An important lesson I learned about myself as a #DungeonMaster:
I can't fudge my dice rolls. If I do, I find myself fudging them all, all the time, forever. At that point there's not much point to rolling in the first place, right?
So I roll everything in the open. It holds me accountable and prevents me from feeding my dice-fudge addiction.
I get it, but also, I've wrecked too many games doing this.
Sometime's you gotta hold back a little. But always, but all the way, but maybe the giant does 14 and not 34. Maybe the dragon didn't nat20 that save. Maybe the horrible monster from beyond space and time didn't make all 5 rolls to tear through the portal into this realm and destroy all reality on the first 5 turns, maybe it only made 2 or 3.
As long as you cheat to better the experience, you are, in my opinion, doing it right.
@arcticfox Totally! It's the part where throwing the dice is part of the fun that I get tripped up -- I always fudge with the intent of making a better experience for the player.
It's just that I wind up always thinking I know better than the dice do what would be awesome, so I fudge everything and rolling the dice becomes perfunctory.
@Dreampod I get this from a #PbtA perspective. Failed rolls in PbtA games generate more forward-moving fiction, so I can follow where the dice lead instead of hitting boring dead-ends -- the promise of interesting fiction no matter the roll means I don't feel the need to fudge.
Not that I do much rolling as the GM in PbtA games.
@EvilSqueegee @Dreampod The nature of dice rolls is fundamentally different between narrative-focused RPGs like PbtA or Fate and traditional RPGs like the D&D family or GURPS.
In most trad games, rolling the dice is the task resolution mechanic: Does your character succeed at the task they're rolling for?
In narrative-focused games, rolling the dice sets the tone of the character's story: Does the character's situation improve, worsen, or just get more complicated?
@EvilSqueegee @Dreampod The difference is mainly what happens on a bad roll. In trad games, that usually just means, "You don't do it," and the story doesn't change, possibly making a dead-end in the action. (This is where many GMs want to fudge the dice.)
In narrative games, failure still pushes the story forward. I often rule that a bad roll may mean that the action succeeded, but the character got more than they bargained for.
@EvilSqueegee @Dreampod Example: a PC thief wants to pick the lock of a treasure chest.
D&D: GM calls for an Open Locks skill check. A failed roll means the chest remains locked. The situation hasn't changed.
Dumgeon World: The GM says that action triggers the Tricks of the Trade move. On a miss, something still happens: The GM makes a hard move in reaction. The rogue opens the chest but triggers a trap, or monsters rush in, or there's a taunting note that their rival got there first.
EvilSqueegee
Arcticfox
Dreampod
Mike Ferdinando
Cymbaljack has moved