Random tables are woven into the very fabric of role-playing games, from the earliest Wandering Monster tables to all of those Appendices in the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide for Dungeon Dressings. There’s not a game out there now that doesn’t have some random tables baked into the character creation process, and entire books full of random tables have become a real thing you can buy in just about any format and configuration for any genre you can think of gaming in. My question for you is, how often do you use random tables?

Personally, I love them, but I know that a lot of people struggle with them, so much so that a few GMs I know don’t bother with them at all. I’m not sure why that is, but I know that in the past, I’ve sometimes avoided using random tables for fear that I was somehow “cheating” as a GM, or not using my creativity to the fullest extent. This is silly, of course, because I’m not writing for myself, nor for the creation of “art” or “commerce.” Rather, I’m coming up with an idea that I can hand over to my players to either utilize, or build upon, or (sometimes) ignore outright. It’s not mine; it’s ours. And random tables aren’t a replacement for original content, either, so why bother using them?

I think there’s a misconception about using random tables, namely, that you put them out in front of you and use them whenever you have to make a decision in the middle of a session. While you certainly can do it that way, it’s not always going to generate a great result. Random tables can add spice to a description, but they can also be a real distraction by giving you an incongruous choice that you somehow have to justify.

I’ve found that the best way to use random tables is beforehand, during prep, when you have all the time in the world to consider your options and sort through several choices. Few things are more daunting than staring at a blank page. You can do anything! Anything at all…no limits…so, um, where exactly do you start?

Roll for inspiration
The number one way I use random tables is when I don’t have any idea how I want to start a scene, an encounter, a story prompt, etc. Having limitless options isn’t helpful. When you put up a few guardrails, you take some of those options away, and it’s almost always easier to create when you have a few parameters in place. Rolling on a random table or two will force your brain to consider a choice—how can you work whatever you just rolled into your story? Exploring all the ways that thing you just generated could fit in may trigger a new, better idea. It may be something you just can’t make work—and then you know to roll again, because you have a better idea of what you don’t want to use, you see?

Roll Whenever You Need a Direction
Maybe you’ve got a great starting idea, but don’t know what the second act looks like. Grab a table or two and roll a couple of options and see how they fit. Roll several times even. If you have no idea what comes next, play around with a random table or two until the idea comes to you. If you don’t like any of the results, think about what you’d rather have there instead. It’s probably the better idea, and you should write it down.

Roll Up Stuff Before the Game
Some random tables or generators require several rolls to create something interesting. If you know you want to use those interesting ideas, roll up several of them before the game begins. Write them down on paper or note cards and keep them handy for when you need, say, an NPC to work the bar at the Boiled Owl, or some merchant to sell your player a length of hempen rope. You can’t have enough randomly generated NPCs ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, because you never know who the players are suddenly going to decide to get into a protracted conversation with. I usually keep a sheet of random names that I will use and cross off as needed, too.

Last Minute Inspiration
Lastly, you can certainly use random tables during a game—but I always do this when the outcome isn’t essential to the plot or the story. Random noises, smells, stains, furniture, and character quirks, for example, aren’t essential plot points, and sometimes I don’t want to have to spend my finite mental resources coming up with curated experiences to dazzle all of the players’ senses. Sometimes I just need a smell as they step off the ship and onto the docks or an appropriate attitude for the guard they’ve just accosted with their impertinent questions.

If I can work it into the story, fine. If I can’t, that’s okay, too. If the players decide to make something out of one or two random details, I will usually let them, making a note of whatever weird-ass idea they decided on, and either use it against them later, or make a callback at a point in the game when it would make them seem very clever. Sometimes, my random results give the players an idea of what they think is happening, and I will then steal that idea and develop it later for them to explore, because all is fair in love, war, and game mastering.

Final Thoughts
Many random tables are full of things that don’t seem very unique or exciting, or maybe aren’t exactly the thing you are wanting. I have no problem crossing off entries on tables that I don’t like and replacing them with better choices for my games, or just writing my own damn random table to begin with. There’s no such thing as a useless prompt. It’s just a prompt you don’t have a good idea for yet. Things that seem tried and true, or cliched, aren’t necessarily that for your players, many of whom won’t share your headspace, and will therefore consider this basic idea to be an act of spontaneous genius on your part. Let them think that, even as you’re copying down that brilliant idea that the bard at the table said in passing that no one else seemed to hear, but that immediately gave you a great idea from their throwaway quip. Use every part of the game session.

And the next time you’re stuck for an idea, start with a random table roll or two and see where that leads you.