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In my role as a DM, I historically avoided significant use of chance during my tabletop roleplaying adventures. My preference was for story direction and session development to be determined by deliberate decisions as opposed to pure luck. Recently, I decided to alter my method, and I'm very happy with the result.

The Inspiration: Observing a Custom Mechanic

A well-known streamed game features a DM who often asks for "fate rolls" from the players. The process entails picking a specific dice and assigning potential outcomes based on the number. This is fundamentally no distinct from rolling on a random table, these are devised in the moment when a player's action has no clear conclusion.

I chose to experiment with this technique at my own game, mainly because it looked engaging and presented a change from my normal practice. The experience were fantastic, prompting me to reflect on the perennial dynamic between preparation and improvisation in a roleplaying game.

An Emotional Session Moment

In a recent session, my players had concluded a city-wide fight. When the dust settled, a player wondered if two friendly NPCs—a pair—had lived. Instead of picking a fate, I asked for a roll. I asked the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. The stakes were: a low roll, both would perish; a middling roll, a single one succumbed; a high roll, they made it.

The player rolled a 4. This resulted in a profoundly poignant sequence where the party found the bodies of their friends, still clasped together in their final moments. The cleric performed a ceremony, which was particularly significant due to prior story developments. As a final touch, I improvised that the remains were strangely transformed, showing a spell-storing object. I rolled for, the bead's magical effect was precisely what the party required to solve another pressing story problem. It's impossible to script such perfect moments.

Sharpening Your Improvisation

This experience caused me to question if chance and thinking on your feet are in fact the beating heart of this game. While you are a prep-heavy DM, your improvisation muscles may atrophy. Players reliably take delight in ignoring the most detailed plots. Therefore, a skilled DM needs to be able to adapt swiftly and invent content in real-time.

Employing luck rolls is a excellent way to develop these skills without venturing too far outside your usual style. The trick is to use them for small-scale decisions that don't fundamentally change the overarching story. To illustrate, I would not employ it to establish if the king's advisor is a secret enemy. Instead, I could use it to decide if the party arrive right after a major incident occurs.

Strengthening Player Agency

Spontaneous randomization also helps make players feel invested and create the impression that the adventure is responsive, shaping according to their choices as they play. It reduces the feeling that they are merely pawns in a pre-written narrative, thereby enhancing the cooperative foundation of the game.

This approach has historically been part of the original design. Early editions were filled with charts, which made sense for a game focused on exploration. Even though modern D&D tends to prioritizes story and character, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, it's not necessarily the best approach.

Achieving the Sweet Spot

There is absolutely no problem with being prepared. Yet, equally valid nothing wrong with letting go and permitting the dice to guide minor details rather than you. Authority is a major part of a DM's responsibilities. We use it to run the game, yet we can be reluctant to cede it, at times when doing so could be beneficial.

A piece of suggestion is this: Do not fear of relinquishing a bit of the reins. Experiment with a little randomness for smaller story elements. It may find that the organic story beat is far more rewarding than anything you could have scripted on your own.