Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
GM Confessional: I fudged like a Banshee (just not on the dice rolls)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Zourin" data-source="post: 5944670" data-attributes="member: 6695312"><p>I'd say the other way around, really. If you have numbers written down for, say, an encounter, but they're having too easy of a time, adding HP or calling hits for damage is probably fudging. Nobody but the GM knows when this happens, but the players notice you have your eyes buried into notebooks, index cards, or rule books detailing what's happening.</p><p></p><p>Winging is when you don't have anything written down, and you're pulling ballparks out of the thin air of your experience and imagination. Veteran GM's can probably pull the numbers out of the backs of their minds as easily as their phone numbers, while inexperienced GM's who try to do this wind up stumbling into inconsistencies that the players can point out. Either way, chances are the players know you don't have anything but the initiative written down, because that's the only time when you're reading anything other than dice.</p><p></p><p>For example, I have my encounters set, but if things prove too easy or too tough, i'll fudge the numbers to get a round or two more out of them before they move on. The dungeon itself, however, I haven't written down yet and may opt to simply wing it and let them map it out for me if they decide not to get lost. Alternatively, I have a few notes down in case they take one look at the dungeon and walk back to town, where I could, in theory, still run them through several of the encounters.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zourin, post: 5944670, member: 6695312"] I'd say the other way around, really. If you have numbers written down for, say, an encounter, but they're having too easy of a time, adding HP or calling hits for damage is probably fudging. Nobody but the GM knows when this happens, but the players notice you have your eyes buried into notebooks, index cards, or rule books detailing what's happening. Winging is when you don't have anything written down, and you're pulling ballparks out of the thin air of your experience and imagination. Veteran GM's can probably pull the numbers out of the backs of their minds as easily as their phone numbers, while inexperienced GM's who try to do this wind up stumbling into inconsistencies that the players can point out. Either way, chances are the players know you don't have anything but the initiative written down, because that's the only time when you're reading anything other than dice. For example, I have my encounters set, but if things prove too easy or too tough, i'll fudge the numbers to get a round or two more out of them before they move on. The dungeon itself, however, I haven't written down yet and may opt to simply wing it and let them map it out for me if they decide not to get lost. Alternatively, I have a few notes down in case they take one look at the dungeon and walk back to town, where I could, in theory, still run them through several of the encounters. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
GM Confessional: I fudged like a Banshee (just not on the dice rolls)
Top