Latest / Bards and Barrels / S1 Ep.9 - Mailbag Time!

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S1 Ep.9 - Mailbag Time! · Bards and Barrels

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Bars and Perils, the podcast for Dungeons and Dragons players, new and old.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: We're just a few 30-something dads who play DD on the regular.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Rosters, and I'm joined by my friends and co-hosts Brett Miller and Phil Boone.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: We'll be exploring the world of Dungeons and Dragons in each episode, sharing our experiences, offering tips and advice for those who play and run this classic game.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: Don't miss out on us discussing everything from character creation to combat mechanics and even delving into some of the lore behind the game.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: We'll also be sharing some of our funniest and most memorable moments from our own DD campaigns.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: So whether you're a new player just starting out, or a seasoned veteran looking to reminisce about your own adventures, or just get a new perspective on things, Bards and Barrels has something for everyone.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: So sit back, grab a drink, and join us as we roll for initiative and embark on this epic adventure.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the opening crack.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for that, Phyllis.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: Shh.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: Anything but it is time for another episode.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you all for joining us.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and this one, this one's gonna be a great one, boys, because this it is time for our first mailbag episode.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Are you ready for this?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I am, but let's do it.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be great.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be fine.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so we're gonna jump right into this.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: First question: Do you inform your party if the attack they did on a monster has resistance?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: Or do you just add flavor?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Sorry, let me rephrase that.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: Do you just add flavor?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like it seems like the attack didn't hurt as much, or do you give hard numbers?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I would never I would never give hard numbers.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's too transparent to the party.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I want to give a little bit of mystery behind how much is left on a on a monster.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: I would agree with Brett on that.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I so I think the way that I have historically approached this as a DM is it depends on what your party knows.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: So initially, when you guys went to in our Descent to Avernus campaign and you guys went to Avernus, before you did that, when you were at the library, you did some studying on the nine hells and on devils and demons.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Technically, in what you studied, you would have learned that they had resistance to fire damage.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: So in theory, when you would make an attack against a devil or a demon, you innately know that they have the resistance.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: So in those cases, yes.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I would let you know.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And if you aren't familiar, resistance means you take half of the damage that it would normally take.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So immunity would mean no damage.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if it's like something in hell, most of the time they have resistance to fire because they've come across it quite a bit, so they're kind of used to it.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's only half as much damage.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: I am of the mindset, I I do agree with you, Phil.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: If there's prior knowledge, then absolutely yes, then then they're gonna know certain resistances.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: Going off of that, if you have are encountering something you've never encountered before, you have no prior knowledge, then you're gonna find out pretty quick when you're attacking something what's gonna stick and what's not.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Because if if your party's set up in a way to if it's if it's like you have spellcasters and you have just like a barbarian or a fighter or something like that, you're gonna be throwing lots of different attacks for it.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: Some of them are gonna stick, some of them aren't.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: And you're gonna find out pretty quick which ones do the trick.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I would lean towards I'm gonna give some flavor text of uh you hit hit it with a fireball, um, it singes the monster, but it doesn't burn as much as you think it would.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's about as much as I would say, because I want I want the player to be paying attention.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: If they're gonna cast that damage, I want to see are they paying attention to if that is giving its full might, or do they need to reconsider going to something else?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I agree.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: I I like Brett's approach.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I would lean towards as well as uh you know, you do your attack.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it doesn't seem to do the typical amount of damage that you expect.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Things along those lines.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's probably too specific.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I like Brett's flavor text better, but something to let them know of like, hey, this seems a little bit off.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think over a campaign though, your players are gonna get used to you as a DM.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, how you portray that, and they're gonna know when you're saying those things.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: When you're giving some subtext.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, next question.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, when starting a new campaign, what's the best level to start at for a player?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: So oh, so many options.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's a tough question.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we've done some of this.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've done some like one day do a whole bunch of one-shots and start at different levels.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've we've tried some of this.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what do you guys think?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where were you what would you like to start at?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: I I feel if it's a one-shot, it's okay to to basically pick a level to be at because you know you're only going to be playing that for at most probably a few hours.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: I agree with that, but I I I yeah, I think there's a level of caution you have to take there too, right?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because especially if you're a new player, you can't just jump into a 15th level character if you've never played that class before.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: I I to me, if I was DMing a one-shot, I don't know if I would ever go past fifth or sixth level.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Because that's typically where you get most of your beginning powers, and then beyond that, it's it's buffing all of those powers from that point on.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: But but at that point, you have your basic abilities that come with the class that you've chosen.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: I would say I would allow maybe starting up to level three.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's enough of getting you past some of the the early level when you're just a a glass cannon trying to survive, where you get a little substance to you.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but it's a lot of fun to be a very weak character at the beginning um and know that if you take a hit, you're potentially gonna go down.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: When your hit points are in the single digits.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's you're not gonna be there for long.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy that weird uncomfortableness while you can.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the interesting things too, if you look at most of the published works that are out there that start at first level, it's like it's almost this little intro piece to get you up to fifth level and then you start the real campaign, right?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of them are set up that way.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's absolutely right.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: With that said, I would say if you're doing a published campaign or you're doing a long-term campaign, I think you have to start at level one.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things I noticed when we were doing um a series of one-shots at higher levels was there's just so many things you have to innately know about your character and be familiarized with that if you're jumping into level seven, eight, nine plus, it's hard to remember all of those details all at once.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: It it works a lot better when you can grow up with your character and slowly add new abilities on.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: It sucks a lot of times because you're gonna have to spend some time at those lower levels when you want to be bigger and more powerful.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: I I'd say any spell casting class, you need to start from the beginning.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: Because that spell list, as it grows, like you know, you know, at levels one, two, three, when you're casting those first and second level spells, you know, I have six of them.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm gonna use them over and over and over again, plus cantrips, and I'm gonna know those so well.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: But by the time I get up to the higher levels, I know my entire spell list.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas if if I just jump in at level 15 and my spell list has like 15 to 16 different spells, if if you're doing that, you're probably a wizard.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but that's just a lot of stuff, and you need to know what every single one of those does.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: And just a name does not always tell you what you need to know.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're doing a one-shot and you're seeing the random name in there, it's like that's not gonna tell you probably what you know need to know.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: The limitations of those spells, the area effects, all those details matter, and especially especially the non-damage dealing ones.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you're being a more utility character and you need to be able to pull out uh some random spell to overcome a random social encounter, you don't necessarily know those jump just jumping in.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Material components too of spells, which I know we we bypass a lot, right?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm not a stickler on the material components, and I should be as a DM, but I'm not.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, that's something we haven't necessarily leaned into, I don't think, in the past episode yet, and we maybe could even have an episode just on some of that, like what are the different pieces of a spell.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: But um, that's a big part too.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not familiar with it, or you're jumping into a one-shot and you have a material component, something that's worth 500 gold pieces, and you don't have it, technically, you can't cast that spell.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's one I didn't even think about.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but when we were playing those one-shots, there's so much stuff that you accumulate in those early levels of a campaign that if you just jump in straight to level five, you don't have any of that stuff.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: The stuff you stole from a barkeeper or um rated off of a dead guy.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: You don't necessarily have any of that stuff.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Or the six magical items your DM gave you by the time you hit fifth level.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: You need those things.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: Because Phil wouldn't know anything about that, not at all.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh one of the things that that I think of like playing a paladin is is not necessarily that my spell list is is extensive, but it's like uh a paladin's smite.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: So there are spells that are smites, but his normal smite is not listed in the spell list, even though it uses a spell slot to do it.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: So by the time we got to the end of our campaign, I basically had a notepad where it's like before it was my turn in combat, I would be like writing out that I'm going to do this, then this, then this.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: And if all of that succeeds, it's gonna be this number, and that's what I need to roll.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, I don't know if I if I could just on the like if Phil was like, this happened to you and you're gonna respond to this, so use your reaction to attack.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: It would take me a minute to like add all that stuff up.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: It is not easy to do.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think it it's easier to jump into a one-shot with a fifth-level character if it's a character or a class at least that you've played before, right?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: So you have that familiarity, and then I would be a little more comfortable jumping in.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I tend to do if I'm jumping into a higher level one-shot.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: All right, next question.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: This one's a fun one.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: Says, hi all.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: My group has been playing together since early 2020, but we've been entirely online.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: We're finally playing in person at the beginning of May, and I was wondering if y'all had any tips or tricks for live table play.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Bring snacks.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: That is your number one thing.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: You need to bring snacks when you're in when you're on uh on a computer remotely by yourself.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can have your own.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Bring snacks to share.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that is the first like that's number one.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so I think I think there's a lot of avenues coming together at a table, right?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think if you watch any of the mainstream media versions of D D, you picture things like you know, a battle mat on the t battle map on the table, miniatures, all kinds of additional features that I think can add you know a lot of additional elements to your game.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: But truthfully, just getting your party around the table in person, playing off of that energy that you have with one another, that on its own can even take your game up an entire level without any of the you know the flourishes.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: I I I think something that's worth considering if you're in that situation is do you need to come together?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I it of course it's wonderful if everybody can get in the same place.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: Scheduling is always a problem when you try to get everybody into a room together to play.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: But I mean, if you're enjoying playing online and it's working for you, don't feel like you have to.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like it, like if it's working out, great, keep doing it.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's a somewhat of a common misconception, is like, okay, COVID's over, we're past everything that happened in 2020, so now we need to get back to the way we were doing it.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: But if you're having a good time and and you've maybe added something to your game, stick with it.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's fine.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: If that works best for everyone, do it.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: I would say when you transition between styles, like if you're all playing on a virtual tabletop, or you're all playing in just theater of the mind, or you're playing with minis and a battle mat, those are all very different styles of play.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can jump between those in a match or in a session, uh, but just know that it's gonna be a little different if you're gonna have to take a little break and set up a whole bunch of miniatures and draw on a battle map where normally maybe you're just switching between maps on a virtual tabletop.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's some there's some structural differences in adjusting to that style of play.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say one thing to be mindful to mindful of as well when you come together is that if you've been playing virtually, you know, some people have probably been rolling virtual dice, and you may actually have people show up to the table that don't have physical dice.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: So just something to keep in mind, you know, be willing to potentially share dice if you need to, or ask your DM maybe if they have an extra set that they could bring for someone that may not have any.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then some of the calculations involved with those dice.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you have modifiers or additions that you have to add to a dice or a dice roll, or multiple dice that you have to add together, it might be a little bit slower if you're having to do that math quickly on the fly than just having the virtual tabletop do it for you.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I think I think what we're getting at is your your experience coming back to the table as a group is probably gonna be a hybrid at that point.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: You're probably gonna be using DD Beyond because it's easier.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: We've talked about that in the past.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: Also, battle maps, throwing things up on the TV where you can still have your combat and be organized in a way where everybody can see what's going on, yet still be in the same room playing as a group.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's the kind of style that you want to do.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's the kind of style that we've moved toward in some ways.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Mixed media is what I have seen as well, and just some of the other DMing that I've been doing, right?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because even though we have physically have people around the table, people are still using Beyond for their roles because it automatically calculates all of that addition.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I I'm gonna throw in the next question here because I think it kind of plays off this really well, and and we can keep the conversation going about playing in person.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: But the next question is hello guys, I'm new, I'm a new DM for my friends, and I'm looking for ways to amp up my in-person game.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Could you recommend me something?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of things you can do to amp up your game.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: One of those is this hybrid style of play where you're putting maps on screens and things like that, or you're putting a map on a television that's laying flat and you put minis on there and you're not hand-drawing maps.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: Another thing that's super easy that I've tried to incorporate in my games, and I probably will continue to do so, is playing music.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't mean like playing classic rock in the background, although there's probably some Led Zeppelin tunes that would be good for certain campaigns.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: But uh there go go search on YouTube.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: There's all sorts of like ambiance that you can find, and and a lot of times there's like specific ambiance.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, we hear you cracking that beer, Brett.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: Just do it, man.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: Just do it.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the oftentimes there's there's ambiance specific to campaigns, like the Curse of Strahd campaign has its own flipping set of Strahd's castle and his theme song.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's all kinds of things you can throw in there that just amp up the game.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: And now the only thing that I can picture is as Modius like busting into a scene to the immigrant song.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: I would say though, uh if you're starting if you're trying to add more immersion to your game, know that you don't have to do it for the entire session.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a whole session where you're in a city and then you go down to a dungeon and then you go um out to a village, you don't have to have sound effects for everything.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Do what you feel comfortable with and that you can prepare for.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Don't overburden yourself and stress yourself out.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, trying to make everything perfect.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Some of it can be theater of the mind, some of it can have sound effects, some of it can have a visual on a TV next to you or on a screen.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Work with what you can do.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: I I think that's absolutely right.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: You don't want to burden yourself by doing this because if you try to throw everything in, then it's impossible to try to like maintain the story while throwing in all these other pieces.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: Not everybody has the equipment to do those types of things.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Especially as a DM, you've got to be having fun too.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Right, absolutely.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have access to a fog machine, yes, use it.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, I mean, let's be real for a second.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: So, so what I immediately think of is critical role.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like as Matt Mercer is talking about X situation, and then you're hearing Ravens caw and things like that, you have to remember he is not pushing those buttons.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: There is a crew behind him that helps that.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: There's post-production that goes on.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like I have spent a whole week preparing for that session.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like you see that you want to emulate that in your own game, but it's very hard to do.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: If you can do it, great.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: If you can do aspects of it, great.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one that we haven't even touched on voices for characters.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: If that's something you want to try out and get into, dabble in it, dabble in it in a little bit.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: See if you like doing it and if you want to go down that route.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it might be an easy way to give a little bit more immersion to your players.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I also think that an important piece there is what Brett has already hit on, is don't feel like every character has to have a voice.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: You may just have one.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you have a very popular NPC or one that's a little more longstanding than the others, you know, that may be the one voice that you do.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's okay.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to have every single NPC that happens to come across the party have a different voice.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: I think the best advice we've given on the show was given by you, Phil, and it was talking about voices.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: As like you may not want to do that as a DM, as a player, but don't discourage others from doing it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: If they want to do it, let them do it.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's the point.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: Feel free to be whatever you want to be and play the game how you want it to.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Chances are you're not streaming your sessions, there's not going to be 100,000 or a million people watching you be weird and goofy.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Go for it.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Let your um let your guard down a little bit and just try things out.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: See what it feels like to um immerse yourself in this character and figure out what fits best for you.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: And don't be afraid to ask your party for feedback.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, if it's something that you're testing out and you want to know how it's going, just ask.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: You'll probably get honest feedback from them.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: Any other thoughts on that before we move on?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's there's so many different ways that you can come back to playing in person.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um ask your the group around the table what they're interested in doing, um, if they have any feedback, especially uh the first time coming back, and roll from there.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Keep it fluid, um, keep adjusting and working towards being bigger and better things.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: All right, this is this is probably gonna be our last question for this episode, and and this one to brace yourselves, everyone, because this could be a hot take.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Gentlemen, what what is your opinion on players fudging dice rolls?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Players?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: Did you say players?
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: I said players.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: This is a legitimate question.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: I will start on this.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: I oh no, I I'm gonna I'm gonna defer to you, Phil.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: You go, you go.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: I want to know, have either of you ever fudged a dudge roll, uh fudged a dice roll in our campaign?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh no.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: But there's a reason for that though.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason for that is you can see what I roll.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's like we use roll 20.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: So when I roll, you see what I roll.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's a little hard for me to fudge.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_02: Really, the only place this could happen is in person at a table where I roll a five and I pick it up and I'm like, I rolled 16.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the person beside you didn't rant your ass out.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: Well, because they were fudging their own dice roll.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: But but I think I feel like that's the only place this can really happen.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: Now, now let's let's clear the air for a second.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: So, DMs, let's talk about that because DMs may fudge dice rolls depending on a situation.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Let's be real, it happens.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: We like to say we don't do that.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: It happens commonly, sure, absolutely.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: It but again, it's it's typically situation-based.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like if if let's say we're in combat and I roll something that would probably kill a player, but the dynamic in the room is going really well.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to kill that, I don't want to put them in a situation that's gonna kind of ruin the vibe we have going on.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna go, oh, he hit, but it is, you know, it's the damaged eye were not great.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Or even the opposite version of that, right?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Where you guys have like destroyed absolutely everything you've ever come up against.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: So all of a sudden the monster that you're facing rolls absolutely every roll with advantage.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that explains a lot.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh everything makes sense.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's happened.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Ah did we win?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you almost killed it.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I mean, right?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: It fit better because if not, it wouldn't have even been a challenge.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it was still to try to make it the right encounter.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was always the goal.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: It was never on the DM side, it was never my goal to kill you guys as player characters ever.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: To try to make it challenging and enjoyable.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because the combat that you come into and you just wipe the floor with someone, it's no fun.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: I would say Wizards of the Coast has however many years of experience balancing this game.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: True.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they have um, I think in the Dungeon Masters um guidebook, it talks about adjusting roles, and it gives you some leeway in there to fudge some roles.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: It does not give you that leeway in the player's handbook.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think having that on the DM side is okay because it can balance out a campaign, balance out an encounter.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but when you're on the party side, no.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's where the DM needs to adjust things on the fly because the DM knows everything that's happening.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so you fudging a dice roll can completely derail the encounter or the campaign based on something that you're just fudging.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: And DM rolls, almost 99% of the time.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: I've never seen this not happen, happen behind the screen.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: Even even in our game, man, you roll actual die when we're rolling digital dice.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: And so I don't know if you did or not.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: And that and that's perfectly fine.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: I've never had a problem with that.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think most people don't have a problem with that.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: Again, I think that goes back to the situation that this is.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: It has to happen at a table, probably with newer players, too, where they're like, oh, that five is automatically not good, which is not always the case.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's like it's like think you know, it's like that that thought process of a nat 20 is a nat 20 on everything, but on a skill check, a nat 20 doesn't necessarily mean anything, kind of thing.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the things that bothers me about it on the player side, I guess, is that I I feel like it's it's dishonest.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, I just it feels wrong on that side of the table.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think as a player I would ever fudge a dice roll.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: I just feel like I would be dishonest.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: So so here's the thing this this question comes from a perspective where I'm wondering if this happened at their table.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: Gotcha.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: In in our group, like like our descent into a Vernus campaign, we're all pretty decent friends at this point.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: We're not gonna if I roll bad, I'm gonna own up to it, and whatever happens to me happens to me.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that and that's half the fun of what we do is you rolled crappy and you're gonna, you know, fall flat on your face or whatever.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to if the person that's asked this question is listening, you're gonna have to have some hard conversations.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you think somebody did fudge a dice roll, there's some conversations that you need to have outside of the game to kind of have a come to Jesus meeting on that's not okay.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: I I would be curious how you know this too.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like, did you see it happen?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: Did somebody tell you if I did you another player or are you the DM?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: So and I think that leads to Or was this you?
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: Is this legal to do?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: You messed up.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh any other thoughts on that?
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: I I I think obviously the consensus here is that no, players should not be fudging their dice rolls, but I also feel that we're in agreement that this is probably not happening a lot of the time.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: I would assume not.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and just to kind of reiterate on Brett's point about like, you know, as a player character, you don't necessarily have the full vision.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: As a DM, you have to make adjustments because if I've granted you or given you six magical items, you know, whatever the monster's attacks may be, it may just literally not matter anymore because you're so you have so many additional features or powers at this point.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a challenge.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's no fun.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's gotta be fun.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you just need to you need to understand this is the game you're playing.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's part of D D is rolling a most of the time a D20.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's gonna bite you in the butt.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: You live with the consequences, yeah.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: All right, let's keep those mailbag questions rolling in.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_02: You can email us at bardsandbarrels at gmail.com or you can shoot us a message on our Facebook page, facebook.com slash bars and barrels.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: But ladies and gentlemen, that's gonna do it for this episode.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_02: You can listen to this episode and all past episodes of the show anywhere podcasts can be found.
• 26:31
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• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see you soon.