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Old 04-10-2017, 07:15 PM   #31
Otaku
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

Please pardon the double post, but the previous bit of confusion does remind me how I forgot to share my view on Luck in general.

I see "Luck" as paying CP to improve your results (a duh). In some ways, it isn't much different than buying a higher Attribute or Skill level; these are abstractions for gameplay after all. As the base version of Luck uses real time and not game time, it almost seems plausible as a realistic Advantage, or perhaps I should say verisimilitudinous (yes, I had to look up the spelling >.>). An hour of real time could cover mere seconds or it could cover eons of game time. It also cannot produce impossible results, it just has a chance of skewing them in your favor.
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Old 04-10-2017, 08:54 PM   #32
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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I also don't recall the kinds of settings that whswhs runs. So whswhs, were you trying to state you feel some (or all) forms of Luck inappropriate to the settings you favor, or actually quite appropriate?
The former. I might not outright refuse to let a PC have Luck, but I would discourage the player, or encourage them to take something different. With rare exceptions, I find the whole concept distasteful.
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Old 04-10-2017, 11:54 PM   #33
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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The former. I might not outright refuse to let a PC have Luck, but I would discourage the player, or encourage them to take something different. With rare exceptions, I find the whole concept distasteful.
Funny, I in contrast love the idea.
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Old 04-11-2017, 12:11 AM   #34
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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Funny, I in contrast love the idea.
I don't believe that anyone has "luck" as a substantive thing in the real world. There are random fluctuations, and we call them "luck" when they're favorable and large (or "bad luck" when unfavorable and large); but no one has a persistent tendency to get favorable or unfavorable random outcomes. The dice have no memory. As Ecclesiastes say, "Time and chance happeneth to them all."

And I have a strong desire for verimilitude in my fictional worlds.

Now, I'm willing to set this aside if one of the premises of the world is, say, the favor of gods or spirits, or a psionic ability to influence random events. That's exploring a fantastic premise. But I just don't buy Luck as a mundane trait; nor as a meta-level narratively granted blessing. "Oh, he's the hero, things will turn out right for him!" Though I might well allow a character to have a belief in their own luck as a Delusion.
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Old 04-11-2017, 12:22 AM   #35
Leeland
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

The caracter i play in our current campain has luck.
It has saved my hide in more than one situation.
Especially since we started to play that luck can also modify enemy rolles that have to do with the character (e.g. critical hits against my char).
It is the only defence against enemys rolling well i have in that game.
The character can have goodly defences, if the enemy crits he is going to get hurt unless he has luck.

One thing i noticed early on was that unlike in other systems (where you use e.g. a d20), rerolls don´t help as much to get a favorable roll on unlikely skill-uses or attacks.
Unless i am somewhat good at the thing i am trying to do (effective skill of 10 or more) it isn´t likely to compensate for bad skills/hard rolles.

Managed to hit an heavy armored enemy through his eyeslits once, but that was it.
Tried a few times to use luck to make my skillrollles on my not so good skills (9-) and that never worked as 3d6 average out nicely, even on 2 rerolles.

Luck is still very much worth the points IMO.
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Old 04-11-2017, 12:25 AM   #36
simply Nathan
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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I
Now, I'm willing to set this aside if one of the premises of the world is, say, the favor of gods or spirits, or a psionic ability to influence random events. That's exploring a fantastic premise. But I just don't buy Luck as a mundane trait; nor as a meta-level narratively granted blessing. "Oh, he's the hero, things will turn out right for him!" Though I might well allow a character to have a belief in their own luck as a Delusion.
This is my attitude towards Luck too, and my former GURPS GM's. The guy who got me hooked on the system back in 2005 and has been spinning his wheels on not making basic setting decisions for the next campaign in the meantime.
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Old 04-11-2017, 12:26 AM   #37
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

In the games I run luck is a very uncommon advantage for PCs, however I am playing with having luck(incoming damage rolls only) as an advantage for "tough" characters.
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Old 04-11-2017, 03:28 AM   #38
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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I don't believe that anyone has "luck" as a substantive thing in the real world. There are random fluctuations, and we call them "luck" when they're favorable and large (or "bad luck" when unfavorable and large); but no one has a persistent tendency to get favorable or unfavorable random outcomes. The dice have no memory. As Ecclesiastes say, "Time and chance happeneth to them all."

And I have a strong desire for verimilitude in my fictional worlds.

Now, I'm willing to set this aside if one of the premises of the world is, say, the favor of gods or spirits, or a psionic ability to influence random events. That's exploring a fantastic premise. But I just don't buy Luck as a mundane trait; nor as a meta-level narratively granted blessing. "Oh, he's the hero, things will turn out right for him!" Though I might well allow a character to have a belief in their own luck as a Delusion.
Well, on a "metaphysical" level, yes, I agree, there is no such a thing as "Luck", the universe does not conspire in favor of its "favorite ones" (nor does it tries to screw its hated ones). Ok, thats fine.

However...

How about on a statiscal level?

As you said yourself, there are fluctuations.

Why? Well, simple, because random events are... Well... Random.

For example: lets say that, the AVERAGE change for ANY person to find money on the street, on every week, is about of 1/250 or, better, 1/5 per year, and the average amount find is of $20. We could also say that each person on the planet will find $100 on the street every 25 years.

Does that mean that ALL people in the Earth will find EXACTLY $100 each 25 years? No, of course not. Some will find $200. Some $1000. Maybe one, 1 million. And some, nothing. So, in statistics, randomness GENERATES Luck and Unluckness.

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Old 04-11-2017, 05:19 AM   #39
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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In the games I run luck is a very uncommon advantage for PCs, however I am playing with having luck(incoming damage rolls only) as an advantage for "tough" characters.
I actually rather like Aspected forms of the luck and luck-like advantages for that sort of thing, a way for a character to be good when it counts at something they really are supposed to be skilled at, without running up skill levels so much they're amazing under less stressed conditions.

Incidentally, I class Serendipity, prebought successes and impulse buys in with luck like advantages. For those of you that don't like Luck, do you feel the same about impulse buys? The mechanic is much the same after all, spend a meta-game resource and things go better for you for no in-world reason.
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Old 04-11-2017, 06:16 AM   #40
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Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#39): Daredevil, Luck, Super Luck

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
I don't believe that anyone has "luck" as a substantive thing in the real world. There are random fluctuations, and we call them "luck" when they're favorable and large (or "bad luck" when unfavorable and large); but no one has a persistent tendency to get favorable or unfavorable random outcomes. The dice have no memory. As Ecclesiastes say, "Time and chance happeneth to them all."

And I have a strong desire for verimilitude in my fictional worlds.
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