Fudging dice rolls

[der_kluge]

DMs - do you fudge your dice rolls? How often?


As a corollary, do you use a DM screen? Sometimes? All the time?

 

[der_kluge]

As for myself, I never use a screen. I just cup my hand over the die if I'm hiding a search check result, or a hide result or something like that.

I can only think of one instance where I fudged a die roll in my last campaign, and that was to prevent the halfling from dying from a contact poison, which I felt would have been a senseless death. So, instead of death from con loss, I left him with 1 con. So, I chose that I do rarely fudge the dice.

I do sometimes give monsters more hit points, but that's not really fudging dice. That's fudging my notes.

 

[The Lost Muse]

I occasionally fudge a damage roll, or allow a hit to go through that maybe shouldn't have, but it is more because though it is clear the party WILL prevail, they are rolling like crap. (That said, my favourite campaign ending is the heroic sacrifice/TPK.)

I use a screen sometimes, although I also am partial to using a laptop. I find most of the charts helpful, so sometimes I will just lay it down in front of me.

 

[shilsen]

I never fudge dice rolls and I roll in the open. Recently I've started making a lot of my rolls (attacks, damage, saves) beforehand, so I just read them off a list. That would make it easy to fudge if I wanted, but I don't.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm a big proponent of making things dramatic where appropriate. I've also been DMing long enough that I have a pretty good sense (though I'd never claim it was perfect) of what my players find fun and exciting.

I've fudged rolls in the party's favor, but I've also fudged rolls against them. In both cases, it was to prevent something from proving woefully boring or anticlimactic. I try to make sure it evens out over the long run, however, and I never fudge to stupid degrees. (I won't cheat the players of a hard-earned victory, for instance--but then, I wouldn't anyway, since that doesn't fall into the non-dramatic category.)

In either case, I fudge only rarely. 95+% of the time, I prefer to let the dice fall where they may.

I use a screen if we're sitting at a table. Usually, we're just spread out on chairs and sofas, in which case I just roll in the plastic case I keep my papers and dice in. In either case, the players cannot see the dice. Sometimes--such as on particularly important rolls, such as a life-or-death save--I'll roll in the open to heighten the tension.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Dice on the table. No screen. Rare die rolls that players shouldn't know the results of are hidden. Only way to go!

 

[jgbrowning]

good stuff

This is exactly how I DM as well.

joe b.

 

[The Cardinal]

I never fudge the dice - ever

I never use a DM screen


...and I'd probably quit any game with a fudging GM/DM!

 

[Tsillanabor]

I don't use a screen, but I will cup my hand over the dice if neccesary. Since I have a rather eclectic group, sometimes an encounter I plan will end up too tough. In that case I'll fudge a bit for them. Other than that I let the dice fall where they may.

 

[Jupp]

I use a screen but combat and similar things are always rolled in the open. So there is no fudging on my side.