Failure IS an option. Part 2 - Players
At the heart of it Dungeons and Dragons is a game and as such we can fail or succeed. Here’s how to embrace the chaos of failure.
First of all you are going to have to accept that your character will not always be successful; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but something you will have to come to terms with. With this in mind DON’T FUDGE DICE ROLLS. It is pretty obvious to the Dungeon Master and the players around you so just don’t do it. When you fudge a dice roll you are over-ruling the game mechanics and this leads to some unfortunate outcomes. Socially you are saying that your character is more important to you than the shared rules that everyone else is playing by, you are exempt from the failure because of your feelings towards your character and doesn’t that sound a little selfish? This may not be your intent but this is an outcome of these behaviours. Also if I were fudging rolls then I’d feel like my character’s greatest achievements were diminished somewhat when I do roll well.
If you do fail on a skill check out of combat turn it into a role-playing opportunity or at least give your other players a glimpse of your character’s personality or past. Say your character fails on their History Check on a Noble house’s rise to power and influence you could either have your character ‘zone out’ and think of something completely different or they cast their minds back to the point in school when they were supposed to be learning about it and you were staring at your childhood crush instead of paying attention. Role-playing games aren’t just statistics and dice rolls it’s also the interplay between the characters and the non-player characters, it’s like the ole adage says: it’s the journey not the destination.
Failure can be the best thing to happen to you if you handle it a positive manner. As a player my Bard Fylgir failed to hit a rat in the final room of a maze for FOUR straight turns, this was early on in our campaign and the players and characters bonded over it. This rat now has his own backstory and is now King of the Rats of Waterdeep. We all laughed in disbelief as my dice stopped on the table in the low single digits or when the rat made it’s wisdom saving throws, Fylgir’s father was watching him from the stands and shook his head disapprovingly at him once they left the maze. In game my adventuring party now got to know my family dynamic and what Fylgir truly wanted: his father’s approval. None of this would have happened if I had succeeded, so failure can be fun and important if you or your group give it purpose.
A physical check failure is slightly different in that it can put you into a risky or even harmful situation. Again don’t be afraid to let the dice decide what happens here as the game has preventative or restorative mechanics in place to help you. There’s Inspiration, a Bard can inspire you and add to your rolls and a Cleric can Bless you too. If you get hurt then the spell casting classes can heal you up or you can just take a rest and use your hit dice. In the gravest of situations there’s the Revivify or Resurrection spells so stay on the good side of your cleric or go to the local temple with a diamond worth 1000 GP and you’ll be on your feet in no time! Dying isn’t necessarily the end and can provide a little side adventure for your party to go on.
Sometimes the story you are experiencing needs failure. A character truly knows themselves when they fall and then summon the strength to pull themselves up again. Your story will never be 100% successes and neither should it. Failure breaks up the monotony of the narrative and can shake your group out of a funk bringing jeopardy back into your adventure. Trust that your Dungeon Master knows what they are doing and enjoy overcoming the challenge put in front of you.
If you have any great failures at your table then share them in the comments section below.
May you roll well (and if not role-play well)!
