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In my role as a Dungeon Master, I usually steered clear of extensive use of chance during my D&D games. I preferred was for story direction and session development to be determined by deliberate decisions as opposed to random chance. Recently, I chose to alter my method, and I'm truly glad I did.

The Catalyst: Observing an Improvised Tool

A popular streamed game features a DM who often asks for "chance rolls" from the participants. He does this by selecting a type of die and outlining consequences based on the roll. While it's fundamentally no unlike using a random table, these get invented in the moment when a character's decision doesn't have a clear outcome.

I decided to try this method at my own session, mostly because it seemed interesting and presented a departure from my normal practice. The results were eye-opening, prompting me to reconsider the perennial dynamic between pre-determination and randomization in a D&D campaign.

A Powerful In-Game Example

In a recent session, my players had just emerged from a massive battle. Later, a player inquired after two key NPCs—a brother and sister—had lived. Rather than deciding myself, I asked for a roll. I told 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; on a 10+, they both lived.

Fate decreed a 4. This led to a profoundly moving scene where the characters came upon the bodies of their friends, still united in death. The group performed funeral rites, which was especially significant due to prior story developments. In a concluding touch, I decided that the forms were strangely restored, showing a magical Prayer Bead. I randomized, the bead's magical effect was perfectly what the group lacked to solve another critical story problem. It's impossible to orchestrate these kinds of perfect coincidences.

Improving On-the-Spot Skills

This incident made me wonder if randomization and spontaneity are actually the beating heart of D&D. Although you are a meticulously planning DM, your skill to pivot need exercise. Adventurers reliably excel at upending the best constructed plots. Therefore, a effective DM needs to be able to think quickly and fabricate content on the fly.

Using luck rolls is a fantastic way to develop these abilities without going completely outside your usual style. The trick is to use them for minor decisions that have a limited impact on the overarching story. To illustrate, I would avoid using it to determine if the king's advisor is a traitor. But, I would consider using it to decide if the party reach a location right after a major incident occurs.

Strengthening Shared Narrative

Luck rolls also works to keep players engaged and create the feeling that the adventure is dynamic, evolving according to their choices in real-time. It prevents the feeling that they are merely characters in a rigidly planned narrative, thereby strengthening the cooperative foundation of roleplaying.

This approach has long been embedded in the game's DNA. Original D&D were enamored with encounter generators, which suited a playstyle focused on exploration. While current D&D often prioritizes story and character, leading many DMs to feel they must prep extensively, that may not be the only path.

Achieving the Sweet Spot

Absolutely nothing wrong with doing your prep. But, there is also nothing wrong with letting go and letting the whim of chance to decide some things rather than you. Direction is a major part of a DM's job. We need it to manage the world, yet we can be reluctant to cede it, at times when doing so could be beneficial.

My final recommendation is this: Don't be afraid of relinquishing a bit of control. Try a little chance for minor story elements. It may discover that the unexpected outcome is significantly more powerful than anything you would have pre-written in advance.