I play Dungeons and Dragons for the narrative. That’s a personal preference, and it’s one I’m well aware not everyone shares. Plenty of people prefer strategic battles and crafting builds over roleplay and social intrigue.
However, there is one thing I believe all kinds of D&D players can agree on. The dice aren’t always right. Sometimes, you need to ignore the cold hard math in order to better serve the game.
‘Fudging’ or misrepresenting dice rolls can mean a lot of things, and it can be done for a variety of reasons. Some of these are certainly bad for the game (and your relationship with your fellow players). However, if you’re genuinely trying to serve the interests of your group with your little fibs, there can be some cases where a white lie is not only permissible – it’s advisable.
Case number one: I love to roll dice behind my DM screen when nothing is happening. No D20 test is actually taking place, and the number rolled means nothing. It’s the audible clack of the roll that I want.
This sets any perceptive player on edge, and they’ll immediately assume that something is happening behind the scenes. It creates a bit of harmless dramatic tension, and as an added bonus, it shows you who is paying the most attention.
Case two: You’re nearing the end of a combat encounter, which has run for three hours already. The party’s DnD Fighter lands a hit on the big boss, and, knowing their target was already bloodied, dramatically narrates a devastating strike. They roll their damage dice, and they’re one HP away from killing their foe.
When this occurs, I’ll often discount that single hit point and rule that the player has landed a killing blow. That last trickle of HP could result in another round of combat (or perhaps even two if everyone rolls terribly). That’s another 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay, all to clear a measly one HP.
Unless there’s an exciting narrative reason to drag the fight out for another round, it makes sense to cut the fight short there. I’ll keep that last hit point a secret so the party can fully enjoy their victory over an enemy.
In some much rarer cases, I may modify the hit points of a DnD monster mid-fight. This I do very sparingly, as I am trying to create a satisfying experience for my players, not rob them of one. If players said in their session zero that they were fine with character death, I will pull no punches. Similarly, I won’t beef up my monsters for my own enjoyment.
The major case for modifying HP is to make a story-significant monster more threatening (though not necessarily more deadly). If players are steamrolling a monster that I want them to be afraid of – or extra joyful about killing – I’ll do my best to make sure that threat lives up to the hype.
On the other hand, I might reduce the monster’s HP to make victory plausible rather than impossible. These cases tend to be when the party faces a less significant villain and is probably capable of landing a killing blow, but a majority (or total) party wipeout could likely happen first.
I am not afraid of a total party kill (TPK), provided that it fits with my group’s ideas about character death and makes for great storytelling. However, sometimes it feels fair to move the goalpost by 20 HP or so. The players don’t need to know about this, as it disrupts the flow of play, and I want them to be fully immersed in the moment.
I’ll repeat, though, that this is a very rare decision on my part. While I endorse minor mistruths, I’m against totally disregarding D&D’s rules.
If my boss misses an attack roll, I will not pretend to succeed, and vice versa. My monsters’ hit points may occasionally be negotiable, but they will always have a numerical HP total. The pace of the fight is still largely led by numbers rather than vibes.
Some Dungeon Masters like to run games this way, but I think it strays a little too far from what Dungeons and Dragons is – a defined rules set that mixes roleplay with tactical exploration and combat. Remove that second part, and you’re left with just a storytelling exercise. I may play Dungeons and Dragons for the narrative, but I have still signed up to run a game.
Still, a small lie here and there can enhance said game rather than derail it. Just be sparing and keep your player’s best interests in mind.
If you’d like to debate the sanctity of dice rolls, we’re all ears over in the Wargamer Discord. Or, if you’d like to swot up on 5e rules, here’s all you need to know about DnD classes and DnD races.
Source: Wargamer
