Man, twitter is all about Fudging Dice Rolls today. Here’s a question for all the #DnD DMs who fudge dice rolls from time to time: Are you ok with your players fudging dice rolls from time to time? I don't fudge rolls so I expect that no one else at the table does. I suppose if I DID fudge rolls I would be okay with others at the table doing so. But that just brings me back to my original question: If a #dnd DM is fudging rolls, why did they even roll? Just narrate.
— DMSamuel (@DMSamuel) April 10, 2019
The only good argument I’ve seen so far for a DM fudging rolls is because a relatively new DM suddenly realizes that they’ve unintentionally designed a waaaaay unbalanced encounter. I like what @DMSamuel is saying here, but I also have to ask, what is the definition of "fudging a die roll"? I fake a rolls sometimes, then narrate. I don't concern myself with whether players fudge—if they do it, it was important to them.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 10, 2019
Interesting question. To me, fudging a roll is lessening the impact of what the dice say. So, a crit is fudged to a regular hit, or a miss. There are other ways to fudge as well, forex lowering monster HP or damage mid-combat. Increasing impact is not fudging, too, or not? In any case, I do all sorts of stuff at the table to turn up the drama. Like, if a player scores a great hit, but leaves the monster with 2 HP, I might narrate a good death anyway.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 10, 2019
It’s almost like games are subjective. I see it as my job to be a showperson—a player who tries to increase the quality of every player's (including my) experience in play. Part of that is reading the situation and tweaking the presentation.
— Chris S. Sims (@ChrisSSims) April 10, 2019