I generally don’t like to lose. In fact, I can be pretty competitive when it comes down to it. I feel good whenever I’m able to succeed, especially in the face of obstacles and opposition. But in the last few years of gaming I’ve done, I’ve developed a strong appreciation for failure in tabletop RPGs.
It seems counterintuitive, I know. Failing, by definition, means you don’t get the outcome you wanted. Why would anyone enjoy falling short? I’ve played at many a table, and I’m sad to say that I’ve witnessed more than one game sessions come to an abrupt halt over failure; either because someone failed a roll that was needed to move the game forward, or because someone was otherwise unhappy with the outcome of their roll. It’s a shame, because these sorts of issues are easy to prevent, and generally stem from the table forgetting why we roll. Specifically, before anyone breaks out the dice to resolve a situation, they should make sure that the situation meets two important criteria: first, that the outcome of an action is uncertain; secondly, there are interesting consequences for failure. If one or both of those preceding statements are false, then the dice should stay in the bag. It isn’t time for them yet. The situation should be roleplayed out, or just handwaved for sake of moving the story forward.
When you remain mindful of why we roll, you also realize that failure isn’t so bad. Sure, you didn’t get what you want, but your failure now creates an interesting development in the story moving forward – after all, the consequences of failure are supposed to be interesting. Maybe you failed to pick a lock. It’s not the end of the world. Maybe the guards heard your pathetic attempt at breaking and entering, and an exciting chase and/or combat scene ensues. Or maybe your lockpick breaks, and a piece of it rolls into a crack in the floor, revealing a loose stone that covers a secret passageway – it sure is dark down there, and did I just hear a growl?!
Additionally, failure can be a great way to highlight the competency and awesomeness of other members of your group. Your Rogue failed to pick the lock? Well now the Fighter has the opportunity to shine and break down the door with one mighty kick; maybe the Bard can do his best impersonation of the guard’s grandma dropping off some lunch, and then ambushes the guard when he opens the door for Granny. Whatever. One of the goals everyone at the table should have is to help everyone look awesome. One PC’s failure is the perfect chance for another PC’s character to succeed awesomely. Don’t waste that opportunity!
Failure should almost never feel like a bad thing. When the GM and players are working together to make each story development as fun and awesome as possible, everyone should have a good time. This should remain true even with PC death(s) as a consequence for failure. As a quick aside, I strongly urge all GMs out there to make sure that the possibility of death be made apparent before the PCs lose their chance to avoid a deadly situation. That being said, as long as the GM and players are coordinating, they can ensure that PC deaths are resolved in a way that makes them meaningful/powerful and satisfactory to the player(s) affected.
If everyone is only having fun when they’re succeeding, you may want to have a group discussion and figure out why that is; chances are that the group is missing opportunities to move the story forward in interesting ways. It might take some practice, but once the group starts enjoying their failures, things should really get cooking. After all, failure should be fun!
Do you have thoughts or questions about the article or suggestions for future content? Leave a comment below or drop me a line at jtdimino@d20radio.com.
J.T. Dimino
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