GM-Player Trust in an Open Roll System

Following my initial post about dice mechanics, there was a great question about the "Challenge Ratings" I proposed.  Normally, games like D&D have the game master (GM) secretly think of a 'target number' for the player to roll against.  The player rolls the dice, adds up his bonuses, and tells the GM what the final resulting number is.  The GM compares this result against the secret target number, and then tells the player whether they failed or succeeded.

The "Challenge Rating" (CR) mechanic I proposed replaces this target number (TN).  However, unlike TNs, the CR in Hostargo is going to be revealed before the roll ever happens.  This is almost a necessity in the resolution mechanic equation:

Success IF: Skill Roll + CR < Stat

In the equation, the player knows stat, but is going to roll skill.  This means that in order for this to work, either A) the player needs to know the CR before the roll, or B) the GM must secretly add the CR to the player's roll and compare it against the character's stat.  The second option is very complicated for the GM, so revealing the CR before the roll makes the most sense.

The question is, how does the revealing of this information affect the game?  In traditional RPGs, the hidden information of the TN adds a level of uncertainty and excitement for the players.  More importantly, knowing this information is considered metagaming, which detracts from the game's immersion.  The players generally shouldn't know exactly what they're up against, mathematically, instead relying on the GM's descriptions to judge how difficult a task or enemy will be.

But this method isn't without it's downsides.  The biggest issue here can be, oddly, trust. When the GM withholds information about the game, players have no insight as to whether or not the GM is being 'fair'.  This often leads to misfortunes turning into grudges; feelings of being 'robbed' and 'railroaded' can ruin a game, even if the GM wasn't actually fudging numbers.  Of course on the flip side, hidden TNs can give the GM considerable control over the flow of the game's events.  And the players should trust the GM... right?

Really, neither open or secret TNs are bad, or even worse than the other.  Hidden TNs are a tried and true method that has worked in RPGs for decades.  But newer games have shown us that this isn't the only way.  Games like Apocalypse World use such a simple engine that the players always know if they succeed or fail, with minimal math involved.  Games like Numenera do exactly what CRs in Hostargo are going to do: the GM says a number, and then the player tells the GM the result.

Let's look at the benefits of such "open roll" systems.  First, it takes away some of the mental burden from the GM, which is a significant benefit considering GMs are the busiest player in RPGs.  It enables the GM to focus on the consequences of the player's action in terms of the story, rather than needing to think about the result of the numbers and then the story.  Secondly, open rolls help the GM keep the game 'balanced' in terms of relative numbers.  The GM is forced to keep the numbers exactly as they should be, ensuring that, in the views of the players, the numbers are solid and consistent.  This helps keep everyone grounded in both the rules and the game world.

Another benefit of open rolls is tactical knowledge.  In practice, I've found that secretive rolls slow the GM down in the already most time-consuming aspect of most RPGs: combat.  The players quickly deduce the TNs down to a few possibilities anyway, so the benefits of the numbers being secret are soon lost.  Open CRs, on the other hand, not only lighten the GM's load, but also allow the players to see exactly how institutional factors like cover, fog, and flanking are affecting their battles. Having this information in the open focuses the game on the more interesting parts of combat, and keeps the math in the background where it belongs.

Tactical combat brings us back to trust.  In general, players will have less issues losing a particular battle when they know the GM wasn't rigging the game against them. You might be thinking, "but the GM can always rig the numbers and story against the players".  True, but as the world-builder this is already assumed by the players in the game.  What it obvious and in the forefront, is if the GM is suspected of "cheating" the numbers just to have the story turn out the way he wants.  Once a scenario is set up, players take pride in 'winning' with what is presented, but feel shitty about when the GM controls the scene with numbers rather than story elements. The conversation then starts to get into just good GMing practices, but the idea behind open rolls would be to simply remove this possibility altogether.

RPG characters live or die by the dice.

Additionally, Hostargo will be focused on games where the players play as law enforcement, so having that feeling of fairness is important to the overall atmosphere of the game.  In contrast, games where evil reigns supreme (e.g. horror games) might benefit from secret TNs, since it adds to the mystery and uncertainty of the game.  Hostargo is also going to be a generally action-heavy and combat-focused game, meaning that I want every last ounce of speed I can get out of my engine, and pulling pressure off of the GM is a great way to do that.

For all of these reasons, I have decided to go with an open-roll, non-secretive CR system for Hostargo.  I would be lying if I didn't say that the Hostargo CR dice mechanic didn't play the biggest part in that decision, but hopefully I've shown why open-roll systems work well, since they have their own benefits and feel compared to hidden roll systems.

Cheers!