DM's: How much cheating do you have to do?

[Krensky]

I hardly ever have to adjust die rolls, although my players actually prefer me rolling in secret and fudging to make it enjoyable.

 

[Filcher]

I cheat like a dog, except for the important stuff which gets rolled out in the open.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

I cheat all the freaking time. From die rolls to NPC actions. If I want a player to feel pain... my roll is high enough to hit. If I want a pc to survive, "Oh damn, a natural 1".
I don't know why I even roll dice any more.

but seriously, I roll out in the open. Sometimes I tip the dice to a lower number if things are looking bad for the PCs. The players see me do thins, and they don't seem to mind.

Alternately, I haven't "rolled up" a character since AD&D. I've either used point-buy to give myself the stats I need, or just rolled dice and wrote down whatever I wanted. I've never done the "Broken character" build I just don't like random stats... and never realy have.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I cheat all the time, too. The d20 in my groups far too often behaves counter to what probability would expect, both for good and bad. If the rolls were balanced over time, I'd not fudge rolls and bonuses, but too often I'll see a sizeable string of 15+'s or rolls of 5 or less from myself or one of the players.

 

[Ourph]

Unlike some of the previous posters, I do believe it's possible for the DM to cheat, and I don't do it. I make most dice rolls in the open, but the ones I keep secret (like Search checks for traps and whatnot) I don't fudge.

 

[knightofround]

Yeah, I'm guilty of cheating quite a bit. It's my philosophy that D&D is ultimately a cinematic experience. I believe that as a DM it is my duty to provide the players with an awesome story and awesome fight scenes. I believe that the dice are a grease that keeps combat flowing, but ultimately it is DM fiat that keeps the plot flowing. When the two issues class (big plot character in a combat) I tend to favor the story over dice.

I like to make my campaigns character-based, and if I roll "lucky" and 4 crappy goblins all get lucky criticals on a character, I don't want to say to the player "sorry about all the time you invested in this character, but thats how we roll. Go sit in the corner until you can get a rez". When a character dies, I want it to be a big event and for a good reason, rather than simple lack of luck.

 

[SteveC]

I started rolling in the open quite a while ago. It does make the game MUCH more lethal. But, I like the fact that it's absolutely fair. And, frequently the dice tell stories that are more interesting than what I would come up with by nudging the odds.

Hussar has the right of it here: all too often, the stories I get from just letting the dice fall where they may are better than what I could have scripted.

That and my players seriously dread when I say "and here's where I roll a critical on you," before rolling the dice, because I've rolled more than a few 20s after calling them.

--Steve

 

[Jack99]

Never. Been olling out in the open for the last 10-15 years as a DM. Although I might forget a modifier once in a while. Cough.

 

[Verdande]

I never, ever cheat any of my players. We all know that our game is fairly lethal, and to be totally honest, I think that cheating cheapens the experience.

We're playing D&D to play a band of plucky adventurer-theives looking for treasure and trouble, not to be a movie star. If we wanted to have a wire-fu fantasy beat-em-up where we always win, we probably wouldn't bother with the dice at all.

I'm not degrading diceless systems either, don't get me wrong. Sometimes that's exactly what you want to play, and that's fine too. But if that's what you want, why even pretend to use the dice as fate/luck in the first place?

 

[Korgoth]

But, I like the fact that it's absolutely fair. And, frequently the dice tell stories that are more interesting than what I would come up with by nudging the odds.

I agree with you on this.

I think it takes away from the "game" aspect if the DM fudges. I'm against it.