🔗 Share this article

In my role as a DM, I traditionally avoided extensive use of luck during my D&D sessions. My preference was for the plot and what happened in a game to be determined by deliberate decisions rather than pure luck. Recently, I decided to try something different, and I'm incredibly happy with the result.

The Inspiration: Seeing 'Luck Rolls'

A popular podcast features a DM who frequently asks for "chance rolls" from the participants. The process entails choosing a polyhedral and outlining consequences based on the roll. While it's fundamentally no distinct from consulting a random table, these get invented spontaneously when a course of events lacks a predetermined resolution.

I opted to test this approach at my own session, primarily because it seemed novel and provided a departure from my usual habits. The results were remarkable, prompting me to think deeply about the ongoing dynamic between preparation and randomization in a D&D campaign.

A Powerful In-Game Example

In a recent session, my party had concluded a massive conflict. Afterwards, a player inquired after two friendly NPCs—a brother and sister—had survived. In place of choosing an outcome, I let the dice decide. I instructed the player to roll a d20. I defined the outcomes as: a low roll, both died; a middling roll, only one would die; on a 10+, they survived.

Fate decreed a 4. This triggered a profoundly moving sequence where the adventurers discovered the bodies of their companions, forever united in their final moments. The group performed a ceremony, which was particularly meaningful due to previous character interactions. As a final touch, I improvised that the NPCs' bodies were miraculously restored, showing a spell-storing object. By chance, the bead's contained spell was perfectly what the party lacked to solve another critical story problem. You simply script these kinds of magical coincidences.

Sharpening DM Agility

This incident caused me to question if improvisation and thinking on your feet are in fact the core of this game. While you are a prep-heavy DM, your ability to adapt may atrophy. Adventurers reliably take delight in ignoring the most detailed plans. Therefore, a effective DM needs to be able to adapt swiftly and create scenarios on the fly.

Employing on-the-spot randomization is a excellent way to train these talents without going completely outside your usual style. The strategy is to use them for small-scale situations that don't fundamentally change the campaign's main plot. For instance, I wouldn't use it to decide if the king's advisor is a traitor. Instead, I might use it to figure out whether the characters enter a room right after a key action unfolds.

Strengthening Player Agency

Spontaneous randomization also serves to maintain tension and cultivate the feeling that the story is dynamic, evolving based on their actions as they play. It prevents the sense that they are merely pawns in a DM's sole story, thereby enhancing the cooperative nature of storytelling.

This approach has historically been embedded in the game's DNA. The game's roots were enamored with random tables, which fit a game focused on treasure hunting. Although modern D&D tends to focuses on narrative and role-play, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, it's not necessarily the only path.

Achieving the Healthy Equilibrium

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being prepared. But, equally valid no problem with letting go and allowing the rolls to decide some things instead of you. Control is a big aspect of a DM's role. We use it to facilitate play, yet we often struggle to give some up, at times when doing so might improve the game.

The core recommendation is this: Don't be afraid of relinquishing a bit of the reins. Experiment with a little randomness for inconsequential outcomes. The result could discover that the unexpected outcome is significantly more memorable than anything you might have scripted in advance.