair rolls, where the item may seem fixed until it is used, or magical divination, where the result may be a lie. Benefits: The players have some of the responsibility and control, while your secrets are maintained. And there is nothing quite like rolling your own critical successes.
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