Guest Author - Jay Shaffstall
When I first started GMing, it was using the Dungeons & Dragons boxed set.
My GMing style grew out of reading the sample adventures in the boxed set, and purchasing modules to go along with the second edition rules I eventually bought. Adventures in those days were very deterministic and static.
Dice rolls were simply an indicator of how well a character performed, or failed to perform, an action. They didn't affect the underlying reality of the adventure itself.
These days, I favor an approach I've started calling quantum GMing.
One of the most puzzling aspects of quantum physics is the idea of the observer effect. Whether you think it actually happens or not, the idea isn't too hard to understand (the why is well beyond the scope of this article). Before an event is observed, all possible outcomes for that event exist. When an event is observed, one of those possible outcomes is randomly chosen and the event is said to "collapse" into a single state.
How does this relate to GMing?
In a typical deterministic style, if a character is searching for traps and the player rolls badly, the character doesn't find a trap. That outcome doesn't affect the character's ability to search again (some systems have rules for retries, others don't, but the idea is the same).
Under quantum GMing, the failed roll itself determines the reality of the character's observations. Let's say that the character failed very badly. That character is now absolutely convinced there are no traps, and cannot recheck the room. The result has become their reality. There might very well be a trap present, but the player cannot simply continue to roll to find it.
A mild failure might simply carry a penalty on the next try to find traps, due to the character's belief that there are no traps.
Another example: in a modern setting, a character is trying to throw a container of gasoline on a monster. On a critical fumble, the gasoline simply must go all over the character. But reality needs to be reworked slightly to account for it. Perhaps they hit the container on the top of a door jamb with an overhand swing. However you account for it, this implies where the character is located, some of the scenery, etc.
Luck rolls are great to use in this way, as reality modifiers. A character really needs a sword, and is searching the room to find one. You didn't put a sword in that room, but then again it's the sort of room that might have a sword. Use a luck roll to see if the room does in fact have a sword. A failed roll doesn't just mean that the room doesn't have sword, but implies something about the sort of room it is. If it doesn't have a sword, it isn't likely to have a halberd tucked away somewhere. If the room is an anonymous bedroom on your map, it's just now become the bedroom of a peace loving cleric, perhaps.
Keep track of these sorts of reality modifiers, and work them back into the ongoing game. Your players will enjoy the experience all the more.
