Arkhandus
First Post
(Disclaimer: I ramble. Scroll to the last paragraph if you don't care about anecdotes.) 
I mostly just let the dice fall where they may, but I do fudge on rare occasions. Like once or twice a year maybe. I can only really remember two or three anyway because they happen so infrequently and so far apart.
I fudged a crit confirmation into a normal hit once against a PC barbarian, for instance, because it would have killed him outright at that point. All of the PCs were near death and flanked in melee by rogues and warriors, and if the barbarian fell, it was a definite TPK in what was just a minor encounter on the road, with a group of bandits half the PCs' level and just greater in number. Everyone would have been ticked off if they died so ingloriously and such at that random, early point in the campaign (5th or 6th level).
This week was one of those times, where I ignored a few random encounter rolls....the PCs had just slain a greater vrock and a lesser vrock in the Abyss, completing a quest they had been on for some time, and had to return home through the Plane of Shadow; no cleric, and the wizard had chosen conjuration as a banned school waaaaay back when the campaign started. So, they Shadow Walked home right afterward; and I rolled three encounters in Shadow, first some shadow mastiffs that were tough only because they were essentially invisible regardless of PCs' See Invisibility spells (shadow blend is wierd but awesome).
Then 5 shadows, which I had fudged down from 11 (ignoring the last two dice rolls for determining their numbers). These nearly killed the archer and monk, leaving both with single-digit Strength, and if I had used 11, half or most of the party would've been slain and turned into shadows. Then the PCs would've faced 8 wraiths an hour later, but I fudged that encounter roll so they wouldn't face anything, since it would have been a definite TPK. As it is, the vrocks had killed an animal companion, nearly killed two or three PCs, and moderately wounded the rest. And forced the casters to waste most of their spells, leaving only a few low-level spells remaining.
If the party died fighting the vrocks, it would have been climactic amidst that exciting encounter at the end of their current quest, and I don't think anyone would be really sour about it. It was fun and suspenseful. But dying on the trip home to a few measly CR 3 shadows or slightly tougher wraiths, when the PCs had just gained enough XP for 14th level, would have been a disaster. Not as memorable as even just a random dinosaur mauling.
I tend to kill the PCs' pets and allies more often than the PCs themselves, somehow. But there was that random dinosaur mauling, where a PC sorcerer ticked off a tyrannosaur by bombarding it and its mate with a Fireball, and it promptly bit him in half. He could've fled instead of face the oncoming dinosaurs, but noooo. Muahah. As if they didn't make tons of noise crashing through the forest on their approach. The ground shook. The PCs decided to move in though. They narrowly survived thanks only to their frantic teamwork, as I nearly killed two or three other PCs with the angry dinos.
And I've killed a few other PCs over time, I just don't run an adversarial game; I'm there to challenge the PCs, not make them regret even bothering to show up every week for what's supposed to be a fun game. If their PC dies, they either did something stupid in-game and deserved it, or they died dramatically, or they just had rotten luck, and in the latter case there are rare occasions where I've fudged in their favor. There are also occasions where I've fudged in an opponent's favor just to make things a tad more challenging in an otherwise-anticlimactic encounter, but not as often.
PCs die, but I don't purposely try to make them drop like flies. I just don't make most encounters definite wins or losses; they usually depend as much on chance or PC tactics. And not all encounters are planned out; when PCs pick a fight with powerful NPCs or monsters somewhere, I don't pull any punches. Don't insult the ancient dragon when you don't know you're strong enough to survive if he takes offense, y'know? I only fudge for a PC if it would result in a very unheroic death or an equally pathetic TPK. But I won't save their PCs if they risk death again in that same fight or adventure.
I mostly just let the dice fall where they may, but I do fudge on rare occasions. Like once or twice a year maybe. I can only really remember two or three anyway because they happen so infrequently and so far apart.
I fudged a crit confirmation into a normal hit once against a PC barbarian, for instance, because it would have killed him outright at that point. All of the PCs were near death and flanked in melee by rogues and warriors, and if the barbarian fell, it was a definite TPK in what was just a minor encounter on the road, with a group of bandits half the PCs' level and just greater in number. Everyone would have been ticked off if they died so ingloriously and such at that random, early point in the campaign (5th or 6th level).
This week was one of those times, where I ignored a few random encounter rolls....the PCs had just slain a greater vrock and a lesser vrock in the Abyss, completing a quest they had been on for some time, and had to return home through the Plane of Shadow; no cleric, and the wizard had chosen conjuration as a banned school waaaaay back when the campaign started. So, they Shadow Walked home right afterward; and I rolled three encounters in Shadow, first some shadow mastiffs that were tough only because they were essentially invisible regardless of PCs' See Invisibility spells (shadow blend is wierd but awesome).
Then 5 shadows, which I had fudged down from 11 (ignoring the last two dice rolls for determining their numbers). These nearly killed the archer and monk, leaving both with single-digit Strength, and if I had used 11, half or most of the party would've been slain and turned into shadows. Then the PCs would've faced 8 wraiths an hour later, but I fudged that encounter roll so they wouldn't face anything, since it would have been a definite TPK. As it is, the vrocks had killed an animal companion, nearly killed two or three PCs, and moderately wounded the rest. And forced the casters to waste most of their spells, leaving only a few low-level spells remaining.
If the party died fighting the vrocks, it would have been climactic amidst that exciting encounter at the end of their current quest, and I don't think anyone would be really sour about it. It was fun and suspenseful. But dying on the trip home to a few measly CR 3 shadows or slightly tougher wraiths, when the PCs had just gained enough XP for 14th level, would have been a disaster. Not as memorable as even just a random dinosaur mauling.
I tend to kill the PCs' pets and allies more often than the PCs themselves, somehow. But there was that random dinosaur mauling, where a PC sorcerer ticked off a tyrannosaur by bombarding it and its mate with a Fireball, and it promptly bit him in half. He could've fled instead of face the oncoming dinosaurs, but noooo. Muahah. As if they didn't make tons of noise crashing through the forest on their approach. The ground shook. The PCs decided to move in though. They narrowly survived thanks only to their frantic teamwork, as I nearly killed two or three other PCs with the angry dinos.
And I've killed a few other PCs over time, I just don't run an adversarial game; I'm there to challenge the PCs, not make them regret even bothering to show up every week for what's supposed to be a fun game. If their PC dies, they either did something stupid in-game and deserved it, or they died dramatically, or they just had rotten luck, and in the latter case there are rare occasions where I've fudged in their favor. There are also occasions where I've fudged in an opponent's favor just to make things a tad more challenging in an otherwise-anticlimactic encounter, but not as often.
PCs die, but I don't purposely try to make them drop like flies. I just don't make most encounters definite wins or losses; they usually depend as much on chance or PC tactics. And not all encounters are planned out; when PCs pick a fight with powerful NPCs or monsters somewhere, I don't pull any punches. Don't insult the ancient dragon when you don't know you're strong enough to survive if he takes offense, y'know? I only fudge for a PC if it would result in a very unheroic death or an equally pathetic TPK. But I won't save their PCs if they risk death again in that same fight or adventure.
