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<blockquote data-quote="Pickles JG" data-source="post: 6571702" data-attributes="member: 61501">I have characteristically mixed views and I do fudge a fair bit.Sometimes I give a monster a few more HP to let it survive long enough to do its cool schtick this is for fun rather than threat. The risk is I thwart players who are playing well so I try to only do this if I feel t would be fun, rather than to increase drama. Often I don't roll out combat for the last couple of critters. This is to avoid the last few minutes of a trivial fight - we do not play long sessions &amp; so the time is precious &amp; it can be tedious. I do not do this for important villains or nemeses or when the players obviously want the satisfaction of doing in the villains &amp; deserve some sort of closure.I do hate being fudged at though. I hate it when the difficulty of an encounter starts getting harder eg reinforcements arrive when the players start doing well then the monsters start playing badly when the DM realises he's overcooked it then the PCs get on top again so the monsters suddenly start to have more HP than the previous wave did etc. This is a perceptual thing though - if I don't see fudging of the numbers, or of the tactics or quantities of opponents then I don't even know its happened (duh!) &amp; don't care. If it's transparent then it feels fake. The PCs are robbed of the rewards of their successes or are not punished or their mistakes. It is why I have argued that sport is better drama than plays - it is not scripted, you do not know who is going to win before the end &amp; the bad guys may get away with it (boo Ireland Rugby!) So I prefer my dramatic scenes to be real not scripted but if fudging is done subtly I am fine with it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pickles JG, post: 6571702, member: 61501"] I have characteristically mixed views and I do fudge a fair bit. Sometimes I give a monster a few more HP to let it survive long enough to do its cool schtick this is for fun rather than threat. The risk is I thwart players who are playing well so I try to only do this if I feel t would be fun, rather than to increase drama. Often I don't roll out combat for the last couple of critters. This is to avoid the last few minutes of a trivial fight - we do not play long sessions & so the time is precious & it can be tedious. I do not do this for important villains or nemeses or when the players obviously want the satisfaction of doing in the villains & deserve some sort of closure. I do hate being fudged at though. I hate it when the difficulty of an encounter starts getting harder eg reinforcements arrive when the players start doing well then the monsters start playing badly when the DM realises he's overcooked it then the PCs get on top again so the monsters suddenly start to have more HP than the previous wave did etc. This is a perceptual thing though - if I don't see fudging of the numbers, or of the tactics or quantities of opponents then I don't even know its happened (duh!) & don't care. If it's transparent then it feels fake. The PCs are robbed of the rewards of their successes or are not punished or their mistakes. It is why I have argued that sport is better drama than plays - it is not scripted, you do not know who is going to win before the end & the bad guys may get away with it (boo Ireland Rugby!) So I prefer my dramatic scenes to be real not scripted but if fudging is done subtly I am fine with it. [/QUOTE]

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