When it comes to playing Dungeons & Dragons, players and DMs work together to weave a storyline against the most dangerous enemy in tabletop gaming: the randomness of dice rolls. Whether it's a player rolling a critical failure against the final boss or the DM rolling to beat a critical save that ends up turning the tables, the outcomes of the dice affect the way a game can turn more than anything. This randomness is why a good DM has to refine one of their most important skills: fudging dice rolls.
Fudging rolls is a somewhat controversial act in D&D. For some, it ruins the integrity of the game, giving players or NPCs moments that should be left to fate a free win in order to keep the story together. Others view it as a way to keep the game from devolving into a mess when one thing after another ends up going wrong, due only to the roll of the dice. Both options have benefits and downsides to them, which makes it all the more important for a DM to know how and when to fudge rolls.
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When it comes to fudging rolls, a DM should only do so when the result is something the players don't already know. Lowering the armor class of a tough enemy or raising the DC of an ability that players are sidestepping with ease during the game doesn't work to improve the session -- it only shows players how the DM is influencing results. This can easily ruin the atmosphere of a game, showing the DM's hand and removing any feeling of danger or victory for the players.
Private rolls the DM makes behind the screen are the rolls that should be influenced. If the players' plan to infiltrate the castle relies on charming the guard, making the guard fail no matter what their save rolls are will be better than having the whole plan get thrown out after the first step. Not only does fudging these early steps allow for the planning to not go to waste, but rewarding clever planning and role-playing with success can also make players more invested.
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While rolls that matter for the progression of the game can be fudged, it's important to make sure to keep any critical moments for characters or NPCs from being influenced by DM preference. Death saving rolls and final blows in combat are best left for players to experience directly, and DMs can even roll critically important dice in full view to give everyone the satisfaction of seeing the result. Keeping fudged rolls to smaller-scale events that will help move the players along to the more important events ensures that players won't feel like they're being given everything for free. At the same time, this prevents the party from spending an hour attempting to succeed on basic obstacles.
DMs can also consider taking advantage of the flexibility of D&D's rules by changing how succeeding on a roll works. Rather than having players only succeed over a certain DC, a DM could allow the players to progress at any roll but give increasingly difficult repercussions for bad rolls. Rather than having the players fail to infiltrate the castle, the party could enter but leave behind clear signs of their presence that make it far harder to stay unnoticed.
There are many moments that a DM could do well to influence, smoothing out skills checks or saving throws to keep players engaged and moving forward. Fudging dice rolls isn't a perfect solution, and DMs need to be careful to keep their ability to change results from taking away the agency of players. Knowing when and where to let someone succeed where they should've failed can result in far greater sessions than what would happen if each roll were taken as law.
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