Dethstrok9

The Monster. Frankenstein's monster. It's alive and all that jazz.

Well, this is what to say to those who feel changing game elements is cheating or dishonest. All of this about whether or not fudging die rolls or other game components is cheating is completely subjective. This is my personal TTRPG Game Master Advice, and it's not a popular opinion. If you are always a player, maybe think twice before watching this one:) Also attempting to get more people to join the hive mind of the BRP forums. We are all Us.

Well, this is what to say to those who feel changing game elements is cheating or dishonest. All of this about whether or not fudging die rolls or other game components is cheating is completely subjective. This is my personal TTRPG Game Master Advice, and it's not a popular opinion. If you are always a player, maybe think twice before watching this one:) Also put a link to the forums in it, so hopefully we get some more interaction on here.

Well, this is what to say to those who feel changing game elements is cheating or dishonest. All of this about whether or not fudging die rolls or other game components is cheating is completely subjective. This is my personal TTRPG Game Master Advice, and it's not a popular opinion. If you are always a player, maybe think twice before watching this one:)

I would also like to thank you guys for inspiring my latest video:) It is mostly my opinion on it, but I did put a link to the forums in it and hope more shall join:)

We now seem to be going over the same points now, which is likely why. We have been having a very constructive discussion, where klescer (among others including yourself) made lots of points and responded to most everything, it just seemed like it started going in circles. Plus it seemed to take a turn from lets talk subjectively about rules or fudging to you do it wrong. I've noticed that when the shift between subjective and personal happens the "discussion" suddenly becomes finger pointing and generally unbearable. Not only that, but the very word. Fudging. It's all your fault @Atgxtg, now I'm hungry!

The rules are suggestions imo:) And yes, I completely agree it should be a co-operative effort.

There is a difference between a moderator who runs the game and a player of the game.

Perfect timing for it, your post count is now at Justice of God level, haha:)

Let me repeat, "I generally do NOT use fudging to protect anybody". I never use it unless it is imperative I do.

I would assume the correct answer differs from group to group and game to game. Not to mention system to system. It's all very subjective and what works in some cases will not work in others. To reiterate my opinion, there is no end all be all on this specific topic.

Improvisation is key, not being over-prepared with every situation written beforehand. Can any GM really believe they can foresee every possible situation and choice? This associates all fudging with plot armor and using an example of action films when referencing Call of Cthulhu: the game of cosmic dread and horror. Neither of these assumptions are correct. I do not generally use dice changes to protect anybody. If you let the tables turn and use both ups and downs effectively, it will not be abused or discovered. Characters die, people get captured, the bad guys can win. If it makes a more horrific story, so be it. No other reason ehh? I beg to differ. How about rolling spot hidden so the players don't know if there's something there or not. For example, I always give some info with a spot hidden, the players never see nothing. I roll behind the screen, then tell them what they see. They now don't have the metagame mentality of "I rolled and failed, but there definitely was something there". We seem to be at a misunderstanding. I serve the narrative, not myself, and by not playing fair I misspoke. I meant, "the GM is not cheating". Not only that, but I would never alter rolls in life or death situations. Yes my players do. I tell them, as I say in my videos, that in my games the plot comes first. They certainly don't know when I do what I do, but that's fine and even works with the themes of CoC. In my experience, which granted is not much, I have found improvisation and on the fly adjustments to be game savers and keep everything interesting. I can't account for all the players actions beforehand, so when I prepare a scenario, I make a list of NPCs, Locations, and some key events which I need to happen. These events do not need specific people or locations to work, they just are integral to my idea of the story. If the players go down a different road, then I can forgo anything and switch up everything if need be.

This right here is what I think klecser meant by fudging descriptions instead. By keeping dice rolls normal and using the actual roll, but instead of the Investigator's head being blow off, the Investigator drops to one hit point or loses an arm due to the bad die roll. I try to keep the story moving and compelling, if that means fudging the dice or foregoing rolls so be it. It is not predictable because the players should not know. You keep insinuating that they will "eventually discover you aren't playing fair", when that is in no way the case. If you roll behind your screen, and only change the outcome when it seems appropriate, there should be no way the players see that, and that does not mean you aren't playing fair. The rules, the system, the statistics, and the dice are all tools. When they cease to be useful, I cease to make use of them. Besides that, I would never change a mediocre encounter like the one you just described and frankly would not include it in a CoC game anyway. There are no nameless thugs, everything should be woven into each other.If one person dies, a chain reaction should begin. There will never be nameless thugs. Yes they are a tool in my hand and one should only use it when necessary. In fact that is a very good point, the real roll the dice play for me as Keeper is the way to determine how much success a player has in any given action. I personally don't use them that often, it's mostly for the players. And then you have situations where you call for a roll, for example spot hidden. Then the player fails, but you decide they will still notice what you wanted them to see anyway, but also make note that there was more they could have found. Is that cheating? Or is it moving the story forward? What you describe it not Call of Cthulhu or realistic, and also makes the game sound like winning is an inherent part. The way to avoid it, at least for me, is to not roll dice to much or to change things to suit the collective purpose of the game and story. Each character, including the PCs, serve the plot, not the other way around. The Investigators mold and shape the plot by their choices, and the Keeper leads it and connects the dots. By that logic of dice outcome changes is cheating, so is changing the stats of NPCs. Finally, if the players think creating the story is less important then dice and stats, then they should find a different GM then me. I know that what I do works for myself, maybe it doesn't for you, but I stream my games and you can see how my players react to stuff. It's not negative.

So you think of the game a little more like a video game with its sense of accomplishment ect. Not as a storytelling game where the dice really should not be used much anyway. Which makes sense, but just is very different than how I run and play. The dice are not the gods of our world, we are. If there is a mentality that one can "win" a role-playing game. Otherwise, it is not cheating to collaboratively tell a compelling and engaging story better with the occasional die fudge. But I agree that if the players know it could very well ruin part of the game for them, and so my next conclusion is to generally not let players know you ever change rolls. Or which ones you change for that matter. In the end I will also put the disclaimer that my opinions on this are all based around Call of Cthulhu specifically. This rather general thread title implies an end all be all, but it depends on game, group,and subjective opinion whether fudging is okay or not.

As to why, it was mainly because I'm completely new to the system and most of those on here are not. Someone on reddit made a post saying they were new and looking for a GM, I said I could run for them, and then a bunch more people got on the bandwagon saying they had been wanting to try the system for some time.

We are still figuring stuff out. If you like I can dm you a discord link (if you use that that is:)

You being serious? I've been recruiting on reddit and have a party of four, one more wouldn't hurt.

Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. As this fits perfectly into the themes of my channel, this is our LIVE playthrough. Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be. Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. We are going live May 16, 2020. Saturday @ 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Join us, if you dare!Also, I'm pretty excited to try out my new Zoom subscription, and you (hopefully) will be able to see everyone this stream! . https://youtu.be/9jCB8jGFGkg

Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. As this fits perfectly into the themes of my channel, this is our LIVE playthrough. Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be. Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. We are going live May 16, 2020. Saturday @ 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Join us, if you dare! Also, I'm pretty excited to try out my new Zoom subscription, and you (hopefully) will be able to see everyone this stream! Event link: https://youtu.be/9jCB8jGFGkg

Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. As this fits perfectly into the themes of my channel, this is our LIVE playthrough. Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be. Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. We are going live May 16, 2020. Saturday @ 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Join us, if you dare! Also, I'm pretty excited to try out my new Zoom subscription, and you (hopefully) will be able to see everyone this stream! Event link: https://youtu.be/9jCB8jGFGkg

Refractions of Glasston is the result of a creative collaboration between the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, Upland IN and Chaosium Inc. The creators are all students at Taylor University. As this fits perfectly into the themes of my channel, this is our LIVE playthrough. Elias Taylor Winters, the CEO of TWJ Co., discovered a secret to the glass-making process that finally put him above his long-standing competition: Ball Glass. Shattering expectations for such a small company in rural Indiana, Winters has put Glasston on the map. The town and its economy are booming. But not everything in Glasston is as it should be. Refractions of Glasston is a standalone scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. It takes place in a rural town in northwest Indiana, set in the 1920s. We are going live May 16, 2020. Saturday @ 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Join us, if you dare! Also, I'm pretty excited to try out my new Zoom subscription, and you (hopefully) will be able to see everyone this stream! Event link: https://youtu.be/9jCB8jGFGkg

Dethstrok9 reviews the awesome new system for nearly every setting, Sabre second edition from Dragonsbane Entertainment! Link to the PDFs on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/10173/Dragonsbane-Entertainment From the author: "I'd like to announce the Sabre RPG System 2nd Edition has been rolling out for the past few weeks at DTRPG! It's a system built on foundations of realism, smooth play and flexibility, featuring a skill-based d100 core with passive talents, active manoeuvres, in-game "on-the-spot" character advancement and a simple but powerful magic system.

Dragonsbane Entertainment has released an awesome system called Sabre, you should check it out!

Well, I certainly liked the system books:)

Ignis Probat Speculo: the enigmatic Professor Deth is back and more insane than ever. His metaphors and deep sarcasm take on new meaning through the seemingly innocent imagery which darkly permeates this horror short film. Which is also an announcement for our latest Call of Cthulhu LIVEPLAY.