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In my role as a game master, I usually avoided heavy use of chance during my Dungeons & Dragons games. I preferred was for the plot and session development to be shaped by character actions instead of the roll of a die. Recently, I decided to try something different, and I'm very happy with the result.

The Inspiration: Observing a Custom Mechanic

A well-known actual-play show features a DM who often requests "chance rolls" from the adventurers. This involves selecting a polyhedral and assigning possible results tied to the roll. While it's at its core no different from using a random table, these get invented in the moment when a character's decision has no clear resolution.

I chose to experiment with this approach at my own game, primarily because it appeared novel and offered a departure from my normal practice. The experience were eye-opening, prompting me to think deeply about the perennial balance between preparation and improvisation in a D&D campaign.

An Emotional Session Moment

In a recent session, my players had just emerged from a city-wide fight. When the dust settled, a player asked about two key NPCs—a pair—had survived. Instead of picking a fate, I handed it over to chance. I asked the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. I defined the outcomes as: a low roll, both would perish; a middling roll, a single one would die; on a 10+, they made it.

The die came up a 4. This resulted in a profoundly poignant sequence where the characters came upon the bodies of their allies, forever united in their final moments. The group conducted a ceremony, which was particularly meaningful due to prior roleplaying. In a concluding touch, I chose that the forms were strangely restored, containing a enchanted item. By chance, the item's magical effect was exactly what the party lacked to resolve another pressing story problem. You simply script these kinds of serendipitous moments.

Honing On-the-Spot Skills

This event caused me to question if chance and making it up are truly the beating heart of D&D. Even if you are a meticulously planning DM, your improvisation muscles can rust. Players often excel at ignoring the best constructed narratives. Therefore, a skilled DM needs to be able to think quickly and create content on the fly.

Using on-the-spot randomization is a fantastic way to train these abilities without going completely outside your comfort zone. The strategy is to deploy them for low-stakes situations that don't fundamentally change the overarching story. For instance, I would avoid using it to decide if the central plot figure is a secret enemy. Instead, I could use it to figure out whether the characters reach a location just in time to see a major incident occurs.

Enhancing Shared Narrative

This technique also works to keep players engaged and foster the feeling that the game world is responsive, progressing based on their choices in real-time. It reduces the sense that they are merely pawns in a pre-written script, thereby bolstering the shared aspect of storytelling.

This approach has long been integral to the original design. The game's roots were enamored with charts, which fit a game focused on dungeon crawling. Although contemporary D&D frequently prioritizes story and character, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, it's not necessarily the required method.

Striking the Sweet Spot

Absolutely no problem with thorough preparation. Yet, there is also no problem with stepping back and permitting the dice to decide some things instead of you. Control is a major part of a DM's job. We need it to manage the world, yet we can be reluctant to give some up, even when doing so might improve the game.

My final recommendation is this: Don't be afraid of letting go of the reins. Embrace a little improvisation for minor story elements. The result could discover that the surprising result is significantly more powerful than anything you might have pre-written in advance.