Assuming you say "everyone roll" and they just don't do it? I would say for a skill check their character just doesn't bother at all, though for perception I would just use their passive perception. For initiative, I would just have them "take 1" one their roll, so to speak.
Is this actually a problem? You must have some shapoopy groups you play with.
No, but I've heard of it happening.
I'm kinda boggled by the notion of a PC who is not paying attention so much that they don't roll for Initiative or a Skill Check. What are they doing at the table, scrolling Facebook? Tell them to knock that crap off. You're cheapening the playing experience of the other party members as well as the DM and wasting everyone's time.
Do you need the rolls in any particular order? It seems that you can always ask a person directly if everyone else has rolled and you still need their rolls.
In my group, I play a character with a relatively low Perception modifier. If the GM is looking for the best Perception roll in the group and somebody has already announced a roll higher than I can possibly make, I might not bother rolling unless the GM confirms that it matters (as in, something is happening to PCs who do or don't make a certain Perception DC).
Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on intiative, how do you decide who goes first?
I'm kinda boggled by the notion of a PC who is not paying attention so much that they don't roll for Initiative or a Skill Check. What are they doing at the table, scrolling Facebook? Tell them to knock that crap off. You're cheapening the playing experience of the other party members as well as the DM and wasting everyone's time.
I actually have heard of people texting or playing with their cellphones during games, and I agree, it sounds annoying as hell.
Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on intiative, how do you decide who goes first?
Roll off between the two or three people with a straight d20 roll with no modifiers
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Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on intiative, how do you decide who goes first?
In our group everyone's initiative is given as a decimal value with the number after the decimal being equal to the character's modifier.
So, if I have a 16 dex and roll a 12, I would tell the DM my initiative is 15.03.
In the unlikely event that two characters/creatures still have the same init value then there is simply a roll off as per the rules.
If two or more combatants have the same initiative check result, the combatants who are tied act in order of total initiative modifier (highest first). If there is still a tie, the tied characters should roll to determine which one of them goes before the other.
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I'm kinda boggled by the notion of a PC who is not paying attention so much that they don't roll for Initiative or a Skill Check. What are they doing at the table, scrolling Facebook? Tell them to knock that crap off. You're cheapening the playing experience of the other party members as well as the DM and wasting everyone's time.I actually have heard of people texting or playing with their cellphones during games, and I agree, it sounds annoying as hell.
That is up to the GM to control. Personally in my games, I'm okay with it as long as it doesn't disrupt the flow of the game. If it does, as the GM, I'll speak with the player to determine whether they'll continue to be a good fit for my game.
For example, I've had a couple of players that were "out of touch" during the non-combat parts of the game. I was okay with it because there were 5 players with the other 4 players being engaged during the role-playing aspects. Everyone kinda treated that other player as a hireling 5th-wheel.
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Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on intiative, how do you decide who goes first?
By RAW, it's a d20 roll-off between the characters with matching initiatives.
In my games as a house rule, because I believe your Initiative modifier and Dexterity should make a difference here, I use the character's initiative modifier and then Dexterity modifier as the tie-breakers. If it's still a tie, monsters/NPCs go first and then let the players decide who goes between them.
When a person can't have the common decency to pay attention (by cellphone distraction), or they are flighty (a.d.d.), there should be appropriate consequences. To the cellphone user, no mercy imo. Have people start entering into combat, and tell them flat out (when they eventually notice) that because they didn't roll, they don't get to go. Their turn is skipped. If they want to have a turn, pay attention when you ask them to roll their dice. If they have a problem with that, they can leave the table. If it is their turn and they are on their phone and you call out their turn to go and they don't listen, skip again. Sooner or later they'll get it and start behaving like courteous humans.
As for the easily distracted person in their own thoughts, I will have mercy, and will usually call them out asking specifically for their initiative so they snap to attention. This has worked flawlessly at my table. You can always tell when they are in lalaland.
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I think it could be argued that a player may not be paying attention, but a character will almost definitely be. And there's no harm in asking again, if someone was distracted for a moment.
Initiative is even less punishing than skills, since anyone involved in a combat situation MUST roll it.
As for cellphones and such at the table, I've seen it. If your table is sufficiently casual, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. I would never allow anything like that at my table--cellphones, laptops, excessive mood/judgement-altering substance use, sudoku or sketch pads--I put in 15 hours for every one we actually play, and you'd best respect the sacrifice. But for more laid-back "beer & pretzel"-type games, if everyone's cool with it, why not?
The Angry GM suggests giving players a time limit to decide on what they do with their turn. His preferred time is, apparently, zero seconds. He tells you it's your turn and, if you do not immediately tell him what you plan to do, he inform you that you will lose your turn to indecision if you do not make a choice RIGHT. NOW.
I know...just so many people that this wouldn't work with at all. Their brains aren't wired for that kind of thinking, and they don't have a strong enough grasp on the system. But still, I can only imagine how it captures the desperate, life-or-death struggle of real, mortal combat.
People who legitimately struggle with ADHD and things like it is another story all together. I've known a few who, even with the assistance of fairly potent medication, are essentially helpless to get up and walk away from the table if their character is not directly involved for 30 seconds or more.
It's frustrating, but then it's probably less frustrating for me than it is for them.
It's really a case-by-case scenario, all around. If it's an occasional issue, I'm probably fine with asking again. If it's all the time, my patience has its limits. If they don't really seem to care, even after my attempts to talk about the situation, then get the eff out. I have better things to than spend my precious free time with someone who can't appreciate the effort I put into my hobby.
Not paying attention to what's happening at the table is one of my pet peeves as a GM. As a PFS GM, I've occasionally had a player who was so bad at it that I've wanted to disinvite them from my table, but I personally don't feel that I have enough ranks in Diplomacy IRL to do that without causing a scene, which would ruin everyone else's fun. Fortunately, the worst offender I know attends very irregularly at best.
For things where everyone's making a check like Initiative, my GM goes around the room from his left to his right taking down their numbers, so nobody gets missed. We do occasionally need to chide someone for not paying attention when it comes time for them to make their roll, but it's usually at most one person since anyone else who missed it usually notices at that point.
And also, what kind of player isn't frothing at the mouth waiting to hear the GM say those words "EVERYONE ROLL INITIATIVE!" It's like a wave of euphoria and adrenaline that instantly energizes everyone at the table, and it's the main reason to play the game: to get into combat and kill something.
And also, what kind of player isn't frothing at the mouth waiting to hear the GM say those words "EVERYONE ROLL INITIATIVE!" It's like a wave of euphoria and adrenaline that instantly energizes everyone at the table, and it's the main reason to play the game: to get into combat and kill something.
Hah, for my players at least, some love the roleplaying aspect of the game, some lean more toward the combat side of things, but they all love rolling dice.
There are some rolls the players have to make - eg. Saves. If they're not paying attention whioe everyone in the group yells out their initiative score and writes/places/whatever it in order they're really not paying attention. But then the GM can just say "Hey Bob, Initiative." There is no "if they can't..." for this, it's something they MUST do.
Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on intiative, how do you decide who goes first?
The rule is that whoever has the highest modifier goes first - eg. Rosemary the Rogue rolls 1d20+12 and Clarence the Cleric rolls 1d20+1. Rosemary rolls a 19 (7+12) and Clarence rolls a 19 (18+1), so Rosemary would go first because her +12 is higher than Clarence's +1.
If they have the same modifier then they just roll off until one gets a higher (but end up both going on their initial roll).
If two or more combatants have the same initiative check result, the combatants who are tied act in order of total initiative modifier (highest first). If there is still a tie, the tied characters should roll to determine which one of them goes before the other.
"Everybody make a Perception check."
"Alice, what was your result?"
"Ugh, I got a 9."
"Okay. Bob?"
"What?"
"Perception check."
"Oh, sorry! I got distracted because your cat is rolling around and about to fall off the counter." *rolls* "Twenty-seven."
"Bob, you notice an odd seam in the floor right where you're about to step. Continue?"
I just ask them directly to roll if they missed the first call. If it's a recurring problem, then I'll probably say "what the heck are you doing? I keep having to remind you over and over."
If it still persists, it's time to let them know their gaming input will no longer be needed at the table.
"Everybody make a Perception check."
"Alice, what was your result?"
"Ugh, I got a 9."
"Okay. Bob?"
"What?"
"Perception check."
"Oh, sorry! I got distracted because your cat is rolling around and about to fall off the counter." *rolls* "Twenty-seven."
"Bob, you notice an odd seam in the floor right where you're about to step. Continue?"
This right here. Life is busy and we're doing this to have fun. We're not always focused or on the spot, but we don't punish for that either. There's a lot of side chats and doing things when it's not your turn during combat. In my group we're just people trying to have fun on Sunday.
Simple. If someone doesn't hear me say it when I ask them for their result and they haven't rolled it I ask them to again. Plus I have a young man on the autism spectrum whose attention can be hard to hold on to sometimes. It's no problem for us.
Hey something else tangentially related: if two or more people roll the exact same result on initiative, how do you decide who goes first?
I borrow a rule from the old DC Heroes game by Mayfair. If characters roll the same for initiative I ask which one has the higher Dex. I let that player go first.