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From: mfc@hp-pcd.UUCP (mfc)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Fudging the Dice
Message-ID: <24400001@hp-pcd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Jul-84 12:41:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hp-pcd.24400001
Posted: Mon Jul 16 12:41:00 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Jul-84 04:23:55 EDT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard - Corvallis, OR
Lines: 23
Nf-ID: #N:hp-pcd:24400001:000:1395
Nf-From: hp-pcd!mfc    Jul 16 08:41:00 1984


     It has come to my attention that fudging the dice by a DM seems
to be considered unethical to some people.  While I don't condone
whole-sale manipulation by the dungeonmaster, I feel that there always
comes a time (as was suggested in an earlier note) that total reliance
on the rolled dice values simply does not work!  
     All of you that have DM'ed at one time or another, I'm sure, have
had a situation arise in your game where reaction rolls for NPC's or
'to hit' rolls for your encounters or ... (I could go on forever) what-
ever, would have, if followed blindly, have destroyed the current vein
of the campaign you have so carefully constructed.  This is the type of
situation which occasionally justifies fudging the dice.
     The whold point here is to maintain a pleasing balance of events
and outcomes so that the game remains consistantly entertaining to your
players.  Most dice fudging will be in the players favor but an occasional
streak of unreasonably long 'good luck' on their part sometimes even de-
mands a little dice fudging against them (moderation HERE, please!).
     Blind obedience to a set of random numbers changes FRP from an 
entertaining escape from reality to a boring exercise in probability.
     As a long-time gaming buddy of mine always says,"The dice never lie.
That's the DM's job!"

                                   Kavik (a.k.a Mark Cook)