GM GM’s Luck Roll

Games Management

GM’s Luck Roll

What is the GM’s Luck Roll?

This is a reward mechanic in the game for helping me with running the game by lessening my anxiety.

Why have a reward mechanic?

Some players were lax in notification of not being able to attend a game, it is a fortnightly commitment with dates specified at least two months in advance, sometimes six. Yet I have had players forget when the game is on, go travelling, or schedule other events and not be respectful enough to let me know they were not attending.

Not coming to games is always fine, and I don’t hold it against players who let me know. No reason is necessary. Though if you miss a game without letting me know I will chase you up to find out if your okay, and depending on the reason you might find yourself on the short list for a conversation about if you really want to play with the group or not.

As my games are designed as a friendly space, and my gamers are (or I hope will become) friends, its not about finding the right players, but working with the personalities I have.

What are the ways to earn GM’s Luck?

• Unavailability for a game – Sending an email to GM at least a week before a session informing you can’t make it. What this does is allow me to manage the game session so the players who can make it get the most out of the game session. This provides a bonus for the session your away for, and an extra one for the session you return.
• Arrive to Chat – Arrive before 6.30 pm on a game night and socialise with the GM and other players. This gives me a chance to catch up with people out of game time, figure out any character issues before the game and I enjoy the company.
• Action Points (D&D) – Attendance at the game grants you group an additional point that is added to GM’s Luck replacing the Action Point mechanic.
• Hero Points (Pathfinder) – Attendance at the game grants you group an additional point that is added to GM’s Luck replacing the Hero Point mechanic.
• Annotated Stat Block – Providing a document using my annotated stat block for your character at every level provides a bonus if it is up to date the week before the session starts. A lot of players have told me they didn’t understand how their characters mechanically work fully until they put together a stat block. A template is available here:
  • Dungeons and Dragons 5E Annotated Stat Block
  • Pathfinder 2 Annotated Stat Block
  • Pathfinder 1 Annotated Stat Block
• Sponsorship – A player showing a copy of my wife’s book at the game table provides a additional bonus (one book per player). As there are three books available and around 6-8 players in a group, a table should be able to gain this most sessions.
• Review – Provide a review or feedback for one of the my wife’s books will get you another bonus on the following session. The only caveat here is be respectable, if you don’t like the book, say its not your thing, most authors take it personally when you attack their work. This can be done on the web (please provide link), email or in person.
• Community Growth – as the blog and youtube channel associated with the game grows, as does the in game rewards so players are encourage to help grow the subscriptions to the blog about the games, and the youtube channel showing the game sessions.

What are the ways to use GM’s Luck?

• GM Rolls Red Die – I can roll the red dice for your check, which appears to roll a natural 20 about 1 in 5 when I roll it. (Once per roll)
• Help Me Out – Your stuck and unsure what to do next, spent a point of GM’s Luck to get insight into what you should be doing based on what you have been told and encountered to date. (Once per party long rest)
• Save Me – After you know the result, you can use a point of GM’s Luck to change a critical failure to a failure, a failure to a success, or a critical success against your to a success, and lastly a success against you to a failure. You need to say how this save you in the game. (Once per effect). This can also be used against an NPC using a skill roll against your character with the opposite effect.
• I Feel Lucky – Before you roll the dice, you can choose to push your luck. If you choose to do this, a success is upgraded (i.e. becomes a critical success) and a failure is compounded (i.e. becomes a critical failure). The gods are fickle, with great risk comes a great reward. (Once per roll)
• Enhance My Check – You can spend GM’s Luck to add an extra dice to the roll, it can be done after the roll has been made, but before the results have been announced. This can upgrade a check for disadvantage to normal, normal to advantage, or gain a rare double advantage (rolling three dice and taking the best). It can also be done to enhance any other roll in the game. (As many times as you have GM’s Luck left).
• Overruling GM – Have the GM refer to the rulebook to confirm (or deny) your ruling on a rule that you believe to be vitally important to your in game actions.
• Please don’t kill me – (costs 3 points) – Your character is not killed.
• Lets to that again – (costs 3 points) – Take another round of actions (like action surge) but refreshes all actions.

What these provide?

Using the GM’s Luck provides the game with a mechanic that can enhance the storyline. This is a house rule, and not part of any of the gaming systems, but seems to work for my games.

Concluding Thoughts

I think this is a more positive version of the re-roll or advantage rule I have been using in my games the last two years. I hope it helps improve the game sessions for the next few years to come.

If players do not do any of these things, they don’t get penalised, they just don’t get rewarded for it. As a reward only house rule, it fits with the style of game play I prefer to encourage which is all about positive reinforcement at the gaming table and not focusing on the negative.

Content Updates

• 2021-08-04 – Updated content.
• 2020-12-01 – Adding Options for gaining and spending points.
• 2020-11-09 – Added Overruling GM option to spending Luck Points.

Game Management

GM – 2021 in Review, Choosing a New Campaign, Downtime Uses, GM’s Luck Roll, House Rules, Running Games over Skype, Sandbox vs Linear, Story RPGs, Table Rules, Tracking Experience

Annotated Stat Blocks: Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Pathfinder 2, Star Wars FFG

Creating a Campaign: D&D Mystara Design (2022), Genesys, Pathfinder, Pathfinder 2 TRAP Design (2022), Shadowrun, Star Wars (Mandalorian, 2022)

Character Creation: Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder 2, Star Wars Beta, Star Wars FFG

Concluding a Campaign: Star Wars

NPCs – Talking to NPCs, Working with NPCs.

Virtual Table Top (VTT) Software – d20Pro: Installation, Realm Works: Players and their Characters, Using for D&D, Realm Created

Library of Books

B5, d20 System, Pathfinder, SW

This site is currently undergoing migration to www.thedarkelf007.com website due to needing a different set of tools that I had available to me on here.

General Links

Basic Links: Who Am I?, Home, Game Tools, Game Session Videos, My Campaigns, My Library, Site Map, Subscription Information

Game Systems: Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder 1 & 2, Shadowrun, Star Wars. Other Game Systems

Site sponsored by the author AS Hamilton (my wife) with her books available on amazon kindle.