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In my role as a DM, I traditionally shied away from significant use of chance during my Dungeons & Dragons games. I tended was for story direction and session development to be guided by deliberate decisions as opposed to random chance. That said, I decided to alter my method, and I'm truly happy with the result.

The Inspiration: Seeing an Improvised Tool

A popular podcast utilizes a DM who often asks for "chance rolls" from the adventurers. The process entails choosing a specific dice and defining possible results contingent on the result. This is at its core no unlike using a pre-generated chart, these are devised in the moment when a player's action doesn't have a clear resolution.

I decided to try this approach at my own game, mostly because it seemed interesting and offered a departure from my usual habits. The experience were remarkable, prompting me to think deeply about the ongoing balance between planning and randomization in a roleplaying game.

An Emotional In-Game Example

In a recent session, my party had concluded a massive conflict. When the dust settled, a cleric character wondered if two friendly NPCs—a pair—had made it. Rather than deciding myself, I let the dice decide. I told the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. I defined the outcomes as: on a 1-4, both would perish; a middling roll, only one would die; on a 10+, they survived.

Fate decreed a 4. This resulted in a deeply poignant moment where the party came upon the corpses of their allies, forever holding hands in their final moments. The cleric held last rites, which was particularly meaningful due to prior roleplaying. In a concluding reward, I chose that the remains were suddenly transformed, containing a enchanted item. I randomized, the bead's contained spell was perfectly what the party required to resolve another pressing quest obstacle. It's impossible to plan such serendipitous story beats.

Improving Your Improvisation

This experience caused me to question if improvisation and making it up are truly the essence of this game. Although you are a meticulously planning DM, your ability to adapt can rust. Adventurers reliably take delight in derailing the best constructed narratives. Therefore, a effective DM needs to be able to pivot effectively and invent scenarios in real-time.

Using similar mechanics is a excellent way to develop these skills without straying too much outside your comfort zone. The strategy is to use them for low-stakes circumstances that have a limited impact on the overarching story. As an example, I would not employ it to determine if the king's advisor is a traitor. But, I might use it to decide whether the characters arrive right after a critical event occurs.

Enhancing Player Agency

Luck rolls also works to keep players engaged and create the impression that the adventure is dynamic, evolving in reaction to their decisions immediately. It prevents the perception that they are merely characters in a pre-written script, thereby strengthening the collaborative foundation of the game.

This philosophy has historically been integral to the core of D&D. Early editions were filled with charts, which suited a game focused on dungeon crawling. While contemporary D&D tends to focuses on plot-driven play, leading many DMs to feel they must prep extensively, this isn't always the required method.

Achieving the Healthy Equilibrium

Absolutely nothing wrong with thorough preparation. Yet, there is also no issue with stepping back and letting the rolls to determine certain outcomes instead of you. Control is a big aspect of a DM's responsibilities. We use it to run the game, yet we often struggle to release it, even when doing so can lead to great moments.

My final recommendation is this: Don't be afraid of letting go of your plan. Try a little chance for inconsequential details. It may discover that the organic story beat is significantly more powerful than anything you might have scripted on your own.