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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 1264348" data-attributes="member: 2011">We were discussing one particular machination there. The DM sending in the Calvary.I would expect that almost every campaign would have players who would see through that.So (and again I am telling you), I was not trying to imply that my players are smarter than yours. I was trying to say that fudging can often be easily noticed by players and that some players dislike the DM protecting them or stopping their critical from killing the bad guy or whatever, just to continue the storyline. A machination like sending in the Calvary is one which is so obvious that players who dislike fudging will often consider it to be so, even if it is not.However, those activities do not have rules. When people create an activity with rules, the majority of the time the rules are their to ensure some level of fairness and consistency, even in semi-unfair activities like subjective sports (e.g. Figure Skating). Even in subjective activities where there are rules, the participants expect that everyone will play by the rules.If as DM you suddenly instituted the house rule that PCs have to reroll any critical roll a second time to succeed but NPCs do not have to do that, I doubt very much that your players would like it. They might consider it unfair.Some players (including myself) consider it unfair for the DM to roll dice behind a screen because it allows him to "cheat". YMMV.I meant by fudging that you totally change the outcome of an event in order to get some other event to occur. For example, saving the life of the NPC villain to keep the storyline going.By making adjustments, I mean that you have the NPC Villains bedroom sketched out, but you did not put in any real details because you thought the PCs would never get there (or not get there for a long time). So, they arrive at the bedroom and you start adding in detail that you did not have before (like having a bed, a bookcase, a nightstand, etc.).I think it is a matter of personal honesty and integrity. I feel uncomfortable as a DM having set up an NPC without a given skill (e.g. Climbing) and I suddenly give him that skill, just because he suddenly needs it to escape from the PCs. If the NPC was originally designed to not be a good climber, the reality of the campaign world should not change to suddenly allow him to do that. IMO. As a DM, I feel like I am cheating if I do that.Other DMs have no such qualms. That feel that anything goes. Save the NPC Villain. Do more damage to the PCs because the encounter does not appear challenging enough and then turn around in the same encounter and throttle it back down because PCs are starting to fall. Prevent the PCs from totally sidestepping the storyline when they think of a quick solution to the current problem as opposed to the lengthy ones I as DM thought of.Not only does it feel dishonest to do that, it also feels like a total copout. Opps, as DM I was not smart enough to realize ahead of time that the Juvenile Black Dragon would have a good chance of kicking the PCs butt, so I will now correct my mistake. Opps, as DM I was not smart enough to realize that my PCs would come up with a quick solution to a storyline I had set up, so I will now change the storyline enough so that their solution only resolves a portion of the storyline.I prefer in game solutions as opposed to on the fly DM meddling. For example, if I make low charge semi-potent items available to my players, then they have combat options to fall back on when they get in trouble. Then, it never seems like the DM is saving their hides, it seems like they are saving their own hides.Personally, I think people can have fun with both styles, I just think players have more fun if they are solving their own problems as opposed to the DM solving them for them. I'm sure there are players who enjoy being spoon fed and protected, just in order to continue the fun.</blockquote>

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