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When I am a DM, I traditionally shied away from extensive use of luck during my Dungeons & Dragons games. I preferred was for the plot and what happened in a game to be determined by player choice rather than the roll of a die. However, I decided to alter my method, and I'm very happy with the result.

The Catalyst: Seeing a Custom Mechanic

A well-known streamed game utilizes a DM who frequently calls for "chance rolls" from the participants. The process entails picking a polyhedral and outlining potential outcomes tied to the number. While it's at its core no distinct from rolling on a pre-generated chart, these are devised spontaneously when a course of events has no predetermined outcome.

I opted to test this approach at my own session, mainly because it appeared novel and presented a break from my usual habits. The results were remarkable, prompting me to reconsider the often-debated balance between pre-determination and randomization in a tabletop session.

A Powerful In-Game Example

In a recent session, my players had just emerged from a city-wide conflict. Later, a player wondered if two key NPCs—a sibling duo—had survived. In place of deciding myself, I handed it over to chance. I asked the player to roll a d20. I defined the outcomes as: a low roll, both were killed; on a 5-9, only one succumbed; on a 10+, they made it.

The die came up a 4. This resulted in a incredibly emotional moment where the party came upon the bodies of their allies, forever clasped together in death. The group conducted funeral rites, which was uniquely powerful due to prior story developments. In a concluding reward, I improvised that the forms were miraculously restored, containing a magical Prayer Bead. By chance, the bead's magical effect was exactly what the party lacked to resolve another critical situation. One just script these kinds of serendipitous coincidences.

Honing DM Agility

This incident caused me to question if chance and thinking on your feet are in fact the core of this game. Although you are a prep-heavy DM, your improvisation muscles may atrophy. Groups reliably find joy in derailing the most carefully laid plots. Therefore, a good DM must be able to adapt swiftly and invent scenarios in the moment.

Utilizing on-the-spot randomization is a fantastic way to train these skills without venturing too far outside your comfort zone. The strategy is to deploy them for minor circumstances that don't fundamentally change the campaign's main plot. For instance, I wouldn't use it to establish if the king's advisor is a traitor. Instead, I might use it to determine whether the PCs arrive moments before a major incident occurs.

Enhancing Collaborative Storytelling

Luck rolls also helps make players feel invested and foster the impression that the adventure is alive, shaping based on their choices immediately. It combats the sense that they are merely characters in a rigidly planned narrative, thereby enhancing the collaborative foundation of storytelling.

This approach has historically been embedded in the core of D&D. The game's roots were reliant on random tables, which suited a game focused on exploration. Even though modern D&D tends to prioritizes narrative and role-play, leading many DMs to feel they need exhaustive notes, this isn't always the best approach.

Achieving the Right Balance

Absolutely nothing wrong with doing your prep. However, equally valid nothing wrong with stepping back and permitting the rolls to guide minor details in place of you. Authority is a big part of a DM's job. We use it to manage the world, yet we frequently find it hard to cede it, even when doing so can lead to great moments.

A piece of recommendation is this: Do not fear of letting go of the reins. Embrace a little improvisation for inconsequential story elements. It may discover that the unexpected outcome is far more memorable than anything you might have scripted on your own.