Luck

[OakesSpalding]

Perhaps I missed this, but when one burns luck points, is it done after the relevant roll or before? (If you miss a roll by 1 point, can you burn 1 luck point after the fact to make the roll?) Does the luck rule make Thieves too powerful, especially if luck can be burned after the fact?

Congratulations on the game, by the way! I have enjoyed reading the beta immensely, and look forward to the final product.

Oakes

[Harley Stroh]

Oak,

Great question. We're happy you're enjoying the beta.

Edited because I'm an idiot. See below.

//H

[meinvt]

Right now the rules call it out explicitly.

You can burn luck before or after the roll, but only once per roll. I was dubious, but liked it in play. I don't necessarily tell the players exactly the DC or AC they are attempting to reach, so even after the roll it is a decision as to how much you want to burn. Without the rule this way I don't think I would have seen a burn of 5 luck on an attack roll. I like it this way (although wouldn't mind if there were some sort of bonus for risking the luck pre-roll).

Spellburn on the other hand is prior to the roll only.

[talmor]

I've seen other games with similar stats (not exactly, but comparable) and one of the ways I liked handling it was to give the players a boost for burning in advance.

So, for example, if you burn Luck prior to rolling, each point equals a +2. If you burn AFTER, each point equals a +1.

I don't know, I like the idea of a player gambling everything on one roll, and not just waiting to see what happens afterwards.

It might be a tad complicated--so I'd vote that to be a house/alternate rule, at best.

[Coffeedragon]

I've seen other games with similar stats (not exactly, but comparable) and one of the ways I liked handling it was to give the players a boost for burning in advance.

So, for example, if you burn Luck prior to rolling, each point equals a +2. If you burn AFTER, each point equals a +1.

I don't know, I like the idea of a player gambling everything on one roll, and not just waiting to see what happens afterwards.

It might be a tad complicated--so I'd vote that to be a house/alternate rule, at best.

I like the idea but maybe a standard +2 bonus to prior burn rather than a doubling of the bonus?
Others will argue that the Luck burn is already powerful enough without boosting it, so perhaps grant only half bonus for calling luck after the roll.

[smathis]

Right now the rules call it out explicitly.

You can burn luck before or after the roll, but only once per roll. I was dubious, but liked it in play. I don't necessarily tell the players exactly the DC or AC they are attempting to reach, so even after the roll it is a decision as to how much you want to burn. Without the rule this way I don't think I would have seen a burn of 5 luck on an attack roll. I like it this way (although wouldn't mind if there were some sort of bonus for risking the luck pre-roll).

Spellburn on the other hand is prior to the roll only.

I think that's backwards. I think Spellburn should be allowed after the roll. Otherwise, a player could take all this Spellburn "damage" and still come out the other side with nothing. That's a punitive mechanic, IMO.

I've seen characters burn lots of Luck. One burned 5 to disable a trap. Another burned 4 to land a hit. Players will do this. It may not be as common in campaign play. But they're doing it.

Others will argue that the Luck burn is already powerful enough without boosting it, so perhaps grant only half bonus for calling luck after the roll.

I'll be the naysayer there as well. I don't think Luck is powerful enough. I don't think it needs to be too much more powerful (because that will imbalance Thieves and Halflings). But I think it needs a decent upgrade over the beta rules.