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Dice in RPGs are part of the fun and a player at the table for me. The cheers of excitement when someone rolls natural 20 or the groans from the table when  critical fumbles happen become unpredictable moments to help the stories at the table.

I feel like the dice at the table are another player in the game. They add randomness and chaos to the game, the part no one can predict. It is also why as the Dungeon Master I don’t believe in fudging the dice. I love the unpredictability of not knowing what is going to happen.

The story we create happens when we are done with the game. It’s a combination of the choices we make as players, the world the DuM creates and lays out for the players and the randomness that the dice inject into the game all coming together to tell a story. Some of the most memorable moments at our tables have come from the dice rolls.

Dice are a super important part of these wonderful games we play. As players and Game Masters we have control over so many parts of the game, but we do not have control over the dice. We might be able to buy dice that look cool or we can get dice we think are lucky, but the dice represent the random and the lack of control, no matter what type of tabletop roleplaying game you play.

There are so many great styles and materials for dice. Some players have a true love of the dice while others see they are just a tool and a necessary part of the game. They control the random aspects of the game. Whether we are using a random roll chart or just seeing if an attempt is successful, we need to roll the dice.

With all of that, we see artwork and miniatures featuring dice so what if we take dice in a new direction? What if we take these dice we love so much and incorporate them into the game? In my games, I love playing with pocket dimensions and alternate planes of existence. What if there was a plane populated by dice people? There are miniature companies that create people basically made of dice. What if this was the norm where they come from? Enter the plane of Randomonium. You get to take the characters out of the comfort zone and create new cultures and new creatures. The dice we love can be used as scatter to decorate the terrain.

I have lots of ideas for dice related craft projects, I have even made a dice golem. I bought a bunch of standard d6s and glued them together in the shape of a monster. It is rather silly but it is a unique creation until someone replicates it anyway. So Randomoinum could be a place with all new races, monsters and maybe even subclasses dedicated to dice. Let me know if that is something you would like to see Nerdarchy create.

We are back from PAX Unplugged now and getting back into the groove, which means getting this newsletter done for y’all. I’d planned on doing this before the convention in Philly even got started but a series of setbacks during travel kept me from it. And isn’t that the way it always goes? You set out with a plan but the random circumstances of life steer the course of events in unexpected directions.

Sometimes when we drop the ball on something in real life RPG nerds will say they failed their check on that one, which of course brings to mind the subject of this week’s newsletter — dice. What does that really mean? When I set out for Philly, did I know in advance there was only a chance I’d succeed at keeping up with the daily tasks we perform to keep the Nerdarchy wheels turning? A terrific video from YouTuber Lindybeige suggests an alternative to what rolling dice during RPG play means. Die-rolling in RPGs – what does it actually mean? Presents a way of looking at dice rolls from a different perspective and watching it a few several ago profoundly affected the way I think about rolling dice.

Imagine this: the metaphysical Nerditor Doug headed to PAX Unplugged with the knowledge I could reasonably achieve my goal. But in the moment, circumstances surrounding the action changed. To reflect this, instead of determining if my effort to succeed paid off the dice roll represents the scenario itself. Was traveling to Philly and dealing with random challenges the sort of situation I could overcome?

The difference is subtle but what Lindybeige describes, and I quite enjoy, is the idea of dice rolls creating a procedural environment. When players roll dice they’re collaborating to create the world around their character. This concept informs a big part of my outlook on being a Dungeon Master. It’s why I describe a DM’s role as a guide to help the players tell the story of their characters.

Applying this perspective to adventure or encounter preparation gives me a lot of wiggle room to discover where a story goes alongside the players, which is a lot of fun for me. When I present a clue, challenge, environment, NPC or whatever to the players, I like to keep things very open-ended. It will be up to the players and their dice rolls to complete the picture.

Is the cypher the kind of puzzle their character could unravel? Are the ruffians in the dark alley the sort of adversaries the party can overcome? When a natural hazard blocks their path, is it one they can pass or will they need to circumvent the obstacle, costing precious time? The new NPC a party encounters might be the sort to become a fast friend, or a faster enemy.

In all those cases, it falls to the players and their dice rolls to add the finishing touches. This is one of the reasons I tend to call for lots of dice rolls during games. Very often I directly call on individual players to make a dice roll, whether they’re particularly capable in the task or not. This way it gives the player an opportunity to collaborate with me and ascertain the details together.

As an added bonus, making dice rolls with this perspective helps with character development too. When I ask Brett to make a Wisdom (Survival) roll while the party sets up camp for the night, the goal isn’t for Beklin the paladin to do his special thing and forage for food. Rather, it’s a chance to explore whether these particular circumstances are the sort where Beklin can shine.

In that example, Beklin is not particularly skilled in Survival but the other characters were busy and he wanted to help. The player rolled really high, and I asked him to describe how he was so successful. Brett came up with a story about Beklin’s days as a squire and how his small company got caught in a precarious situation in terrain just like where the party was in our game. He remembered how a ranger with them managed to forage for enough sustenance to wait out the danger.

So, next time you roll the dice in your D&D game, or wonder why an unskilled character should even have a shot at succeeding on a task they might be totally unsuited for on paper, remember how the dice can become a storytelling and worldbuilding tool. The question isn’t whether a character can accomplish the task, but instead whether the task is one this particular character can overcome.

Until next time, stay nerdy

— Nerdarchy Team