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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MoogleEmpMog" data-source="post: 3527673" data-attributes="member: 22882">When I ran AD&D and BD&D and several other older systems, I was an inveterate fudger (fudge being a rather more polite term than 'cheat' when the GM does it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  Die rolls were vetted for dramatic effect.In vanilla 3e, I still do this.  But then, I don't run vanilla 3e.Fudging is, IMO, a kludgy, early generation RPG solution to the same problem later addressed more elegantly by narrative mechanics.  Namely, that random chance only randomly produces an enjoyable story. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Nowadays, I'm far more inclined to dole out powerful narrative control mechanisms to the players, and a limited narrative control mechanism to the GM, so both sides can declare within the gameplay when something is important from a story perspective.This, IMX, allows for very intense, tactical challenges that also result in cool stories.  The older method usually involves meaningful tactics (dice fall where they may) or cool stories (GM fudges), but only randomly - and rarely - produces both.  This also lets the players decide what they think would be cool rather than hoping the GM agrees with them, and lets the GM arbitrarily decide what he thinks is cool, while still playing cut-throat, competitive and tactical, without being unfair.</blockquote>

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