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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 6803598" data-attributes="member: 6790260">I'm with Nagol on this one. That is, "an unacceptable outcome" and "an acceptable outcome coming at an inopportune time" sounds like a distinction without a difference. Acceptability can be contextual. I don't think anyone in this thread would disagree with that. So "unacceptable" already means "potentially acceptable, if the time were opportune."I'm also not entirely sure what the difference is between "things influenced or inspired by chance" and "thing<s>...entirely mandated by chance." Isn't that what is done when one rolls a strict-3d6 character? Accepting whatever luck, good or bad, helpful or hindering, that probability provides? Seems like accepting something "mandated" by chance, and in fact enjoying it. I mean, you might not actually DO that, but it is an example of something seen in D&D play. Is that a thing you do?</s><s></s><s></s><s></s><s>Odd that a narrative tool would have such heavy, mathematical mechanics, and largely binary resolution (with the exclusion of damage and crits, which are admittedly fairly important, but the latter is still binary in some sense, and the former is digital). And, further, that it should regularly--frequently, even--generate non-narrative-supporting outcomes and thus need to be heavily regulated. It would seem to me, then, that the "sometimes wonky" bit is the result of trying to shove a square peg into a round hole...</s><s></s><s></s><s></s><s>Well, I haven't been arguing against that particular straw man since...well, probably the beginning of the "would you change HP mid-fight?" thread. Because everybody that wasn't, ahem, excessively vehement was quite clear that fudging "against the party" is something You Just Don't Do, and even got...perhaps not "offended" per se, but miffed at the suggestion that fudging might be used to the detriment of the party.</s><s></s><s>Even though, as I have said here and elsewhere, fudging to up a monster's HP is identical to fudging a PC's damage downward, which makes it fairly clear that it is "against the party" even if it is done with intent to do something cool/fun/interesting/<insert your preferred positive adjective here> (in the DM's opinion).</s><s></s><s>If you want the killing blow to come from a particular player, don't have 0 HP mean death in this case. 0 HP can mean lots of things in lots of places (PCs roll death saves, after all). In this case, it means "out of the fight." Then the thematically-appropriate opponent can, outside the context of the combat resolution system, have the witty one-liner or last-breath-conversation, before ramming a sword through some vital body part or blasting the baddie's brains out with a spell (and, if we're being all thematically supportive here, without it costing a spell slot, if it isn't a cantrip).</s><s></s><s>Same achieved result. No need for fudging, deception, concealment of information, altering the ability of players' abilities to properly affect their targets, or whatever else. You just rule that, in this case, the consequence of a particular mechanical effect (dropping an enemy to 0 HP) is a little different, for story reasons--just like how you can rule that an action which would normally require a check just is successful, but still be curious about how successful. The effects will come in good time--we just need a moment for the Rule of Cool to apply, because Talking Is A Free Action.</s></blockquote>

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