Post:Luck and You - 01/17/2017 - 13:09

Luck and You · on 01/17/2017 01:09 PM CST	13038
Later today there will be a mailer going out mentioning the Luck system. Since we've had enough time for fun speculation and contemplation on what this system is, I would like to spend a few words on it prior to the mailer. First, to answer a few questions that have come out over the past few weeks: 1) Luck is a new system, not something that has been active in the past. While various systems have more or less performance based on luck (in the literal sense of how reliant they are on a RNG), there has been no luck stat before now. 2) The range of Luck is: Divine (+3) Very Lucky (+2) Lucky (+1) Average (0) Unlucky (-1) Very Unlucky (-2) Abysmal (-3) These adjectives are discrete values rather than ranges. The entire range of Luck is +3 to -3. Now on to a few other topics related to Luck. ACCESS TO LUCK MANIPULATION EFFECTS: There will be three forms of luck manipulation in the near future. First, Traders will gain a new speculate that gives them a +Luck bonus. Second, Moon Mages will gain a teleologic sorcery spell that allows them to steal luck. Finally, Su Helmas will make available luck-manipulating devices that anyone can use if they choose to acquire them. We've had internal discussions of a granting a third guild native access to luck manipulation, but the plans for that are still tentative enough that I don't feel comfortable pointing a finger yet. EFFECT OF LUCK: This is, by intention, going to be variable from system to system that we touch. Luck as a concept is slippery and hard to define, and some activities are more prone to it than others. But that's also a very unsatisfying explanation from a technical standpoint, so I'd like to go a bit deeper. Here are a few concepts I'm running with while implementing Luck into the game. Note that these are not ironbound rules and they may face changes as we go forward, but it's what I'm dealing with now. 1) Average is default. Luck manipulation isn't necessary to get a fair roll on an RNG (insofar as the GM who invented the system defined 'fair'). 2) When microtrans money is directly concerned, Luck does not apply. For example, Luck will not apply to the small RNG in Su Helmas event currency. 3) In general, Luck is either additive to results (such as in Lumberjacking, you may be "lucky" and gain more material) or modifying existing RNGs (such as in stealth, it will skew the RNG). We are not in general making things more random to accommodate the system. POWER AND DURATION OF EFFECT: Like the core effect, the power of luck is going to vary based on the system's needs and capabilities. In general, I am looking at staying within the pre-defined ranges of how powerful the RNG was already set and not expanding it. Duration will be variable based on how the luck effect is achieved, but in general we're looking at the following in terms of uptime: +/-1: 66% Uptime. +/-2: 33% Uptime. +/-3: 10% Uptime. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: I am happy to answer most questions regarding this new mechanic. The one exception is I'm not willing to give a full list of what systems are affected by luck yet (we're still plugging away).
This message was originally posted in Discussions with DragonRealms Staff and Players \ General Discussions, by DR-ARMIFER on the play.net forums.