Last Updated on August 23, 2023
Some people are just naturally luckier than others. They just don’t seem held to the same fate-related constraints as us mere mortals. Where the natural fails, the supernatural powers of the lucky step in to ensure that things will go smoother than you first thought.
Having these lucky fellows around can improve one’s own outcomes as well! It can seem as though their extraordinary good fortune can bring fortune to those around them.
D&D 5e players looking to harness the transcendental power of luck can take the Lucky feat to leverage their power against the tides of fate itself.
(For a list of all the Feats in D&D 5e you can refer to our Feats List)
What is the Lucky Feat?
Amongst the feats present in Dungeons and Dragons 5e, few are so ubiquitously considered powerful as Lucky.
Found in the Player’s Handbook, as the name implies, characters with the Lucky feat just seem to have better outcomes than their less lucky compatriots.
You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment.
You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.
You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is made against you. Roll a d20, and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker’s roll or yours. If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are rolled.
You regain your expended luck points when you finish a long rest.
Players who take the Lucky feat are given luck points that they can use to attempt to influence the outcome of a roll. It is a more robust version of the Halfling’s racial trait, Lucky, which grants the player a reroll when they roll a natural 1.
Though it can only be used three times per day, its strength lies in allowing the player to choose the die they want to use, rather than the Halfling trait, which requires using the second die roll.
It’s important to remember that the Lucky feat does not grant the user advantage; instead, its wording is that you “roll an additional d20”. This allows a second — or third die — to be rolled alongside the original dice, and the player then chooses between the possible outcomes.
Lucky Dice: What Are They And Are They Useful?
Lucky dice are, simply put, a pool of additional dice that a player can use to affect the outcomes of their actions. A player will get three of them per long rest, or three per day, as most parties will long rest about once a day.
Players can choose when and where to use their Lucky dice. As stated, the player’s luckiness is paranormal — it kicks in whenever they decide they need it.
When they choose to do so, they roll an additional die on top of however many they started with and then select any of the dice. The choice involved in Lucky overrides the compulsory choice of other dice modifiers like disadvantage.
It’s critical to remember that, when attacking, two Lucky characters will cancel each other out. If both the attacker and the defender attempt to use their Lucky trait, the points cancel out, and no additional dice are rolled.
A player cannot spend more than one Lucky die on a single roll, even if no counterpoint is spent. The trigger for Lucky is an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw being made by the character or an attack roll being made against the character. The roll for Lucky is not any of these things. So, Lucky cannot trigger on a Lucky roll.
The dice can only be spent on rolls involving the Lucky character. That is to say that Lucky can only be used with rolls made by or against them and cannot be used to influence saving throws made against them.
Lucky dice also only grant a single extra die option. The higher or lower value is discarded when rolling with advantage or disadvantage before the Lucky die is rolled. So you will choose between either the advantageous or disadvantageous die and the Lucky die, not all three.
As a DM, it would be possible to make a house rule or exceptions to allow Lucky players to extend their luck to other players or even NPCs. It would be best to keep these to roleplay scenarios to avoid Lucky starting to feel oppressively overpowered.
What Synergises Well With Lucky?
Lucky has synergy with pretty much every class, subclass, and race. A few stand out amongst them all, but there isn’t really a wrong time to take the Lucky mechanically.
Unless your character is seriously shy of the required benchmarks for their preferred ability scores, Lucky will improve your chances of succeeding at almost everything.
Variant Humans and Halflings have powerful synergy with Lucky. Variant Humans get to have a feat at level 1!
So they can utilize Lucky right off the bat. Halflings have their own Lucky trait that has synergy with Lucky as a feat since they can avoid using their Lucky feat in situations where they can use their racial feature instead.
Divination Wizards also gain access to Portent, which allows them to roll Portent Dice at the beginning of the day, which they can use to replace rolls of their choice during the day. You can’t use Lucky to reroll your Portent Dice.
However, you can use the Portent to supplement your Lucky feature to give you even more supernatural “luck”. Divination Wizards also get the ability to utilize spells such as Guidance to provide them with more boosts to their rolls.
Bards can add their Bardic Inspiration dice, and Warlocks with Fiend Patrons can utilize their “Dark One’s Own Luck” die to supplement their otherworldly luck.
Warlocks, in particular, can learn Guidance from the Pact of the Tome, which can also be used to improve their appearance of unearthly good fortune.
Divine Soul Sorcerers get access to spells such as Bless and Guidance because they have access to the entire Cleric spell list, meaning that they, too, can aid their allies with their supernatural powers of Luck.
It is even possible to build an entire party around the concept of Luck by combining the Cleric, Bard, Warlock, and Wizard boosts with the Lucky feat.
These adventurers are more than just your average adventurers; they’re also extremely lucky! Where other adventurers fail, this group has pure, dumb luck on their side, and that’s how they become legendary heroes.
If you’re looking for other Feats, try these two:
Linguist Feat 5e
Mage Slayer Feat 5e
Frequently Asked Questions About Lucky
Conclusion
The Lucky feat’s power is undeniable for any character who doesn’t need the ASI. There’s no way around the potency of a reroll that you can choose to use whenever you want.
Players whose characters have reached their benchmarks for their preferred ability scores may also find that the power of being Lucky is just what they need as well.
Players who are playing using 5e’s Variant Human traits might consider taking Lucky off the bat so that they can utilize the power right out of the gate. Halfling players may want to grab the feat to boost their already potent Lucky trait.
Divination Wizards, Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Clerics may see particularly potent uses for the Lucky feat when combined with their class features. There may be even more powerful combinations if used by Halfling or Variant Human characters.
On the DM side, a Lucky NPC or enemy could offer some variance and extra challenges to your players when it comes to defeating or overcoming their influences in the world.
Whether you’re using the feat for roleplay or mechanical purpose, there is a meaningful method out there for all players to get good use out of the Lucky feat! The possibilities are endless!
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When I’m not writing about RPGs, I’m playing Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, X-Wing miniatures, and many other lovingly-crafted tabletop games with the people I love.
