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As a Dungeon Master, I traditionally steered clear of heavy use of luck during my tabletop roleplaying adventures. My preference was for story direction and what happened in a game to be shaped by character actions as opposed to the roll of a die. Recently, I decided to change my approach, and I'm very pleased with the outcome.

The Spark: Watching a Custom Mechanic

An influential podcast utilizes a DM who frequently requests "fate rolls" from the adventurers. He does this by picking a polyhedral and assigning consequences contingent on the roll. This is essentially no unlike consulting a pre-generated chart, these are devised on the spot when a course of events has no predetermined conclusion.

I decided to try this approach at my own session, primarily because it looked interesting and presented a break from my standard routine. The outcome were remarkable, prompting me to reconsider the often-debated tension between pre-determination and improvisation in a tabletop session.

A Memorable In-Game Example

During one session, my group had survived a massive fight. Afterwards, a player asked about two friendly NPCs—a pair—had lived. Rather than picking a fate, I asked for a roll. I instructed the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. The possible results were: a low roll, both were killed; a middling roll, a single one would die; a high roll, they made it.

Fate decreed a 4. This triggered a deeply moving moment where the characters came upon the remains of their companions, forever clasped together in their final moments. The cleric conducted funeral rites, which was particularly significant due to earlier roleplaying. In a concluding gesture, I decided that the remains were suddenly transformed, revealing a spell-storing object. I rolled for, the item's contained spell was exactly what the group required to resolve another critical story problem. One just script these kinds of magical coincidences.

Sharpening On-the-Spot Skills

This experience caused me to question if chance and making it up are in fact the beating heart of D&D. Even if you are a prep-heavy DM, your ability to adapt need exercise. Players reliably excel at upending the most detailed narratives. Therefore, a skilled DM has to be able to pivot effectively and create content in real-time.

Utilizing on-the-spot randomization is a great way to develop these talents without straying too much outside your preparation. The key is to use them for minor circumstances that have a limited impact on the session's primary direction. For instance, I would avoid using it to decide if the king's advisor is a secret enemy. However, I would consider using it to decide if the characters arrive moments before a critical event unfolds.

Strengthening Collaborative Storytelling

This technique also works to make players feel invested and create the sensation that the adventure is dynamic, evolving in reaction to their decisions immediately. It combats the sense that they are merely actors in a DM's sole story, thereby enhancing the cooperative foundation of storytelling.

Randomization has historically been integral to the core of D&D. Original D&D were reliant on encounter generators, which made sense for a game focused on dungeon crawling. While current D&D tends to prioritizes narrative and role-play, leading many DMs to feel they need exhaustive notes, that may not be the only path.

Achieving the Right Balance

Absolutely no problem with thorough preparation. Yet, equally valid nothing wrong with letting go and letting the rolls to decide some things in place of you. Control is a major aspect of a DM's responsibilities. We require it to run the game, yet we can be reluctant to release it, even when doing so can lead to great moments.

The core advice is this: Have no fear of relinquishing a bit of control. Try a little improvisation for smaller outcomes. It may discover that the unexpected outcome is significantly more powerful than anything you might have planned by yourself.