Fudging dice rolls

[3d6]

I never fudge the dice; I roll out in the open. Players would notice quickly if a creature's attack bonus kept changing. There's actually some fun in rolling out in the open if the player's are paying attention; you get to see the look on thier faces when you ask "does a 46 hit your AC?" when you rolled a 2. Fighter/wizards with true strike: always amusing.

 

[the Jester]

Fudging? Once in a while, both for and against the pcs. Less than once per game on average, I'd say.

Screens? Rarely use 'em. They can be cool- I got the Hackmaster GM's Screen for "cool factor" alone- but I rarely find them worth the effort.

 

[jmucchiello]

Just to make this clear, I only do it if I've realized that I've unwittingly screwed the PCs by my poor design. Its not something that happens often.

Yes, but is there really any difference between you changing their actions and you changing their luck on the fly?

The reason why one is ok for me and the other isn't is this: I like to play by the same rules as the PCs. I expect them to be honest in their dice-rolling...so I am too.

So if you were to have a scenario where there are thousands of combatants, you wouldn't just make up the numbers for the other 900+ combatants, you'd be honest and roll it all out? If the rogue tries to pick someone's pocket in the village square do you roll a Spot check for every commoner in the square? There are probably some cases where you do not play by the rules the PCs do. Do your villains use the same point buy? Do they have the correct gp of wealth dictated for their level? Does that wealth total include the price of their stronghold/dungeon/whatever? You've never given a villian more than his fare share of magic items or money to facillitate your plot?

Basically, I wonder why die rolls are inviolable.

 

[Sejs]

I use a DM screen. Partly because it saves time having to look certain things up, partly because I keep my game notes back there where I don't want them seen (npc stats, maps, etc). If I'm sitting, dice rolls happen behind the screen because, well, it takes up the entirety of the little side table I use. If I'm standing, I'll just roll the dice on the map table in the open.

I will rarely fudge dice rolls, usually in favor of the PCs - my criteria for fudging is wholly fun based. If something happens that is amazingly, retardedly anti-climactic and un-fun, then I will fudge a bit in order to milk it for what little enjoyment is possible. For example, way back in the day, one PC is traveling between two cities and 'lo and behold gets a random encounter at night. Okay, a small pack of jermalane (sp~) sneak in and try to steal a few things. Pretty typical fare. PC wakes up, grabs his stuff and makes to get away. All well and good. The jerm throw a few of their little tiny darts as he flees. Now, by the rules we were using at the time (2e, combat and tactics critical hit rules) one of the little buggers tags the running PC in the head with a thrown dart that's about the size of a toothpick, and blows the thinking part of him half a block out the back of his skull. Screw that. The encounter was going swimmingly up until the how-the-hell-did-that-happen instakill, and so I fudged it some. The PC caught the doompick in the eye instead and was half blind until he could get it healed.


Fudging is like a gun - it's not evil in and of itself, it's how you use it that counts.

 

[Lord Ipplepop]

I NEVER Fudge die rolls. When it comes to combat, I roll the "monster" attacks and any other rolls that would not normally be done in secret in front of the players. We have a DM in our group that tends to fudge the rolls in the party's favor CONSTANTLY, and the aura of danger has gone out of his gtames because the chances of the characters actually meeting an un-timely and gruesome death is almost nil. With the attack and damage rolls being done in front of the characters, they know that there is no way the rolls are being fudged, and they still maintain that sense of danger.

As for using a screen, I usually have my adventure written up and planced in a notebook. I keep the notebook closed when possible, and when I need to look something up, I can do wo while keeping the maps, descriptions away from the characters... and if I need to do a secret die roll, I can do it behind the notebook.

 

[Nifft]

I guess I haven't been DM'ing all that long -- I do NOT have a good sense when things are appropriately tense and dramatic. So, I let the dice fall where they may, and give the PCs a way to do the fudging themselves ("fate points", will post URL to discussion if anyone's interested).

Basically, if I spend an hour statting out a hideous monstrosity (e.g. my favorite flying frost funeral, the "wendigo wilder"), and a PC drops it with one insta-kill spell, that's totally cool. It's not what I'd allow if I were in charge of "fate", but it's okay.

Otherwise, I might as well tell my players: "Don't bother busting out the big guns until you're half-way dead. Winning while unscathed is anti-climactic."

-- N

 

[Shadowslayer]

Yes, but is there really any difference between you changing their actions and you changing their luck on the fly?

Well, one involves random chance (die rolling), and one does not.

Its a philosophy, and that's how I do it. Basically, my view is that it makes no sense to roll dice if you won't be abiding by them anyway.

(Not a slam on fudgers, by the way...its just a preference...no wars please)

You're looking for a debate...and not finding one here.

 

[danzig138]

I don't fudge rolls.
I do use the Wall of Fear and Ignorance if I think about it, but it's not a necessity for me.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Let the dice fall where they may.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Usually no fudging. But, I can't say with an absolute "I never have fudged!" I've sometimes misjudged a monster. For example, the alchemical golem is, I think, highly too powerful for its CR. I thought it would be a good fight, but woefully right as I took its first turn on its initiative, I noticed that it would slaughter them. So, I lowered it's damage, attack, and changed its Su's a bit. After the battle had been in swing a while, I realized it was still too much and turned a few hits into misses.

Stupid alchemical golem.

So, I've fuged, what... 1 out of 200 or so encounters in the current campaign? And, probably something like 5 out of 10,000 rolls in the campaign. Still can't say never, though.