It’s Actually OKAY to Fudge Your Dice Rolls – Here’s Why
Have you ever had a moment where you’ve faked your dice roll? Well, so have I! Here’s why its okay to do such a thing in a TTRPG.
Dungeon Masters have all had a moment where they need their dice roll to be successful. So, instead of taking it as is, possibly avoiding a Nat 1, they simply “take executive control of the situation.” Oh, look now it’s a 24! Yippee! Hooray!
In all seriousness, fudging dice rolls has been a moral dilemma that has existed ever since Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition came out.
When gathering for a show at a TTRPG theatre of the mind, DMs and players have to trust each other to act with honesty and integrity. When it comes to things like player stats, items in a characters inventory, and, most importantly, the results of dice rolls, its expected for players to be truthful and convey openly with the DM the truth of what they have and get.
After all, TTRPGs can’t be played with a “I hit you!” and “Nuh-uh no you didn’t!” mentality. Unless you’re four years old or are in the middle of LARP-ing. In which have a blast swinging sticks like swords!
So, why do DMs get a pass to fudge their dice rolls while players get burned at the stake? And why do I believe, in moderation, this is an okay practice for DMs?
Nat 1? Stop Looking Behind My DM Screen.
Now, the DM has a screen to keep their rolls hidden from their players so as to maintain suspense and keep secrets… secret. Y’know?
On the flip side though, this screen is also what allows for DMs to fudge their dice rolls in the first place.
This introduces the concept of Schrödinger’s Dice Roll:
“If a roll is not seen by the players, then it is neither a success nor a failure until the DM announces their result.”
Before I go any further, let me just say that this entire piece is my personal opinion. My views on fudging dice rolls are not law and should not be taken as such. When I say it’s okay for DMs to fudge and lie about their dice rolls, I do not mean it’s okay for them to do it 24/7.
At the bottom line, no matter what, fudging dice rolls is morally reprehensible. After all, if DMs expect honesty from their players, then it’s natural for players to expect honesty from their DMs.
However, there do come times in both the narrative and the system where fudging a dice roll or two will make the game more engaging and exciting. For both these situations, I will provide examples of both to further prove my stance.
All for the Fudging Narrative
In any TTRPG, a good story is often a cornerstone that makes or breaks a game. Whether that be the story already written in a module or a homebrew setting and campaign. If the story isn’t engaging, and doesn’t actively push the players to explore the world, then the players might feel like they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
When it comes to TTRPGs, no one wants to feel like they wasted hours of their life at the end of a session. And some days, the dice might decide to unionize against their players, rolling constantly low numbers. Thus making the players feel helpless while playing their own characters.
In situations where a player might be having an off day or just a rough session in general, I find it completely valid for a DM to throw their player(s) a ball. Whether that be by intentionally having an NPC fail a roll, lowering the DC for a check like persuasion or performance, or finding ways to make automatic failures work into the narrative.
As a DM myself, I have been in situations where my players are rolling like crap all night long. I still remember the pain of trying to get a party with no strength past a DC 13 athletics check. And when moments like these arise in a session, it can really kill the mood of the group.
If my players aren’t having fun, when situations like this arise, I will always favor the fun and experience of my players. The objective nature of how rolls dictate story flow will always come second if it means I can provide my players with a memorable roleplay moment or a reveal that makes Shyamalan crap his pants. And this is something I implore other DMs to focus on as well.
It’s My Combat Encounter and I Decide If I Hit or Not!
The concept of dice fudging often comes up in association with combat encounters. This is because, while roleplay and storytelling are often subjective, combat and TTRPG mechanics are objective. The mechanics behind a system dictate how things go in a story. From saving throws to character death.
System mechanics determine who will create a new character next, which is why they have to be taken seriously and not manipulated.
After all, DMs expect their players to be honest about their rolls. However, in the vice versa, players ALSO expect their DMs to be honest in return.
Yet, as puppet masters of the campaign, DMs tend to have an omnipotent perspective over most things. Which can make it hard for them to avoid metagaming on their part. Like for example, targeting the Barbarian with nothing but spell casters. Or forcing the Fighter with their charisma dump stat to make tons of saving throws against being charmed.
Now, DMs fudging their rolls in combat often can be for a wide variety of reasons, whether that be to lie about failing a saving throw to stop a boss fight from ending in three turns. Or saying an attack did or didn’t hit depending on the day the players have been having.
This can be done to great narrative quality as well. Having that big climatic moment where it all comes down to the wire can be a great time to fudge dice rolls, especially when the fate of the final battle might come down to one last attack.
Why end a dungeon crawl, or even a campaign, with the players all just losing pathetically? At least give them a chance to go out with style and glory. Or, be the bigger person and let your players have a win that they will always remember.
Player, Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, So Help You WotC?
Players are not allowed to fudge dice rolls, period. I know it sounds redundant, maybe even hypocritical after the last thousand words were all about defending fudging dice rolls. But it’s different when the DM does it.
When the DM fudges their dice rolls, so long as it isn’t out of malice or to be unfair, it’s often to better the party’s experience. For example, it might make an encounter tougher when it’s a cake walk, easier when it’s too hard, or even enhance the roleplay by allowing players to pass more of their social checks on NPCs.
However, the reason why the DM can do this is because they are the world the players exist in. They are the rules of reality. They decide what exists, as well as what happens and when.
Meanwhile, the players, on the other hand, are not the building blocks of reality. They are just travelers, experiencing this story for themselves. And when they fudge their dice rolls, it isn’t just to the detriment of the DM but also of their other players.
If you’ve ever played a video game with others, and one of your friends has a controller that just works so much better than everyone else’s? That is literally the same scenario if one player is fudging their dice rolls and the rest aren’t.
While everyone is playing fair and having fun, there’s CHRISTOPHER and his human battle master fighter/hexblade warlock multiclass getting Nat 20s on all his attack rolls but mysteriously somehow getting a 7 when he is asked to roll arcana or acrobatics or some other skill that hardly ever gets used.
No one wants to be a side character. And when someone fudges their dice rolls to seem better than the other players? That immediately makes them seem more competent and successful by comparison. It is disrespectful, dishonest, and is a violation of integrity between the players and the DM.
Rolling for Deception with Vinyl Plastic Toys
I don’t want this to be someone’s excuse for why they run a TTRPG where they cheat nonstop and make their players feel helpless. I also don’t want people to feel like fudging dice rolls is, at its core, a morally irreprehensible action.
TTRPGs are made to be fun. Almost every table I’ve played at has agreed to follow a “rule of cool.” No DM I’ve ever met has rules lawyered me if I choose to fail a saving throw/check. And no player of mine has ever complained to me when I confess that I fudged some rolls mid-combat in order to make the fight more climactic.
Every group, at the end of the day, has a different dynamic behind how they play games together. Fudging dice rolls can be a good way for the DM to enhance the fun for everyone.
And if anyone does have a problem with their DMs fudging their dice rolls? They should talk about it with their DM. After all, it’s a social roleplaying game where players have to trust each other to make the most of it.
What do you think? Is it okay for DMs to fudge their dice rolls sometimes? Or should they play by the same standards as the players?
