13 new luck feats

[Realms of Chaos]

1. Impossible Odds [Luck]
When all hope of escaping harm seems lost, your foes tend to miss you.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, any luck feat
Benefit: If an opponent rolls a natural 20 when making an attack roll against you, you may spend one luck reroll as an immediate action to instead treat the roll as a natural 1.
You can use this feat once per day.
You gain one luck reroll per day.
Special: The target of this feat is not at risk of fumbling, if using critical fumbles.

Design Notes:You might be wondering why this feat can be acquired at level 3 rather than level 6 like its two cousins in complete scoundrel. Well, the thing is, this guy is a whole lot weaker. To see this, try looking at these feats from the most extreme range of what they allow.
Better Lucky than Good helps you to hit a foe with AC higher than your attack bonus + 19, possibly allowing you to do real damage or (maybe) end a combat. Dumb Luck can help you resist an instant death effects (or domination effects, or others) with DCs that you normally couldn’t succeed against, allowing you to run if the effect comes from a creature or (better yet) continue if it came from a trap. This feat helps you avoid a single attack from a creature with an attack bonus higher than your AC-2, a creature that likely possesses iterative attacks or other natural weapons. In the long run, this feat might save you but its unlikely to be as useful as the other feats.

2. Fortuitous Fluke [Luck]
Even the greatest defenses of your foes can be overcome by happenstance.
Prerequisites: Character level 9th, any three luck feats
Benefit: If an opponent rolls a natural 20 when making a saving throw against one of your class feature or racial features, you may spend one luck reroll as an immediate action to instead treat the roll as a natural 1.
You can use this feat once per day.
You gain one luck reroll per day.
Special: The target of this feat is at no risk of having their equipment damaged due to the natural 1.

Design Notes: You may be wondering why this feat requires a higher level than the ones in complete scoundrel. The thing is, in my opinion, this is far more powerful. With better lucky than good, a character increases their odds of hitting a creature beyond their normal ability by +5%, letting them get in a single attack and only making a difference with a rather high level of optimization. With this feat, everything from charm to domination to instant death to virtual instant death can be delivered to a stronger foe with the same +5% chance of success, having a far greater chance of ending the battle immediately with less optimization.
As a result, this feat requires a total of four luck feats that a caster could have otherwise spent on metamagic feats, item creation feats, PrC prereq feats, arcane discipline, collegiate wizard, divine metamagic, wild shape, or what have you. This feat can still be very good but it seems to laugh in the face of traditional CO and it seems rather unlikely to come up in combat (even spamming two save-or-dies per round with quicken spell, you could easily wait 10 rounds or more before the target fails).

3. Surge of Fortune [Luck]
Your good luck grants you success in most of your endeavors.
Prerequisites: Any two luck feats.
Benefit: Whenever you spend a luck reroll to reroll a dice, you may spend an additional reroll as a free action to add the number of luck feats you possess as a bonus to the second result. You may use this ability only once per reroll.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:Something like this seemed destined to happen and fits in with luck mechanics pretty well.

4. Blessed Life [Luck]
You find that you can often get by on your luck alone.
Benefit: Once per day, with eight consecutive hours spent walking about and searching for fortune, you may make a special d20 roll with a bonus equal to twice the number of luck feats you possess. You find coins, gems, or other valuable items (the nature of which is determined by the DM) worth SP equal to half of the result. You may spend a luck reroll to reroll this check.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:This feat, obviously, was made from more of an RP perspective than from a practical optimization point of view. I like how the description of the fortune’s friend in complete scoundrel describes them as getting by with only their luck to provide for them but I dislike how no mechanics there reflect that. I know that few DMs actually enforce upkeep costs and that many luck-based characters would rather be wealthy gamblers but I figured that this should be an option.

5. Not a Day In My Life [Luck]
It seems almost unthinkable that you would get sick.
Benefit: As an immediate action, you may spend a luck reroll in order to reroll a Fortitude save made against disease. You may spend a luck reroll as a free aciton to reroll ability damage or drain dealt to you by disease or poison.
You gain one luck reroll per day

Design Notes:Pretty Simple. I think everyone’s had days when we wish we could be this lucky.

6. Luck You Can Bet On [Luck]
You can make chance work out in your favor.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, one luck feat
Benefit: One per round, while engaged in games of chance (whether relying on a deck of cards, dice roll, coin flip, roulette spin, or so forth), you may manipulate fate in your favor. As a result, you may select a single card to be replaced by a new one, a dice to be rerolled, a coin to be reflipped and so forth. As an immediate action, you may spend a luck re-roll to alter another dice roll, coin flip, card dealt, and so forth (if applicable). In games relying on the skills of others rather than personal luck (such as betting in races), this feat possesses no effect. Magical items (such as decks of many things) are unaffected by this feat.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:This is another “archetype” feat for lucky characters (much like blessed life) but this one is a bit more powerful. In effect, it lets you use a first-level spell (cheat) at will with no chance of magical detection.

7. Fortunate Impressions [Luck]
You always seem to catch people in a good mood.
Prerequisites: Any two luck feats
Benefit: Whenever a creature enters your line of sight, you may spend a luck reroll as a swift action within 1 round to increase their attitude towards you by one category, to a maximum of friendly. As this results from a good mood rather than any personal fondness for you, the increase in attitude (and any further increases that you make through skill checks in this encounter) don’t carry over into the next encounter with said creature. This feat doesn’t function on otherwise hostile, friendly, or helpful targets.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:This feat allows your lucky character to be the lucky scoundrel who everybody seems to like (at least on a small scale). As one special note, I state that further increases in attitude (such as through diplomacy) also go away as they are simply built up on a temporary good mood of the target. Also, the fact that being friendlier reduces the DCs for further improvement by a large amount would make this somewhat unbalanced otherwise for those diplomancers (who can still likely have a field day with this feat).

8. Dungeoneer’s Fortune [Luck]
You have a habit of taking the proper path while navigating through structures.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, any luck feat
Benefit: Whenever you decide randomly between two or more possible paths forward (such as a split in a road), you may spend a luck re-roll as an immediate action. If you do, there is a 70% chance, –5% per path beyond the first two, that you choose the correct path (the DM makes this roll secretly). This feat leads the target towards their destination, not taking into account any treasure that may rest on other paths. Furthermore, it favors safer and longer paths over shorter and dangerous paths if both are present, though it prefers the shorter of two paths if they are equally dangerous. If neither path leads towards the desired destination, if the true path is hidden or concealed from you, or if reaching your destination would require backtracking to require, this feat fails to function (but you are unaware of this).
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes: Behold, a rough mix of augury and find the path. Pretty situational but I could see uses for this.

9. Fate’s Friend [Luck]
You seem almost destined to succeed in life.
Prerequisites: Character level 9th, any three luck feats
Benefit: When you use a luck reroll in order to reroll a d20, you may spend an additional luck reroll as part of the same action. If you do, you may continue rolling the dice until you roll a 10 or higher.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:Nobody wants to roll a 7 and reroll a 4. This feat helps to ensure this is never the case (at least if you can afford the cost).

10. Scrapes and Bruises [Luck]
Injuries that you sustain are rarely as bad as they first appear.
Benefits: At the start of each day, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice the number of luck feats you possess. As a swift action, you may spend a luck reroll to grant yourself temporary hit points equal to the number of luck feats you possess for 1 hour (these do not stack with your daily temporary hit points).
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:Most series of feats seem to have that one feat that grants you additional hit points for each psionic/aberrant/devil-touched feat you possess. I can’t imagine luck making someone tougher but I can imagine it working something like this.

11. Bad Luck is No Luck [Luck]
Though your luck may be fickle, it is never bad.
Prerequisites: any three luck feats
Benefits: Whenever you spend a luck reroll to reroll a d20 roll you have made and the result is a failure, you regain a luck reroll. If you reroll a single roll more than once (such as through the third time's the charm luck feat), you only regain a luck reroll if the final roll fails.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:Doesn’t it stink when you spend one of your precious luck rerolls and fail anyways? Now you no longer need to put up with this.

12. Against All Odds [Luck]
You can succeed where success seems impossible
Prerequisites Character level 9th, any four luck feats.
Benefits: If you roll a natural 20 on a skill check, you can spend one luck reroll as an immediate action to make the skill check an automatic success. This ability does not function in combination with skills that have relative levels of success (such as craft, perform, knowledge, or diplomacy) or on opposed skill checks and can’t be used while taking 20 on a skill check. Simply impossible tasks still can’t be accomplished through the use of this feat.
You can use this feat once per day.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:Yeah… this feat is pretty powerful. With sufficient luck, a character could climb up a waterfall, balance on a cloud, and so forth. In most cases, however, a single successful skill check can only do so much. If a waterfall is higher than you can climb in one round, good luck on your next round. If you balance on a cloud, good luck trying to move without falling through.

13. Jinx [Luck]
You tend to bring bad luck for those around you.
Prerequisites: Any luck feat
Benefits: As long as you have at least one luck reroll remaining for the day, enemies within 30 feet take a –1 penalty to skills checks and ability checks.
You gain two luck rerolls per day.

Design Notes:Another double-reroll feat. It originally had a 10 foot range and gave a –2 penalty but I realized that an effective +2 bonus to all opposed roll is far more powerful than a +2 bonus to your worst saving throw (and I am determined to keep the feat even with unbelievable luck).

[ThirdEmperor]

Well, most of them seem okay, but Bad Luck is No Luck, and Fate's Friend? Combined, those are pretty ridiculous.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Well, most of them seem okay, but Bad Luck is No Luck, and Fate's Friend? Combined, those are pretty ridiculous.

Yeah...as written, it could be interpreted one of two ways:

Interpretation 1: The roll of Bad Luck is No Luck doesn't actually count as a success or failure until you roll a 10, as the other rolls aren't actually compared to the DC. You only get a re-roll from Fate's Friend if the final roll fails to match the DC.

Interpretation 2: You keep rolling and comparing the die of Bad Luck is No Luck, and keep doing this until you roll higher than a 10. You get a luck re-roll for every failure you'd have accumulated in this way.

Personally, I'd say the RAW makes the former seem like the proper ruling, but you might want to clarify the text of Bad Luck is No Luck to close this possible loophole.

[Realms of Chaos]

Interpretation 1 was the intended reading so... I altered BLiNL a bit. It should be a lot more clear now.

[Human Paragon 3]

Planning on using these in The Devil's Due?

[Realms of Chaos]

I don't plan on using them but making the character made me look at the limited selection of luck feats out there and want to create more.

[Welknair]

... Why all of the disclaimers on them not working against Deities? :smallconfused:

(Note, I only briefly browsed the original Luck Feats in CS and do not remember if they contained this disclaimer as well...)

[Realms of Chaos]

Some deities possess an effect that automatically entitle them to a natural 20 when rolling a d20. Combining this with the first two feats would make that instant 20 into an instant natural 1, which seems a tad too powerful (especially as most feats and tactics aren't expected to be more effective against deities).

[Amechra]

These are great; I, too, have felt the problem of there not being enough luck feats.

Other than that, I have to point out that you misspelled road in Dungeoneer's Fortune, as rode.

[Fizban]

Fortuitous Fluke is setting off warning bells in my head. I know that technically it just shifts the numbers on the dice a bit (effectively switching the 20 for an extra 1), but the way it's used is basically "you fail your save now". It may not actually be broken in any way, but it grates the nerves a bit.

I'm sure however, That Bad Luck is No Luck is way too good. Assuming your rolls are normally 50/50, it effectively gives you 50% more luck rerolls. Since BLINL is at minimum your 4th luck feat, it's already worth at least 2 rerolls, when there's a feat who's whole point is giving you 2 more rerolls. And if you're using your rerolls when you have a less than a50/50 chance, you're getting even more "extra" rolls over time. Or consider it this way: your rerolls change from rerolls per day to successes per day.

Edit: that's not saying it's a bad idea mind you. I really like the charging smite variant that does the same kind of thing. But it's not really luck if you don't have to worry about wasting it.

[MammonAzrael]

Very flavorful feats. While most of them aren't terribly powerful, they make sense from an RP standpoint. And some of them could be quite nice.


I'm think the prerequisites for many of them should read Character level Xth+, unless your intent is for them to only be selectable at a single level.
I think these should work on deities. Luck affects everyone, and your luck won't last forever!
Impossible Odds should have Character level 3rd instead of 3th
Fortuitous Fluke felt a little too strong at first, but then I thought of it as basically removing an auto-success. Still one of the more powerful options, but not too strong.
Surge of Fortune seems nice...but 1d6 just seems so small. I think I'd like it more if it added a luck bonus equal to the number of luck feats you have. (which would mean a minimum of three, and insures that you aren't disappointed by your "lucky" +1)
Blessed Life is the feat every beggar needs. :smallsmile: Practically useless, but such wonderful world-building flavor.
Not a Day in My Life is pretty weak as it stands. It wouldn't harm things to change it to not requiring an action, but simply offering you a reroll if you failed the save. Not feeling the flavor perfectly, but allowing it to function against poison too would make it a little stronger, and still not terribly good.
Luck You Can Bet On is another nice flavorful addition. Does it apply to the Deck of Many Things? I know plenty of people regard that as the ultimate game of chance! :smallamused:
Since you've prevented it from being abused by diplomancers, I don't think Fortunate Impressions needs to suck up two rerolls. Additionally, it would be nice if you had the option of changing their mood when they notice you. You wouldn't want to waste the rerolls and then just have the guy not see you...you would have brightened his mood for nothing! :smalltongue:
Why 70%? Only gaining a 20% increase between two options (the most common) seems a huge waste of a feat. Boosting it a little couldn't hurt.
Fate's Friend is nice. On the not of not failing, a luck feat that allowed you to take the better of the two rolls instead of having to take the reroll, or a feat that lets you know if the roll was a success or failure before choosing to use a reroll.
Scrapes and Bruises is fantastic. :smallbiggrin:
At only a -1 penalty, why doesn't Jinx affect actual combat rolls, like attack rolls? Do you feel an effective +1 AC is just too strong?
How about a feat that increases the rolls your DM made on the random treasure table? Obviously it wouldn't apply to every group, but it certainly would for some, and being lucky on those table certainly feel like something luck feats could manipulate.

[Realms of Chaos]

I'm think the prerequisites for many of them should read Character level Xth+, unless your intent is for them to only be selectable at a single level.

In my mind, surge of fortune, fortunate impressions, and bad luck is no luck can all be taken at level 1 with no problems (though I might put a character level 3rd restriction on the middle one if people think it is necessary).


I think these should work on deities. Luck affects everyone, and your luck won't last forever!

Done.


Impossible Odds should have Character level 3rd instead of 3th

I'll get right on that.


Fortuitous Fluke felt a little too strong at first, but then I thought of it as basically removing an auto-success. Still one of the more powerful options, but not too strong.

Basically my thoughts.


Surge of Fortune seems nice...but 1d6 just seems so small. I think I'd like it more if it added a luck bonus equal to the number of luck feats you have. (which would mean a minimum of three, and insures that you aren't disappointed by your "lucky" +1)

Your idea, being smart, has been implemented.


Blessed Life is the feat every beggar needs. :smallsmile: Practically useless, but such wonderful world-building flavor.

I am very happy with that feat for some reason. It might be my favorite out of all of them.


Not a Day in My Life is pretty weak as it stands. It wouldn't harm things to change it to not requiring an action, but simply offering you a reroll if you failed the save. Not feeling the flavor perfectly, but allowing it to function against poison too would make it a little stronger, and still not terribly good.

Instead, it is now capable of rerolling poison damage as a free action so you can minimize harm if nothing else.


Luck You Can Bet On is another nice flavorful addition. Does it apply to the Deck of Many Things? I know plenty of people regard that as the ultimate game of chance! :smallamused:

You can no longer use it in combination with magical items...


Since you've prevented it from being abused by diplomancers, I don't think Fortunate Impressions needs to suck up two rerolls. Additionally, it would be nice if you had the option of changing their mood when they notice you. You wouldn't want to waste the rerolls and then just have the guy not see you...you would have brightened his mood for nothing! :smalltongue:

While an interesting point, I think that my version makes a bit more sense. Watching an NPC sit at a bar, moan about the problems in thier life, punch out the bartender in a drunken rage, and suddenly became a beacon of happiness the moment they notice you is kind of... well... the feat is about happening upon people when they're happy, not making them happy. I will reduce it to one luck reroll now.


Why 70%? Only gaining a 20% increase between two options (the most common) seems a huge waste of a feat. Boosting it a little couldn't hurt.

Why 70%? Simply put, it allows for a decent starting place for the equation to start. A three way path grants you a 65% chance (2x the normal rate), a four way path grants you a 60% chance (over 2x normal rate) and so forth. If you can find a better equation that gives better odds for two paths without givine rediculous odds when confronted with more, please let me know.


Fate's Friend is nice. On the not of not failing, a luck feat that allowed you to take the better of the two rolls instead of having to take the reroll, or a feat that lets you know if the roll was a success or failure before choosing to use a reroll.

Very sleepy at the moment but I'll have to look into making those feats.


Scrapes and Bruises is fantastic. :smallbiggrin:

Thanks. That one is my second favorite.


At only a -1 penalty, why doesn't Jinx affect actual combat rolls, like attack rolls? Do you feel an effective +1 AC is just too strong?

I feel that the effective +1 AC is a bit strong (especially compared with unbelievable luck), especially as it would apply to allies as well.


How about a feat that increases the rolls your DM made on the random treasure table? Obviously it wouldn't apply to every group, but it certainly would for some, and being lucky on those table certainly feel like something luck feats could manipulate.

I've considered this possibility and this is what I've realized: By allowing players to reroll low treasures (leading to regression towards the average) but keep high treasures, the amount of wealth that the party possesses goes up. Also, effects that alter WBL have the inherent property of unbalancing the game to a certain extent.

[Psyborg]

I like it. All of them are either useful or flavorful, and most of them are both :smalltongue: and they seem balanced as far as I can tell. Bad Luck is No Luck is incredibly nice to have, but not overpowered given its prerequisites.

One minor typo to point out: Some of the feats specify, "You gain one luck reroll per day.", and some say, "You gain one luck reroll per day per day."

Other than that, they look good; just looking over them initially, I can see at least...four that my Sagittarius will definitely want at some point, assuming the campaign lasts long enough. Good stuff.

*adds thread to his list of stuff to nominate at some point*

[MammonAzrael]

In my mind, surge of fortune, fortunate impressions, and bad luck is no luck can all be taken at level 1 with no problems (though I might put a character level 3rd restriction on the middle one if people think it is necessary).

Right. What I meant was that by a super-picky reading, "character level 3rd" means that you have to be 3rd level to select the feat. You can't be 6th level, or 9th level, you must be 3rd level.


Instead, it is now capable of rerolling poison damage as a free action so you can minimize harm if nothing else.

Nifty. Now a possible choice for a super-luck character.


You can no longer use it in combination with magical items...

Good idea. :smallsmile:


While an interesting point, I think that my version makes a bit more sense. Watching an NPC sit at a bar, moan about the problems in thier life, punch out the bartender in a drunken rage, and suddenly became a beacon of happiness the moment they notice you is kind of... well... the feat is about happening upon people when they're happy, not making them happy. I will reduce it to one luck reroll now.

Fair enough.


Why 70%? Simply put, it allows for a decent starting place for the equation to start. A three way path grants you a 65% chance (2x the normal rate), a four way path grants you a 60% chance (over 2x normal rate) and so forth. If you can find a better equation that gives better odds for two paths without givine rediculous odds when confronted with more, please let me know.

Not really. I mean, you could do 80%-10%, but I think at that point its just a matter of preference.


I feel that the effective +1 AC is a bit strong (especially compared with unbelievable luck), especially as it would apply to allies as well.

Fair enough.


I've considered this possibility and this is what I've realized: By allowing players to reroll low treasures (leading to regression towards the average) but keep high treasures, the amount of wealth that the party possesses goes up. Also, effects that alter WBL have the inherent property of unbalancing the game to a certain extent.

If you are playing with random treasure tables, then you either don't really care about WBL, or your DM will adjust so that regardless of what you get in a given encounter, you will still roughly meet WBL guidelines. And it also depends on how much the feat affected the table rolls.

[Squark]

I would indicate that Against the Odds can't be used to pull off any task listed in the epic level handbook unless the character using it is epic (This gets rid of some of the more rediculous scenarios involving climb and balance- the ELH has a DC for balancing on clouds and for climbing perfectly smooth ceilings with no tools)

EDIT: Other stupid possibilities with the ELH- Disgusing surface thoughts, pass through a wall of force, Teach vermin tricks in one minute, provide a weeks worth of long-term care in one hour, Identify all the properties of a magic item, notice invisible creatures that are neither moving nor alive, or swim up a waterfall.

[classy one]

Reminds me of a PrC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8789023&postcount=9) done a while back that I really liked and currently using). I don't think it is finished ashas some strange requirements but it is based on luck. I just ignore the mantle/domain requirements.

With these feats my lucky scoundrel will be even more potent. Thanks.

[Realms of Chaos]

Psyborg: The per day per day is actually from an interesting "find and replace" error that I made early on. Whoops.

MammonAzrael: Oddly, "character level xth" is the language actually used in Complete Scoundrel. I was just following the trend. Is it commonly interpreted that they can only be taken at their specific level? :smallconfused:

Also, I originally changed the anti-disease one to minimize disease damage rather than poision damage as I wrote in my reply but as I don't want to look like a liar, it now does both (unless that turns out to be too much for some reason).

Also, just because you've been asking for it...

Fortune Hunter [Luck]
You always seem to stagger across the right item just when you need it.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, any luck feat
Benefit: Whenever the DM rolls to determine a magic item's type (such as if using table 7-1, Dungeon Master's Guide), you are permitted to see the result (and table) and may spend a luck reroll to force the DM to reroll. Unlike other luck feats, Fortune Hunter requires no action (but may only be used once per item).
You gain one luck reroll per day.

That should be serviceable, though it feels wierd forcing the DM to reroll a typically secret roll. In most cases, all that this thing does is ensure that the party doesn't collect a huge assortment of unneeded potions/scrolls.

Squark: I'm quite aware of the various stuff that epic-level skills can do. Would you mind explaining which of these would be overpowered for a 9th level character who has spent five feats to do so 1/day if they're really lucky?
Balance on clouds? Useful for stopping a fall from a mountain, maybe. Apart from being very situational and only getting one chance to get that natural 20, this feat only helps a single skill check, meaning you'd fall through the moment you move for any reason.
Climbing ceilings? Again, you can get as far as a single climb check can get you, which isn't all that impressive in most circumstances.
Disguising surface thoughts? Again, a 5% chance of protection from a 2nd level spell 1/day doesn't sound strong at 9th level (in fact, it would still be weak at first level).
Sneak through wall of force? This one is more impressive than the others, I'll admit, but it still doesn't strike me as an incredibly overpowered option.
Teach vermin tricks in one minute? Cool, sounds like the rough approximation of a 1st or 2nd level spell in power. Getting it 1/day doesn't sound too bad.
Healing an ally in 1 hour? Again, magic would do it better, faster, and more frequently/reliably than this person. Not a problem.
Identify magic item? There is a skill trick available at level 9 that lacks the feat tax of against all odds and basically does the same thing.
Notice invisible creatures? So... a 1 round see invisibility effect (kind of)? Not really impressed.
Swim up waterfall? Much like climbing and balancing, you'd better hope you reach the top in one swim check or else you're plummeting back down.

[Cieyrin]

I like these, though I'd like to point out that Fortuitous Fluke will cause a critical failure and possibly fry equipment/set off magic items like Necklaces of Fireballs/Helms of Brilliance.

[Realms of Chaos]

And a couple more luck feats that popped into my mind.

Press Your Luck [Luck]
You can press your luck much further than others, thought it doesn’t last forever.
Prerequisites: Any two luck feats
Benefits: As a swift action, you can grant yourself a temporary luck reroll for 1 minute. The temporary luck reroll is used before other luck rerolls and doesn’t stack with any other temporary luck rerolls you may possess. Each time ability is used, you take –1 penalty to all d20 rolls for 24 hours. As an immediate action, you may spend a luck reroll to ignore any penalty applied to a single dice roll by this feat.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes:This feat allows you get a couple of cheap rerolls but if you go too far, you'll need to use this feat just to keep even (1 roll every other round being unpenalized) and doing so pushes you further and further into bad luck. Well, that's what you get for pressing your luck too far

Lucky Guess [Luck]
Your random guesses are often more accurate than researched answers.
Benefits: As an immediate action, you may spend a luck reroll to reroll a single Knowledge check. As a swift action, you may spend a luck reroll to permit you to make a single untrained knowledge check within the next round.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Design Notes: I'm honestly surprised that I didn't think of this ahead of time. Just a simple luck feat for knowledge lovers

Edit: ans some more

Cricketsong [Bardic Music][Luck]
Your music carries the power of good fortune.
Prerequisites:Bardic Music class feature, Any luck feat
Benefits: As a move action, you may expend a daily use of your bardic music to grant all allies who can hear and see you the ability to use your luck rerolls as if they possessed all luck feats you possess (even if they don't meet the prerequisites). This benefit lasts for 1 round/luck feat you possess
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Inspired Luck [Luck]
When inspiration fails you, luck can get you through dire straits.
Prerequisites: Inspiration class feature, Any luck feat
Benefits: You may also spend a luck reroll in place of an inspiration point to power a class feature.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Lucky Find [Luck]
You can always seem to find exactly what you need.
Benefits: As a swift action, you may spend a luck reroll and name a mundane object worth up to 1 gp/luck feat you possess. You either discover the the item on your person (having long since been forgotten) or may find it in your immediate environment with a DC 10 Search check. The item is often of exceedingly low quality, making it difficult to sell for anything in most circumstances, let alone half of its market price.

Lucky Token [Luck]
You possess a special token of luck.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, Any Luck Feat
Benefits: You may choose a single nonmagical item between diminutive and small in size to be your lucky totem. Once per day, while holding that item, you may add a +1 luck bonus to any single roll. In addition, you may spend a luck reroll while the object is within 30 feet to allow it to reroll a saving throw it has just made. If the lucky totem is lost, stolen, or destroyed, it doesn't function for others and can be replaced 24 hours later.
So long as you hold your lucky totem, you gain one luck reroll per encounter.

Ward of Luck [Luck]
Your amazing luck protects you against curses.
Benefits: Against effects that a remove curse spell could remove, you add the number of luck feats you possess as a luck bonus to all Saving throws. You may spend a single luck feat as an immediate action to reroll such a saving throw.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Fortunate Fury [Luck]
You seem to be inordinately lucky while in a rage.
Prerequisites: Rage class feature, any luck feat.
Benefits: When you enter a rage, you gain a temporary luck reroll for the duration of the rage. A temporary luck reroll is used before other luck rerolls and doesn't stack with other temporary luck rerolls. In addition, you can spend a swift action to add a +1d6 bonus to the next damage roll you make this turn.

[Cieyrin]

Hmm, I both like and dislike Inspired Luck, as it's kinda a replacement to Fonts of Inspiration but on the other hand, you actually get alternatives on what to do with your luck, unlike Inspiration which only powers factotum class features.

[Realms of Chaos]

Don't forget that FoI gives extra inspiration points (per encounter) rather than luck rerolls (per day). The feat was just made to make an alternate take on the factotum possible.

[Psyborg]

Pondering the idea of a feat called "Wild Luck" or similar that allows you to treat natural 19s and 2s as natural 20s and 1s for all purposes. Probably not balanced unless it also applies to attacks made against you, because you get more out of a natural 20 than you lose with a natural 1.

Thoughts?

[Realms of Chaos]

Pondering the idea of a feat called "Wild Luck" or similar that allows you to treat natural 19s and 2s as natural 20s and 1s for all purposes. Probably not balanced unless it also applies to attacks made against you, because you get more out of a natural 20 than you lose with a natural 1.

Thoughts?

This idea strikes me as... odd.

With unlimited uses per day, the feat just strikes me as a bit too... dangerous to see play. Natural 20s allow you to succeed on tasks where there is is otherwise no chance of success and permanently doubling the odds of that seems really powerful. Also, the natural 2 --> 1 thing doesn't seem like a suitable balancing factor because when you are relying on a 20, getting much lower than that will just fail either way, whether that failure is automatic or not.

[Cieyrin]

This idea strikes me as... odd.

With unlimited uses per day, the feat just strikes me as a bit too... dangerous to see play. Natural 20s allow you to succeed on tasks where there is is otherwise no chance of success and permanently doubling the odds of that seems really powerful. Also, the natural 2 --> 1 thing doesn't seem like a suitable balancing factor because when you are relying on a 20, getting much lower than that will just fail either way, whether that failure is automatic or not.

How about borrowing the Wild Mage mechanic, spend a luck reroll to roll 1d6-3 and add that to your d20 roll, with the total of the d20 and the luck die being considered the natural roll, with any numbers above or equal to 20 as a nat 20 and any numbers below or equal to 1 as a nat 1.

[Psyborg]

How about borrowing the Wild Mage mechanic, spend a luck reroll to roll 1d6-3 and add that to your d20 roll, with the total of the d20 and the luck die being considered the natural roll, with any numbers above or equal to 20 as a nat 20 and any numbers below or equal to 1 as a nat 1.

Hmm...plausible, but here's why I don't like it: Generally, luck rerolls are used after the initial die roll. If this was done the same way, it would only ever get used on initial rolls of 14-19 (giving extra chances for nat-20) or 1 (giving a 50% chance to negate the nat-1). On the other hand, if you had to declare it before rolling the d20, it'd be different from all the other luck feats, and people would forget.

How about this:

EDIT: Don't use this, it's as broken as a core-only druid. See RoC's rebutal below. :smalleek:

Borrowed Luck [Luck]
You have figured out how to borrow luck from the future- albeit at a ruinous rate of interest.
Prerequisites: Any three luck feats.
Benefit: Whenever you roll a natural 18 or 19 on a d20 roll, you may spend a luck reroll to instead treat it as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next d20 roll is instead treated as a natural 1, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll it.
At 12HD, you may spend two luck rerolls to treat a natural 16 or 17 as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next two d20 rolls are treated as natural 1s, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll them.
At 18HD, you may spend three luck rerolls to treat a natural 14 or 15 as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next three d20 rolls are treated as natural 1s, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll them.
If you use this feat more than once in a single turn, the number of automatic natural 1s owed you stacks. If you are still owed natural 1s at the end of the encounter, they carry over to the next encounter.
You gain one luck reroll per day.


Here's the logic, such as it is: The automatic natural 1s don't start until after your turn because, well, guaranteeing a natural 20 on an attack roll and a natural 1 on the crit confirmation roll with the same ability seems kinda ridiculous.

They start at the end of your current turn, rather than the beginning of your next, so that you don't have as much control over what those crit-fails are, and so that they actually represent some vulnerability to enemy actions, rather than just missing a lot next turn (though that might happen too!)

[ericgrau]

One problem which I think is actually a good thing is that monsters only roll so many 20's against you in a day. For saves you'd have to cast 20 spells on average. With full attacks it's a bit more friendly. But the benefit of avoiding a possible crit is worth it when it does finally happen. Thus this discourages people from getting too many luck feats that add uses per day, as there's not much point. The system is self-limiting which keeps it from getting out of hand. Bam, balance without trying.

Some of them seem a bit situational but as long as those things happen often enough in your campaign, it could work. The treasure one in particular only seems useful at low levels if the amount stays fixed. Maybe it could give appropriate random treasure of CR = character level - X.

[Realms of Chaos]

How about this:

Borrowed Luck [Luck]
You have figured out how to borrow luck from the future- albeit at a ruinous rate of interest.
Prerequisites: Any three luck feats.
Benefit: Whenever you roll a natural 18 or 19 on a d20 roll, you may spend a luck reroll to instead treat it as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next d20 roll is instead treated as a natural 1, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll it.
At 12HD, you may spend two luck rerolls to treat a natural 16 or 17 as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next two d20 rolls are treated as natural 1s, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll them.
At 18HD, you may spend three luck rerolls to treat a natural 14 or 15 as a natural 20. Starting at the end of your current turn, your next three d20 rolls are treated as natural 1s, and you may not use luck-based abilities to reroll them.
If you use this feat more than once in a single turn, the number of automatic natural 1s owed you stacks. If you are still owed natural 1s at the end of the encounter, they carry over to the next encounter.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

With quick reconnoiter, anybody can instantly get rid of three natural 1s on their next turn by making a spot check, a listen check, and a knowledge check as free actions (and skill checks don't even automatically fail). Alternately, allies can use "harmless" spells on you like cat's grace to make you spend one of your automatic natural 1s.
There are too many ways for players to force meaningless rolls into the middle of combat.

[Psyborg]

With quick reconnoiter, anybody can instantly get rid of three natural 1s on their next turn by making a spot check, a listen check, and a knowledge check as free actions (and skill checks don't even automatically fail). Alternately, allies can use "harmless" spells on you like cat's grace to make you spend one of your automatic natural 1s.
There are too many ways for players to force meaningless rolls into the middle of combat.

Ouch. Talk about effective rebuttal! :smallamused:

Okay, I concede. Not every idea can be made to work, I guess. *chuckle* Going to add a note to my previous post saying DON'T USE THIS IT'S BROKEN AS A CORE-ONLY DRUID or something. :smallbiggrin:

[Realms of Chaos]

Just created a few more luck feats out of boredom, raising the total so far to 30 feats.

Felicitous Dodge [Luck]
You always seem to dodge attacks in just the nick of time.
Prerequisites: any Luck feat, character level 3rd
Benefits: As an immediate action, you may expend a single luck reroll to grant yourself a +1 Luck bonus to AC until the end of the encounter for 5 rounds if not in an encounter. Whenever you spend one or more luck rerolls for another purpose, your luck bonus increases by an equal amount.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Auspicious Mishap [Luck]
Even your bad luck tends to work out in your favor.
Prerequisites: any two Luck feats, character level 6th
Benefits: As an immediate action, you may expend a single luck reroll when making an attack roll, saving throw, or skill check (before the dice is rolled). If the roll fails, you gain a +5 luck bonus to your next attack roll against the same target, saving throw using the same save, or skill check using the same skill if made within 1 round. If you roll a natural 1, you also regain the luck reroll spent on this feat.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Natural Luck [Luck]
You seem to be followed by luck wherever you go.
Benefits: As an immediate action, you may expend a single luck reroll to reroll an ability check.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Endless Fortune [Luck]
You never seem to be quite out of luck.
Prerequisites: any Luck feat, character level 12th
Benefits: You regain one expended luck reroll (if any) at the start of each hour and at the start of each encounter, in addition to regaining all rerolls at the start of each day as normal.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Extra Luck [Luck]
You have far more luck than you know what to do with.
Prerequisites: Unbelievable Luck
Benefits: Once per day, you may add a +1 Luck bonus to the result of any d20 roll you make. You gain two luck rerolls per day.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times, gaining an additional daily bonus to apply and two daily luck rerolls each time.

Propituous Evasion [Luck]
You can avoid harm even when it might seem simply impossible.
Prerequisites: any two Luck feats, Character level 12th
Benefits: As a swift action, you may expend one or two luck rerolls. If you expend one, you gain a 20% miss chance against all attacks for 1 round. If you expend two, you instead gain a 50% miss chance for 1 round.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Influence Chance [Luck]
You have a certain amount of say over magic reliant upon chance.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks or Magical Fortune.
Benefits: Whenever you use a spell or magic item (other than an artifact) that possesses a random effect (such as prismatic spray, a spell cast in a wild magic zone, a bag of tricks, or a rod of wonder), you may expend a luck reroll as an immediate action to roll twice and select which result is used.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

Travel Unhindered [Luck]
Monsters very rarely seem to meet you unless you go out of your way to find them.
Benefits: Whenever a random encounter would be rolled, you may spend a luck reroll as an immediate action. If you do, there is a 50% chance that the random encounter does not occur.
You gain one luck reroll per day.

[Psyborg]

Suggestion:

Endless Fortune
--As in previous post--
Alternate: This variant is intended for campaigns where time between encounters is not tracked with any particular care. You regain (two|three) expended luck rerolls (if any) at the start of each encounter, instead of one per hour as normal. You also still gain one luck reroll per day.

Thoughts?

[flabort]

Gah! I can only imagine a human fighter with as many of these as possible. The guy would just be rolling in good fortune!

Lets see... human fighter gets three feats at first, another each level for the next three levels... two for 6th... 7-9 gets one each...
By 9th level, a human fighter gets... 11 feats... 13 by 11th... 16 by 15th... 18 by 17th... and 20 by 20th. 2 flaws boost that to 22...
He gets 22 feats, and can pick from a list of 30... :smalleek:
You have more feats than any 20 level character can ever take!

[Seerow]

Gah! I can only imagine a human fighter with as many of these as possible. The guy would just be rolling in good fortune!

Lets see... human fighter gets three feats at first, another each level for the next three levels... two for 6th... 7-9 gets one each...
By 9th level, a human fighter gets... 11 feats... 13 by 11th... 16 by 15th... 18 by 17th... and 20 by 20th. 2 flaws boost that to 22...
He gets 22 feats, and can pick from a list of 30... :smalleek:
You have more feats than any 20 level character can ever take!

Unfortunately luck feats do not appear on a fighter's bonus feat list.

[Volthawk]

Gah! I can only imagine a human fighter with as many of these as possible. The guy would just be rolling in good fortune!

Lets see... human fighter gets three feats at first, another each level for the next three levels... two for 6th... 7-9 gets one each...
By 9th level, a human fighter gets... 11 feats... 13 by 11th... 16 by 15th... 18 by 17th... and 20 by 20th. 2 flaws boost that to 22...
He gets 22 feats, and can pick from a list of 30... :smalleek:
You have more feats than any 20 level character can ever take!

Except Luck feats can't be gained through Fighter, so you'd have to Dark Chaos Shuffle to make it work.

[Das Beeg Kabooa]

Unfortunately luck feats do not appear on a fighter's bonus feat list.

I guess you could say...

/Mordekeinens Fabulous Sungalsses

...he was just short on his luck.

AAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Cieyrin]

I'm not quite sure what Felicitous Dodge's AC increase from further expenditures is supposed to refer to with the 'equal amount.' I assume it increases by +1? Also, wouldn't an encounter necessarily occur if something is attempting to hit your AC? I suppose you don't have to count traps as encounters but, either way, I'd just say it has a duration of 5 rounds.

Natural Luck is pretty weak. How often do ability checks come up? They're mostly covered by skill checks, which other luck feats cover in bunches. Maybe give a constant +1 to any ability check or +5 to one ability check per luck reroll expended?

As for the Endless Fortune variant, that's a bit too much, I think, for how Luck feats are designed. I find I tend to have encounters on a more rapid basis than once per hour when I'm in a dangerous area. Maybe 1 per one or two encounters would be better, so you aren't just rerolling everything.

Also, I'd love to see a Luck feat interact with the reroll that mid-level Swashbucklers get. Not sure what it'd do but it'd certainly be neat. :smallsmile:

[flabort]

Well, I forgot fighters don't get luck feats. So a character can only take... 7 from levels... 3 more from human/flaws...

10/30, or 1/3 of the luck feats. :smalleek:
It was more than any character could ever take when it was just 13! :smalleek: :smalleek: :smalleek:

Edit: DCS? I don't think I'm privy to that technique. what is it? a spell/series of spells? psion abuse like the sandwich trick?

[Volthawk]

Well, I forgot fighters don't get luck feats. So a character can only take... 7 from levels... 3 more from human/flaws...

10/30, or 1/3 of the luck feats. :smalleek:
It was more than any character could ever take when it was just 13! :smalleek: :smalleek: :smalleek:

Dark Chaos Shuffle, my friend.

[Veyr]

There are a pair of spells called Embrace the Dark Chaos and Shun the Dark Chaos. The former permanently swaps any one feat you have for a [Vile] or [Chaotic] or something feat, and the latter swaps any one feat of that same type into any other feat you qualify for. Cast Embrace followed by Shun, and you can turn any feat you have into any other feat you qualify for - even if you didn't qualify for it when you took the original feat. This process is known as the Dark Chaos Shuffle.

Combine this with, say, Elf (who has four Martial Weapon Proficiency feats), and this goes from the dubious to the absurd.

Also, several PrCs in Complete Scoundrel give bonus [Luck] feats.

[Realms of Chaos]

Cieyrin: Regarding felicitous dodge, I was making room for a couple of possibilities in the future. First of all, I said by an equal amount instead of +1 because of feats that let you spend several rerolls simultaneously (such as advantageous avoidance and magical fortune). I gave rules outside of an encounter because 1) Traps may not be counted as encounters and 2) this feat can provide a bonus to you before an encounter starts (whether on purpose or incidentally). That said, I'm considering changing the duration to 1d4 rounds and refreshing it whenever you spend a luck reroll.

While natural luck is weak, it's pretty decent among the 1st level luck feats. It allows you to reroll Strength checks and Constitution checks, both of which are actually pretty common... In fact, it allows you to reroll initiative checks at the current moment. I'll be changing that immediately so that lucky start still has a place.

Regarding Endless Fortune, I found something of a compromise between the previous form and psyborg's alternative, restoring one reroll each hour as well as at the start of each encounter.

I'll look into swashbucklers...

Regarding optimized feat count:
You guys are obviously thinking too small.
To maximize feats, you need an elf cleric 1 (choosing the time domain for Improved Initiative and exchanging your second domain for a domain feat)/warrior (Unearthed Arcana generalist class) 19 with two flaws, severe corruption and depravity, and who has dedicated themselves to an elder evil.

You start with 23 feats (10 warrior + 7 normal + 2 flaws + 4 taint) and use dark chaos shuffle to trade your four proficiencies, two domain feats, and your five bonus vile feats for a grand total of 34 feats by level 20. :smallbiggrin:

In the end, you end up as a damned and crippled elven warrior but you will practically exhale four-leaf clovers.

[Seerow]

Cieyrin: Regarding felicitous dodge, I was making room for a couple of possibilities in the future. First of all, I said by an equal amount instead of +1 because of feats that let you spend several rerolls simultaneously (such as advantageous avoidance and magical fortune). I gave rules outside of an encounter because 1) Traps may not be counted as encounters and 2) this feat can provide a bonus to you before an encounter starts (whether on purpose or incidentally). That said, I'm considering changing the duration to 1d4 rounds and refreshing it whenever you spend a luck reroll.

While natural luck is weak, it's pretty decent among the 1st level luck feats. It allows you to reroll Strength checks and Constitution checks, both of which are actually pretty common... In fact, it allows you to reroll initiative checks at the current moment. I'll be changing that immediately so that lucky start still has a place.

Regarding Endless Fortune, I found something of a compromise between the previous form and psyborg's alternative, restoring one reroll each hour as well as at the start of each encounter.

I'll look into swashbucklers...

Regarding optimized feat count:
You guys are obviously thinking too small.
To maximize feats, you need an elf cleric 1 (choosing two domains that grant feats)/warrior (Unearthed Arcana generalist class) 19 with two flaws, severe corruption and depravity, and who has dedicated themselves to an elder evil.

You start with 23 feats (10 warrior + 7 normal + 2 flaws + 4 taint) and use dark chaos shuffle to trade your four proficiencies, two domain feats, and your five bonus vile feats for a grand total of 34 feats by level 20. :smallbiggrin:

In the end, you end up as a damned and crippled elven warrior but you will practically exhale four-leaf clovers.

If you're cheesing it to the point you can trade out weapon proficiencies for feats, why are you not trading all of the Fighter's weapon proficiencies out? Or hell, why are you going so deep into Fighter, rather than dippinging into 20 different classes that provide 1-3 bonus feats in the first 1-2 levels? I know there's plenty of them that give a set in stone feat that you could use that shuffle to swap out. For example soulknife gets you weapon focus to swap out. Psiwar gets you a feat. Monk gets Unarmed Strike and a bonus feat. Ranger gets track, plus combat style at level 2. I'm sure there's others.

[Cieyrin]

If you're cheesing it to the point you can trade out weapon proficiencies for feats, why are you not trading all of the Fighter's weapon proficiencies out? Or hell, why are you going so deep into Fighter, rather than dippinging into 20 different classes that provide 1-3 bonus feats in the first 1-2 levels? I know there's plenty of them that give a set in stone feat that you could use that shuffle to swap out. For example soulknife gets you weapon focus to swap out. Psiwar gets you a feat. Monk gets Unarmed Strike and a bonus feat. Ranger gets track, plus combat style at level 2. I'm sure there's others.

Not Fighter, UA Warrior, the generic class system, which probably shouldn't work in the example give but, for the sake of argument...

[Realms of Chaos]

Fine, you caught me. The actual maximum for feats by level 20 is actually somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90.

Without the cheese of DCS, however, it is true that a character can only get a small fraction of the feats that are out there. I personally find this to be advantageous. While it does force players to make difficult choices, it helps to create versatility among various luck-based builds.

Out of idle curiosity, are there any other feat types out there that people find to be lacking? I might consider branching out.

[flabort]

80-90?!
I need to see that build. Are there any of these luck feats that can be taken more than once? How concentrated can we make this guy's Luck? He'd probably cause his luck to liquefy around him :smallbiggrin:.

[Siosilvar]

If you're cheesing it to the point you can trade out weapon proficiencies for feats, why are you not trading all of the Fighter's weapon proficiencies out?

Because Fighters get proficiency with simple and martial weapons, but elves get actual Martial Weapon Proficiency feats.

[Realms of Chaos]

Armor and shield proficiency feats, on the other hand, are explicitly described as being gained as "bonus feats" by players with the proper proficiencies, making it legal to trade away such proficiencies (unless I'm missing something). As such, fighter 1 can actually net you 6 feats right off of the bat. No sane DM would allow it but it is an interesting detail of theoretical optimization.

Extra luck was created in part to catch the extra run-off if you ran out of interesting feats or needed more rerolls so it can be selected multiple times.