Cap on Luck?

[quozaxx]

Do you put a cap on Luck Powers?  Do you limit general Luck in any way?  

 

I think Luck can be very powerful.  I'm talking about undefined Luck.  I normally put a cap on Luck, at 3d6, but may be talked into 4d6.  But I have seen a character with 12d6 of Luck before.  

 

If you roll 3 sixes on Luck, amazing things can happen.  The tides can turn when you least expect it.  Can your characters roll it like a Power, under their control?  Do you, the GM, control Luck and limit the times it is rolled?  

 

Tell me what your views on Luck are.  

[Hyper-Man]

I think it is one of those powers that puts a lot of pressure on the GM.

 

I think the best example of the ultimate expression of Luck as a superpower is KillerShrikes 5e Blackjack.

 

http://killershrike.com/MillennialMen/MillennialMen_Allies_Blackjack.aspx

http://www.killershrike.com/MillennialMen/CharacterFiles/Blackjack.HTML

http://killershrike.com/MillennialMen/CharacterFiles/Blackjack%20Luck%20Form.HTML

 

I suggest mining this build for ideas.

 

HM

[TheQuestionMan]

I would rather take my chances with Lady Luck!

[DasBroot]

Even I, a somewhat killer GM who is very particular about game balance, don't have a problem if someone wants to sink so many points into luck:

 

1) It's cool.

 

2) Let's face it ... most of the time the heroes were going to handily win anyways.  Why not let it be memorable (the posing supervillain is hit by a meteor) over mundane (everyone hammers him with their strongest attacks for between 1 to 3 turns until he falls over.

 

Keep in mind it already, as written, IS a lot like taking No Conscious Control (-1 GM chooses when, full effect rolled) - but without the benefit of the points saving: As the text says "any time outrageous fortune could save them when he doesn't expect it"

 

Overwhelmed in combat? GM's call.  Completely missing the plot point? GM call.  An opponent is about to get away? GM call.

 

Put that way it's kind of a raw deal - so I'd be inclined to let them try and trigger it themselves from time to time (and maybe suggest something like charges).

 

Otherwise Luck is just a special effect.  Piano falls on villain? Blast with Luck SFX.  Bomb goes off but the couch you dive behind miraculously takes the brunt of the impact? Luck SFX on defenses.  Can always find a cab when you need to?  Luck SFX on Running.  Win every lottery you enter? Luck SFX on Wealth.

[death tribble]

I would cap luck at 3D6 for most paranormals. There are those among the hero and villain communities that are extraordinarily lucky so they can have upto 10D6 of luck. There is one example in the villains who has this. But I would not let the psychotic killers and murderers have this level of luck, the unarmoured and those who don't kill can have it in order to let the psychotic heroes miss killing them.

I have one character Lady Luck who has 20D6 of Luck. The most luck anyone else can have is 15D6 but Lady Luck can take that luck away.

[mrinku]

I'm cool without a low cap for supers (stick with the traditional 3d6 cap in Heroic), but I'd definitely limit it to campaign ground rules active points limits. 5d6 or 6d6 is generally okay.

 

As with any character, I'd need to see some justification for high Luck, just as I'd want justification for any other power. "They're just lucky" doesn't cut it above 3d6 for me... 4d6 costs the same as 30 STR. Either they have luck-based powers, a cheesy cat theme, a cheesy gambler theme, Batman level overpreparation, Doctor Doom level contingency plans or something similar. Maybe an actual Guardian Angel?

 

My own Lady Luck character was 3e so only had the 3d6. But something like 30pt hardened resistant defenses, knockback resistance, etc, etc (special effect - "missed by that much".)

[massey]

People actually buy Luck?  I don't know that I've ever seen a player pick it.

 

Buying Luck is basically handing points to the GM and saying "hey if you feel like it, maybe be nice to my character someday".

[Tjack]

I always used a house rule of only 3 D6 of luck allowed but I'd roll it for the character at the begining of the episode, take the total divide it by six and that would be the way their luck would run for that 24 hr period.

[Hyper-Man]

People actually buy Luck?  I don't know that I've ever seen a player pick it.

 

Buying Luck is basically handing points to the GM and saying "hey if you feel like it, maybe be nice to my character someday".

 

Yeah. Luck or Unluck in HERO shares a lot in common with Good Stuff/Bad Stuff in the Amber Diceless RPG.

 

HM

[Lucius]

Do you put a cap on Luck Powers?  Do you limit general Luck in any way?

If by "limit Luck" you mean "restrict how much player characters can have" then no, but I've also not seen someone try to get over say, 5d6. If you mean "Allow Luck with Limitations" then yes; For example,

 

Pushing your Luck: (Total: 10 Active Cost, 1 Real Cost) Luck 2d6 (10 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x10 END; -4), Conditional Power Must have just succeeded with a regular Luck roll (-1), Side Effects (5d6 Unluck; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (Real Cost: 1)

 

 

I think Luck can be very powerful.

People actually buy Luck? I don't know that I've ever seen a player pick it.

 

Buying Luck is basically handing points to the GM and saying "hey if you feel like it, maybe be nice to my character someday".

 I'm talking about undefined Luck.  I normally put a cap on Luck, at 3d6, but may be talked into 4d6.  But I have seen a character with 12d6 of Luck before.  

 

If you roll 3 sixes on Luck, amazing things can happen.

 

Fixed that for you. That's a BIG if.

 

 

The tides can turn when you least expect it.  Can your characters roll it like a Power, under their control?

 

 

I instituted as a house rule something called Fortune Points. Spending one can trigger a Luck Roll.

 

Do you, the GM, control Luck and limit the times it is rolled?

 

In general, but see above. And if you let players roll for luck whenever they feel like it (without spending a metacurrency like Fortune Points) then you will definitely get the impression it's overpowered; you'd also not be using it as directed by RAW.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary wants to buy 25d6 Luck

[Nolgroth]

"Hey kids, Cap here, and I want to talk to you a bit about luck. You see luck isn't something you have, it is something you make. Study hard, help with your parents by doing your chores, and encourage all the adults in your life to buy war bonds. Pretty soon, you'll understand how lucky you are to be helping out with the effort to defeat of the Nazi's and free the good people of the world."   -Captain America

[Christopher R Taylor]

I think it is one of those powers that puts a lot of pressure on the GM.

 

 

I agree.  its hard to GM sometimes because you have to figure out on the fly what changes and happens based on a character roll instead of a mechanic making it happen.  But I'd never put a cap on it.

[quozaxx]

"Hey kids, Cap here, and I want to talk to you a bit about luck. You see luck isn't something you have, it is something you make. Study hard, help with your parents by doing your chores, and encourage all the adults in your life to buy war bonds. Pretty soon, you'll understand how lucky you are to be helping out with the effort to defeat of the Nazi's and free the good people of the world."   -Captain America

Was this an actual quote, or something you made up yourself?

[Lucius]

Rather than putting a cap on Luck, how about putting Luck on a cap?

 

Lucky Cap: (Total: 27 Active Cost, 16 Real Cost) Luck 3d6 (15 Active Points); IAF (Cap; -1/2) (Real Cost: 10) <b>plus</b> +1 Overall (12 Active Points); IAF (Cap; -1/2), Linked (Luck; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4), Gestures (Adjust cap; -1/4) (Real Cost: 6)

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary gets one for each head

Lucky Cap: (Total: 27 Active Cost, 21 Real Cost) Luck 3d6 (15 Active Points); IAF (Cap; -1/2) (Real Cost: 10) <b>plus</b> +1 Overall (12 Active Points); IAF (Cap; -1/2), Linked (Luck; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4), Gestures (Adjust cap; -1/4) (Real Cost: 6) X2 items

[Christopher R Taylor]

Must be the hat John Kerry was given in Vietnam

[Nolgroth]

Was this an actual quote, or something you made up yourself?

Just a spur of the moment thing. Felt like something Cap would say, hence Cap(tain America) on (the topic of) Luck. My first thought when I saw the thread title. I failed my Ego check and my natural snark took over.

[BoloOfEarth]

As I mentioned in another thread, I've started using Luck in my Champions campaign by having anybody with Luck rolling the dice at the start of a combat.  The number of BODY on the dice = the number of +1s they can use during that combat to attack rolls and skill rolls.  Each "6" rolled gives them one re-roll.  This was put in place when a PC wanted a Luck spell (5d6 Luck, Usable by up to 8 others, Time Limit of 1 minute) and we hashed out that mechanic for it.  Since his Luck is time limited and on a small number of charges, they don't tend to use it out of combat.

 

(I've done similarly with villains having Unluck, though the number of BODY = the number of -1s the players can force on the villain in question, with any "1" rolled being a forced re-roll.  Since none of the PCs have Unluck and I rarely put Unluck on NPCs, this has only come into play once thus far, but I think the players liked it when it happened.)

 

And the players now get very antsy when their characters go into combat without that Luck spell running.  They especially love being able to have a re-roll in an emergency.  (And with 5d6 Luck, they have a better than even chance of getting at least one re-roll.)

 

With that mechanic in place, I'm okay if they want to purchase a fairly decent number of dice of Luck.  Heck, I've started putting a die or two of Luck on long-time villains' character sheets, to represent their hard-won experience coming to the fore. 

[BoloOfEarth]

Just a spur of the moment thing. Felt like something Cap would say, hence Cap(tain America) on (the topic of) Luck. My first thought when I saw the thread title. I failed my Ego check and my natural snark took over.

 

FWIW, I had the same basic thought (though not nearly as well-articulated as you had) when I saw the thread title.

[Rune]

I think the cap on Luck is right.  It avoids issues like +9d6 Luck on charges.  There is the issue of getting GM approval, but sooner or later, the GM will say "yes."  Given the power of 3 levels of success, you can get some very powerful effects at very random times.

[Tech]

The most Luck that's been bought is 5d6. I work with it because there are times the players are just rolling lousy. No amount of roleplaying will fix that. We have various ways of handling Luck.

 

As GM, I use Luck to further the game and it makes the player who bought the Luck feel happier. On a related subject, I particularly like to use Unluck on villains. I'll tell you story that recently happened in an adventure because the players enjoyed it so much and here's an example of how to handle 5d6 Unluck:

 

the villain wanted to get away from the heroes so he turned around and started to run - right into a lamppost - ouch (with a pigeon sitting on top of it), his running into it caused the lamppost to crack and fall on him (more pain). The end of the lamppost fell into the street striking a manhole cover which flipped off the street and onto the villain (even more pain). Finally, the pigeon that was surprised when the lamppost fell and was now flying, pooped on him.