By: Joe Gaylord (LabLazarus)
“We have so many collaborators, each character is written by a different author, and one of the biggest collaborators, if not the biggest collaborator, is NON-SENTIENT! It’s a pile of plastic shapes!” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ45C37ji7u/?igsh=MWtjZWoxYWhzaGo5Yg%3D%3D)
This video from Brennan Lee Mulligan felt explosive in terms of how to describe a TTRPG. I had not considered framing dice (or whatever randomizer your preferred game system uses) as a co-author before, but that understanding has a lot of benefits in terms of thinking about the process of running a game. Obviously, Brennan is using it to describe the importance of session zero, but thinking about Brennan professionally, there’s something more interesting to me.
Brennan is an actor and improviser by background and training. That has a lot of known benefits for GMs and players in terms of collaborative storytelling and ensemble gameplay. Maybe there is a further hidden benefit of those same skills, letting him work more successfully with his “non-sentient co-authors” as well. I would propose that certain improv skills, when applied to your dice, have enormous potential to elevate your GMing.
Yes, And…
This is probably the most famous rule of improvisation. If someone gives you a premise, you are obliged to agree with it and build on it. If the scene is on vacation and one actor says that you’re in Italy, you can’t respond with “no, we’re in Japan”. You can say where in Italy, you might even lead the scene to a realization that you’re just in an Italian restaurant in New Jersey, but you can’t say “no”.
This applies to dice in the sense that if you get a result on a die roll, that should be fundamentally true. Your job as a GM (and a player) is to accept die rolls and build them into the narrative. Part of this is being prepared for things to go awry, PCs may die, players can fail checks to open doors or solve puzzles, enemies can successfully bluff, or random tables can pull up encounters the party isn’t ready for. This means you need to be ready with alternatives and contingencies, and that failure and death should be included in the session zero discussions.
Two key pieces of advice that “yes, and” reinforces are not to fudge rolls, and not to call for a roll unless there’s a chance of success or failure. Fudging rolls is controversial, but overall, it cheapens victories while making defeats more bitter. While it can have a place, it should at least be kept to a minimum. Calling for rolls where the task should be impossible to fail at or impossible to succeed at is simply frustrating for everyone at the table, as it sets up moments where someone walking across a room somehow fails or somehow manages to swim up a waterfall. If you’re not prepared to “yes, and” the roll, no matter the result, don’t ask for it.
Make Strong Choices
Another principle of improvisation is to make strong choices whenever you can. Part of improv is seeking chances to be funny and dramatic. To that end, when confronted with options, you want to make a choice that is specific, well-reasoned, and interesting. Specific means that you are making a single choice and sticking to it, rather than waffling or keeping options open. Well-reasoned means that the choice is grounded in the rest of the scene and makes sense for the character. Interesting means that the choice is unique and ideally unexpected while supporting the tone of the scene overall.
Applying strong choices to dice seems challenging. After all, the nature of dice is that you’re not making a choice. However, you should make strong choices based on the result of the dice. TTRPG combat can start to feel like a game of Yahtzee at times, especially when the narrative turns into “15, I hit. 3 damage. 7, I miss. 13, does that hit?” Instead of just numbers and mechanics, use strong choices to make the dice talk. Add a narrative that is specific, well-reasoned, and interesting. 15 isn’t just a hit, it’s a cunning riposte by the swashbuckler. The 7 isn’t just a miss; it’s a thrown dagger that glanced off the pillar between you and clattered across the room. (I have two whole articles on this! https://rpgcounterpoint.com/2025/08/12/a-red-day-creating-cinematic-fights-in-ttrpgs-part-1-combat-as-storytelling/) This extends to other checks, too. A success at gambling results in a seemingly miraculous run of luck, and a failure at detecting lies includes the cunning NPC giving a wink that the players cannot interpret in the midst of a story.
Match Energy
Finally, good improv actors match the energy of their ensemble. They get a feel for the tone, rhythm, and flow of a scene and use that to define their choices as they perform. Sensing the energy of a scene partner is a key empathic exercise, and it’s part of what makes improv look effortless when done well.
With dice, this combines a bit of the points about strong choices and “yes, and”. While you’re playing, you want to feel the story that the dice are telling by connecting the narrative with the outcomes. Finding the story in the randomness is an exercise in pattern finding and narrative. A series of failed rolls by the rogue might be someone who didn’t sleep well, or who is nervous and fidgety. Maybe this is so important that she can’t keep her hands from shaking until (a success!) she focuses and pulls through in the clutch.
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Improv is a talent, but it is also a skill. You need to study it. You need to practice it. A key part of improvisation, whether with people or with dice, is the art form of making it look natural and effortless, and that only comes from enormous effort and preparation ahead of time.
One element of this preparation is having a strong ensemble with a clear voice. Actors who know each other, who trust each other, and who are on the same page will be consistently more successful. This speaks to Brennan’s point about a session zero. Your table needs to have buy-in regarding tone, style, and goals. While this sounds purely narrative, it matters a lot to mechanics and the system. Ludonarrative dissonance, the misalignment of game mechanics and story, can ruin a game in hidden ways.
So, bring your dice to session zero. Make sure your ruleset supports the tone, style, and goals your group wants from the game.
Another element of preparation is study. First, there is direct study. Improv actors read books and take classes. That’s what you’re doing here as a GM, good job, keep it up. READ MORE OF MY ARTICLES, PLEASE!!! There is an array of great books, videos, podcasts, and more on GMing, and seeking them out will make you better. Secondly, improv benefits actors with a wide knowledge and background, and part of studying is just consuming culture voraciously and omnivorously. Because you never know what prompt, suggestion, or interaction will come next, you need to have exposure to as many things as possible to know the references being made. If someone suggests that you should do a scene in the style of Wes Anderson, but you’ve never seen his movies, you will flop.
So, prepare by engaging with media from your genre and beyond. If you’re playing a horror game, watch horror movies, if you’re playing fantasy, read Lord of the Rings. Be prepared to pick up those references.
The last preparation for doing improv is doing improv. The best preparation for GMing is GMing. Whether you are playing the game yourself or watching it played, repetition, practice, and experience are the best ways to get better. (Other than my articles, of course.)
And… Scene!
I hope you’ve gotten some ideas on how to embrace your non-sentient co-authors as improvisational partners. If you can better “yes, and” your dice, you’ll have a story that feels more cohesive. If you make strong choices based on them, the drama and energy will improve. If you can match their energy, you’ll strengthen the story you’re telling and make better sense of success and failure. All of it takes preparation and practice. These are skills that you learn over time from a range of sources. The best GMs are like a duck, they look calm on the surface, but paddle like hell underneath. But with time (and good advice), the paddling gets easier, the surface looks smoother, and your game gets better.
About the Author
Joseph Gaylord has been playing TTRPGs and TCGs for 25 years, with almost 50 titles to his name on DMsGuild as an author, co-author, or contributor. He is on most social media as LabLazarus.
Leave a Reply