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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 8922977" data-attributes="member: 78752">The reason why I come in so hot on these threads is because as time goes on and the D&D community gets larger and younger, I actually see the direction of dungeon mastery advice online moving away from fudging die results, dungeon master screens, and even theater of the mind play, as a sort of weird moral directive.  The dialogue gets pretty ugly.This deeply concerns me, because I think systems abstraction (or, if you prefer, fudging) is a fundamental responsibility of the dungeon master.  Now that ChatGPT can walk a player through an adaptive original version of "Zork," it's become ever more important to illustrate how important an empowered dungeon master is to the rules-dice-human adjudication tripod.I disagree that it is a question of drama vs. consequence.  One doesn't fudge every die roll.  One doesn't even fudge most die rolls.  It's a considered, handcrafted approach that should only be used when it is the right thing to do for the enjoyment of the table, because the rules and dice do not take this factor into account.  Determining when it is right, and when it is not, and what "enjoyment" means for each table, is one of the things that separates good dungeon masters from great dungeon masters.Rolling in secret has been a part of the game since the very beginning, for exactly this reason.  The dungeon master must be honest with their table upfront whether or not they fudge die rolls, and players have to come to trust their dungeon master's management of the game and understanding of their needs enough to permit it, in order for everyone to have the full experience of the game.On occasion, the best way to honor trust is to break it.From the 1979 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master Guide, page 110, "Conducting the Game":This ain't a new-school idea.</blockquote>

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