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In Praise of Dice
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8172657" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>The quantity of fudging that is permissible in a game is zero. To be clear, when I use the term "fudging," I mean something that is ALL THREE of the following things:</p><p>1. You follow the call for a roll, or adjudicate the result of a player's roll, or set the numerical statistics of a creature that has <em>actually entered play</em>. (All three are equivalent at a mechanical level: a number is set, by whatever means, which defines the in-game nature of an entity, object, action, or event. Note that actually entering play is vital, and can happen even if the entity/etc. in question is not directly present, depending on the nature of the roll, adjudication, or stat-setting.) This is an ordinary part of play, but it is necessary for the next two parts. Nothing untoward has yet occurred. </p><p>2. You ignore the actual result or value, and <em>secretly</em> invent a different result or value, based on what you think is best for the people involved. (The vital point here is secrecy; it is not possible to "fudge in the open," as far as I'm concerned.) This is where deception occurs: presenting a false reality about the actual world we live in, not about the fictional world we play in.</p><p>3. You proceed to prevent, as much as you possibly can, any ability <em>even in principle </em>for your players to find out what you just did. Given you are the players' only access to the world, unless you are particularly bad at deceiving people, you are reasonably likely to succeed. (The vital component is the active and sustained effort to ensure that the secret falsehood from #2 cannot ever, even in principle, be discovered.) This is where the DM gaslights the players, altering every part of the fictional world dynamically so that the deception is never revealed no matter what actions the players take.</p><p></p><p>Any time you do not do ALL THREE of the above, it's not fudging. Meaning the following:</p><p>A: If a rule is not triggered or a stat has never actually had any reason for the <em>players</em> to observe it or its effect on the world, you cannot be fudging. Revising a monster, encounter, room, puzzle, dungeon, NPC, city, etc. that has not "seen the light of play" or had reason for the players to know about it, is all perfectly cromulent. This also goes for non-rules elements; if the party knows a murder has occurred but has no evidence about whodunit? Go wild with changing who the perpetrator is. Once they have gained evidence though, don't deceive them.</p><p>B: If you do your revision "in the open," so that the players (as players) know that things have changed, you cannot be fudging. Honesty is always an antidote to the problems of fudging, and having a real conversation with the players (or just a simple "no, that's BS, you did not suffer a crit" etc.) is perfectly acceptable.</p><p>C: If you make it possible for the players to learn what happened, you didn't fudge. Maybe you make up a reason right away. Maybe you leave it undefined for a bit and look foe inspiration. Either way, if you actually allow the players to learn what "caused" the revision, you didn't fudge--you just invoked a mechanic, which the players can learn to prevent, prepare for, or even exploit. </p><p></p><p>Hence, fudging must be all three of "a mechanic or narrative element that has entered play, which the DM secretly alters and presents as unaltered, and which the DM actively prevents the players from discovering."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Why is it acceptable for you to present untrue things as true, but unacceptable for others to present untrue things as true?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8172657, member: 6790260"] The quantity of fudging that is permissible in a game is zero. To be clear, when I use the term "fudging," I mean something that is ALL THREE of the following things: 1. You follow the call for a roll, or adjudicate the result of a player's roll, or set the numerical statistics of a creature that has [I]actually entered play[/I]. (All three are equivalent at a mechanical level: a number is set, by whatever means, which defines the in-game nature of an entity, object, action, or event. Note that actually entering play is vital, and can happen even if the entity/etc. in question is not directly present, depending on the nature of the roll, adjudication, or stat-setting.) This is an ordinary part of play, but it is necessary for the next two parts. Nothing untoward has yet occurred. 2. You ignore the actual result or value, and [I]secretly[/I] invent a different result or value, based on what you think is best for the people involved. (The vital point here is secrecy; it is not possible to "fudge in the open," as far as I'm concerned.) This is where deception occurs: presenting a false reality about the actual world we live in, not about the fictional world we play in. 3. You proceed to prevent, as much as you possibly can, any ability [I]even in principle [/I]for your players to find out what you just did. Given you are the players' only access to the world, unless you are particularly bad at deceiving people, you are reasonably likely to succeed. (The vital component is the active and sustained effort to ensure that the secret falsehood from #2 cannot ever, even in principle, be discovered.) This is where the DM gaslights the players, altering every part of the fictional world dynamically so that the deception is never revealed no matter what actions the players take. Any time you do not do ALL THREE of the above, it's not fudging. Meaning the following: A: If a rule is not triggered or a stat has never actually had any reason for the [I]players[/I] to observe it or its effect on the world, you cannot be fudging. Revising a monster, encounter, room, puzzle, dungeon, NPC, city, etc. that has not "seen the light of play" or had reason for the players to know about it, is all perfectly cromulent. This also goes for non-rules elements; if the party knows a murder has occurred but has no evidence about whodunit? Go wild with changing who the perpetrator is. Once they have gained evidence though, don't deceive them. B: If you do your revision "in the open," so that the players (as players) know that things have changed, you cannot be fudging. Honesty is always an antidote to the problems of fudging, and having a real conversation with the players (or just a simple "no, that's BS, you did not suffer a crit" etc.) is perfectly acceptable. C: If you make it possible for the players to learn what happened, you didn't fudge. Maybe you make up a reason right away. Maybe you leave it undefined for a bit and look foe inspiration. Either way, if you actually allow the players to learn what "caused" the revision, you didn't fudge--you just invoked a mechanic, which the players can learn to prevent, prepare for, or even exploit. Hence, fudging must be all three of "a mechanic or narrative element that has entered play, which the DM secretly alters and presents as unaltered, and which the DM actively prevents the players from discovering." Why is it acceptable for you to present untrue things as true, but unacceptable for others to present untrue things as true? [/QUOTE]
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