In my Rise of the Runelords game one of my players is a Cleric of Desna. His domains are Luck and Travel and while he makes prodigious use of his travel domain ability his bit of luck ability has been considered next to useless due to it's pre-meditated nature. Once a day on one person and you have to choose when before the roll is, well, lame, especially considering it requires a standard action. The 3.5 version, listed below, proves much more worthwhile.
Luck Domain
Granted PowerYou gain the power of good fortune, which is usable once per day. This extraordinary ability allows you to reroll one roll that you have just made before the game master declares whether the roll results in success or failure. You must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll.
With this one gets the chance to gauge whether the roll succeeded or noth then they can choose to reroll based on that. Should they see the roll having likely succeeded they don't waste their luck because it's already with them. However should their roll be on the lower end of the spectrum they can effectively increase the chances of countering that ill luck by rerolling when they more or less assume it's a failure (a safe bet on most rolls of 5 or below for example). It makes having the luck domain far more... lucky.
With the way it's written in the PRPG you can slightly increase your chances but really it'll be hit or miss. Sure that emulates luck fairly nicely but, in my opinion, not nearly so nice as the 3.5 ability. First, you have to do it either before combat or within the first round of combat, anything else would likely be more of an exception to that rule. Because it requires a standard action you're using it because you think it would be better than a buff the cleric could otherwise cast instead. Then you have three rounds to choose to use it. First you have to use it when you know you want it to count and once you do that is that. You can't get it for the rest of the day. Meaning this requires guess work and playing it right to make sure you don't waste it.
My solution would be a combination of the two instead. For three rounds the person touched with bit of luck can choose to re-roll one roll before the gm informs them as to whether it was successful or not. So lets say the cleric of the party uses bit of luck on a Paladin. The Paladin rushes in and makes a basic attack on the BBEG, he hits an AC of 24 and deals damage. The second round he decides to Smite Evil, he rolls poorly so he chooses to activate his bit of luck and re-roll and rolls a little better. He still hits and the Smiting goodness is dealt. He's happy because he had a little more control over when luck blessed him by choosing after recognizing a likely failure rather than guessing at the need for one.
Now I can see the ability as being useful, but I think it would be better, yes, better and likely more balanced with abilities like that of the travel domain if the player in question had more choice and control in the matter. Yes, luck is about chance, but bit of luck is about getting lucky. That, and it's nicer to choose rather than guess and choose any day, even if the choice turns out a poor result you still had that much more control.
Anyway, I'd like to see other peoples thoughts. I know it's not a major discussion issue like skill points and the Power Attack Feat (I'd still like to hear Jasons input on why the PA feat was neutered so unnecessarily :-( but that's for another thread) but it's been a concern in my game and while it's easy enough to house rule I'd like to at least try to push to make it what I and the player in question see as 'better'. I'd also like to see what the community thinks on the issue as well.
(It seems all the Touch of X powers work like this, more or less)
That was about my take on it, though I think a caveat so if the recipient doesn't "activate" their Luck,
they can receive the Touch again, might be nice...
The "standard action" bit:
I could even see making it an "instantaneous action" for the Cleric themselves, but requiring a "move action" or something to grant it to others...
Actually, the Travel Power itself would seem more balanced as a "move action"... Travel's current Teleport+Move Action+Standard Action or Teleport+Full Attack is a bit much (especially @ higher levels, with multiple uses/ day). Likewise, spending a Standard Action on the Touch of X (especially considering that once you do so, the 3 round timer is ticking down) is somewhat prohibitive...
The current way it's written might not be so bad if the duration started at 3 rounds and improved based upon levels. However, it still doesn't seem all that "lucky" if it can't be activated as an Instant Action, since it requires an investment of premeditated planning that seems antithetical to the concept of a servant of Luck.
Heya, currently also playing a cleric of Desna, Luck and Travel and youre right about it taking a standard action feeling wrong. I just feel that I would love to use it spur of the moment or provide it to my group when it seems really needed but as is, I feel that I've got more important actions to do with my standard action (heal, buff, attack). I'd like to see it available in a way that doesn't hinder my actions. It would be cool if I could apply it to someone as part of a touch spell. That would lead to a situation where I can apply it to an ally in addition to part of a buff or heal. Or as was said, setting as a move action would be fine too.
Well, I have arranged something for my player, it's probably a little more high powered than some of the people I've seen on the message boards might like but effectively here's how the luck domain ability works for my player. In regards to himself it works as it did in 3.5, in regards to others it works as written as far as a standard action and lasting three rounds goes, but otherwise acts as it did in 3.5 I'm seeing how that plays as the way it's presently written just seems flawed.
Just a quick post. I understand and respect what you're saying, but we loved it in our playtests. As is. It's a lot of fun and gets crazy fun when you run about touching up all the NPCs and cohorts....
A vote for "keep-as-is"!
Peace,
tfad
I wouldn't mind it so much if not for a. the duration and b. the time it takes to use. A standard action just seems a little much, however if the duration was a minute/lvl then one could feasibly consider it a useful ability to apply to ones allies before a major battle or some even that would require saves lest one fall down a mountainside. I guess contrary to your group in our group we ran it as was and it seemed to cause more anger and frustration than was worth it. 3 rounds and a standard action seems more trouble than it's worth written as is.