D&D 5E Would you change a monster's hit points mid-fight?

[Derren]

First, I don't modify encounters once they are made.

And yet, this is what the thread is about.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Isn't changing the foes stats mid fight modifying the encounter after it was made?

 

[SirAntoine]

To me this is the kind of thinking that can hurt a game.

I will give you an example. I was playing in an Eberron game and the DM gave us all magical weapons or items at character creation mine was a bow that did extra damage to elves. For five levels and months of actual play time we never saw any elves where the bow could be used. I was patient even if I was slightly bummed and kind of wished I had a magic item that fit better in the game. But finally evil elves and me with one darn arrow left. The baddie was about to murder a hostage so I fired my bow at a range penalty and I rolled a 20 and then rolled another 20 and then rolled max damage it was a thing of beauty the table went wild until the DM tells us the bad guy show no effect to any of the damage and then proceeds to kill the hostage,

The DM then explained that he wrote the encounter with the bad guy wearing a brooch of shielding and even showed me his typed up notes that he didn't cheat. And technically he didn't cheat but that din't change the sour taste in my mouth over it. As a DM I have a lot of power to make the game fun for players and in case like this the player fun would outweigh any desire to 'not cheat".

I don't see any reason to prolong a combat that is dragging on and on and no one is having fun just because I wrote one number down for HP.

Now I won't change a big baddie just so he can go if the players take him down first then that is how I let it stand.

The DM most important job is to facilitate the fun at the table and that should always take precedence over the rules.

Challenge does not have to be contrary to fun.

 

[SirAntoine]

The DM did end up putting more evil elves in the game and you know what at that point it was anticlimax.

The DM had a golden opportunity to allow something awesome to happen in the game you know one of those moments players talk about later. And a chance to reward a player for being patient and not complaining about the bow.

As a DM I think that allowing what is cinematic moment to stand in spite of what you have written is more important than being a slave to the rules or you written encounter.

It's disruptive to immersion.

 

[SirAntoine]

Sorry to res a post from 7 pages back but I thought it was important to point out that it's equally valid to say "Listen guys, I was trying to make this game I spent hours and hours working on more fun for me by fudging a roll or hit point total now and again. I'm sorry for ruining everything".

DMs have just as much right to enjoy the game as the players do. If giving your BBEG extra HP so that the combat lasts longer than it took you to stat him up is necessary for the DM's enjoyment of the game, go right ahead. Within reasonable limits of course.

That should not be shared with the players, though.

 

[SirAntoine]

So essentially all you are as a DM is a dice roller and the voice of the NPCs?


This is the problem with so many of the responses in this thread. You make it seem like it is the DM vs PCs and in order to make it 'fair' you roll in the open, so regardless of the outcome you can just throw your arms up and say "well I didn't cheat!" D&D isn't a tabletop wargame. There is no such thing as cheating.

Is it cheating to play with Legos and not build what is on the outside of the box?

Is it cheating to play with Play-doh and not make what is on the outside of the package?

D&D is a game of make believe. Treat it as such. Again, it isn't DM against PCs, it is a bunch of friends hanging out having fun playing make believe.

I can't help but notice the join dates of people in the die hard "omg that's cheating!" camp and wonder if this attitude is mostly prevalent in the 4E/WoW generation.

You aren't supposed to share any of the monster's stats like that. The rolls, okay, but the stats are DM-only information.

 

[SirAntoine]

Some good points here, and were you write that you think my assumption is incorrect, I think you are right.

I do think that if you are in a situation where you want to end a combat, the way isn't to fudge, but to just say something in the lines of: "And then you mop up the remaining forces".

I think I am mainly opposed to behind-the-scenes adjustment of combat than I am against adjusting combat. As I have mentioned multiple times, there are times when you probably should do adjustments, but I think it should be in the open.

You made a great point that if your players even see you fudge once all of your actions will be suspect.

 

[billd91]

It's disruptive to immersion.

How is it disruptive to immersion?!? Fantastic shots from a bow kill people in-genre across a lot of sources. The anti-climax, in this case, came from a magic item that they had no reason to believe existed as it did - and that, I think, is far more damaging to immersion because it puts you on an action/counter gamist mindset. And that's not really immersive.

 

[Celtavian]

And yet, this is what the thread is about.

Did you ever notice the propensity of discussions to branch off into different areas as posters respond to different points? That's why reading and comprehending an individual post is important rather than assuming everything ties into the original post. It doesn't, especially threads this long. I've been on forums a long time. That's why I read individual posts because I know alternate discussions almost always occur and it's best t check if that is what you're responding to.

 

[Celtavian]

I don't play D&D for the same reasons I read a book or watch a movie. I expect plot immunity in books and films, but I despise it in a RPG like D&D.

We think exactly the opposite. The only reason I do play these games is to participate in adventures similar to what I enjoy in a movie or a book. I would despise RPGs if they provided the same experience as a video game where all I was doing was building up numbers on a character sheet. That is all you're doing if you're not participating in a story.