Playing with Luck

One of the coolest rules of DCCRPG is, of course, Luck.

It is quite ironic that it was one of the first that I changed in my first long DCCRPG, which I ran for years, and I am tempted to return at some point. I loved how RPG campaigns become their own unique thing and that DCCPRG game is a fine example. By the end of it, we had played through a lot of modules, created our own adventures, and the party became considerably powerful, becoming movers and shakers in their little corner of the world (with the highest PCs around 5-6th level). By now I joke with the table that our game is “DCCRPG 2.5”. You can find a bit about those rules here and here (and yes, these are not the final rules, but they give you an idea of my insanity).

Alas, I digress (sorry, old habits… especially now that I am older). We are talking about Luck and love on how EASY it is hack rules and variants. DCC Lankhmar has some of my all-time favourites. Here are a few other ideas:

All or Nothing: one of my favourites. Once per game session, a PC can ask for “all or nothing” when burning Luck. Ask the player to choose heads or tails and toss a coin. If the PC wins, they gain double the amount of Luck burned. If they lose, the burned Luck goes to the Judge, and they don’t gain any benefit from it.

Bold Deeds: once per session, a PC can propose some wild stunt or deed. It must be something that excites everyone (particularly the Judge) and they CAN’T burn Luck on that action. It must be an action which requires one or more Action Dies to accomplish. It must have a serious consequence, complications, or a considerable DC (Judge’s call). It must follow the Rule of Cool. Each table will set its own rules. Personally, a warrior blindfolding themselves to fight a dragon sounds stupid to me, but the same warrior claiming that they will CLIMB the dragon and strike it in the head sounds AWESOME! (and deserves this rule). If they accomplish the action, grant them 1d3 Luck points.

Devil’s Bargain: when a PC fails a test, they can burn 1d3 points of Luck plus their character level to reroll the check. There is only one catch – if they miss the roll it is automatically considered a fumble (i.e. a natural 1). Each PC can only do this once per check. Yes, it isn’t worth it for high-level PCs.

Fighting in Spirit: totally stolen from 13th Age. If a PC is unconscious, paralyzed, or otherwise out of action, their player can still intervene in an encounter ONCE. Let them briefly narrate how the memory of their character or something that they did or said inspired one of their party allies to go beyond. The fallen PC can burn Luck to benefit their buddy, but they can only burn 1d7 points (to their limit of Luck). This helps players otherwise out of action keep their action in the game. Feel free to change the dice.

It is just a flesh wound: after suffering damage, if they are still alive, the PC can burn 1d3 Lucks to declare that the hit is a potential “flesh wound”. Ask the player to write down the amount of damage suffered. If they can catch their breath, even if just for one minute, half of the damage taken disappears (it was not serious, just bruises and cuts, etc.). Of course, if the damage was healed (such as by magic) before that then the Luck was spent for nothing. PCs can use this as often as they like, but each new attempt increases the cost of Luck points, following the Die Chain. Once everyone has an entire night of rest in a safe spot the Die Chain resets (this might be too much note-keeping for some tables).
Karma: the first time in an encounter that a PC fumbles or suffers a critical hit, if they survive, they regain 1 point of Luck. I like this rule because it means that even a failure has other interesting consequences.

The Eternal Struggle: this one highlights the eternal war between Law, Balance, and Chaos. The first time in an encounter that you kill a creature considered “unholy” to your alignment you regain 1 point of Luck (check DCCRPG p.32, “Unholy Creatures” in “The Gods of the Eternal Struggle” table). I think this brings the theme to the forefront, instead of just using Table 7-9 (DCCRPG p. 361).