this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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I like to roll a d4.
4 - Adlib an outcome that is favorable to them, beyond all reason. With my players, sometimes this just means nothing at all happens. In these cases I'll use anything to make it work out for them, from divine favor, to a key NPC breaking rank "I always loved you guys!"
3 - They achieve what they hoped for, and as many weird (but reasonable) side effects as I can think of also happen.
2 - As little happens as is reasonably possible. Often, with my players, that means just 6d6 fire over a 20ft radius. Often after having whatever they tried misfire first, only to have them try again.
1 - I unpack a nice handful of d12 and roll for blast radius, save DC and damage.
Modified, of course, for the situation.
Specific damage on a 2 or 1 should - like anything they couldn't reasonably prepare for - be attention grabbing, but unlikely to be lethal. A 2 should as anticlimactic as reasonably possible.
I've been going with something similar to this approach, with the number of sides on the die representing probability of successful outcomes.
It makes the game a little more random and a little more fun.