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When I am a game master, I usually shied away from heavy use of luck during my D&D sessions. My preference was for the plot and what happened in a game to be guided by character actions rather than pure luck. However, I decided to try something different, and I'm truly pleased with the outcome.

The Inspiration: Observing an Improvised Tool

A popular actual-play show utilizes a DM who frequently requests "fate rolls" from the participants. The process entails selecting a type of die and defining possible results tied to the roll. It's essentially no unlike consulting a pre-generated chart, these are created in the moment when a course of events doesn't have a clear resolution.

I decided to try this approach at my own game, primarily because it seemed interesting and provided a change from my normal practice. The outcome were eye-opening, prompting me to think deeply about the often-debated tension between pre-determination and spontaneity in a D&D campaign.

A Powerful Session Moment

In a recent session, my group had concluded a city-wide fight. Later, a cleric character asked about two friendly NPCs—a pair—had survived. In place of choosing an outcome, I let the dice decide. I told the player to make a twenty-sided die roll. I defined the outcomes as: on a 1-4, both would perish; on a 5-9, only one succumbed; on a 10+, they survived.

The player rolled a 4. This led to a incredibly poignant sequence where the party discovered the corpses of their friends, still holding hands in their final moments. The group conducted a ceremony, which was especially significant due to prior story developments. As a final gesture, I improvised that the forms were miraculously restored, revealing a magical Prayer Bead. I rolled for, the bead's contained spell was precisely what the group lacked to address another major quest obstacle. It's impossible to plan these kinds of serendipitous coincidences.

Sharpening On-the-Spot Skills

This event caused me to question if improvisation and making it up are in fact the beating heart of D&D. While you are a meticulously planning DM, your improvisation muscles can rust. Players often take delight in ignoring the most carefully laid plots. Therefore, a good DM has to be able to adapt swiftly and fabricate content in real-time.

Employing on-the-spot randomization is a fantastic way to train these talents without going completely outside your preparation. The strategy is to deploy them for small-scale situations that have a limited impact on the overarching story. For instance, I wouldn't use it to decide if the king's advisor is a traitor. Instead, I would consider using it to figure out whether the characters reach a location just in time to see a critical event unfolds.

Empowering Collaborative Storytelling

Luck rolls also helps make players feel invested and cultivate the sensation that the story is alive, shaping in reaction to their decisions as they play. It prevents the feeling that they are merely actors in a pre-written narrative, thereby bolstering the cooperative aspect of the game.

This approach has always been embedded in the core of D&D. Early editions were reliant on encounter generators, which made sense for a playstyle focused on exploration. While current D&D tends to prioritizes plot-driven play, leading many DMs to feel they must prep extensively, that may not be the best approach.

Striking the Right Balance

Absolutely nothing wrong with being prepared. However, it's also fine no problem with relinquishing control and allowing the rolls to guide minor details rather than you. Authority is a major aspect of a DM's responsibilities. We use it to manage the world, yet we frequently find it hard to cede it, in situations where doing so could be beneficial.

My final recommendation is this: Have no fear of temporarily losing your plan. Try a little improvisation for smaller outcomes. The result could create that the unexpected outcome is significantly more memorable than anything you might have planned by yourself.