Luck... Again!

Primitive Screwhead · Feb 12, 2015

Not playtest material, just brainstorming.

Luck/hero points/etc.. have been a difficult mechanic so far. My group loved the first iteration {exploding dice, dice pool equal to your LUCK attribute}.
With each iteration the love for Luck has paled and in the last game session the mechanic wasn't even used. The players didn't feel that luck was on their side when they added a die to the pool.

So here is a thought that updates Luck to the post-dice pool cap mechanic.

Each session you have a special pool of Karma dice equal to your Luck die pool that refreshed when the GM says it does {usually at the start of an 'adventure'}.

You can use Karma in a couple different ways:
1) burn a Karma die to re-roll a check replacing the rolls attribute dice with your Luck attribute dice
2) burn a Karma die to add 1D6 to a roll before the roll. Drop the lowest die when calculating the result. {You can use more than one Karma die in the manner}
3) burn a Karma die to add 1D6 to a roll after the roll. This adds directly to the result, however the GM gains a Karma die to his/her pool for use against you later. {You can use more than one Karma die in the manner}

I think this makes Luck more.. um, Lucky and adds player choice to the mix.

Morrus · Feb 12, 2015

There is something to bear in mind, which may explain why my vision for LUCK doesn't appear to match that of some playtesters.

Not everybody is lucky. Just like not everybody uses the STR attribute, not everybody will use the LUC attribute. Only those with high LUC will. The James Kirks and 007s of the game.

It's OK to have a low attribute you don't use much; most characters will have one or two of those.

The current issue is similar to the current DEFENSE issue - the careers/traditions need to be updated to ensure LUCK is more common. Right now, no characters get enough of it to make it useful, but when your LUCK is giving your a die roll of 4d6, I think you'll find you use it!

Primitive Screwhead · Feb 12, 2015

The 'lucky' character to me is Han Solo. 007 is supposed to be skill and prior planning, James Kirk is supposed to be a charismatic and intelligent leader who has a team of awesome folks behind him.

Even if I have 4d6 of Luck, the current iteration feels to me like a 'how can I use my best attribute the most' and doesn't help on top of skill. Han Solo is very talented, but many of his exploits are a combination of talent and luck.

My thought allows limited stacking while not adding to the swingyness of the dice rolls, and adds a resource management item to the mix.

Morrus · Feb 12, 2015

My vision is that you use luck when you don't have the knowledge or skill. If you have the skill, you use that instead. Luck comes from your dice.

Han Solo, Bond, Kirk, Indy, whoever you like.

Wanna crack a password, but have 2d6 LOG? Take a guess and use your 4d6 LUC instead.