Luck and Fate

[Ettina]

How do you fluff abilities that manipulate luck, like halfling Luck or the Lucky feat?

What about predicting the future? Are some things fated to happen? If not, how can a divination wizard, for example, dream of what is to come and take advantage of it?

[Segev]

For things like Halfling Luck, I would tend to describe it as, well, a lucky break. The attack almost hit, but then the halfling (or the attacker) tripped at just the right moment. Or a startled sparrow flies right in the path of the arrow that now misses the halfling.

For Portent, I'd go more for something like, "Wait, I saw this coming. Bill! DUCK!"

[Garimeth]

What about predicting the future? Are some things fated to happen? If not, how can a divination wizard, for example, dream of what is to come and take advantage of it?

My current campaign is about the bbeg trying to release the universe devouring Great Old One so that he can free the world from its pre-destined suffering.

We have alot of philosophical IC discussions about choice and freewill, and I heavily use phrophecies, time travel, and divination.

Its challenging. I have to plan alot more for the villains that can do it, and I have to give alot of 4th wall information to the players so they can make meta decisions based on IC foreknowledge.

I try to limit this to things that can look like "So and So knew this would happen, and when you arrive in town there is a postman with a package asking if you are Marty McFly and delivers you a package the dead King had sent 3 years ago to be delivered today."

I also try to limit the people that have this ability to be people that are dead or insane and the party is only able to have limited interaction with in the presence.

My players seem to like it, but I have played with them for a long time.