Player Combat DMs Figuring?

[BP]

Basically - to what extent is Combat DM calculating done by referee or by player in your Travelling?

(Solo players can answer 'About equally Referee and Player' )

EDIT: Rust made me aware I should have specified only pertaining to PCs not NPCs and only for things which the PCs would have knowledge of!

[Yeah - I probably messed this one up - feel free to post any changes noting your original vote and your new if you don't mind everyone knowing.]

 

[rust]

The "agreement" usually is that the players handle it for their characters
and the referee handles it for all non player characters, but since many
modifiers depend on circumstances the players are not always aware of
and need the referee to determine, the referee does the bigger part of
the job.

 

[Treebore]

Yeah, the players knew their basic DM's, but I took into account the various factors such as range and cover.

 

[aspqrz]

The "agreement" usually is that the players handle it for their characters and the referee handles it for all non player characters, but since many modifiers depend on circumstances the players are not always aware of and need the referee to determine, the referee does the bigger part of the job.

Like he says.

Phil

 

[Matian]

Mostly referee, but I don't mind if players handle some of it in-character.

"All right boys, that smoke grenade makes our lasers nigh on useless. Grab your shotguns."

 

[BP]

Thanks for the responses! (There is a lot of experience and interesting points of view on this forum - hopefully others are enjoying and benefiting from them, even as I flub them up!)

...and the referee handles it for all non player characters, but since many modifiers depend on circumstances the players are not always aware of ...

Argh! - I knew I was gonna scramble this one a bit - even edited out the part where I said as much!

Thanks rust, I should have specified only pertaining to PCs not NPCs and only for things which the PCs would have knowledge of! Hope most folks voted this way.

 

[Matian]

I think there's a certain point where we're okay with the players handling some or most of the modifiers. (Aiming gets +1, so if a character says they're aiming, it's assumed they know how it works, etc.) The Ref should always see the roll, and have final say (movement, cover, etc.), but a knowledge of game mechanics and how they apply to combat is helpful in players, especially if you have a newbie.

The point where most Refs start dialing things back is when the players make combat a game of calculated bonuses and strip any role-playing or immersion from it. It's one thing to talk about mechanics using in-game terms, it's another to have combat halt for Algebra 101.


...Assuming this is what the question is about, of course.

 

[BP]

...Assuming this is what the question is about, of course.

Yes and No!

This part I did intentionally - not explicitly stating the reason for the question so that mutiple perspectives can be brought forth - without biasing the answers. I can think of several reasons for this poll and inferences from the results. Just asking the question tends to bring a wealth of responses and opinions. The direct results may be quantitative, but the posts such as your own reveal the diversity of reasonings that the numbers represent.