Lately I’ve been rolling my dice out openly. I use the dungeon master screen only for keeping my notes secret. I feel like it builds trust with the players, so they don’t get the idea that I’m cheating on my rolls. But when a DM fudges a die roll is it actually considered cheating? The dungeon master, after all, has the power to change the rules as he wishes, for he is not bound by mere mortal texts.
Personally I don’t believe that it’s cheating, for the simple fact that there is no winner in Dungeons and Dragons–at least not in my game. It’s not DM vs Player, nor Player vs Player, therefore “cheating” has no purpose. If a player feels he needs to cheat, he has the wrong idea about what a roleplaying game is. However, there are times when it is appropriate for a game master to fudge a die roll to produce a more desirable outcome for the game. And there is no guideline for when to do this, but the experienced DM’s instincts tell him when it’s right.
Beyond simply changing the numbers, there are countless other ways a dungeon master can “cheat” that are far more creative for altering an encounter’s difficulty. But I’m going to leave it to the spotlight YouTuber to share with you his ideas for accomplishing this.
The Player’s DM shares his thoughts on “cheating” in this week’s YouTube Spotlight. Enjoy!
Check out his other videos, and subscribe if you like his channel!
