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General Tabletop Discussion
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DMs, how do you fudge?
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<blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 8593505" data-attributes="member: 6796468"><p>I fudge based on what's best for the Story and the Drama because the dice exist to make the story more interesting, not the other way around.</p><p></p><p>Sometimes it's Monster HP getting a little thicker so the fight isn't quite as short as it might otherwise be. Sometimes it's fudging bad rolls for the NPCs to threaten the PCs more. Sometimes it's fudging those NPC rolls down to make the enemy on a hot streak not wipe the party anticlimactically.</p><p></p><p>Sometimes it's having an unannounced DC for a skill check that the player is going to pass unless they roll a natural 1 because it makes a better story if they do the cool chandelier swing.</p><p></p><p>And sometimes... It's fistfuls of dice which mean absolutely nothing. </p><p></p><p>I'm loving the WOIN/Level Up Countdown mechanic and plan to use it to spur drama both in my own games and in my writing. Things like NPCs having a slow countdown (only removed on a 6) with 5 dice while the players have a 5 dice medium countdown (remove on a 5 or 6). Or even fast countdowns on the part of NPCs that block off ancillary chambers as the building the players are escaping collapses (subtly showing them where not to go). Or even having a Countdown that does... nothing. It involves rooms the players have already run past getting filled with rushing water and the players were never in danger but describing the big flood and rolling fistfuls of dice makes them feel like something is coming...</p><p></p><p>And it is. Just not for -them-. At least sometimes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steampunkette, post: 8593505, member: 6796468"] I fudge based on what's best for the Story and the Drama because the dice exist to make the story more interesting, not the other way around. Sometimes it's Monster HP getting a little thicker so the fight isn't quite as short as it might otherwise be. Sometimes it's fudging bad rolls for the NPCs to threaten the PCs more. Sometimes it's fudging those NPC rolls down to make the enemy on a hot streak not wipe the party anticlimactically. Sometimes it's having an unannounced DC for a skill check that the player is going to pass unless they roll a natural 1 because it makes a better story if they do the cool chandelier swing. And sometimes... It's fistfuls of dice which mean absolutely nothing. I'm loving the WOIN/Level Up Countdown mechanic and plan to use it to spur drama both in my own games and in my writing. Things like NPCs having a slow countdown (only removed on a 6) with 5 dice while the players have a 5 dice medium countdown (remove on a 5 or 6). Or even fast countdowns on the part of NPCs that block off ancillary chambers as the building the players are escaping collapses (subtly showing them where not to go). Or even having a Countdown that does... nothing. It involves rooms the players have already run past getting filled with rushing water and the players were never in danger but describing the big flood and rolling fistfuls of dice makes them feel like something is coming... And it is. Just not for -them-. At least sometimes. [/QUOTE]
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