LUCK as a Characteristic

[BobGreenwade]

I had an interesting thought the other day. I've been collecting a few notes on the idea, and thought I'd run it by the Hero Community to see if I'm completely screwy on it.

 

I was kind of thinking about the possibility of having Luck as a Characteristic. Tunnels & Trolls (and related games like MSPE) has done this for years, and I think a couple of lesser-known systems may do it as well. I was just wondering what it would look like in HERO.

 

My basic idea would be that it would have a base value of 10 (like an Everyman Power of Luck 2d6), and a cost of 1 point per +1 LUCK. If the base value of 10 functions like normal Luck 2d6, then further amounts of Luck could work like Luck does now.

 

On the other hand, Luck could also have a Characteristic Roll -- the normal 9 + (LUCK/5). Then for every +2 or +3 by which the character's LUCK Roll is made the character gets the equivalent of what is now 1 Level of Luck. (Missing a LUCK Roll could be the equivalent of Unluck, possibly eliminating that as a Complication.) Among other things, this could replace Luck as a Required Roll (APG 144) with a regular LUCK-based Characteristic Roll. A LUCK Roll could be a Complementary Roll for any roll (including the character's DCV) the GM deems appropriate.

 

If LUCK is a Characteristic, then it can be directly affected by Adjustment Powers; any character can be affected by Aid Luck, Drain Luck, and so forth. With the GM's permission, LUCK could be used as the basis for the Power Skill, or possibly for a Professional Skill. It could also be the basis for Entangles and Transforms (APG 57-58), and Mental Powers (APG 69).

 

Games of chance and other situations could be settled with LUCK vs LUCK contests, similar to the existing STR vs STR contests.

 

Potentially, LUCK could be used to fuel the Heroic Action Point system. Of course, the use of LUCK in this way would reduce the Characteristic for purposes of any of the above, so the character's LUCK roll and resistance to LUCK-attacking Powers would be reduced as LUCK is used.

 

This is kind of a "broad-stroke" description with little detail, but I'd like to see what you all think of the general concept.

[Matt Holck]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

I don't believe in Luck

so luck would have to have reason special effect for favoring a character

[Duke Bushido]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

It works for me,

 

but then again, we've been running several "builds" as characteristics for many, many years now.

 

You can leave "unluck" as a Disadvantage, however, if you assign Luck as a Base-0 Characteristic.

 

 

(sorry-- I know I said "Disadvantage." I will continue to say "Disadvantage." If I want to say "Complication," I'll play GURPS. )

[Matt Holck]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

would drain luck be a reasonable power where less than 0 values would count as unluck?

[BobGreenwade]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

would drain luck be a reasonable power where less than 0 values would count as unluck?

I expect so, especially if Negative Characteristic rules come back in (via an APG2 or some such).

[Sean Waters]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

I'm wary of any new characteristic because we have enough already and they just spread the points further, but I do not think 'luck' is a good candidate, except in a game where everyone has measurably varying luck. In most cases, you can simulate luck just fine by using real luck - i.e. rolling the dice.

[DreadDomain]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

It works for me,

 

(sorry-- I know I said "Disadvantage." I will continue to say "Disadvantage." If I want to say "Complication," I'll play GURPS. )

 

Why? In GURPS they are called disadvantages as well.

 

Sorry for the derail, couldn't resist...

[Matt Holck]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

it is possible for a character to have both luck and unluck

this just describe a situation where both bad and good coincidences occur more frequently around the character than usual

also luck is rolled when a situation is bad

unluck is tolled when a situation is good

[Sean Waters]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

'Luck' is one of those things that means something different to everyone. If you were going to introduce it you need to think about limiting what it might be used for AND you need to look at the appropriate cost. Sure you can use it in games of chance, but what about in social situations (Luckily I mentioned that I'd been to Eton, and he assumed i meant the school - in fact it had been a daytrip in 1996...), or combat (Luckily, just as he was about to skewer me, he was distracted by a pounding at the door and I slipped back out of his reach...).

 

I fear that making it a characteristic would have the effect of simply making it ubiquitous - it would get used all of the time, to the detriment of the game as a whole.

[Matt Holck]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

The Mighty Marcus had 3d6 luck and 2d6 unluck

He bought the unluck down to not effect business -1/2 on the disadvantage

He also bought the skill Business for 5 points .

The GM decided that with the character's luck in business that Marcus was rich.

This was before the existence of wealth as a perk.

[Lucius]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

I'm actually planning to have it as an "everyman power" like Running or Swimming.

 

Every character will, by default, have 1d6 Luck and 1d6 Unluck.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Only Lucius Alexander has a palindromedary by default

[Duke Bushido]

Re: LUCK as a Characteristic

 

It's a personal gag. When Gurps first hit shelves way back when, I picked it up and a couple of genre books.

 

My impressions at the time (and they haven't changed much; they've just gotten more ambivalent ) was "it's like he really wanted to make HERO. It's like he took HERO, then changed all the names, and then brick it all up into prebuilds.

 

Anytime I see something changed that never really felt like it needed changing, I recall the first time I read through Gurps.