For me, it was: “If it’s going to help your players have more fun, cheat. Fudge a die roll. Make shit up. The dice don’t tell you what needs to happen, your players’ reactions do.”
Obviously, many people will disagree with this, but I’ve always appreciated this advice, and I believe it has made me a better GM.
I agree with this advice to a point. For me, it is a 50/50 decision. Fudging dice and cheating is part of dming to me, but it is a decision of when, where, and why. Crushing your players under under a severe string of bad luck can kill the game, but so can everything going their way. The point to me is to make the game compelling rather than a power trip, even if I am ultimately on my players’ side