D&D General How do players feel about DM fudging?

[Charlaquin]

I have strict rules on when I fudge and to what degree. They favor no player over another and never favor me. That's impartial.

Why not just make these rules public knowledge? Include them in your table rules document so the players are aware of all the rules of the game they’re playing.

 

[Maxperson]

Why not just make these rules public knowledge? Include them in your table rules document so the players are aware of all the rules of the game they’re playing.

Because as several people here have shown, some people are prone to misinterpretation. I'd rather avoid that.

 

[Charlaquin]

I get what you’re saying. But for me the answer is easy. In 99.9% of cases, adhering to the results of dice rolls is a fun and rewarding experience.

And that’s a perfectly valid preference. As is feeling that any fun that may or may not be gained from fudging 0.1% of rolls is outweighed by the uncertainty whether any given roll is being fudged or not introduces. For me, knowing that 0.1% of rolls are being fudged robs the other 99.9% of feeling fun and rewarding, because I don’t ever know know if the result was “real” or an arbitrary decision by the DM. And far worse than knowing 0.1% of rolls are being fudged would be finding out that 0.1% of rolls have been getting fudged without my knowledge.

I know I’m far from the only player who feels this way. Hence, probably best to discuss these things in advance, rather than risk harming anyone’s experience when/if it comes to light later.

 

[Charlaquin]

Because as several people here have shown, some people are prone to misinterpretation. I'd rather avoid that.

Right. So, you hide it from your players to avoid the risk that any of them might feel deceived. But you’re totally not deceiving them!

 

[payn]

Right. So, you hide it from your players to avoid the risk that any of them might feel deceived. But you’re totally not deceiving them!

lol, right? Its totally impartial but telling you about it is too much a PITA.

 

[Maxperson]

Right. So, you hide it from your players to avoid the risk that any of them might feel deceived.

You go out of your way to create issues that don't really exist? I don't.

But you’re totally not deceiving them!

Correct. There is no deception.

 

[soviet]

My GM can be utterly impartial, a divine being with maximum skill ranks in campaign running and 200 hit points. I still don't want them to fudge any dice. Just give me the unvarnished, non-stage managed random truth - the embarrassing failures, the disappointments, the tragic TPKs, the boring stalemates, the anticlimactic quick wins, the well-earned massacres. Give me something real.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I give the simple truth of why a lot of GMs sometimes fudge, but do not necessarily advertise that they're doing so: the players like feeling that their characters are in mortal peril, they like the suspense the knowledge that their character could die brings... but they don't necessarily like their characters actually dying. So letting the players think that the risks are more real than they actually are is an attempt to have it both ways.

 

[Irlo]

For me, knowing that 0.1% of rolls are being fudged robs the other 99.9% of feeling fun and rewarding, because I don’t ever know know if the result was “real” or an arbitrary decision by the DM..

That makes sense. I’m convinced.

 

[FrozenNorth]

I'm going to bring up something I do every time a conversation goes in that direction. Though some people don't accept the distinction, there's a pretty large gap between "Trusting a GM's intentions" and "Trusting a GM's judgment". Playing with someone who you don't trust the intentions of is probably a mistake. On the other hand, lots of people don't have 100% trust for a GM's judgement all the time (I'm one of them). So I'm going to suggest that "playing with DMs not up to the level they want their DM to be" is sometimes a given, because they don't expect that to be, in practice, possible.

Not disagreeing, but I also think that in any discussion about trusting the DM, you also need to ask what actions the DM has taken to create trust among their players.

There isn’t a single action a DM can take to create trust that works in all circumstances, but I think things like being honest and transparent, and rolling in the open can help build trust. Colville claiming he does not fudge when he does, and faking rolls to sell the lie is the opposite of that.