Quote from: blakkie(reference to the fact that I don't drink, although presented in jest and recognized as such)

Not only do I generally dislike the flavor of alcohol (seriously, I think it tastes like hell), my father was an alcoholic and I watched him engage in some very, very bad behavior while he was drunk.

Eleven years old and you watch your dad beat a guy's face to a pulp on the hood of a Mexican taxi, red rivers of the guy's blood streaming down the bright-blue paint after he threw a punch at you so you'd stay out of the fight...you wonder how much of that monster is in you, and how to avoid it.

Back on topic: I'm with you.  I like the dice.  I like the random element.  When I fudge, it's because the element got too random, or it's not gonna be a fun result.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Not only do I generally dislike the flavor of alcohol (seriously, I think it tastes like hell), my father was an alcoholic and I watched him engage in some very, very bad behavior while he was drunk.

Yeah, after I posted and looked back at it I wondered if maybe there was somethig behind it and and I had made roadkill of the bad taste line. :duh:  Apologies.

Quote from: blakkieYeah, after I posted and looked back at it I wondered if maybe there was somethig behind it and and I had made roadkill of the bad taste line. :duh:  Apologies.

You don't have to apologize, but it's big of ya.  I'm very serious about it, but I can joke about it.

Hey! I think Gygax fudges! He gets quoted here.

Quote from: Gary Gygax, by hearsayWHERE'S THE FUN IN KILLING PC'S?
Do I enjoy killing PCs when I GM? A The answer is definately not in the least, especially if they belong to regular players. there I do all I can to prevent such loss without directly intervening in players' actions for their characters.

I wonder what he means by "everything I can"? Helpful suggestions? It sounds like "fudging" to me!

Quote from: Gary Gygax, by hearsayI never did create house rules, but I seldom open a book either. I create much material and referee on the fly as the players have their characters interact with the game environment.

Now that definitely sounds fudgy!

Argument from authority! If Gygax does it, it must be right! Right? Everyone knows if a famous person does or says something it must be right!

I'm pretty sure Gygax does, I seem to remember him saying he rolled dice behind the screen but more for the sound than anything else.

That said, he's said a lot over 30 years.

But sadly I must now withdraw my opposition to fudging, as JB has quite properly referred me to a higher authority

I used to be very anti-fudging. I'm trending towards only being moderately anti-fudging.

I just consider it foolish to persist in a game that doesn't operate the way you need it too. If a game's rules are such that you find yourself fudging constantly, you should change the rules to behave the way you expect. The same applies to situations you as a GM create. If you find your PCs are perishing at random intervals from death poison traps, and you don't want that, perhaps your understanding of cause and effect is impaired and the proper solution is to, um, not put poison death traps in your game.

Where I am tolerant of fudging is bridging the gap between the rules and the game I want to play. No game can cover every possibility that might come up in a game without becoming unplayable; I fudge to handle corner cases. But the games rules should cover most common situations that arise in the game; if they don't, time to crank out some house rules (or another game).

In my experience and opinion Gary Gygax fudges rules when he's writing them.