Having just come off of a very fun weekend of dice gaming (Ravenloft 3E) I may be biased, but I prefer dice in my RPGs. And yes, I have played diceless… sort of… Once was Vampire Larp, whihc may not count since it’s got Rock paper scissors in place of dice, but it bored the hell out of me. Another time was a nomic game that evolved into an RPG. That started out with a random element, but it was abandoned eventually.
However, unlike Legomancer (“But I’m also not an actor. I’m playing a game.”) I am an actor, and an improvisational one at that. Not professionally, but improv and gaming are my two biggest hobbies, and I like my RPG’s to be a mix of both.
I find that the random element gives me something I have to deal with that no one was expecting. Not the DM, not the players. Random chance happens and must be dealt with. And taking the randomness and making something out of it that makes sense is fun to me. I think I might like to try Amber one day. (Heck, I’d like to try every game ever made once.) But I can’t see it grabbing me like good old D&D does.
I think that there is still confusion between uncertainty and randomness.
Uncertainty is always going to be a part of RPGs. Get two people together and suddenly there is uncertainty. Even in what amounts to a collaborative novel no one is sure what anyone else is about to add based on what they do.
Randomness is only possible with dice, cards or what ever. It involves a higher level of uncertainty and simulates the idea that sometimes shit just happens.
It isn’t a matter of trust of the GM that should really be the call but it should instead be how much uncertainty do you want? Do you want there to be an actual representatin of pure chance? If not diceless is the way to go. If you do want that element then you need a randomizing factor.
That’s why I find that at the higher spectrum of player character power diceless is better. The elements that go into “pure chaos” are seperated out and can be dealt with. They are above actual chance in many regards and only need to worry about lack of knowledge. For lower power levels a great deal of the forces in the universe combine and the aggregate’s “whims” are able to drive the results of the character’s careful planning.