saying that that situation isn't fudging feels like 'no true scotsman'-ing the issue to me, this sort of situation is the point of having fudging available as a tool for when the dice roll way way too high over the bar for the narrative's own good.
Turning a crit into not-a-crit and obscuring that fact from the players is by definition fudging.
But the point of my response is that fudging wasn't necessary in the first place. Instead of secretly mitigating or ignoring a 'bad' roll, the GM can openly re-interpret the result in a way that still messes up the character but lets play continue more smoothly.
I suspect it’s because much of the time they do want that outcome to be a possibility? But not at this particular moment.
Then it's just not really a possibility until DM says so, which again raises the question why bother rolling (and then obfuscating)? Just decide for yourself.
Hasn’t the DM decided that it’s a possibility most of the time? It’s easier to turn off the critical hit rule once out of a hundred rolls than it is to turn it on ninety-nine times.
The DM could just say a 20 isn't anything special, too. They could also say, for example, that characters can't die unless the player agrees they do and that failing 3 death saves or dying from massive damage by the rules just means they are out of the rest of the scene. Then there's no worries at all that a Nat 20 might ruin someone's day, nor a character death spoil the DM's pre-planned plot. Plus everything's on the level, no need to hide anything from the players to maintain the illusion (because there is no illusion).
Yes, I agree the DM has many options.
Hey, maybe we don't see so differently after all, then!
Yeah, I realize that encounter goes beyond basic combat in the game. I just like to roll for characters' damage regardless of the actual, immediate stakes at play, even when we're leaning into an RP-driven combat. I do this partly out of habit and partly because I don't always want my players to know that this is the BBEG's accomplice or that death is absolutely off the table beforehand. Even when I have ruled out death, rolling the dice as usual can obscure that fact for more seasoned players. Imagine the dismay when they realize who they thought was the fatal hammer-wielding BBEG was little more than a footstool to the true villain. I don't think withholding information--dice included--is necessarily a bad thing if it's done to build a better campaign. Obviously, players should know beforehand whether their DM will be cryptic with these things. But as long as the party knows to evaluate their world with a critical eye, I think it's all in good fun.
