Player influence on the setting & GM dice rolling trends

Greetings from somewhere inside the infinite expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.

There's been a trend in the last few year - or longer? I'm honestly not sure - to make the GM's side of playing RPGs more 'lightweight' and streamlined, putting more of the focus on the players and giving them a greater influence in helping to build the world they are playing in. Some games even put the dice rolling in the hands of the players in order to free up the GM to focus more on the storytelling.

Generally speaking I am ok with this. Though I am not sure I understand it fully. As a GM, I am generally able to focus on the storytelling anyway. The rolling of dice has never really struck me as something that detracts from that. Though others might view it differently, of course. To me, it just feels like a natural part of it, that the GM rolls for the NPCs etc.

Then again, I fully agree that dice rolling should NEVER get in the way of the storytelling. Generally speaking, unless it actually matters you don't really need to roll dice for it. I am not going to make my players roll dice for walking down the street or do something that is routine for them unless there are external factors - like stress, gunfire, slippery surfaces, jumping over a chasm, or other things - that warrants them actually making rolls.

Having players be part of the world-building process through the medium of their characters is also something that feels kind of natural to me. It generally helps to build a fantastic world in the end, that will be more memorable to all due to the natural connection that the players, and their characters, feel to the world having had a part in shaping it. Also as a GM I find that it can be beneficial as it helps bring the world to life and someone else might think of something cool that you didn't think about. Only thing to keep an eye on is really to make sure that what they, the players, want to put into the world actually fits with the setting. If you can't justify a giant mech in your fantasy setting, don't put it in just because a player thinks it would be cool. Just saying. Then again, you might be able to re-flavour it into something that could fit a bit better. Taking the mech from the example above you might be able to re-flavour it into a golem or magical construct of some sort. In the end, you as a GM have the final say, and responsibility, to make it all fit together.

If you haven't tried letting your players have a say in the world-building, I would recommend it. At least give it a try and see what you think.

Granted, I don't always do that either. I think it depends a bit on who the players are, and also some projects you want full control as a GM. For example, I am not going to let the players help me design a dungeon for a dungeon crawl. I want it to be a surprise and give them the full experience of the dungeon crawl.

I think player influence is good, but I am personally not convinced by the whole 'putting all the dice rolling in the hands of the players' thing. Granted, there are games out there who does it really well and have a well thought out system and mechanics for it. I enjoy those as well, but I think my preference will always be for the GM to be able to roll dice as well. If that makes me 'old school' by today's standards, then so be it.

Nothing can make the players nervous like the GM suddenly rolling a few dice, silently nod to him- or herself, and then continue on with the storytelling as if nothing had happened.

Then again, to each their own. I would highly recommend you try a few different systems out to see what kind of system you and your players like best. That goes regardless of whether you are relatively new to the whole tabeltop roleplaying thing, or if you have played for years but mostly stuck to the same small group of games. Nothing wrong with the latter, but it can always be good to try and experience new things.

Until we meet again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.