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When I am a Dungeon Master, I usually steered clear of extensive use of chance during my Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I tended was for the plot and what happened in a game to be determined by character actions rather than pure luck. That said, I chose to try something different, and I'm incredibly pleased with the outcome.

The Inspiration: Seeing 'Luck Rolls'

A popular actual-play show utilizes a DM who often calls for "fate rolls" from the adventurers. The process entails selecting a polyhedral and assigning consequences contingent on the result. While it's at its core no unlike using a pre-generated chart, these are devised on the spot when a player's action doesn't have a clear conclusion.

I opted to test this approach at my own table, mainly because it seemed interesting and provided a change from my normal practice. The experience were fantastic, prompting me to reflect on the often-debated balance between pre-determination and randomization in a tabletop session.

A Powerful Session Moment

At a session, my players had survived a large-scale battle. When the dust settled, a cleric character inquired after two friendly NPCs—a brother and sister—had lived. Rather than deciding myself, I handed it over to chance. I told the player to roll a d20. The stakes were: a low roll, both were killed; a middling roll, a single one succumbed; a high roll, they made it.

The player rolled a 4. This triggered a incredibly emotional scene where the adventurers came upon the bodies of their friends, forever clasped together in death. The group held a ceremony, which was uniquely meaningful due to earlier character interactions. As a parting touch, I improvised that the forms were suddenly restored, containing a magical Prayer Bead. I rolled for, the item's magical effect was perfectly what the group needed to solve another pressing story problem. One just script these kinds of magical moments.

Sharpening DM Agility

This event caused me to question if chance and making it up are in fact the essence of this game. While you are a meticulously planning DM, your skill to pivot may atrophy. Players reliably excel at derailing the best constructed narratives. Therefore, a good DM needs to be able to adapt swiftly and create scenarios on the fly.

Utilizing similar mechanics is a fantastic way to train these talents without straying too much outside your comfort zone. The strategy is to use them for small-scale circumstances that won't drastically alter the campaign's main plot. For instance, I would not employ it to establish if the king's advisor is a secret enemy. However, I might use it to decide if the party enter a room right after a critical event takes place.

Strengthening Player Agency

Luck rolls also serves to keep players engaged and cultivate the sensation that the adventure is responsive, evolving according to their actions as they play. It prevents the perception that they are merely pawns in a rigidly planned story, thereby strengthening the cooperative nature of roleplaying.

This philosophy has always been integral to the original design. The game's roots were enamored with charts, which suited a playstyle focused on dungeon crawling. Although modern D&D tends to emphasizes narrative and role-play, leading many DMs to feel they require detailed plans, that may not be the best approach.

Striking the Sweet Spot

Absolutely no problem with doing your prep. But, equally valid nothing wrong with relinquishing control and allowing the rolls to decide some things rather than you. Authority is a major factor in a DM's responsibilities. We require it to run the game, yet we can be reluctant to give some up, in situations where doing so can lead to great moments.

A piece of recommendation is this: Have no fear of temporarily losing your plan. Embrace a little improvisation for smaller details. You might just create that the organic story beat is significantly more memorable than anything you would have planned in advance.