'Cheat' Dice for the GM And Visible Whispers

I would love to see a tool that allows the DM/GM input a number and have the dice do a 'roll' and it come up, for those tense parts where you need to cheat a little to drive the plot or save the PCs (or what not) and you want to keep it to yourself. Also, a big thing I'd like is the ability for the GM to see all whispers since some of the characters have different languages and that's how they speak in them...maybe even different chat channels that can be given an attribute such as "Elvish" and only characters who are allowed can join that channel (added by the DM if they select whatever language at character creation). This would be SUPER helpful! Thanks again guys! Happy late table-top day!

I like the secret cheat die idea hehe. Would be great for building morale and super exciting to see that you "just barely pulled it out." I'm only scared as a GM that I would start to abuse it :P The extra language chat channel is a neat idea as well.

to do the cheat dice, it's easy if you gm whisper it. just /gmroll #d1. The # equals the number you want and since it is a whisper the amount of dice is not shown, just that you are rolling dice or so I was told. You could just whisper roll the dice and declare them what ever you want also.

Well, the point would be that the players could see the die roll and thus provide the excitement of seeing the die 'go the way you want it to.'

ah understood. good luck.

Eh, no. If die rolls are going to be displayed... they need to be for real and unaltered.

Why?

Because then you will get dick GMs who would crit when they need to, pass checks they need to and such. If you want to cheat i say go somewhere else because that will get out of hand fast. 

Wow, okay... You guys must not DM/GM. The DM/GM cheats die rolls and abilities all the freaking time (well, more in Roleplay driven games than in tactical) for the sake of plot progression or just saving the party from an unhappy mishap (occasionally, most the time I just let it fly where it may and watch the fun of them recovering). As a GM, you're taking on the role of an entertainer, if you are so egocentric as to cheat rolls to that your monsters crit, then you're forgetting the main reason behind running: To let everyone have fun. If your players are dying because you choose to buff your own rolls, then they probably aren't going to have fun, and they are more than likely not going to stick around. Let me also explain something else: The DM/GM technically can't cheat. If he says a bolt of energy flies from a god's rear-end and strikes your character dead, then he can do it....without a roll at all. My suggestion is a tool for us GMs who use 'cheated' rolls to help the party or the plot, not for some half-wit kid in a Metallica T-shirt looking to prove how awesome he is by fudging rolls so -his- cool character's will be the shining stars. Will you get that? Maybe. I'm not arguing its something that could be abused, but at that point, you just stand up and walk away because that's not a good mindset for the person who is supposed to be taking you through a fun and exciting adventure where your characters are the heroes. Cheating the rolls...heck, cheating the system and making the rules work for the situation is why you have a GM in the first place...someone to mediate and make calls for the progression and enjoyment of a shared story or adventure. The GM should never be in the mindset that he is against the party, and if he is, he needs a few lessons. Sure, some of the character he takes control of -are- against the party, but in the end, its about the PC's being the heroes. Also: "i say go somewhere else?" Who are you?

Please lets keep civil here before the wrath of the mods come down on this thread. I will admit that I have fudged rolls occasionally to the players benifit. I couldn't see a very good character getting screwed over just because of a bad roll. I fudged them so they didn't die but they still took serious damage. Remember everyone plays differently but we all need to be adults and accept everyone's style is different. This is not to criticize but just to remind everyone this is a suggestion thread in the suggestion board of the forum and no I'm not a mod or anyone important other then a fellow gamer that would like to see people get along.

Good idea in the sense that sometimes GMs need to "cheat" rolls but if that gets added as an option on Roll20, it's not exactly going to be a secret. Players will know GMs have that power so if they get a close or awesome roll, whether it was "cheated" or not, they may suspect. Maybe even accuse. This isn't so much a criticism as an observation.

Isn't this why there is /gmroll ? It can go the other way too, saving your bacon. Sometimes a run of dice rolls are too lenient or too harsh and a little gm adjustment goes a long way towards improving a game. If you're playing with a bad dm, chances are they find other ways to mess up a game with or without this.

+1

So, I do like the idea of setting up a language broadcast. I currently do it by dragging people to a different chat channel, but I realize that's not always available for use.

Christopher L. said: Wow, okay... You guys must not DM/GM. The DM/GM cheats die rolls and abilities all the freaking time (well, more in Roleplay driven games than in tactical) for the sake of plot progression or just saving the party from an unhappy mishap (occasionally, most the time I just let it fly where it may and watch the fun of them recovering).  Fuck plot and fuck saving the party. If you're so worried about your precious plot, then you should be writing a short story or novel instead of running an rpg. If you want to fudge, roll real dice at your desk, use /gmroll, or just make it up. Dice rolled in chat should always be 100% unaltered or fudged. Rolling in chat in the open should be no different than rolling at the table without a GM screen. My suggestion is a tool for us GMs who use 'cheated' rolls to help the party or the plot, not for some half-wit kid in a Metallica T-shirt looking to prove how awesome he is by fudging rolls so -his- cool character's will be the shining stars. Will you get that? Maybe. I'm not arguing its something that could be abused, but at that point, you just stand up and walk away because that's not a good mindset for the person who is supposed to be taking you through a fun and exciting adventure where your characters are the heroes. Cheating the rolls...heck, cheating the system and making the rules work for the situation is why you have a GM in the first place...someone to mediate and make calls for the progression and enjoyment of a shared story or adventure. The GM should never be in the mindset that he is against the party, and if he is, he needs a few lessons. Sure, some of the character he takes control of -are- against the party, but in the end, its about the PC's being the heroes. Stop cheating as the DM to save the plot or save the characters. There's too many players these days that are so coddled by the never fail never die always get the ribbon for just participating awards. Let them die. Let them fail. Let your plot run off the rails and go with it. Often that makes for an even better story. Even if the characters die, the adventure doesn't have to end. Pick up with some new adventurers shortly after the other party died and incorporate their failure into the adventure. Make it more difficult and/or have the bad guy's win actually affect the world and change things according to what they would do if they won and were uncontested by adventurers for a short time. It makes the world feel more interesting that way.

As for visible whispers, fuck no. Been discussed before and there's absolutely no valid reason for the GM to see the private messages sent between the players.

On a real game table it's possible for the GM to roll behind the screen and tell the players anything. But it's NOT possible for the GM to roll the dice in front of the players and make the result come up as he wishes. Since roll20 is supposed to be emulating a real game table, I don't think it should be possible in roll 20 either. Same with whispers, they're private in real life, they should be private in roll20 too.

JonathanTheBlack said: As for visible whispers, fuck no. Been discussed before and there's absolutely no valid reason for the GM to see the private messages sent between the players. You sir, are a gigantic dipshit.

Whatever. GM's don't need to see my private communications. Ever.

JonathanTheBlack said: Fuck plot and fuck saving the party. If you're so worried about your precious plot, then you should be writing a short story or novel instead of running an rpg. If you want to fudge, roll real dice at your desk, use /gmroll, or just make it up. Dice rolled in chat should always be 100% unaltered or fudged. Rolling in chat in the open should be no different than rolling at the table without a GM screen. Stop cheating as the DM to save the plot or save the characters. There's too many players these days that are so coddled by the never fail never die always get the ribbon for just participating awards. Let them die. Let them fail. Let your plot run off the rails and go with it. Often that makes for an even better story. Even if the characters die, the adventure doesn't have to end. Pick up with some new adventurers shortly after the other party died and incorporate their failure into the adventure. Make it more difficult and/or have the bad guy's win actually affect the world and change things according to what they would do if they won and were uncontested by adventurers for a short time. It makes the world feel more interesting that way. So, now, basically you are telling me that my style is invalid? Who the hell are you to make a judgement like that? Tell me, who the hell are you to dictate to ANYONE how they should run or play their game. As far as me writing a short-story instead....hows about the fact that I'd rather tell a shared story with a plot that entertains the PCs who happen to be the audience. In a short-story, its just you, writing about your characters...I'd rather have the fun of socializing with a few friends and letting them be the stars of the show while they take on the challenges of the story. They fail, they can die, but If they are going to die, I think it is better to fudge a few rolls (which I'll do anyway, regardless of the feature added or not) than to let them die because of bad luck against, oh I don't know, a bunch of Kobolds. I'd much rather have their deaths come because of either immense stupidity or in a moment that suits having spent an hour or so on character creation, not some arbitrary roll of the dice during a shit encounter. Again, as stated, the die roll would merely be there to keep the excitement of it. It was just a thought, maybe not even a good one, but that's the point of a suggestion box right? To toss and idea and get some constructive feedback, not some jackass just saying 'no, and I'm not going to say why'. You OBVIOUSLY neither understand the point of table-top at-fucking-all, nor do you understand the point of this forum.

I understand it perfectly. Far better than you do. 

I can't believe I'm back looking at a thread like this, and so soon .   An omnipotent GM is not part of our plan.  From this point forward, we will be closing any thread referencing this, as apparently we are unable to civilly discuss the issue. We will also begin dealing with banning those who engage in this sort of snotty back-and-forth.   Thank you for your understanding.

Never mind, posted after Nolan came in, disregard.