Dungeons & Dragonsis a fair game, right? You make your character, roll the dice, add your bonuses, and it is what it is - at least, in theory. However, one player at the table, the Dungeon Master, plays the role of judge and arbiter and dictates the rules, among other things.
What if they cheat, though? Dungeon Masters not following the rules is a topic of constant debate in the community, especially because some do it for what they consider good reasons (such as keeping the game entertaining or engaging) or because they can bend the rules to do something that is technically not cheating. How do they ‘cheat,’ then?
10Fudging Rolls
Classic
The most common way DMs may cheat is by having their rolls happen behind the DM screen, and nothing really stops them from lying about the result other than their sense of honor. However, fudging rolls are more complicated than they seem.
Though some DMs can do it to make a combat encounter harder (which can be unfair, but if the fight is too easy, it can be the right call), some ignore the dice when the result leads to an anti-climatic outcome, prioritizing people having fun rather than following the dice to the letter - though you might also argue that following them to the letter is part of the fun, hence why this is complicated.
9Legendary Resistance
Cheating As A Core Mechanic
A similar thing to fudging rolls is when a monster has access to Legendary Resistance, which allows them to pass a saving throw that they fail to. It has limited uses, sure, but that’s not too different from just fudging to escape failure.
In fact, the DM can be cheesy about how many times the monster can use this feature, too, so it basically allows them to ‘cheat’ and claim that they are actually following the rules and using mechanics available to them.
8Altering NPCs Hit Points
Or AC, Or Attack Bonus, Or Damage Bonus, Or Spell DC
Another thing the players aren’t aware of is how many hit points the enemy has. The best information they can get is asking how the enemy looks, and the DM can give a vague description. That said, they can alter hit points.
Like fudging, this can help the party if the DM realizes they made the enemy too much of a tank. Still, it can also make the monster last for a long time in the fight, just waiting for a move cool enough for the DM to allow it to be the killing blow.
7Adding Abilities Mid-Fight
Behold, My Final Form!
DMs can sometimes screw up ondifficulty balancing- it happens. Thus, they can adjust things on the fly, and some of the topics we tackled already are part of this re-balancing. Another thing they can end up doing is just using an ability the monster didn’t have until now.
This is also an easy one to cover up. The DM can say the monster wasn’t taking the fight seriously until now - which could be true or accurate to the NPC’s behavior - or they can improvise a second phase during the fight and use a transformation to justify a power increase.
6Subtle Railroading
This Path Seems To Be The Only Safe One
In front of the party, there are two paths. From the left, you hear a strange growl. What about the other path? “Oh, that path has threeTarrasquesplaying fetch with a clan of Liches - but if you want to go that way, sure.”
Okay, your DM will (probably) not say something this absurd, but the idea here is to gently discourage the party from making a decision the DM doesn’t want them to make. Why give them a choice if the DM will force the result, you ask? To give them the illusion that they’re making a decision, of course.
5Repositioning Missed Content
Looks Like The Clue Was In This Room, After All
Assuming the DM is not subtly railroading the group, there is the chance they’ll miss out on information or places where the DM prepared content for them. Does this mean this content will go to the trash? Of course not; good DMs always know how to recycle.
The events from a city the players decided not to go to are now suddenly in this new city the players chose to go to instead. Missed clues from a mystery come up in different ways, or alternative clues that lead to the same direction appear. Whatever the case is, this content comes back in some way, shape, or form.
4NPCs Knowing Too Much About The Party
Wait, That’s Metagaming
If you encounter a powerful boss for the first time and they immediately start attacking the healer relentlessly, something weird might be going on here. Sure, maybe this is an intelligent character who gathered information about the party beforehand, but it might be metagaming on the DM’s part.
The DM has to roleplay people encountering the party for the first time over and over, and they might get themselves confused and fight the players as if the NPCs have been doing that their whole lives. However, unless the NPCs have an in-game reason to know these things right away, that is technically cheating.
3Villains Surviving Deadly Fights
Somehow, Palpatine Returned
We all love a good villain, and defeating them is likely one of the highest points of the story, if not the highest. The players can go overboard with defeating the villain, where they can lose their heads, be disintegrated, or be wholly obliterated in many creative ways.
Then, whether because the DM found a loophole in their scenario or just for extreme drama, this villain somehow pops back up in the narrative or the next campaign. As long as it doesn’t feel forced and if the character is cool enough, who cares, though, right?
2Changing DCs
Or Absurdly High DCs
Another complex trick a DM may pull off (and one they don’t really need to address beforehand) is to ask for a saving throw or ability check and not tell the players how much they need to roll to succeed. Why would they?
That alone isn’t an issue, but it gives the DM an opening where they can decide the DC after seeing the roll and determine if said number was good enough for them. Or they can set a DC of 25 to 30 without knowing (or caring) if the players can reach this number.
1Rule Of Cool For Enemies
Villains Can Be Cool, Too
A famous ‘rule’ in D&D is the rule of cool, where the DM and the party intentionally bend the rules, letting the players do something they normally wouldn’t be able to because it’d be cool if they did so at that particular moment.
But what if the bad guy is about to do something cool that isn’t exactly within the rules? Should the DM force themselves to follow the rules and find a way to do what they want through them, or can they just hit the ‘rule of cool’ button withthe BBEG?We would even argue that many DMs do this without even realizing they’re technically using the rule of cool on their baddies, homebrewing unique mechanics just to do the thing they want to do.
