My DM just told me he fudges rolls....

[Bullgrit]

Yeah, Bullgrit, I got that. My point is that actually only you are making the assumption of that kind of extremity. In other words, you're creating the classic strawman; exaggerating a position to the point where it's ridiculous, and then obliquely asking people to defend that.

The whole point Umbran and I have made is that nobody has made that extreme of an assumption. If you only want the people who run games that way to respond, get ready for the deafening sound of a few crickets.

Um, in my post I quoted statements from people in this thread. I didn't make up those statements.

Look, dude, I have no interest in going back and forth with you. Really, I've asked a question of someone else.

Bullgrit

 

[was]

the only time I fudge is when I've accidently overpowered an encounter and I only fudge enough to give the players a 50/50 shot at winning...fudging anything else is unacceptable to me

 

[Will Doyle]

The DM's screen is there for a reason - and historically one of those reasons is definitely for fudging.

For years, I've flip-flopped between fudging and not. I've tried rolling consistently the open, declaring my actions before rolling. I've tried keeping everything a secret, rolling the dice behind the screen sometimes just for drama's sake.

Nowadays, I find myself fudging rolls very infrequently, if ever - but I still roll most checks behind the screen. Fudging for me is typically upping solo HP if they're proving a cakewalk, upping monster damage on the fly, and so on. For me, that's the stuff that belongs behind the screen. It's my notepad I want to shield, not my dice.

Nowadays, for drama's sake, I only tend to roll all-important dice out in the open. The hit roll when a character is at near-bloodied negative, the save for an enemy when they're about to be pushed into a lava pit, and so on. Even though I try to play it straight when it's rolled behind the screen, rolling in front of the players for crucial rolls does add a lot of gravitas.

 

[am181d]

I see a lot of straw man arguments in this thread. The "classic fudge" is:

NPC rolls really well for damage. DM puts PC at -8 instead of -12. This gives the other players a couple rounds to scramble rather than killing the PC outright.

Situations like this don't come up very often. Usually no more than once in a session, and generally not most sessions.

the only time I fudge is when I've accidently overpowered an encounter and I only fudge enough to give the players a 50/50 shot at winning...fudging anything else is unacceptable to me

This makes sense broadly, but how on Earth would you measure 50/50?

 

[Lord Crimson]

I never fudge die rolls as a DM.

If it means that a boss encounter is a cakewalk for the PCs, or that it results in a TPK, so be it. (The way I roll, the first is much more likely...)

However, I usually have a secret DM-Ex-Machina built into a combat encounter just in case things go bad.

This, to me, is a false dichotomy.

Sure, your way of doing it is a little more artistically pleasing. But you're still fudging.

Dropping a few extra HPs off of a hit or a foe isn't really all that different, conceptually, than having an NPC suddenly run into the room and play heal-bot or soak up hits for a round or two.

You've invented this character's presence at this time and place in the story to justify the continued survival of the PCs because it makes for a-more-interesting-story/more-fun/less-suck/whatever for them to survive.

It just looks prettier than changing/ignoring a die roll or two.

And choosing not to roll the dice is simply another form of fudging in and of itself, since that choice is just as arbitrary and informed by what the GM decides is more or less fun.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Oh, so much XP I want to give, but the XP buttons aren't working!

Like Delericho and Dausuul say: Rookie mistake #71 is telling your players that you fudge. Most of us do it. Those of us who do it well maintain plausible deniability.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The DM's screen is there for a reason - and historically one of those reasons is definitely for fudging.

For years, I've flip-flopped between fudging and not. I've tried rolling consistently the open, declaring my actions before rolling. I've tried keeping everything a secret, rolling the dice behind the screen sometimes just for drama's sake.

Nowadays, I find myself fudging rolls very infrequently, if ever - but I still roll most checks behind the screen. Fudging for me is typically upping solo HP if they're proving a cakewalk, upping monster damage on the fly, and so on. For me, that's the stuff that belongs behind the screen. It's my notepad I want to shield, not my dice.

Nowadays, for drama's sake, I only tend to roll all-important dice out in the open. The hit roll when a character is at near-bloodied negative, the save for an enemy when they're about to be pushed into a lava pit, and so on. Even though I try to play it straight when it's rolled behind the screen, rolling in front of the players for crucial rolls does add a lot of gravitas.

I used to fudge, but overtime I noticed it had a negative impact on the game for me and the players. Once I stuck to a stricts "all rolls in the open, let the dice fall where they may" policy it really improved things for everyone. When I do use a GM screen it is for my notes or simply for the convenience of having the charts on hand.

 

[Mark CMG]

Personally, I don't fudge and often roll life or death rolls in the open, but as part of an RPG I reserve the right to make circumstance modifiers as I see fit.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I used to fudge, but overtime I noticed it had a negative impact on the game for me and the players. Once I stuck to a stricts "all rolls in the open, let the dice fall where they may" policy it really improved things for everyone. When I do use a GM screen it is for my notes or simply for the convenience of having the charts on hand.

Naturally! Roll out in the open! Then fudge the figures behind the scenes if necessary...

 

[NewJeffCT]

This, to me, is a false dichotomy.

Sure, your way of doing it is a little more artistically pleasing. But you're still fudging.

Dropping a few extra HPs off of a hit or a foe isn't really all that different, conceptually, than having an NPC suddenly run into the room and play heal-bot or soak up hits for a round or two.

You've invented this character's presence at this time and place in the story to justify the continued survival of the PCs because it makes for a-more-interesting-story/more-fun/less-suck/whatever for them to survive.

It just looks prettier than changing/ignoring a die roll or two.

And choosing not to roll the dice is simply another form of fudging in and of itself, since that choice is just as arbitrary and informed by what the GM decides is more or less fun.

I think it's a lot different - the bad rolls for the players and/or the good rolls for the DM still stand, it's just that they get some in-game help. It's like bringing in a relief pitcher in a baseball game.

By the way, while I often have that 'unplanned' ally in reserve, I've only had to use the unplanned ally like that once in 4 1/2 years.

Also, I make all combat rolls (to hit, damage, saving throws) out in the open. Things like NPC reactions and opposed rolls, I do behind the screen because the PCs don't need to see what their bonus is.