Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Would you change a monster's hit points mid-fight?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="spinozajack" data-source="post: 6596991" data-attributes="member: 6794198"><p>Because the DMG can't tell people that DMs overriding the basic rules for combat on a whim, isn't fair? I like DM empowerment, but the game plays and runs just fine even when HP aren't fudged. Actually better, because PC death occurring through HP loss is a feature of this game, not a flaw.</p><p></p><p>If a DM is changing rules on the fly, arbitrarily, sometimes but not others, that can result in players feeling cheated. Let's follow on to the next line in the DMG...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The DMG using the word "fudge" which according to the dictionary is a synonym to "to cheat", to endorse DMs doing that doesn't make it ok. Specifically, it's up to players and the DM's conscience to decide that. They even admit that it's unfair and ruins the danger of the game. In that very passage. Why would you want to play favorites with PCs? Or even give them an adventure where they face no actual threat of PC death because you're "fudging" crits into misses? </p><p></p><p>Of course DMs can cheat, especially with the DMG telling them they can. Doesn't mean they should. Which is my point. The DMG doesn't determine what people find as fair.</p><p></p><p>Let me put it this way. The DM is a player, right? Sure, he / she has a special role, but they're just another person playing the game. A player who's not the DM can also fudge on their dice rolls and HP total, just as easily. And why shouldn't they? If the DM's fudging to protect them from death, why shouldn't everyone get in on the action? All people here are doing is cheating themselves out of a consistent game where PC death happens as a result of running combat by the rules. </p><p></p><p>Calling something "fudging" instead of "cheating" doesn't change the fact that it's cheating, it just makes it more palatable. The meaning is the same. And it doesn't make it ok. Not for me, and not for many other players I've played with. It cheapens the game to fudge dice rolls. As as DM I don't tolerate it when players do it, and to not be a hypocrite I don't do it myself. So I roll everything in front of everyone and let people ghasp when that dragon rolls that double crit and rips the fighter in half. That's part of the game, actually what makes the game great.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The word "lie" is not inflammatory, it is the simple truth. Is it serious? For some players, it is. I prefer rolling in front of players because it makes the dice the final arbiter of PCs living or dying, and takes the pressure off me as a DM. If you try to fight that dragon and it scores three crits on your beloved PC, that's game over, man. I play that way because I actually like the way the rules work, not because I am empowered by the DMG to ignore HP loss.</p><p></p><p>The DMG saying it's okay to lie whenever you want, does not make it so. They even acknowledge as much in the very passage you quoted me. Because it's an issue if it comes out. As lies often end up doing. Which means it's better off just not doing it in the first place.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Fair enough, but I just don't consider it being self-righteous to call a spade a spade. If you like fudging rolls in your campaign, so be it, I won't play in such a game and I won't abide by players who cheat in my own games. I have lots of players come and go over the years, it's really no big deal to replace them. I just can't in good conscience call out cheaters when I'm cheating. DMG sanctioned cheating or not, cheating is cheating. And fudging is cheating. As per the dictionary.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spinozajack, post: 6596991, member: 6794198"] Because the DMG can't tell people that DMs overriding the basic rules for combat on a whim, isn't fair? I like DM empowerment, but the game plays and runs just fine even when HP aren't fudged. Actually better, because PC death occurring through HP loss is a feature of this game, not a flaw. If a DM is changing rules on the fly, arbitrarily, sometimes but not others, that can result in players feeling cheated. Let's follow on to the next line in the DMG... The DMG using the word "fudge" which according to the dictionary is a synonym to "to cheat", to endorse DMs doing that doesn't make it ok. Specifically, it's up to players and the DM's conscience to decide that. They even admit that it's unfair and ruins the danger of the game. In that very passage. Why would you want to play favorites with PCs? Or even give them an adventure where they face no actual threat of PC death because you're "fudging" crits into misses? Of course DMs can cheat, especially with the DMG telling them they can. Doesn't mean they should. Which is my point. The DMG doesn't determine what people find as fair. Let me put it this way. The DM is a player, right? Sure, he / she has a special role, but they're just another person playing the game. A player who's not the DM can also fudge on their dice rolls and HP total, just as easily. And why shouldn't they? If the DM's fudging to protect them from death, why shouldn't everyone get in on the action? All people here are doing is cheating themselves out of a consistent game where PC death happens as a result of running combat by the rules. Calling something "fudging" instead of "cheating" doesn't change the fact that it's cheating, it just makes it more palatable. The meaning is the same. And it doesn't make it ok. Not for me, and not for many other players I've played with. It cheapens the game to fudge dice rolls. As as DM I don't tolerate it when players do it, and to not be a hypocrite I don't do it myself. So I roll everything in front of everyone and let people ghasp when that dragon rolls that double crit and rips the fighter in half. That's part of the game, actually what makes the game great. The word "lie" is not inflammatory, it is the simple truth. Is it serious? For some players, it is. I prefer rolling in front of players because it makes the dice the final arbiter of PCs living or dying, and takes the pressure off me as a DM. If you try to fight that dragon and it scores three crits on your beloved PC, that's game over, man. I play that way because I actually like the way the rules work, not because I am empowered by the DMG to ignore HP loss. The DMG saying it's okay to lie whenever you want, does not make it so. They even acknowledge as much in the very passage you quoted me. Because it's an issue if it comes out. As lies often end up doing. Which means it's better off just not doing it in the first place. Fair enough, but I just don't consider it being self-righteous to call a spade a spade. If you like fudging rolls in your campaign, so be it, I won't play in such a game and I won't abide by players who cheat in my own games. I have lots of players come and go over the years, it's really no big deal to replace them. I just can't in good conscience call out cheaters when I'm cheating. DMG sanctioned cheating or not, cheating is cheating. And fudging is cheating. As per the dictionary. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Would you change a monster's hit points mid-fight?
Top