Any Rules for Critical Failure?

[Gunslinger]

My DM has a critical hit chart and a critical miss chart. If you threaten on the first attack, then threaten again, you roll percentiles on the crit chart. You deal your critical damage, plus your enemy gets messed up, anything from having a body part chopped off to pulping their head, requiring 2 wishes to bring that person back.

If you a roll a 1, you roll again, and if you get less than 10 it's a critical miss. You roll percentiles on the critical miss chart, which ranges from stumbling, to losing your weapon, to hitting an ally.

 

[paulewaug]

I use the roll a 1, make a dex check vs. DC 10 system. If the dex check fails, then depending on how bad it fails and your current situation is how bad the thing that happens to you is. Usually it is dropping a weapon, applying weapon damage to the weapon itself because you struck something clumsily, becoming flat footed or off balance, falling down or the like. Ocassionally, if you are firing into melee or such it means shooting at the wrong target or if the check was really really bad hitting yourself in the foot.

If there are situational modifiers that effect balance I tend to apply those as well.

Well this is kind of the stuff I was thinking about.
I would prefer, for myself, to avoid damaging Other PCs when one player fumbles- because I have seen this happen before and even though it could be 'random from a chart',
or a DMs judgement,
it is usually the PC that takes the heat for it.
Now if they are shooting into combat without concern for their fellows they deserve the heat!
Also I would probably limit a PC to inflicting Subdual damage to himself if I went the 'self damaging' way.
(Like a twisted wrist or ankle, pulled muscle)

For weapons that I really don't like and find unrealistic and clumsy, such as all the double weapons but the quarterstaff, I have an enlarged fumble range of 1-2 or higher depending on just how stupid the weapon looks or how difficult it would actually be to weild. Realisticly, I probably should add the scythe to the list with increased fumble range, but it hasn't come up yet and I really don't have anything against the scythe mechanicswise.

I can definately see adding another point of fumble-threat to something like the spiked chain! I would think the double flail deserves an increased chance of fumble too.
(I also feel the double sword and dbl-axe are 'goofy' but that is another topic..

love the input, keep it coming!

I like that it helps to add the random element of chance and chaos on the battlefield.
Slipping in some mud, a puddle of blood , loose gravel, tripping on a dropped weapon, "charge attacking" and stubbing your boot on an un-even flagstone, that kind of stuff!!