You must be logged in to view and post to most topics, including Reviews, Articles, News/Adverts, and Help Desk.

D&D Stuff They Teach the Kids Wrong on Purpose: Fudging Die Rolls

Started by RPGPundit, September 20, 2018, 02:37:24 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

RPGPundit

LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

jbmoore

OT: How many cats do you have? Do you have any dogs?

I was taught that the only time you should fudge a die roll is if you the DM screwed up and you need to fix your own mistake. Aside from that the players have to live with whatever the die say and no damn whining about it. My DM said if you don't ever compromise, then no one expects it.


jbmoore

Sorry, I posted in this one because it was started about 18 hours prior to the other thread. I wonder if they can just be merged?

Daztur

Yeah by instinct I'm a kind and merciful DM and I balance that out by using unforgiving rulesets and rolling in the open with no fudging. This leads players to figure out that charging straight at the enemy is probably going to work a lot less well than some loopy plan that relies more on DM rulings. So I get players doing stuff like making a marijuana bonfire in their cave to deal with carnivorous monkeys and singing lullabies to bats, which makes for much better stories in any case.

Charon's Little Helper

Quote from: jbmoore;1057072I was taught that the only time you should fudge a die roll is if you the DM screwed up and you need to fix your own mistake.

Or in the same vein - if running a module where a encounter is obviously WAY harder than was intended - which is basically the same thing except it's not the DM's own mistake.

RPGPundit

LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

RPGPundit

Quote from: jbmoore;1057072OT: How many cats do you have? Do you have any dogs?

Two cats. No dogs. But I sometimes film videos at Bill the Elf's house, and he has two ridiculous french bulldogs.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

jbmoore

Quote from: RPGPundit;1057693Two cats. No dogs. But I sometimes film videos at Bill the Elf's house, and he has two ridiculous french bulldogs.

That's pretty cool, I like to watch cats and dogs move and use that as inspiration when I am gaming for how predators move. Cats as impossibly silent when they move and especially when they are stalking something. It is also interesting to watch dogs go after varmints and how they learn to kill without getting bit themselves. It gives you an appreciation for what an experienced predator is like. Even if it is scaled way down from lions and wolves.

Vidgrip

You seem to be equating "fudging die rolls" with "keeping characters alive".  There are many reasons why a DM might fudge rolls that fall into the category of "keeping the game fun".  Random encounters that result in the exact same encounter you just finished is the most common fudge at my table.  Hell, sometimes I just roll dice behind the screen to get players worried.  

Back when I started playing D&D in 1978, all the DM's I knew rolled behind a screen and it worked just fine.  Players knew that some rolls were fudged but that most were not.  The one roll I would never fudge is damage to a player character who was near death.  In those cases I would hold my hand out beyond the screen and shake the die.  Everyone would howl with anxiety as I let it drop.  That player knew he was in the shit, now.  I do get what you are saying about the importance of characters not being immortal.  At my D&D table nobody was ever resurrected because I told players there was no such thing.  Clerics were still a popular class even without that spell.

I'm not saying GM's should or should not fudge die rolls.  There is no "right" way to play.  As long as everyone at the table knows your style and is having fun, it's all good.  I would only be worried if there was some game out there which explicitly said "fudge die rolls so nothing bad happens".  Does any such game exist?

I also question games being simulations based on history.  Some are.  I think most are not.  Most are based on fantasy or sci-fi literature and as such they are indeed stories.  This is true even with old school games that keep narrative direction firmly in the hands of the GM (and the dice).

RPGPundit

Quote from: Vidgrip;1058425You seem to be equating "fudging die rolls" with "keeping characters alive".  There are many reasons why a DM might fudge rolls that fall into the category of "keeping the game fun".  Random encounters that result in the exact same encounter you just finished is the most common fudge at my table.  Hell, sometimes I just roll dice behind the screen to get players worried.  

Even I recognize in the video that there are some cases where a GM might fudge a roll. Did you watch the video?
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

RPGPundit

Quote from: jbmoore;1058253That's pretty cool, I like to watch cats and dogs move and use that as inspiration when I am gaming for how predators move.

Of my current two cats, one of the two is the most amazingly agile cat I've ever seen. The other, her sister (the fatter one) is ridiculously clumsy. The only thing keeping her alive is a very clear understanding of her own limitations.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

fearsomepirate

Is it a necro if it's from page 2?

I fudge rolls now and then, because I wing it a lot, and sometimes I eyeball a from-the-seat-of-my-pants encounter very, very badly. I also convert modules from different systems to 5e on the fly, and as you may expect, sometimes that goes awry.

Related to this discussion, the concept of "failing forward" is kind of silly, but you can't entirely blame the folks who came up with it. Blame the garbage-tier writers WotC/TSR hired for modules who apparently didn't actually test them, and put critical points in their railroad adventure where a single failed "Open Locks" check means the bridge collapses, the train falls into the chasm, the railroad goes bankrupt, and the Comanche annihilate everyone in the territory. You can't really blame your customers for thinking the official, licensed, name-brand-on-the-cover product is the "correct" way to do things.
Every time I think the Forgotten Realms can\'t be a dumber setting, I get proven to be an unimaginative idiot.


jbmoore

Quote from: RPGPundit;1058645Of my current two cats, one of the two is the most amazingly agile cat I've ever seen. The other, her sister (the fatter one) is ridiculously clumsy. The only thing keeping her alive is a very clear understanding of her own limitations.

Cats can do some unbelievable things. It is sad to watch your pets get old, because it happens so fast.