Roll in the open, fuck narrative first gameplay, it's a game.
This+rescale the dice rolls so they make sense. A 20 for them does not have to mean they crushed the challenge. They might just have gave it their all, had brief hope, and narrowly avoided death, or not.
Fudging a roll is for when I, the DM, realise I made a mistake. No, I didn't realise this creature got a sneak attack until after I rolled that 20!
Glaze at the result but donut turnover the die, it will fudge your rolls
I love fudge, but too much of it isn't pleasant.
I used to think fudging Vs not fudging was a stylistic decision, but as I've played more I feel it's a system issue. If you feel a need to fudge rolls, either to raise or lower the stakes, to force desired plot points or avoid unnarrative deaths, or to fix broken challenge ratings, you're probably using the wrong system for you and your group.
Think about what issues you're actually trying to avoid by fudging, and then look for systems that are structured to avoid those issues. If the rolls get in the way of your narrative, switch to a more narrative system. If you're fighting against the system to build satisfying combat encounters, switch to something more tactical.
It'll always take a couple of sessions to get used to a new system, but learning one is always a lot faster than continuing to waste time trying to force a system to do things it wasn't made for.
I just like the sound they make. Low key asmr
Me when my players in a cyberpunk game are all on death's door after a firefight goes bad: "Skill issue, I would simply not have been shot"
Couple sessions ago we had a character almost perma die to random encounter. It really brings a level of stakes and intensity to the game you can't get any other way.
Chance is an illusion. You cannot escape your fate.
Humor, jokes, memes about TTRPGs
