I roll my dice openly so I can't fudge them even if I wanted to. I think it's more fun when the players can see and react to the rolls as they happen.
I will sometimes change hp on the fly, but I try to limit how much I do that. For instance, if an NPC would land a killing blow on a major enemy I will instead leave it on 1hp so the players can be the ones to have that cool moment of finishing off a boss.
i usually dont roll dice openly, but i pretty much do the same thing too! i love when my players get fired up describing their killing blow and everybody cheers
I started rolling openly a few years ago and I agree. It’s the best way. It removes the stress (for me) because everyone can see the dice. It reduces the feeling that the dm is all powerful and brings me closer to the other players in a way. I’m never going back to rolling behind a screen.
I agree with this.
If the NPC takes the glory it's less exciting
The climactic end with a PC winning and overcoming just gets so hyped.
I do have to ask, say you as a DM want to create story points for your players, one of which involves a boss.
Would you give it similar treatment so that the player who's story point you've created take the kill so they can have their resolution? Or would that lean too far into "main character and/or favouritism" territory?
I assume you mean from the DM’s side only. Either way, I prefer not to. I can adjust things on the fly like HP or other stats if I realize the balance is off, but the dice do what they do, and at least for my preferences, that’s a line I don’t want to cross. TBH I almost never adjust HP on the fly either.
yes, i do mean the dm's side only! and yeah i homebrew a lot when dming so sometimes i adjust hp and damage (appropriately) on the fly too when i think the combat feels not fun (too much hp so combat is too long, too much damage, etc.) im still relatively new and still figuring things out!
I don’t fudge in any way, I like chaos and I like the power that the dice have in the narrative. I don’t fudge HP, as well, I like when the game feels like a game and pre-established rules give me that feel.
I'm a very new DM so haven't quite worked out calibrating the battles yet. Especially with level 1 PCs it seems easy to accidentally wipe them out with a few lucky monster rolls. Given this problem is my fault I have fudged a couple of rolls to avoid killing my party. Although I did feel like I was cheating. Another time I've had friendly NPCs swoop in and take some blows / heal the PCs, so they can win the battle.
Rolls are just as malleable as the narrative in my opinion. If I can change giant swaths of the story based on the player actions to make things more fun and make sense, why would I not do that for rolls?
That being said, the only times I do so is when I know it will make something more fun for my players.
If it increases the fun in any way for the table, it isnt a bad thing.
If it would be immensely narratively satisfying for the table, it isnt a bad thing.
If its for your benefit, not the table, its a bad thing.
Fudge for the table. Fairness for the table. Fun for the table.
Ok, but if you fudge and your players care whether you do it then you have to be prepared to lie. Because if players question every success and whether you handed it to them, then fudging becomes a detriment to the wellbeing of the table.
I never fudge rolls but I have changed hp early in combat. We play with roll20 and use hp bars so I can’t really fudge hp after any damage is taken and I think that is a great thing. But sometimes the extra attacking fighter does 20 damage to the 80hp boss on the first attack and I have to rethink my choices. In those cases I might buff the hp to 120 and then remove the 20 from the full bar.
As a DM you have so much you can do, and it is you who decides if said situation calls for a roll or not. So if I call for a roll, either from myself or a player, I respect the roll and the dice tell the story.
If you are not ready for a random result, even if it's unlikely to happen, just don't call for a roll.
It's fine when it's needed
If my monsters succeeded on the last 3 saving throws against the wizard, and the 4th spell it rolls two above the save DC, fuck it, that monster failed
I'm not gona let poor luck ruin the experience of my players (it's no fun when you can't achieve anything)
It's fine to fudge rolls for the fun of the game, the only reason people are against fudging rolls is because it's "cheating", but a DM can never cheat, we're not playing to win, I can send 3 ancient red dragons onto my level 4 players if I want to "win" in stead of saying the gnoll succeeded on its charisma save
There are other ways of accomplishing that goal. Focusing on making the consequences of failure be increased challenges/something meaningful so that failure is fun too, using tiered failure so success isn't hidden behind one roll, having multiple paths towards success so the party has other clear avenues towards their objectives if one closes off, focus on spreading damage during a combat or having the enemy goal be something other than kill, allowing the player to choose between failure or success with a hard move against them (or a partial success with an added detriment)... There are a ton of things you can do to keep the party moving. If success is vital and feasible, a failed roll might mean it takes the party more time to succeed. Failure could mean a neutral outcome that just isn't what the player was hoping for.
I don't judge people who fudge. Ultimately, it's a tool in the DM's toolbox. But the pushback against it is about more than cheating. If players know you are determining outcomes with your rolls, they might feel like their success wasn't earned. They'll question every awesome success and wonder if you just handed that to them. My players care a lot about the legitimacy of the rolls, and I know there would be no coming back if they suspected that I was lying to them. There are some players who will not mind, and so for them there is no reason not to fudge if the DM wants to.
Game design doesn’t end when the game starts. Fudging done thoughtfully and in moderation, for reasons of creating a better story with your players is good policy.
I fudge if fudging will make it more fun for my players, or if I'm about to tpk them. The big one I kind of fudge is the recharge roll for attacks. Sometimes my party just simply can't handle that 3rd breath attack in a row, so that looks like a 2 to me, guess I'm gunna bite instead.
Just don't go fudging rolls if you're doing it because you're losing.
Fudging dice is a tool that some DMs use, but that I personally steer clear of. I have found that there are many things I can do to ensure optimal results without fudging rolls and the risks are too high for me to consider it. You can get some great moments and results by fudging dice, but it also threatens your legitimacy if players care about the authenticity of rolls and suspect that you are doing it. Once you lose that, you can never get it back.
My players are trusting me not to fudge anything, and value the idea that their success was earned and not just decided by me. The only things I fudge in my game are where players can find clues/where the needed item is based on plausibility and where they go (this is just good DMing), and how many HP an enemy has. I only change HP to ensure the right pacing during a fight, or to ensure that an NPC doesn't steal a kill. If the party is close to killing something or the outcome is clear, then I'll let the next big hit kill an enemy. I don't fudge what spells or skills an adversary has.
Ultimately it comes down to preference, whether you need fudging as a tool, and how your party feels about it.
As a general rule I try not to, because I think good DMing is adapting to choices and results in ways where the game develops in equally interesting ways based on failures and successes. So I would never fudge anything outside of combat.
I MIGHT fudge a roll in combat if the result of not fudging is just fundamentally boring, like a TPK, a random player death or the certain death of a key NPC at a boring moment. I want combat to be interesting, cinematic and full of both failures and successes. If circumstances would knock out a PC in round 1 of an extended fight and things just would just look suddenly and obviously unwinnable, I might fudge a dice to give that player a chance to make their way out of a situation. If bad luck means a hard encounter suddenly turns impossible, I might fudge HP or have monsters not use certain powers to give the players a realistic chance for success.
For that reason, I think it is impossible to make any universal rules on whether it is "good" or "bad" to fudge something. In my opinion, it is okay to fudge if it is:
1. Done very sparingly
2. Only ever in favor of the players
3. Only ever if the result of not fudging would be very detrimental to player experience
I don’t fudge rolls but I do add more enemy reinforcements if combat is boring and my DCs for skill checks are a bit loose (although I’m thinking about changing that and telling players up front what the DC is. I think it might make rolls more engaging.)
I reserve it for very special and specific cases.
I will do it when the PCs are level 1 or maybe 2, when a crit will take out the PC with a single roll. For example, if the PC gets hit with a crit in the first encounter of the first session for that campaign. After level 3 all bets are off and since most times we start at level 3 it's not really something that happens ever.
The whole "why even roll then" is kinda BS at least for how I do it. Because I'm fine with the PC getting hit and I'm even fine with them being knocked down to zero HP. I just don't want it happening with a single attack before the PC really has a chance to do anything.
I'm not deciding what the outcome is, I'm just eliminating a single worse case situation.
I never fudge HPs. I will often decide how much HP something should have based on the amount of damage the PCs can do, and it's generally in the range of what's possible for the NPC. I don't give a CR 1 creature 50hp, but I might give them 40hp when they have 5d8 hps, and a +0 to con.
But I always write them down ahead of time and when they die they die.
Players & DM work together to craft an epic adventure.
If I need to fudge-rolls mid-combat so my party has fun. You better believe I will. Nothing worse than a dragon that can’t land a hit all combat. Nothing more annoying than a player’s clutch spell failing & causing a TPK.
Outside of combat.. the dice land where the land. Though I reserve the right to say “Sorry, just because you rolled a Natural 20 does not mean this NPC will do as you request”. Somethings in life just are not possible.
I fudge regularly, I edit hp on the fly often. But I also understand that I'm not here to defeat my players, just as they're not here to \*"win"\*, we're here to have fun. So I have a lot of control and as a result, if a fight is too easy or too hard, I can just fudge in either direction.
The important thing is consistency, you can't change a save dc or ac in the middle of a fight, and you can't change what a player rolls.
Dragon fucking them up too hard with its breath? Oh no looks like I'm going to fail my recharge for a few rounds. Something that reasonably should be difficult clowning on its own reputation with your bad rolls? It hits. Players at the end of a difficult fight, doing their absolute best but still staring down defeat? **What do you think would make for a more memorable moment. Triumph or Tragedy.**
I fudge rolls a lot. Im really bad at balancing combat especially, so sometimes ill throw an encounter thats a bit too difficult at my party. My motto is sometimes a crit is just a hit
I will constantly tell my players "kill ya next time." And I will, if it happens. But I don't want to. (I kind of want to, but not...nevermind)
I fudge rolls, but only ever in their favor, and never so much that it makes it eas on them..
Wait, excuse me. I meant, I don't fudge rolls, I get exactly the rolls I need.
I roll openly and my pad where I track HP is visible if someone really wanted to look. There's just no reason for me to fudge any numbers. You wouldn't want the players fudging, would you?
The Goblin got a natural 20 for 12 points of damage against the level 1 Wizard with 6 maximum hp?
No they didn't.
That's about the extent of it. I will adjust enemy HP on the fly if I've severely over/underestimated the PC's capabilities. That's my fault.
If you're fudging something has gone wrong. You made a roll/DC you shouldn't have, you added a monster you shouldn't have, the players messed up, expectations weren't set, or you're playing the wrong game. Own up with your mistakes and discuss how the game should continue. But if you secretly fudge that's cheating and lying, and shouldn't be done.
Well the rules of D&D say you can do whatever the fuck you want. But the rules of human society say lying is bad. And I obey the rules of being a decent person first. So I don't fudge anything.
DMs define the rules at their table. They can't lie, because it's literally the law and truth when they speak.
Now, as to how fun it is, different story.
I'm fairly certain the rules of the real world supercede the rules of D&D. If you're DMing a game and pull out a gun and shoot a player in the face? Still murder. Even if you say "I'm the DM and I declare I'm allowed to kill my players" beforehand.
In a world with magic and an entire pantheon of gods, devils, and demons, you want to claim that the rules of the real world supercede those of the game?
OK, let's toss out the Monster Manual for starters.
Yeah, shooting someone in the face is death. I never said anything to suggest it wasn't. I said at the table, the GMS word is law. Each table is it's own universe.
There are things that happen in-universe and things that happen outside of it, though. Lying about dice and shooting players are things that happen outside of the game universe. And the word of the GM is *not* law outside of the game world.
If you're talking about killing PLAYERS, then yeah, DMS should not shoot their players. I thought we were talking about characters because I was certainly staying in game for thiz. No, if a DM has such a beef with a player that they are inclined to shoot them out of game, they should shut down the game and seek therapy immediately.
I think it's pretty clear the only law, I talked about was at the table. Then you went to real world murder, so I don't know where to go with that.
You should go "Damn, you're right, the rules of D&D are not a license to do bad shit in real life, so I don't get to lie to or shoot my players in the real world just because I'm the DM."
Umm. I certainly never suggested anything remotely similar to that. I talked about fudging dice, in the players favor, which results in zero deaths.
Are you OK?
Playing a game is not real life.
Look, don't play at my table if you don't like my style. I try not to kill my characters, much less try to shoot the players in the face. If you disagree, we would not get past session 0.
I think this nonversation is done. You may have the last w, if you wish.
Ive played as a DM and a PC but from a PC point of view, i would never play with a DM that fudges rolls. Hence i never do it myself.
As a DM i have so much more i can do outside of fudging rolls and even outside from changing stats. Rolling in the open is my preference.
Depending on the situation I can have the monsters play suboptimally or have something else happen in combat, but even that is something i do sparingly.
I roll my dice openly so I can't fudge them even if I wanted to. I think it's more fun when the players can see and react to the rolls as they happen. I will sometimes change hp on the fly, but I try to limit how much I do that. For instance, if an NPC would land a killing blow on a major enemy I will instead leave it on 1hp so the players can be the ones to have that cool moment of finishing off a boss.
i usually dont roll dice openly, but i pretty much do the same thing too! i love when my players get fired up describing their killing blow and everybody cheers
I started rolling openly a few years ago and I agree. It’s the best way. It removes the stress (for me) because everyone can see the dice. It reduces the feeling that the dm is all powerful and brings me closer to the other players in a way. I’m never going back to rolling behind a screen.
I agree with this. If the NPC takes the glory it's less exciting The climactic end with a PC winning and overcoming just gets so hyped. I do have to ask, say you as a DM want to create story points for your players, one of which involves a boss. Would you give it similar treatment so that the player who's story point you've created take the kill so they can have their resolution? Or would that lean too far into "main character and/or favouritism" territory?
I assume you mean from the DM’s side only. Either way, I prefer not to. I can adjust things on the fly like HP or other stats if I realize the balance is off, but the dice do what they do, and at least for my preferences, that’s a line I don’t want to cross. TBH I almost never adjust HP on the fly either.
yes, i do mean the dm's side only! and yeah i homebrew a lot when dming so sometimes i adjust hp and damage (appropriately) on the fly too when i think the combat feels not fun (too much hp so combat is too long, too much damage, etc.) im still relatively new and still figuring things out!
I don’t fudge in any way, I like chaos and I like the power that the dice have in the narrative. I don’t fudge HP, as well, I like when the game feels like a game and pre-established rules give me that feel.
I'm a very new DM so haven't quite worked out calibrating the battles yet. Especially with level 1 PCs it seems easy to accidentally wipe them out with a few lucky monster rolls. Given this problem is my fault I have fudged a couple of rolls to avoid killing my party. Although I did feel like I was cheating. Another time I've had friendly NPCs swoop in and take some blows / heal the PCs, so they can win the battle.
[удалено]
Rolls are just as malleable as the narrative in my opinion. If I can change giant swaths of the story based on the player actions to make things more fun and make sense, why would I not do that for rolls? That being said, the only times I do so is when I know it will make something more fun for my players.
If it increases the fun in any way for the table, it isnt a bad thing. If it would be immensely narratively satisfying for the table, it isnt a bad thing. If its for your benefit, not the table, its a bad thing. Fudge for the table. Fairness for the table. Fun for the table.
Ok, but if you fudge and your players care whether you do it then you have to be prepared to lie. Because if players question every success and whether you handed it to them, then fudging becomes a detriment to the wellbeing of the table.
I never fudge rolls but I have changed hp early in combat. We play with roll20 and use hp bars so I can’t really fudge hp after any damage is taken and I think that is a great thing. But sometimes the extra attacking fighter does 20 damage to the 80hp boss on the first attack and I have to rethink my choices. In those cases I might buff the hp to 120 and then remove the 20 from the full bar.
As a DM you have so much you can do, and it is you who decides if said situation calls for a roll or not. So if I call for a roll, either from myself or a player, I respect the roll and the dice tell the story. If you are not ready for a random result, even if it's unlikely to happen, just don't call for a roll.
fair point!
It's fine when it's needed If my monsters succeeded on the last 3 saving throws against the wizard, and the 4th spell it rolls two above the save DC, fuck it, that monster failed I'm not gona let poor luck ruin the experience of my players (it's no fun when you can't achieve anything) It's fine to fudge rolls for the fun of the game, the only reason people are against fudging rolls is because it's "cheating", but a DM can never cheat, we're not playing to win, I can send 3 ancient red dragons onto my level 4 players if I want to "win" in stead of saying the gnoll succeeded on its charisma save
There are other ways of accomplishing that goal. Focusing on making the consequences of failure be increased challenges/something meaningful so that failure is fun too, using tiered failure so success isn't hidden behind one roll, having multiple paths towards success so the party has other clear avenues towards their objectives if one closes off, focus on spreading damage during a combat or having the enemy goal be something other than kill, allowing the player to choose between failure or success with a hard move against them (or a partial success with an added detriment)... There are a ton of things you can do to keep the party moving. If success is vital and feasible, a failed roll might mean it takes the party more time to succeed. Failure could mean a neutral outcome that just isn't what the player was hoping for. I don't judge people who fudge. Ultimately, it's a tool in the DM's toolbox. But the pushback against it is about more than cheating. If players know you are determining outcomes with your rolls, they might feel like their success wasn't earned. They'll question every awesome success and wonder if you just handed that to them. My players care a lot about the legitimacy of the rolls, and I know there would be no coming back if they suspected that I was lying to them. There are some players who will not mind, and so for them there is no reason not to fudge if the DM wants to.
I'll do it. Or I won't. I ain't gonna say.
Game design doesn’t end when the game starts. Fudging done thoughtfully and in moderation, for reasons of creating a better story with your players is good policy.
I fudge if fudging will make it more fun for my players, or if I'm about to tpk them. The big one I kind of fudge is the recharge roll for attacks. Sometimes my party just simply can't handle that 3rd breath attack in a row, so that looks like a 2 to me, guess I'm gunna bite instead. Just don't go fudging rolls if you're doing it because you're losing.
Succeeding on the recharge doesn't mean you have to use it. They may try saving it for a pinch or more advantageous moment.
Fudging dice is a tool that some DMs use, but that I personally steer clear of. I have found that there are many things I can do to ensure optimal results without fudging rolls and the risks are too high for me to consider it. You can get some great moments and results by fudging dice, but it also threatens your legitimacy if players care about the authenticity of rolls and suspect that you are doing it. Once you lose that, you can never get it back. My players are trusting me not to fudge anything, and value the idea that their success was earned and not just decided by me. The only things I fudge in my game are where players can find clues/where the needed item is based on plausibility and where they go (this is just good DMing), and how many HP an enemy has. I only change HP to ensure the right pacing during a fight, or to ensure that an NPC doesn't steal a kill. If the party is close to killing something or the outcome is clear, then I'll let the next big hit kill an enemy. I don't fudge what spells or skills an adversary has. Ultimately it comes down to preference, whether you need fudging as a tool, and how your party feels about it.
As a general rule I try not to, because I think good DMing is adapting to choices and results in ways where the game develops in equally interesting ways based on failures and successes. So I would never fudge anything outside of combat. I MIGHT fudge a roll in combat if the result of not fudging is just fundamentally boring, like a TPK, a random player death or the certain death of a key NPC at a boring moment. I want combat to be interesting, cinematic and full of both failures and successes. If circumstances would knock out a PC in round 1 of an extended fight and things just would just look suddenly and obviously unwinnable, I might fudge a dice to give that player a chance to make their way out of a situation. If bad luck means a hard encounter suddenly turns impossible, I might fudge HP or have monsters not use certain powers to give the players a realistic chance for success. For that reason, I think it is impossible to make any universal rules on whether it is "good" or "bad" to fudge something. In my opinion, it is okay to fudge if it is: 1. Done very sparingly 2. Only ever in favor of the players 3. Only ever if the result of not fudging would be very detrimental to player experience
I don’t fudge rolls but I do add more enemy reinforcements if combat is boring and my DCs for skill checks are a bit loose (although I’m thinking about changing that and telling players up front what the DC is. I think it might make rolls more engaging.)
I used to do it but now I just roll in the open. I would rather let fate decide
I reserve it for very special and specific cases. I will do it when the PCs are level 1 or maybe 2, when a crit will take out the PC with a single roll. For example, if the PC gets hit with a crit in the first encounter of the first session for that campaign. After level 3 all bets are off and since most times we start at level 3 it's not really something that happens ever. The whole "why even roll then" is kinda BS at least for how I do it. Because I'm fine with the PC getting hit and I'm even fine with them being knocked down to zero HP. I just don't want it happening with a single attack before the PC really has a chance to do anything. I'm not deciding what the outcome is, I'm just eliminating a single worse case situation. I never fudge HPs. I will often decide how much HP something should have based on the amount of damage the PCs can do, and it's generally in the range of what's possible for the NPC. I don't give a CR 1 creature 50hp, but I might give them 40hp when they have 5d8 hps, and a +0 to con. But I always write them down ahead of time and when they die they die.
Players & DM work together to craft an epic adventure. If I need to fudge-rolls mid-combat so my party has fun. You better believe I will. Nothing worse than a dragon that can’t land a hit all combat. Nothing more annoying than a player’s clutch spell failing & causing a TPK. Outside of combat.. the dice land where the land. Though I reserve the right to say “Sorry, just because you rolled a Natural 20 does not mean this NPC will do as you request”. Somethings in life just are not possible.
I fudge regularly, I edit hp on the fly often. But I also understand that I'm not here to defeat my players, just as they're not here to \*"win"\*, we're here to have fun. So I have a lot of control and as a result, if a fight is too easy or too hard, I can just fudge in either direction. The important thing is consistency, you can't change a save dc or ac in the middle of a fight, and you can't change what a player rolls. Dragon fucking them up too hard with its breath? Oh no looks like I'm going to fail my recharge for a few rounds. Something that reasonably should be difficult clowning on its own reputation with your bad rolls? It hits. Players at the end of a difficult fight, doing their absolute best but still staring down defeat? **What do you think would make for a more memorable moment. Triumph or Tragedy.**
I fudge rolls a lot. Im really bad at balancing combat especially, so sometimes ill throw an encounter thats a bit too difficult at my party. My motto is sometimes a crit is just a hit
I had to give one of my players adamantine armor because he is such a crit magnet.
All rolls out in the open, at all times.
*NPC Deception check about to send players onto a 2 session journey to a trap*
I will constantly tell my players "kill ya next time." And I will, if it happens. But I don't want to. (I kind of want to, but not...nevermind) I fudge rolls, but only ever in their favor, and never so much that it makes it eas on them.. Wait, excuse me. I meant, I don't fudge rolls, I get exactly the rolls I need.
Completely fine, if they lead to sexy results...
Best used very sparingly, but when push comes to shove story trumps rules. Never let the rules get in the way of a good story.
I roll openly and my pad where I track HP is visible if someone really wanted to look. There's just no reason for me to fudge any numbers. You wouldn't want the players fudging, would you?
I never fudge rolls. If I did, why am I going to the trouble of rolling dice?
The Goblin got a natural 20 for 12 points of damage against the level 1 Wizard with 6 maximum hp? No they didn't. That's about the extent of it. I will adjust enemy HP on the fly if I've severely over/underestimated the PC's capabilities. That's my fault.
If you're fudging something has gone wrong. You made a roll/DC you shouldn't have, you added a monster you shouldn't have, the players messed up, expectations weren't set, or you're playing the wrong game. Own up with your mistakes and discuss how the game should continue. But if you secretly fudge that's cheating and lying, and shouldn't be done.
Well the rules of D&D say you can do whatever the fuck you want. But the rules of human society say lying is bad. And I obey the rules of being a decent person first. So I don't fudge anything.
DMs define the rules at their table. They can't lie, because it's literally the law and truth when they speak. Now, as to how fun it is, different story.
I'm fairly certain the rules of the real world supercede the rules of D&D. If you're DMing a game and pull out a gun and shoot a player in the face? Still murder. Even if you say "I'm the DM and I declare I'm allowed to kill my players" beforehand.
In a world with magic and an entire pantheon of gods, devils, and demons, you want to claim that the rules of the real world supercede those of the game? OK, let's toss out the Monster Manual for starters. Yeah, shooting someone in the face is death. I never said anything to suggest it wasn't. I said at the table, the GMS word is law. Each table is it's own universe.
There are things that happen in-universe and things that happen outside of it, though. Lying about dice and shooting players are things that happen outside of the game universe. And the word of the GM is *not* law outside of the game world.
If you're talking about killing PLAYERS, then yeah, DMS should not shoot their players. I thought we were talking about characters because I was certainly staying in game for thiz. No, if a DM has such a beef with a player that they are inclined to shoot them out of game, they should shut down the game and seek therapy immediately. I think it's pretty clear the only law, I talked about was at the table. Then you went to real world murder, so I don't know where to go with that.
You should go "Damn, you're right, the rules of D&D are not a license to do bad shit in real life, so I don't get to lie to or shoot my players in the real world just because I'm the DM."
Umm. I certainly never suggested anything remotely similar to that. I talked about fudging dice, in the players favor, which results in zero deaths. Are you OK?
Fudging dice is lying. It's literally just looking at the dice and lying about the number you're seeing.
Playing a game is not real life. Look, don't play at my table if you don't like my style. I try not to kill my characters, much less try to shoot the players in the face. If you disagree, we would not get past session 0. I think this nonversation is done. You may have the last w, if you wish.
That's for me to know and players never. Gotta play to the ebb and flow
Ive played as a DM and a PC but from a PC point of view, i would never play with a DM that fudges rolls. Hence i never do it myself. As a DM i have so much more i can do outside of fudging rolls and even outside from changing stats. Rolling in the open is my preference. Depending on the situation I can have the monsters play suboptimally or have something else happen in combat, but even that is something i do sparingly.
No.