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In my role as a DM, I historically avoided extensive use of luck during my Dungeons & Dragons games. I preferred was for the plot and session development to be shaped by player choice instead of the roll of a die. Recently, I chose to change my approach, and I'm truly happy with the result.

The Spark: Seeing an Improvised Tool

A well-known actual-play show utilizes a DM who frequently requests "chance rolls" from the adventurers. The process entails selecting a polyhedral and defining consequences based on the result. This is at its core no unlike using a pre-generated chart, these are devised spontaneously when a character's decision doesn't have a obvious outcome.

I opted to test this approach at my own session, primarily because it looked engaging and offered a change from my usual habits. The outcome were fantastic, prompting me to think deeply about the perennial tension between pre-determination and randomization in a roleplaying game.

A Powerful Session Moment

At a session, my players had concluded a massive fight. When the dust settled, a cleric character wondered if two key NPCs—a pair—had survived. Rather than choosing an outcome, I let the dice decide. I instructed the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. I defined the outcomes as: on a 1-4, both were killed; on a 5-9, a single one would die; a high roll, they both lived.

The player rolled a 4. This resulted in a incredibly moving moment where the characters came upon the corpses of their companions, forever clasped together in death. The group held last rites, which was especially powerful due to earlier roleplaying. As a final reward, I decided that the NPCs' bodies were strangely transformed, showing a spell-storing object. By chance, the item's magical effect was perfectly what the group lacked to resolve another pressing quest obstacle. You simply plan this type of magical moments.

Sharpening DM Agility

This incident made me wonder if randomization and thinking on your feet are truly the essence of this game. While you are a meticulously planning DM, your ability to adapt may atrophy. Players frequently find joy in upending the best constructed plots. Therefore, a good DM needs to be able to adapt swiftly and invent scenarios in the moment.

Employing similar mechanics is a great way to practice these talents without venturing too far outside your comfort zone. The key is to apply them for low-stakes circumstances that won't drastically alter the session's primary direction. For instance, I would avoid using it to establish if the king's advisor is a traitor. Instead, I might use it to determine if the characters arrive moments before a key action occurs.

Empowering Player Agency

Luck rolls also works to maintain tension and cultivate the impression that the game world is responsive, shaping in reaction to their actions as they play. It combats the perception that they are merely pawns in a rigidly planned script, thereby enhancing the collaborative foundation of storytelling.

This approach has historically been part of the core of D&D. Early editions were enamored with charts, which fit a playstyle focused on exploration. Even though current D&D tends to focuses on plot-driven play, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, that may not be the required method.

Finding the Healthy Equilibrium

Absolutely no issue with thorough preparation. But, it's also fine no problem with stepping back and allowing the dice to determine certain outcomes instead of you. Authority is a significant aspect of a DM's job. We use it to facilitate play, yet we often struggle to release it, at times when doing so might improve the game.

The core advice is this: Do not fear of letting go of your plan. Experiment with a little chance for smaller story elements. The result could create that the unexpected outcome is infinitely more rewarding than anything you could have pre-written on your own.