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As a DM, I historically steered clear of heavy use of luck during my D&D sessions. I preferred was for the plot and what happened in a game to be determined by deliberate decisions rather than the roll of a die. However, I opted to alter my method, and I'm truly pleased with the outcome.

The Spark: Watching a Custom Mechanic

A popular actual-play show utilizes a DM who often calls for "chance rolls" from the players. The process entails choosing a polyhedral and defining consequences based on the result. While it's fundamentally no different from using a pre-generated chart, these get invented on the spot when a course of events has no clear conclusion.

I chose to experiment with this technique at my own table, mostly because it seemed interesting and offered a change from my normal practice. The experience were eye-opening, prompting me to think deeply about the perennial tension between pre-determination and randomization in a roleplaying game.

A Powerful Session Moment

In a recent session, my players had concluded a large-scale fight. Later, a cleric character inquired after two key NPCs—a pair—had lived. In place of picking a fate, I let the dice decide. I told the player to roll a d20. I defined the outcomes as: on a 1-4, both died; on a 5-9, only one would die; a high roll, they survived.

The player rolled a 4. This resulted in a deeply moving moment where the characters found the bodies of their allies, still united in death. The group conducted a ceremony, which was uniquely meaningful due to earlier roleplaying. As a final gesture, I improvised that the remains were miraculously restored, revealing a spell-storing object. I rolled for, the bead's contained spell was perfectly what the group required to resolve another critical situation. It's impossible to plan this type of perfect coincidences.

Improving On-the-Spot Skills

This event made me wonder if chance and thinking on your feet are actually the core of D&D. Even if you are a prep-heavy DM, your improvisation muscles can rust. Adventurers reliably excel at ignoring the most carefully laid plots. Therefore, a good DM needs to be able to pivot effectively and create content on the fly.

Employing similar mechanics is a fantastic way to train these skills without straying too much outside your comfort zone. The strategy is to use them for low-stakes circumstances that don't fundamentally change the campaign's main plot. As an example, I wouldn't use it to establish if the king's advisor is a secret enemy. However, I might use it to decide if the PCs arrive right after a key action unfolds.

Strengthening Collaborative Storytelling

Spontaneous randomization also works to make players feel invested and foster the feeling that the story is alive, shaping according to their actions immediately. It reduces the sense that they are merely characters in a rigidly planned story, thereby bolstering the cooperative aspect of the game.

This approach has long been integral to the game's DNA. Early editions were reliant on encounter generators, which made sense for a playstyle focused on exploration. Even though modern D&D often emphasizes plot-driven play, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, it's not necessarily the only path.

Achieving the Right Balance

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing your prep. But, there is also nothing wrong with letting go and allowing the rolls to decide some things rather than you. Direction is a significant part of a DM's role. We require it to manage the world, yet we often struggle to release it, even when doing so could be beneficial.

A piece of recommendation is this: Have no fear of relinquishing a bit of the reins. Experiment with a little improvisation for inconsequential details. The result could create that the unexpected outcome is significantly more powerful than anything you could have pre-written on your own.