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As a Dungeon Master, I usually avoided significant use of luck during my tabletop roleplaying adventures. I tended was for narrative flow and what happened in a game to be shaped by character actions instead of pure luck. That said, I decided to try something different, and I'm very pleased with the outcome.

The Spark: Watching an Improvised Tool

A popular actual-play show showcases a DM who often requests "chance rolls" from the adventurers. The process entails picking a type of die and outlining potential outcomes tied to the result. This is essentially no unlike consulting a pre-generated chart, these get invented spontaneously when a course of events lacks a obvious conclusion.

I decided to try this technique at my own table, mostly because it looked novel and provided a change from my normal practice. The results were fantastic, prompting me to reconsider the often-debated dynamic between planning and improvisation in a roleplaying game.

An Emotional Story Beat

During one session, my group had concluded a city-wide fight. When the dust settled, a player asked about two friendly NPCs—a sibling duo—had survived. Rather than choosing an outcome, I handed it over to chance. I instructed the player to roll a d20. The stakes were: a low roll, both were killed; on a 5-9, only one would die; on a 10+, they both lived.

Fate decreed a 4. This led to a incredibly moving moment where the party came upon the corpses of their allies, still holding hands in death. The party performed a ceremony, which was uniquely significant due to earlier story developments. As a parting gesture, I chose that the forms were strangely restored, showing a spell-storing object. I randomized, the bead's contained spell was perfectly what the party required to address another major story problem. One just script this type of magical coincidences.

Sharpening Your Improvisation

This incident made me wonder if improvisation and thinking on your feet are actually the beating heart of D&D. While you are a meticulously planning DM, your ability to adapt need exercise. Adventurers reliably take delight in derailing the most carefully laid plans. Therefore, a skilled DM needs to be able to think quickly and invent content in the moment.

Employing luck rolls is a great way to practice these abilities without venturing too far outside your usual style. The strategy is to deploy them for low-stakes situations that don't fundamentally change the campaign's main plot. To illustrate, I would avoid using it to determine if the king's advisor is a traitor. However, I might use it to determine if the PCs enter a room moments before a key action takes place.

Strengthening Player Agency

Spontaneous randomization also works to maintain tension and cultivate the sensation that the adventure is dynamic, evolving based on their actions as they play. It prevents the feeling that they are merely actors in a DM's sole narrative, thereby strengthening the cooperative nature of roleplaying.

This philosophy has long been part of the core of D&D. The game's roots were enamored with charts, which made sense for a playstyle focused on treasure hunting. Although modern D&D frequently prioritizes story and character, leading many DMs to feel they need exhaustive notes, that may not be the required method.

Striking the Sweet Spot

There is absolutely nothing wrong with thorough preparation. But, 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 role. We require it to run the game, yet we often struggle 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 control. Try a little randomness for minor details. You might just discover that the surprising result is significantly more powerful than anything you would have pre-written on your own.