DM CHEATING AND PLAYER PERCEPTIONS Terrible things can happen in the game because the dice just go awry. Everything might be going fine, when suddenly the players have a run of bad luck. A round later, half the party’s down for the count and the other half almost certainly can’t take on the foes that remain. If everyone dies, the campaign might very well end then and there, and that’s bad for every-one. Do you stand by and watch them get slaughtered, or do -you “cheat” and have the foes run off, or fudge the die rolls so that the PCs still miraculously win in the end? There are really two issues at hand. Do you cheat? The answer: The DM really can’t cheat. You’re the umpire, and what you say goes. As such, it’s certainly within your rights to sway things one way or another to keep people happy or keep things running smoothly. It’s no fun losing a long-term character who gets run over by a cart. A good rule of thumb is that a character shouldn’t die in a trivial way because of some fluke of the dice unless he or she was doing something really stupid at the time. However, you might not think it’s right or even fun unless you obey the same rules the players do. Sometimes the PCs get lucky and kill an NPC you had planned to have around for a long time. By the same token, sometimes things go against the PCs, and dis-aster may befall them. Both the DM and the players take the bad with the good. That’s a perfectly acceptable way to play, and if there’s a default method of DMing, that’s it. 4. Just as important an issue, however, is whether the players real-ize that you bend the rules. Even if you decide that sometimes it’s okay to fudge a little to let the characters survive so the game can continue, don’t let the players in on this decision. It’s important to the game that they believe their characters are always in danger. If the players believe, consciously or subconsciously, that you’ll never let bad things happen to their characters, they’ll change the way they act. With no element of risk, victory will seem less sweet. And if thereafter something bad does happen to a character, that player may believe you’re out to get him if he feels you saved other play-ers when their characters were in trouble.
“Dungeon Master’s Guide,” chapter 8, page 235:
“Rolling behind a screen lets you fudge the results [of a die roll] if you want to.”
If you’re running #dnd and you make adjustments to die rolls for the sake of story, you are literally playing by the fucking rules.
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 28, 2021
My editorial OCD is the gift that keeps on giving. Here’s a fun little thing from the 3.5 DMG, page 18.
“Do you cheat [when you fudge a die roll]? The answer: the DM really can’t cheat…” pic.twitter.com/jBOTcObYxL
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 29, 2021
Also related, if the creature being attacked has 5 hit points more or less than the average, that is still following the rules as written of that creature. For sure. And you can go even wider than that with hit points within the die range. Go half of the average for mooks and use max hit points for bosses. It’s literally the way hit points are meant to work.
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 28, 2021
Which is a rule I just ignored… how exactly?
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 28, 2021
Which is a rule I just ignored… how exactly?
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 28, 2021
If the roll can be fudged why roll in the first place? I roll in the open just like my players and all rolls stand. We accept the consequences because the dice are capricious, but their word is law. If a character dies, well that is the cost of being a hero and we pay it gladly. I have no problem with that. I likewise have no problem with folks talking about why they like that play style (as you’ve just done quite nicely).
I have a problem with people loudly shouting about how if you don’t play that way, you’re doing D&D wrong and lying to your players.
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) September 29, 2021
