This optional ability
score is designed with OSR style roleplaying games in mind and is based on a
similar mechanic found in Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Many of
the possible effects of Luck assume Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and derivative
games, however these rules should be easy to include in other systems with some
modification. This system likely should not be used in combination with existing
rules for managing Luck (other than random die rolls) except as a replacement.
Examples include systems where ‘Luck’ can be a power or advantage (Like Mutants
& Masterminds or GURPS) or that use ‘Hero’ or ‘Destiny’ points to achieve
good fortune.
Regardless of the rules
set employed in your campaign, Luck should always be determined randomly and
should not be assigned with a more ‘heroic’ generation method (such as 4d6,
drop the lowest). At your option, Luck can be a player’s choice; they may
choose whether or not to have a Luck score. Players without luck scores have no
bonuses or penalties and cannot spend Luck points. Such characters are known as
‘Defiant’ heroes.
Luck (3d6)
Luck influences many
aspects of a character’s life and career beginning after the ability score
determination step of character creation. It affect all rolls on random tables
if both of the following conditions apply; a) the results of a roll on the
table clearly scales from more favorable to less favorable (or vice versa), and
b) the results directly affect the player character and no other (with the
exception of background NPCs created with the player’s character). Unlike other
ability scores, Luck can be used by players as a sort of commodity. This is
entirely optional and is handled in one of two ways; Challenging Fate and
Denying Fate, each described below. Denying Fate causes the character’s Luck
score to decrease permanently and other cosmic forces may cause it to be raised
or lowered.
This includes (but is
not limited to) random determinations for starting age, social class and rank,
circumstances of birth (including legitimacy), status and quality of parents
and siblings, birth order and inheritance, and starting money.
During play, Luck also
influences critical hits (both location and severity), fumbles, and any random
happenstance that befalls the character. In addition, each character is born
under a sign which determines what other checks are modified by Luck. The
player rolls percentile dice on the table below to determine their birth sign. Signs
may be Auspicious (with a high Luck score), Foreboding (with a low one), or
Conflicted (scores with a modifier of 0). The gamemaster should inform the
player which of the three example traditions their character is likely to
follow; the Elder Houses, the Great Procession, or the Wheel of Heaven. The
signs listed represent only a few possibilities and gamemasters are encouraged
to add additional options or modify the existing signs as desired.
After determining the
character’s sign, the player will note which checks are modified by Luck and
apply their Luck modifier to all rolls of the appropriate type(s). In the case
of percentile based checks, apply plus or minus 5% per +1 or -1. If the
character has a positive Luck modifier, rolls are modified so as to be most
beneficial: add the modifier if higher rolls are more desirable, or subtract
the modifier if a lower roll is better. Characters with a negative Luck
modifier are penalized in the same way.
Table:
Birth Sign
|
||||
Roll
|
The Elder Houses
|
The Great
Procession
|
The Wheel of
Heaven
|
Rolls modified by
Luck
|
1-2
|
The Star (of the
war-maiden’s sword hilt)
|
The Eye
|
The Maiden
|
Turning undead
|
3-4
|
The Bee-wolf
(bear)
|
The Tail (of the
manticore)
|
The Rooster
|
Unarmed attack
rolls
|
5-6
|
The Salamander
|
The Wings (of the
strix)
|
The Monkey
|
Spell damage
|
7-8
|
The Saddle
|
The Bow (of the
centaur)
|
The Elephant
|
Mounted attack
rolls
|
9-10
|
The Jug or the
Wash Basin
|
The Legs (of the
shedu)
|
The Cow
|
Corruption rolls
|
11-15
|
The Osprey
|
The Horns (of the
sea-goat)
|
The Wing and
Crown (of the garuda)
|
Chance to improve
skills
|
16-17
|
The Ibex
|
The Nose (Spike;
of the abath)
|
The Horse
|
Bend bars/lift
gates
|
18-19
|
The Forge (of the
smith)
|
The Yoke (of the
ox)
|
The Mule
|
Open doors
|
20-24
|
The Ears (of the
wolf)
|
The Flag (of the
hind)
|
The Rat
|
Sanity checks
|
25-26
|
The Adder
|
The Bat
|
The Scorpion
|
Critical hit
location
|
27-28
|
The Tail (of the
rat)
|
The Scales (of
the pangolin)
|
The Hare
|
Saving throws
against traps
|
29-33
|
The Beak (of the
raven)
|
The Hummingbird
|
The Carp
|
Number of
languages
|
34-35
|
The Nose (of the
mole)
|
The Nose (of the
jackal)
|
The Bear-Cat
|
Traps skill to
find secret doors
|
36-37
|
The Crown
|
The Hen
|
The Bowl (of
wine)
|
NPC reaction
adjustment
|
38-39
|
The Raccoon
|
The Spider
|
The Tails (of the
fox spirit)
|
Traps skill and
find or remove traps (thieving)
|
40-41
|
The Tower
|
The Neck (of the camel)
|
The Handle (of
the crossbow)
|
Missile damage
rolls
|
42-43
|
The Owl
|
The Queen
|
The Dog (of the
moon goddess)
|
Spell checks
|
44-45
|
The Tooth (of the
mountain lion)
|
The Fang (of the
snake)
|
The Wing (of the
pheasant)
|
Called Shots
|
46-47
|
The Handle (of
the axe)
|
The Boar
|
The Tiger
|
Critical hit
severity
|
48-49
|
The Belt (of the
war-dog)
|
The Hunter
|
The Claw (of the
bear)
|
Damage adjustment
|
50-52
|
The Tusks (of the
boar)
|
The Tow-Tailed
Wolf
|
The Kite
|
Attack and damage
rolls for 1st weapon
|
53-55
|
The Opossum
|
The Lightning
Bolt
|
The Tortoise and
Serpent
|
Saving throws
against breath weapon
|
56-58
|
The Branch
|
The Face (of the
gorgon)
|
The Lady
|
Saving throws
against magic
|
59-61
|
The Cross(ed
swords or sticks)
|
The Frog
|
The Shirt and Bow
(of the Emperor)
|
Saving throws against
magical device
|
62-64
|
The Mantle (of
the hunter)
|
The Mongoose
|
The Frog
|
Saving throws
against paralyze
|
65-67
|
The Leaf (of
holly)
|
The Shoe (of the
underworld)
|
The Ramp
|
Saving throws
against poison
|
68-70
|
The Hammer (of
the smith)
|
The Clover
|
The Lion
(guardian)
|
Hit probability
|
71-73
|
The Tail (of the
dragon)
|
The Ratel
|
The Mouth (of the
headless one)
|
Critical hit
tables
|
74-76
|
The Spike (of the
wyvern)
|
The Tusk (of the
elephant)
|
The Axe and
Scepter (of the Empress Dowager)
|
All damage rolls
|
77-81
|
The Cauldron or
The Wine Basin
|
The Date-plum
|
The Water Lilly
(lotus)
|
Magical healing
|
82-86
|
The Serpent and
the Tree
|
The Spy-glass
|
The Beard (of the
dragon)
|
Learning Ability
|
87-88
|
The Twig (of
mistletoe)
|
The Cypress
|
The Three Staves
(of the immortals)
|
Missile
adjustment
|
89-90
|
The Noose
|
The Cheetah
|
The Snake
|
Initiative
reaction adjustment
|
91-92
|
The Hauberk
|
The Wreath
|
The Donkey (of
the lucky one)
|
Magical defense
adjustment and resist Persuasion skill
|
93-94
|
The Crook (of the
shepherdess)
|
The Horse
|
The Foot (of the hare-hunting
horse)
|
Movement
|
95
|
The Spear and Bow
(of the king)
|
The Lion
|
The Crescent (of
the guardian of the Empress)
|
All attack rolls
|
96
|
The Belt (of the
sun god)
|
The Tainia
(girdle or ribbon)
|
The Nine Gifts
|
All saving throws
|
97
|
The Cap (of the
fey)
|
The Feather
|
The Necklace (of
jade)
|
Defense
adjustment
|
98
|
The Boot (of the
wanderer)
|
The Scythe
|
The Shield (of
the footman)
|
Hit point
adjustment
|
99
|
The Ring (of the
vandal)
|
The Amphora (of
wine)
|
The Boat (silver
ingot)
|
Skill checks and
thieving
|
00
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
Roll twice more*
|
*Roll three times
if this result occurs a second time, but no more. Reroll any subsequent 00
results.
|
||||
Some signs are more or
less favorable to certain types of characters while others are more general in
application. For example, an unlucky character born under the sign of The
Maiden (in the Wheel of Heaven tradition) can mitigate the effects of their
misfortune by choosing a career without the ability to Turn Undead. However,
any character born under the sign of The Nine Gifts is likely to experience
great fortune with a good Luck score or one disastrous failure after the next
with a poor one.
Challenging Fate
Whenever the player is
about to make a roll, he or she may choose to Challenge Fate. When so doing,
the player spends two or more points of Luck. For every two points spent, the
roll is positively affected by a margin of 1 (or 5%). As soon as the outcome of
the roll is determined, the character’s Luck is penalized by the number of
points spent and the player uses the character’s new Luck modifier until the
spent points are restored. Luck spent this way returns at a rate of one point per
day and no effect other than a Wish
or the intervention of a deity can cause them to recover sooner.
Denying Fate
Characters can choose
to exert their will over present events at the risk of lasting misfortune by
kindling the ire of forces far beyond mortal comprehension. At any time the
player can choose to Deny Fate by losing
one point of Luck (permanently reducing the score by 1). Upon so doing,
the player chooses one of the following effects:
Best
Effort
The player may re-roll
any die roll just made and take the best result. If the new roll is less than
half the highest possible die result, apply a bonus equal to half the highest
possible result (+10 bonus when rolling a d20, +50% bonus when rolling
percentile, +9 bonus when rolling 3d6, and so on). In this way, the minimum
possible result of a Fate Denying character’s Best Effort is just over the
average under any other circumstances.
Boon
of Circumstance
The player can grant
the character an advantage by adding favorable details to the immediate
situation (similar to succeeding a Luck ability check). The gamemaster should
grant any reasonable request. For example, if the character is lost and unarmed
in the darkness, the player can grant the character the finding of a weapon or
a source of light, but not a magical weapon or the turning of night into day.
Defy
Death
By Defying Death, the
character can turn a potentially deadly turn of events into a mere setback. A
dying (but not dead character) will stop dying and return to consciousness at a
moment when it would be safest for them (but not necessarily for allies) with
at least 1 hit point. Similarly, the player can choose to grant the character instant
recovery to the conditions of being bound, charmed, ensorcelled, paralyzed, sleeping,
unconscious or the like. Defying Death can also turn a critical hit on the
character to a normal one or any normal hit into a miss.
Feat
of Heroism
The player can grant
the character the benefits of any normal advantage or ability for which any
prerequisites (ability scores, class, race, etc.) are already met. The
character can also regain one use of any ability with restrictions on usage
(including spells).
Note
Regarding Signs: The example signs often correlate with
their associated bonuses/penalties, but not always. This is by design as such
real-world analogues are often vague or even dissonant. Within your campaign
this can be explained by sharing legends that informed the Sign associations, or
acknowledging that the system(s) of augury have changed over time and the original
meanings may have shifted. If the campaign world would benefit from more or
less transparent connections, they should be altered accordingly.
