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In my role as a DM, I traditionally steered clear of significant use of luck during my tabletop roleplaying adventures. I tended was for narrative flow and session development to be guided by player choice as opposed to random chance. That said, I decided to alter my method, and I'm very pleased with the outcome.

The Spark: Observing an Improvised Tool

An influential actual-play show features a DM who regularly asks for "luck rolls" from the players. The process entails selecting a type of die and assigning consequences tied to the result. While it's essentially no different from consulting a pre-generated chart, these are created on the spot when a character's decision doesn't have a clear resolution.

I chose to experiment with this approach at my own session, mainly because it seemed engaging and offered a departure from my normal practice. The results were remarkable, prompting me to reconsider the ongoing balance between preparation and randomization in a D&D campaign.

A Powerful Session Moment

In a recent session, my party had survived a city-wide battle. Later, a cleric character asked about two friendly NPCs—a sibling duo—had made it. Instead of picking a fate, I let the dice decide. I asked the player to roll a d20. The possible results were: on a 1-4, both died; a middling roll, only one succumbed; a high roll, they both lived.

The player rolled a 4. This led to a deeply poignant scene where the adventurers discovered the corpses of their companions, still holding hands in death. The party held funeral rites, which was uniquely meaningful due to earlier roleplaying. As a parting reward, I improvised that the remains were suddenly transformed, revealing a magical Prayer Bead. By chance, the bead's magical effect was exactly what the group needed to address another major story problem. It's impossible to orchestrate such perfect story beats.

Improving On-the-Spot Skills

This experience made me wonder if chance and making it up are actually the essence of tabletop RPGs. Even if you are a prep-heavy DM, your skill to pivot need exercise. Players reliably take delight in upending the most detailed plans. Therefore, a skilled DM needs to be able to adapt swiftly and fabricate details in the moment.

Utilizing on-the-spot randomization is a fantastic way to train these abilities without going completely outside your preparation. The strategy is to deploy them for low-stakes circumstances that won't drastically alter the overarching story. For instance, I wouldn't use it to decide if the central plot figure is a traitor. But, I could use it to determine if the characters arrive moments before a key action unfolds.

Enhancing Collaborative Storytelling

This technique also serves to make players feel invested and create the sensation that the story is dynamic, shaping based on their choices as they play. It reduces the sense that they are merely characters in a pre-written narrative, thereby enhancing the shared aspect of roleplaying.

This philosophy has long been part of the original design. Original D&D were enamored with random tables, which made sense for a playstyle focused on dungeon crawling. Even though modern D&D often prioritizes plot-driven play, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, it's not necessarily the best approach.

Finding the Right Balance

It is perfectly nothing wrong with thorough preparation. But, equally valid nothing wrong with relinquishing control and letting the whim of chance to determine certain outcomes instead of you. Control is a major part of a DM's job. We use it to run the game, yet we frequently find it hard to cede it, in situations where doing so could be beneficial.

The core advice is this: Have no fear of letting go of your plan. Try a little randomness for inconsequential outcomes. You might just create that the organic story beat is far more powerful than anything you could have pre-written on your own.