Critical Failure... Arrghh!!!

[Marimmar]

Critical failure/success is supposed to be a 10 point difference from the task's DC. Thus a nat. 1 doesn't neccessarily mean you've fumbled.

We roll 20s 'up' and add another d20 and 1s are rolled 'down' by subtracting another d20 from 1. This applies to all rolls except attack rolls. For a fumbled attack roll we allow the attacked creature to make an AoO with an additional +2 modifier on his to hit roll. This makes combat reflexes a bit more useful and allows for killing a PC without bad feelings, after all it was his fault that the die came up with a '1'. Crits are treated in the usual way.

~Marimmar

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

Here is my way of doing things

Well I treat attacks and skills differently. For fumbles or ones when attacking as it were, I copied the idea of a threat range. Basically if you roll a one for an attack roll, then you have to 'confirm' the fumble by rolling again and if you effectively miss on that roll it IS a fumble. Then you drop your weapon (d6 damage to it I sometimes rule, unless magical of course). If you are using a natural weapon then you have to make a dexterity check (DC 10 unless it was for something fancy, then DC 15) or fall over prone). Oh and for crossbows I like to say that it jams rather than is dropped (and then has to be unjammed in the same time it takes to pick up a weapon - simply for flavor).

For skills, I take a 1 as a -10 and a 20 as a 30 (which I think is in the DMG?). This allows for experts to rarely fail still (and in fact for routine DCs never fail if they are good enough). Plus rolling 20s is an immense event... I remember when my monk character rolled a 20 for a jump check, had full ranks, synergy from tumble and a ring of jumping - letting him do a 60 ft or so running leap across the heads of three enemies who all missed their attack of ops. =).

Ability checks are boring and rare so no effect really. I considered that a 20 should allow you to roll again and add that to the 20 and to the skill check (and for a 1, take away that amount) which allows for more randomness, but a little time consuming. The same could be done for attack rolls, so that decent enough fighters probably won't miss and even the lowliest peasant has a chance of hitting a fly at 300 ft whilst blindfolded hehe.