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When I am a game master, I usually shied away from significant use of chance during my D&D sessions. I preferred was for narrative flow and session development to be shaped by player choice rather than random chance. However, I chose to change my approach, and I'm incredibly happy with the result.

The Catalyst: Seeing an Improvised Tool

A popular actual-play show features a DM who regularly calls for "chance rolls" from the participants. He does this by selecting a type of die and defining consequences contingent on the number. This is fundamentally no different from consulting a pre-generated chart, these are created in the moment when a character's decision doesn't have a predetermined outcome.

I opted to test this approach at my own game, primarily because it seemed interesting and offered a break from my standard routine. The results were eye-opening, prompting me to reconsider the often-debated tension between preparation and randomization in a tabletop session.

A Memorable In-Game Example

At a session, my group had concluded a large-scale fight. When the dust settled, a cleric character inquired after two friendly NPCs—a pair—had made it. Instead of deciding myself, I let the dice decide. I told the player to roll a d20. The possible results were: a low roll, both would perish; on a 5-9, only one succumbed; a high roll, they survived.

Fate decreed a 4. This led to a profoundly moving moment where the adventurers came upon the remains of their allies, forever united in their final moments. The party performed a ceremony, which was uniquely meaningful due to earlier character interactions. In a concluding reward, I improvised that the forms were strangely transformed, containing a magical Prayer Bead. I randomized, the item's magical effect was precisely what the party lacked to address another critical story problem. It's impossible to plan such serendipitous moments.

Honing DM Agility

This incident led me to ponder if chance and making it up are in fact the core of this game. While you are a detail-oriented DM, your skill to pivot need exercise. Players reliably take delight in upending the best constructed plots. Therefore, a skilled DM must be able to pivot effectively and invent content in the moment.

Employing on-the-spot randomization is a excellent way to practice these skills without straying too much outside your usual style. The trick is to deploy them for small-scale decisions that don't fundamentally change the session's primary direction. As an example, I would not employ it to establish if the king's advisor is a secret enemy. Instead, I might use it to determine if the characters enter a room right after a major incident takes place.

Enhancing Collaborative Storytelling

Spontaneous randomization also helps keep players engaged and foster the impression that the game world is responsive, evolving according to their decisions immediately. It reduces the feeling that they are merely pawns in a rigidly planned narrative, thereby bolstering the shared foundation of storytelling.

This approach has long been integral to the core of D&D. Early editions were filled with random tables, which fit a game focused on dungeon crawling. While contemporary D&D often prioritizes narrative and role-play, leading many DMs to feel they need exhaustive notes, it's not necessarily the required method.

Achieving the Right Balance

There is absolutely no problem with being prepared. However, equally valid no problem with stepping back and permitting the rolls to guide minor details rather than you. Direction is a major aspect of a DM's role. We use it to manage the world, yet we often struggle to give some up, in situations where doing so could be beneficial.

The core recommendation is this: Have no fear of temporarily losing your plan. Embrace a little improvisation for minor story elements. You might just create that the organic story beat is far more rewarding than anything you could have planned on your own.