He's Not Cheating, He's Near-sighted!


Pathfinder Society

Shadow Lodge 2/5

No, seriously. My husband has fairly bad vision and has to hold the dice up to his face or roll them basically beneath his nose in order to see the die-roll. And to some, the amount of time that it take for his eyes to settle on the result is proof of him cheating. He also just rolls a lot of really good numbers.

Now, short of having to constantly ask the player nearest to him to read it for him or have someone else roll and read it for him; how many other ways can he deal with the dice that won't get him singled out as cheating when he's just visually impaired?


Sounds like he needs new corrective lenses. Does he have contacts or glasses? And does he happen to have certain visual learning impairments? The eye settling thing sounds like a few that my family has come across. It could also be partial color blindness. Nearly forgot about that.

Some visual impairments can be resolved by having certain polarized lenses or filters. You may have to see an actual expert on these kinds of things. If some kind of visual filter is needed, you might have to change the dice if that blocks out the numbers entirely.

Outside of that possibility, the best I can come up with is to get those plush dice that are slightly oversized to around the size of a softball.

4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ***** Venture-Captain, United Kingdom—England—Coventry

We have a blind player (complete with cute guide dog). He rolls the dice and one of the other players tells him what the roll and relevat skill bonus is.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

Check THIS one out.

They're often sold at Conventions, too.

There are also over-sized versions of d4-d12.


I was actually gonna suggest something like what Nefreet linked. I have a player in my group who has terrible eyesight and needs to basically headdesk in order to read standard dice, so he got himself some of those really big dice to make it easier.

Shadow Lodge 2/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

He wears glasses but, he still needs to see things up close.Usually with the glasses out of the way.

The problem with those over-sized dice is that they tend to be problematic at the table as far as rolling room goes.

Also, we have very limited medical coverage and not enough loose money to get him to a specialist.

I would like to find a solution that would leave his self-proclaimed dignity mostly intact. *shrug*

When one gets accused of cheating because of misconstrued physical actions, it tends to hurt one's feelings. And my husband is one of the most honest people I know.

It just hurts sometime, you know?

Shadow Lodge 2/5

Being broke at the moment doesn't help things either...

1/5

If you have a smartphone
use a dicerolling app

Shadow Lodge 2/5

Nope. No smartphones among us. *sighs*
We don't have that kind of digital support. (i.e. laptops/tablet/similar devices)
Our selection of game aids is mostly relegated to pen and paper/used or rescued books.


I had a player that could not see well in a group I was in. I just read the dice for him. I don't think the GM would mind that, and it would ease tension at the table about the cheating.

Edit: As long as he is not touching the dice after he rolls them nobody should say he is cheating.

Silver Crusade 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

The only thing that comes to mind is to, without his knowledge, prepare little notes/slips of paper that explain his situation and give them to the GM and players at his table. Maybe even see if he can sit next to the GM. That way, everyone knows what the situation is, and if the GM is nearby *and* aware, can be "security" for the other players who might be doubtful?

It won't work 100% of the time...gamers are usually really nice about things like this, but as with life, there are no guarantees, even in pfs.

I have a friend back home who is legally blind but still has okay peripheral vision. Sometimes his electronic magnification device isn't available (runs through power *really* fast), and has to do the same thing as your husband. As far as I'm aware, since everyone he plays with knows, that's really the end of it.

Best of luck to both of you with this.

Silver Crusade 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

Alternatively, since he knows his eyesight is an issue, maybe carry an olde-fashioned magnifying glass? It would allow him to read without having to bend head-to-table, but wouldn't require him to touch the dice either.

Shadow Lodge 2/5

wraithstrike wrote:
As long as he is not touching the dice after he rolls them nobody should say he is cheating.

That's part of the problem. He HAS to pick the die up in order to READ them. And since I don't always play at the same table as him, I don't know how he'll take losing control over an aspect of the game that he enjoys doing himself.

[Edit] I guess the trick part is convincing HIM of that. I want to help without insult and I need to figure out how to do it with what we've got.

Lantern Lodge 3/5

Could he sit next to the GM, roll and have the GM verify the roll, before he picks it up?

Your husband can still pick up the dice to read it. The GM just have to have a quick glance, to check the number rolled and make sure what your husband reads out is the actual roll.

Shadow Lodge 2/5

I guess it depends of the GM. Some of them essentially put up a 'No Player' mini-zone of seating proximity. I find that they do this to keep rolls hidden from players or to keep them from 'cheating' by seeing what they are up against before it time.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

I just realized Paizo sells 34mm d20s HERE (and they're on sale!).

These are exactly what I use. They're large, but not as oversized as the LED I linked earlier. I have Water, Recon, Hurricane, and Fire. Of the 4, Hurricane has the least contrast, and Water has the best.

I've never had trouble fitting them at a PFS table.

Maybe try one out?

Lantern Lodge 3/5

Well, PFS should be inclusive of everyone, try explaining to the GMs.

Or if there must be a "no-player zone" then have him seat the closest spot to the GM.

After all its less likely for a GM to call foul a player who is rolling right in front of him.

Also if you notice any GMs giving him a hard time, try explaining the situation to them before, during a break or after the game.
Communicate his need to see the dice close up to them. Inform the GMs so they know.

Shadow Lodge 2/5

That seems like a good half-way point for him. We do have some very good regular GMs at our location.

As for those wonderful dice, I'll add that to my grand gifts that I want to give/get list. Thanks Nefreet. :)

For that matter; Thank you, Everyone!

3/5

40mm dice, magnifying glass, glasses.

Select what your budget permits.

1/5

If he lets the dice settle for a second in an open area before examining it, it should put everyone else more at ease. There was a player I haven't seen for a while that would lift the dice the instant they stopped rolling, and the trip to her face didn't always look strait. Several of us thought it very suspicious. However, someone who legitimately can't see and is giving others time to see shouldn't be an issue.

Liberty's Edge 4/5 5/5

Kezzie Redlioness wrote:

My husband has fairly bad vision and has to hold the dice up to his face or roll them basically beneath his nose in order to see the die-roll. And to some, the amount of time that it take for his eyes to settle on the result is proof of him cheating. He also just rolls a lot of really good numbers.

Now, short of having to constantly ask the player nearest to him to read it for him or have someone else roll and read it for him; how many other ways can he deal with the dice that won't get him singled out as cheating when he's just visually impaired?

If it isn't embarrassing for him to do so, I would've thought that quietly mentioning the situation to the GM at the start of the game would be enough to eradicate 99% of the problems.

Scarab Sages 3/5

I agree with Sitri. While cheaters are often the ones who pick up dice, they also usually do it very quickly. If the player rolls in an open area where everyone can see and pauses a second before snatching them up, most people would not be suspicious. Especially when picked up dice seem random. Not always a 19 or 20. Cheaters are usually obvious.

Also be proactive and mention it to the GM before hand.

Silver Crusade 5/5

When I visited my Optamologist last fall, I asked him if there was any change in my vision. He mentioned that there was a little deterioration in my ability to focus on close things. I am now holding things either really close to my face, and taking my glasses off to read, or i am holding them a bit further away. My optomologist mentioned that this was simply part of aging.....grrr.

Anyways, I have found i cant read the small usual dice people use while sitting at the table. My solution has been.....big dice with bigger numbers on them. Everyone else can see the numbers on my dice....and I can see my own dice numbers.

. I know it was mentioned up thread. big dice.

I hope this helps.

Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/5 RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8

Definitely explain the situation to your table GM before hand. Everybody playing wants to have a good time, and the GM is no exception to that. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a GM that's going to give your husband grief for having poor eyesight (and if you do, feel free to notify your local coordinator). Just let them know what your situation is and they'll find a solution that works for the time being. They may want him to sit closer, have other players read the dice, etc., so be open to any number of possibilities. As long as both your husband and the GM are willing to compromise, there won't be any flak.

Maybe, later down the road, getting bigger dice, better glasses, or whatever could be an option, but in the meantime just communicate with your table. It should all be fine.


@OP: If your husband is only near sighted (and by only I mean has no other visual disorders or pathologies which reduce vision) then the problem should be correctable with spectacles. A pair of single-vision spectacles set up for the specific distance at which you game or a pair of varifocals would allow him to view the dice without bringing them closer.

Of course if there ARE other visual problems (and I suspect there might be by the sounds of it) the solution would be slightly more complex. I'm a Dispensing Optician in the UK and I'd be happy to give you some more advice if you want to PM me.

Otherwise yeah just explaining the situation to the GM would be a good step.

@Myles Crocker; ageing shouldn't reduce your ability to game dude! Spectacle correction would help if set for the right working distance. Go see an Optician rather than an Ophthalmologst and ask for intermediate spectacles or varifocals.

Silver Crusade Venture-Agent, Florida–Altamonte Springs

Kezzie Redlioness wrote:
I guess it depends of the GM. Some of them essentially put up a 'No Player' mini-zone of seating proximity. I find that they do this to keep rolls hidden from players or to keep them from 'cheating' by seeing what they are up against before it time.

I do tend to spread out a bit but if this was the case I wouldn't mind him next to me. I use the 40mm dice, started with just a d20 then got a set at amazon, and also do not roll behind my screen a little scary for the gm to roll a 10 and ask "a 24 hits you right?" This is modeled on my VC who said the same thing to me (before eviscerating me, literally took me to -9 with a 10 con in one full attack)

5/5 5/55/55/5

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Large dice in a dice cup with a magnifying glass on bottom? Shake it Yahtzee style and put it down.

The Exchange 5/5

BigNorseWolf wrote:

Large dice in a dice cup with a magnifying glass on bottom? Shake it Yahtzee style and put it down.

BNW - you have outdone yourself here! This is Kewl! I want it for one of my PC! In fact I may have to create one just for this idea!

When I was a kid (yeah, dinosaurs walk the earth yeah-yeah) there were "bug boxes" with magnifying tops - I think I'll look for one of these big enough to hold my "big dice"...

5/5 5/55/55/5

Costs less than a soda

The Exchange 5/5

BigNorseWolf wrote:
Costs less than a soda

yeap! those... thou I may need a bigger one.

Thanks!

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