Does anyone book purely by the dice?

[stu]

(I want to preface my remarks by saying that there is NO right or wrong way to play this wonderful game of ours. Just wanted to see if others might be experiencing what I'm currently experiencing with the game).

After having (pretty much) finished up on the booking strategy edition of our beloved Roll Up podcast, and hearing the great discussion by Cory Olson , Sam Fain , Mike M , and Tournament Master , it got me to thinking about the myriad ways we all can play this game.

I loved the discussion about how Cory's USWA is booked, just a great model of how to run a fed. In the discussion about long-term booking versus taking what the dice give you and booking from that, well, it made me wonder how many promoters actually book purely by the dice ( Pariah , I'm looking at you ). I have to admit, I'm almost booking purely by dice rolls these days, as I book feuds around match results (i.e., what the dice give me). I mean, I do match up wrestlers I at least hope to see have some heat between them, but more and more, I'm just going with what the dice give me.

It can lead to some...um....different results, to be sure, as Scion Nexus, Aegis, and Perfect Specimen (and to a lesser extent, even Quasar) are emerging in my world as all-time greats in my GWF, as I've gone with what the dice have given me. But, I'm really enjoying it, as its become fun to use creativity around the dice results, and book from there (without nearly as much long-term booking by me...not a good or bad thing, just different for me).

Would love to hear from you folks if you're so inclined. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback, and keep 'em rolling fellas!

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

I suppose I have a hybrid approach here. I start out with an idea of what feuds and angles I want to run and who I'd like to see in the title matches, but if the dice have other ideas then I adjust as necessary. Like when I really wanted to push Magnum TA as a world title contender, then he went into a slump that included a loss to Bill White. Well, that is going to require some fixing. Or when the team I put together to be a fun undercard tandem beats the guys I want to push into a tag title spot? Well you can't just forge ahead and pretend that didn't happen. So the undercard guys get a little run on top for a few weeks and then it settles back in.

So to summarize, I suppose I mostly set up stories that seem fun to play out and then have fun adjusting to whatever the dice give me.

[natureboi]

I always book around the dice results and that's a large part of the fun I derive from the game. Since, for some peculiar reason, I treat pro wrestling as a work, I must likewise treat unexpected results as predetermined and the product of my booking decisions. Providing a retroactive logic for what happened and why keeps this booker on his toes.

[Vegas]

My booking plans are always tentative and ultimately depend on if the dice agree or not. Yesterday, for example, “Sick Nick Mondo was I thought one of the favorites to win my inter-fed VWTV battle royal but instead he was immediately eliminated first by Jeff Cannonball. So instead of getting the title shot that went to the battle royal winner, Mondo now has a feud with Cannonball who I said used one of his soda bottles against Mondo to explain the surprisingly quick elimination .

[Drew]

I pretty much book on the fly because MY dice tend to hate long term booking. I remember one time I was trying to set up a year end feud between Endgame and Monolith. Both were undefeated at the time and instead of having them meet right then and there I put it off. Well both of them went on losing streaks, one lost the title and the match didn’t make sense anymore.

[on_the_edge]

Like the good Emperor I tend to hybrid my feds. They are mostly "real", and I let the dice decide what happens. However, sometimes I have to work my way around the dice and script the action. Sometimes if I am headed in a direction and the dice throw a monkey wrench in my plans, I just find another way to get there. Much like taking a trip and a road is closed. Follow the detour and keep heading to your destination. But never ignore the dice. They can be pretty smart. With the dice doing their thing, and a bit of creativity, you can end up going to a much better destination.

[Pariah]

As our good friend, stu, has already mentioned, I pretty much allow the dice to have complete reign over what happens... So much so that I generally refer to my virtual dice as 'the bookers'... The main reason is because I decided awhile ago that I really wanted gameplay to be my primary focus... Although I have plenty of alliances and feuds in play at any given time, I don't run elaborate angles or map out longterm storylines... One card basically leads into the next as I allow the drama to be driven by the match results as organically as possible... It's your game, promoters! Play it your way!

[Swarm]

Always. The dice don’t lie.

[TTX]

To truly book by the dice, you'd never make a choice yourself, use charts all the time, etc. The only real choice you'd make would be the (ch A-H) charts. Then the dice would truly do all the booking.

[victoryroll84]

Trying to book long term has been alittle bit of a challenge in my LWF World Tour as of late, but regardless, you find creative ways to get out of bizarre situations when the dice don't roll your way LOL.