Keep It Risky Or Lose The Fun
Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of people trying to minimize risk at every turn. They don’t want the risk of failure. They want to roll dice, sure, but they don’t want the dice to really impact the outcome. They want to know they’ll succeed, and they are only rolling because they like the sound they make.
But where is the fun in that? Risk creates fun. Risk is fun. Without risk, there isn’t suspension. There isn’t anticipation. There isnt… fun.
Risky Fun
A popular saying about players and role-playing games is that ‘Players will optimize their fun out of a game’.
Or to put it in another way, players will go to great lengths to make sure that the character they build is the best. You can look up guides for building the strongest character in the world, what spells are the best to take, what are the best way to place your stats, the strongest magic items, and so much more.
Players will go to great lengths to make the best character that they can, with the best spells and magic items, and have the best stats and skills, so much so that rolling a die to get past a DC is pointless. They have made a character that is the best at what it does, but they have not made a character that is fun to play.
They are no longer experiencing the tension of uncertainty or the joy of overcoming a challenge, especially a challenge when the odds are very against them.
Risk is Fun
Think back to your favorite moments in an RPG. Do they come from moments where you were going to succeed no matter what? Or are your favorite moments required strategy, planning, and, dare I say it, risk?
I fondly remember an encounter where my players polymorphed a dragon turtle into a camel, and then chucked the camel off the cliff and into the ocean 300 feet below them. Did they know 100% that they would succeed?
No.
In fact, they were worried that they were wasting their actions and spells on imposing disadvantage on a Wisdom saving throw, casting the spell, grappling the monster, and dragging it across the cliff and over it.
At any point, they could’ve failed. But they took the risk, they knew it would be amazing if it worked out, and it was! They were ecstatic that their risky plan succeeded (less ecstatic when the dragon turtle ate the ship they arrived on the island with).
At the heart of every memorable session lies that element of risk. That element of chance where things could work out in your favor and something amazing happens. Without that risk, there is no suspense, no thrill of victory, and ultimately, no fun.
Keep It Risky
As game masters, we have to be very aware of our players and the strategies that they use. It’s easy to optimize the fun out of a game, which in turn removes the fun of gaming.
Even game masters can fall victim to optimizing the fun, by only making safe challenges, being worried that players won’t solve a puzzle or trap and making it too easy, or ignoring skill checks cause you don’t want to think about what happens if they fail to talk to the dragon.
We must have risk fraught with danger, we need disastrous dilemmas, and to have delightfully dire consequences. The true treasure of any adventure are the risks, and fun, we play with along the way.
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