Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

[prestidigitator]

Here is yet another option that I think might be fun and dramatic for Luck (and it could be used for Unluck just as easily). For me I think it will serve as a constant reminder to make use of Luck and Unluck when it is present, so while it might be a little bit more work, I'll remember to keep these elements a constant part of the game.

 

The way I make notes and keep track of current conditions on paper should allow for this with minimal additional work for me. Whether it is too much work for you and how much enjoyment you get out of it is going to depend a very large amount on your organizational style and sense of time though, so it definitely isn't for everyone.

 

1. Each character with Luck has a Balance of Luck Points. It starts off at zero.
   
2. At the beginning of an encounter, the GM rolls the character's dice of Luck, minus one (Luck 2 rolls 1 die, Luck 3 rolls 2 dice, etc.). This indicates how long it will take the character to accrue a Balance of 1 Luck Point, as follows: a roll of zero is 20 time units; a roll of one is 10 time units; a roll of two is 5 time units; a roll of three is 2 time units. Additional points don't affect the time, but bump up the number of Luck added to the character's Balance when the time period has passed (e.g. if you roll 7 sixes you'll get 4 Luck Points after 2 time units).
   
3. The GM decides how long a time unit is in the encounter (probably based on how long he expects the encounter to last), but generally a good guideline is one Turn in combat, or each minute of good roleplaying outside combat. Tracking this exactly is not required or even desirable; just estimate at convenient moments about how many units have passed, or make ticks on each Post Segment 12, or whatever.
   
4. As soon as the time period has passed, bump the character's Balance and roll again to see when the next bump will occur.
   
5. Whenever a character's Balance is above zero, the GM should be looking out for a chance for a lucky break equivalent to the character's Balance on the Luck Table. If no such chance presents itself, the Balance may keep increasing, to a maximum of the character's dice of Luck (unless the GM decides to relax this or establish a different maximum, such as twice the characters Luck dice).
   
6. If the GM spots an opportunity to use the character's Luck, but doesn't think it is worth the whole Balance, he may use part of the Balance. If he spots a really great opportunity but thinks it is worth more than the current Balance, he may put the character's Balance into "debt", but the effect on the Luck Table shouldn't be greater than the character's dice in Luck except in the most extreme of circumstances.
   
7. The GM may choose to carry a balance over between encounters or reset it to zero, depending on how gracious he feels and the desired tone of the adventure.

 

I kind of like this for the element of drama. Even if the dice aren't happy with you and you see no good opportunities, something interesting is going to happen eventually. If the character's not lucky often, he's going to be lucky big at some point.

[Utech]

Re: Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

 

An interesting idea. I'd suggest, however, that characters start with their full Luck active. After use, Luck dice "recharge" as you've indicated.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

 

The way I make notes and keep track of current conditions on paper should allow for this with minimal additional work for me. Whether it is too much work for you and how much enjoyment you get out of it is going to depend a very large amount on your organizational style and sense of time though, so it definitely isn't for everyone.

 

1. [*]Each character with Luck has a Balance of Luck Points. It starts off at zero.

 

I agree with Utech that starting with either your full complement or 1 point would seem more appropriate. Using 1 means no matter how many dice you have, a really lucky break is unlikely at best, but using full complement means higher dice practically guarantee frequent really lucky breaks.

 

[*]At the beginning of an encounter, the GM rolls the character's dice of Luck, minus one (Luck 2 rolls 1 die, Luck 3 rolls 2 dice, etc.). This indicates how long it will take the character to accrue a Balance of 1 Luck Point, as follows: a roll of zero is 20 time units; a roll of one is 10 time units; a roll of two is 5 time units; a roll of three is 2 time units. Additional points don't affect the time, but bump up the number of Luck added to the character's Balance when the time period has passed (e.g. if you roll 7 sixes you'll get 4 Luck Points after 2 time units).

[*]The GM decides how long a time unit is in the encounter (probably based on how long he expects the encounter to last), but generally a good guideline is one Turn in combat, or each minute of good roleplaying outside combat. Tracking this exactly is not required or even desirable; just estimate at convenient moments about how many units have passed, or make ticks on each Post Segment 12, or whatever.

 

So if I have 1d6 Luck, I get a luck point every 20 TU's, but if I have 2d6, I get one on average every 5.7 TU's. 3d6 makes that every 2.9 TU's, then 1.9, 1.4, 1.1, .95, .82, .71, .63, .57, .52 [i'm at 12d6 now - better stop!] Diminishing returns kick in pretty fast here.

 

[*]As soon as the time period has passed, bump the character's Balance and roll again to see when the next bump will occur.

[*]Whenever a character's Balance is above zero, the GM should be looking out for a chance for a lucky break equivalent to the character's Balance on the Luck Table. If no such chance presents itself, the Balance may keep increasing, to a maximum of the character's dice of Luck (unless the GM decides to relax this or establish a different maximum, such as twice the characters Luck dice).

 

Based on 1 turn of combat, a character with 1d6 Luck should get a small lucky break every 20 turns - how many combats will that be? Starting at 0 points each combat, I suspect it will be infinite as you need a combat to stretch over 20 turns to ever see a benefit. 3d6 requires 3 turns, which seems unlikely to come up very often, but a good roll will reduce that markedly, into the second turn. 2d6 requires over 4 turns of combat to catch a break.

 

This could be fixed by carrying over accumulated points and by carrying over partial recovery periods in time units.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

 

This could be fixed by carrying over accumulated points and by carrying over partial recovery periods in time units.

 

Probably, yeah. I suppose I'd be more like between game sessions that you would reset, if ever; not between encounters.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

 

So if I have 1d6 Luck' date=' I get a luck point every 20 TU's, but if I have 2d6, I get one on average every 5.7 TU's. 3d6 makes that every 2.9 TU's, then 1.9, 1.4, 1.1, .95, .82, .71, .63, .57, .52 [i'm at 12d6 now - better stop!'] Diminishing returns kick in pretty fast here.

 

Actually, due to the probabilities and the fact that rolling over 3 gives you an extra point after the time period rather than decreasing the time period itself, the average time it takes to get 1 point of accrued Balance goes like this:

 

Dice ... Avg Time (TUs)
1d6 ... 20
2d6 ... 18.3
3d6 ... 16.8
4d6 ... 15.4
5d6 ... 14.1
6d6 ... 12.9
7d6 ... 11.8
8d6 ... 10.8
9d6 ... 9.9
10d6 ... 9.1
11d6 ... 8.3
12d6 ... 7.6

 

Yes, there will certainly be diminishing returns after a while.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Luck (and Unluck) Timer/Balance Option

 

I agree with Utech that starting with either your full complement or 1 point would seem more appropriate. Using 1 means no matter how many dice you have' date=' a really lucky break is unlikely at best, but using full complement means higher dice practically guarantee frequent really lucky breaks.[/quote']

 

Could be. I guess those would be additional options. Whether you get really lucky breaks is going to depend a great deal on the GM, I think. If the GM is eager to give lots of little breaks, a really lucky character will be getting them more often. If the GM tends to hold back, a really lucky character is probably going to get a couple of really big breaks in a game session, whereas a slightly lucky character will get a couple of minor ones.