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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 5278044" data-attributes="member: 18280">Encounter design =/= fudging.Fudging is taking something set and altering it so that the outcome changes.  It especially refers to (1) ignoring the roll of dice, and substituting a desired outcome, or (2) changing the statistics of a creature to reach a desired outcome.Fudging occurs if and only if you have decided to accept "what happens" until "what happens" is not what you wanted to have happen.To use my terminology upthread, when you decide that a random result will determine the narrative outcome, and then you change your mind when that outcome is known or seems reasonably to be known (i.e., trending toward unwanted PC failure or success), you are fudging.Actually, I claim to do so with all creatures, in accordance with their impact on the setting.Tension and challenge rely upon context, which in turn rely upon the players being able to make decisions. All tension and challenge rely upon (1) the unknown, and (2) determining how to deal with the known.The unknown presents a challenge in terms of making it known, and a resultant tension because, until tested, the players cannot be certain how well they have met that challenge.The known presents a challenge in terms of coming up with a plan to deal with it, and a resultant tension because, until tested, the players cannot be certain how well they have met that challenge.In a game where a SoD (or HoD) effect can occur, the challenge of the unknown includes, perforce, the chance that one has failed to uncover something unknown and REALLY BAD. Conversely, a game in which the PCs will always have multiple decision points once a threat becomes known, and/or is expected to be able to deal successfully with any encountered threat, there is no real tension of the unknown.And, I can assure you, meeting a bear in bear country has had a rather non-bubble-wrapped effect more than once over the course of history.I am just going to take this one, because you've provided enough context to do so.  "No one has ever gone to where they live and returned" is a bit of a clue in my book that something is unusual there.  Also, how is "complete domination" SoD?  After the monsters are killed, are you still dominated?  It's been a while since I've looked at X1.<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />Let's hope that the actual book description (i.e., whatever wasn't included in the SRD) is a bit better written.  Because, if the SRD is all that there is, I agree that this is a bit sparse, esp. for the rules-lawyer nature of that edition.RC</blockquote>

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