D&D 5E Critical Hits and Fumbles

[aramis erak]

Fumbles are a good balance if you allow critical hits.

Not really.

The critical hit is merely a 2-for-1 in the RAW. It needs no balance, really. Any anything worse than disadvantage for one attack (not one round) is overbalancing the other direction.

Plus, for those with simulationist leanings, they are a big problem, as the rate of anything that most RPGers would consider a fumble (dropped weapon, etc) are FAR far less frequent than even 1/2400 person-seconds or 1/400 person-rounds (1/20 nat 1, 1/20 confirm fumble, 6 seconds)... and that's still too many for real applied combat-skills.

 

[SirAntoine]

Not really.

The critical hit is merely a 2-for-1 in the RAW. It needs no balance, really. Any anything worse than disadvantage for one attack (not one round) is overbalancing the other direction.

Plus, for those with simulationist leanings, they are a big problem, as the rate of anything that most RPGers would consider a fumble (dropped weapon, etc) are FAR far less frequent than even 1/2400 person-seconds or 1/400 person-rounds (1/20 nat 1, 1/20 confirm fumble, 6 seconds)... and that's still too many for real applied combat-skills.

Disadvantage on one attack would be nothing compared to the double damage. The next attack should at least certainly miss, but during that time the character who fumbled needs to be prone.

 

[Murkmoldiev]

Heres my rad charts

FUMBLE CHART

Once a one has been rolled the rollees turn ends and they get no further actions this round. Only one round of actions is missed .

If no weapon then limb bashed in deflection monster limb suffers disadvantage till end of combat.

1 roll to hit friend if nearby otherwise Wild swing , spin around once and roll two fumbles.
2 -3 You fail to anticipate your opponent’s maneuvers and you step into your opponents trap.Your opponent effortlessly circles around your attack and is flanking you at the beginning of the next round. You provoke an attack of opportunity from any opponents that threaten you with advantage .
4 WEAPON BREAK.
5 deflect enemy attack with personal gear; random item totally destroyed
6 poor follow through , position swap AOO
7 sudden terror hesitate piss pants a tiny bit go last next round.
8 Weapon Break.
9 Fling weapon random direction D12 /1d % feet
10 weapon lodged in random object or floor: roll STR DC 10 + 1d10 to recover.
11. Weapon Break
12 You have grit or gore in your eye. Blinded 1d4 rounds.
10 You slip, fall prone , cutting / bashing yourself for 1d6
11. Fall hurt foot twisting ankle, movement 1/2 until healed (odd-left)
12. fall prone ; hurt wrist 1d4 damage and hand useless until healed (odd-left)
13 stumble back arms flailing 5 ft - provoke AoO with advantage !
14 Weapon Break
15 armor / clothing struck and gains- gains Broken condition/destoyed Luck DC 10.
16 Weapon break.
17 get into a clinch with opponent - start next turn in a grapple.
18 - Your attack ricochets back and you hit yourself for 1d6 damage
19 - Slip over banging head - stunned one round..
20 - MIRACULOUS recovery - Whole new turn of actions. With advantage !

If a roll calls for a magic weapon to be damaged roll here instead...


D20 roll + of weapon with a + for each ability.
Natural 1 - Explodes in a ball of magic all in 15 ft take 1-6 D6 from magic force damage and bits and are knocked prone no save.
2-3 Explodes with a loud pop, Wielder takes 1- 6 damage from magic force damage and bits and is knocked prone no save.
3-4 Breaks in half with the sound of shattering glass and the smell of green smoke.
5-6 Becomes Damaged.- gets broken conditon- any attacks made with the item suffer disadvantage due to warping.
8 Gets bent slightly - 1 to damage
9 Gets a nick. -1 to hit
10 + no effect. except for light saber like sparks and sound.

Weapon breaking.
1. Break weapon in half.
2. Weapon breaks off at hilt.
3. Totally smash weapon into tiny bits
4. weapon badly damaged - gains Broken condition ( disadvantage)
5. Top 1/4 of weapon snaps off .
6 weapon breaks off tip
7-8 Both your and enemy’s weapons break ( roll D6 )

 

[Murkmoldiev]

And My Crit hit charts. Bring the hate.

CONFIRMED CRITICAL CHART
Compiled by Murkmoldiev.

A Fighter of level 5+ adds 1d3 to the roll on chart one.

Crit does Roll again and add or Max
confirmed Crit does above OR double.
All modifiers added at the end.

Any time a piece of armor saves from an effect it is destroyed.

On a confirmed crit - Roll a d 12 .

If crit is a comfirmed on a Natural 20 ( without Luck ) use chart #3.

Chart ONE


1 Power of the blow knocks opponent prone and back 5 ft.

2 Power of the blow causes opponent to fumble- Roll on fumble chart.

3. Your blow painfully hacks into foes leg. Your foe is knocked to the ground and unable to stand due to agony for 1 -10 rounds. Movement halved due to limping until healing received.

4 Your blow opens a painful wound in your opponents shield arm.( Shield will protect reducing damage to totally normal but destroying it. ) Anything held in hand is dropped and arm is incapacitated Until healing received.

5 Your blow opens a deep wound in your opponent’s weapon arm. Anything held in hand is dropped and arm is incapacitated Until healing received..

6 Hard hit - Weapon does its damage dice again on final damage count.

7 Powerful Hit - Add the unmodified maximum weapon damage as extra damage on final damage count

8 Brutal Hit- roll modified damage again and add, extra Damage on final damage count.

9. Shattering blow - You destroy enemy’s weapon or shield and drive him prone with your smash. Extra Multiple.

10- 12 Roll on Chart 2.

------------------------
CHART 2

1 If blow exceeds half total hit points it destroys hand at the wrist ( Left / Right ) and blood gushes from the wound at the rate of 1d6 damage per round until stanched. Anything held in the hand is dropped and victim must make a Con save DC 10 each round or fall unconscious. Shield protects or Heavy Gauntlets will protect ( but is destroyed ).
If the blow does not do over half the character HP then treat as arm hit as 4. Damage is EXTRA MULTIPLE.

2 If blow exceeds half total hit points it destroys your opponents arm at the elbow and blood gushes at the rate of 2d6 per round until stanched. Anything held in the hand is dropped and your opponent must make a Con save DC 10 each round or fall unconscious.Shield protects Left arm if one is worn. If the blow does not do over half the character HP then treat as arm hit as 4. EXTRA MULTIPLE


3 If blow exceeds half total hit points it destroys foot at the ankle. Blood gushes from the stump wound at 1d6 per round till stanched. Knocked to the ground and your opponent must make a Con save DC 10each round or fall unconscious. If the blow does not do over half the character HP then treat as leg hit on first chart. EXTRA MULTIPLE.


4 . If blow exceeds half total hit points it destroys leg at the knee. Blood gushes from the stump wound at 2d6 per round till stanched. Knocked to the ground and your opponent must make a Con save DC 10 each round or fall unconscious. If the blow does not do over half the character HP then treat as leg hit on first chart. EXTRA MULTIPLE

5. If blow exceeds half total hit points it destroys foes leg at the hip. Knocked to the ground as blood showers the area at the rate of 3d6 per round till stanched. Knocked to the ground and your opponent must make a Con save DC 10 each round or fall unconscious. If the blow does not do over half the character HP then treat as leg hit on chart 4. EXTRA MULTIPLE

6 . Massive Chest Chop Foe exhausted ( Level 2 ) from Lung Bash till back on full HP and had a rest.. EXTRA MULTIPLE

7. Eye removed- stunned for one round - blinded in one eye. Visored helm protects. EM

8. Ear removed - Stunned for one round -deafened in one ear Helm protects. EM

9. Your attack lifts foe into air 1d10 feet then to slams them to the ground. They are stunnedfor 1-3 rounds. EXTRA MULTIPLE


10- 12 Roll on Chart 3

------------------------
Chart 3.

1. Your strike smashes foes nose stunning him for 1- 3 rounds and blinding him for 1-3 rounds. Full helm protects against this.EM

2. Your blow strikes foes forehead also causes them to fall to the ground and drop any hand held items Foe is stunned for 1-3 rounds. Helmet protects against this.EM

3. Your blow lands on side of face cracking foes jawbone. Foe is knocked down and stunned for 1 round. Foe must make Con save DC 15 or be knocked unconscious. Speech impossible till healed. Full helm protects against this. EM

4. Exceptional blow- weapon passes deep into body, Con save DC 15 or stunned 1-3 rounds. Blood loss 1d6 hp round. Breast Plate protects. EM

5. Throat slash - Muted. Bleeding 1d6 hp round. Med armor Gorget protects. EM

6. Throat cut -Muted - Two extra multiples. Bleeding 2d6 hp round. EM Heavy Armor Gorget Protects.

7. Hideous Blow - Weapon Passes through body Con save DC 15 or stunned 1-3 rounds. Two Extra Multiples .Bleeding 2d6 hp round. Plate Protects.

8. Your attack causes a sickening crack against side of foes head. Foes eyes stare out in different directions right before foe drops. Foe is stunned for 1-12 rounds, foe must make Con save DC 20 or be knocked unconscious. Full helm protects against this. Two Extra Multiples

9.Superb spinning jumping screamed blow drives foe to the ground in a twisted heap and does three multiples.

10 - 12 SUPER DOOPER HIT. Chart 4.

Roll 1d6.

1. Your blow Cleaves foe in Twain. Your evil grimace causes all foes within 30ft to become frightened till end of combat.

2. Your blow pierces foes heart and drives through to the other side. Foe drops dead in 1d3 seconds. Your evil grimace causes all foes within 30ft to become frightened till end of combat. And you get advantage on the next 3 attacks due to confidence.

3. Devastating hit to the head, your opponent staggers back for 1d6 yards and falls dead. Thrashes once. Your powerful slam fills you with hope. Any exhaustion or physical condition effects you suffer is removed and your burst of heroism shakes off some damage. You Heal 50% of your HP instantly and prior good effects.

4. Your attack drives through foes eye and into brain, Foe screams but dies instantly.
Your skill and confidence gains you an Extra NO! And prior effects.

5. With a cry of “There can be only one.” You behead the enemy. Foes head flies off in random direction, landing 1d20 feet away. Option to kick head if it flies off near enough. You receive all the good effects of 1-4

6. Wrath of the Gods of War, Attacker is filled with the wrath. And after chopping the foe down and flinging the body aside like a headless rag doll, he gets an immediate free move action and an Immediate free attack with advantage or action with a + 20 to the roll. As well as a Hero Point and all other 5 effects.

 

[Diamabel]

Disadvantage on one attack would be nothing compared to the double damage. The next attack should at least certainly miss, but during that time the character who fumbled needs to be prone.

So... one in twenty attacks- once every 5 rounds- every *30 seconds* for a level 20 warrior (not counting any attacks outside of plain attack action) he randomly falls over?
By this standard, a fighter is the clumsiest class, and it only gets worse as he levels!

A critical hit is a particularly accurate attack, and a 1 is a particularly inaccurate attack. Disadvantage on your next attack roll is a perfectly reasonable way to handle this, especially with the frequency at which it can occur.

 

[SirAntoine]

Heres my rad charts

FUMBLE CHART

Once a one has been rolled the rollees turn ends and they get no further actions this round. Only one round of actions is missed .

If no weapon then limb bashed in deflection monster limb suffers disadvantage till end of combat.

1 roll to hit friend if nearby otherwise Wild swing , spin around once and roll two fumbles.
2 -3 You fail to anticipate your opponent’s maneuvers and you step into your opponents trap.Your opponent effortlessly circles around your attack and is flanking you at the beginning of the next round. You provoke an attack of opportunity from any opponents that threaten you with advantage .
4 WEAPON BREAK.
5 deflect enemy attack with personal gear; random item totally destroyed
6 poor follow through , position swap AOO
7 sudden terror hesitate piss pants a tiny bit go last next round.
8 Weapon Break.
9 Fling weapon random direction D12 /1d % feet
10 weapon lodged in random object or floor: roll STR DC 10 + 1d10 to recover.
11. Weapon Break
12 You have grit or gore in your eye. Blinded 1d4 rounds.
10 You slip, fall prone , cutting / bashing yourself for 1d6
11. Fall hurt foot twisting ankle, movement 1/2 until healed (odd-left)
12. fall prone ; hurt wrist 1d4 damage and hand useless until healed (odd-left)
13 stumble back arms flailing 5 ft - provoke AoO with advantage !
14 Weapon Break
15 armor / clothing struck and gains- gains Broken condition/destoyed Luck DC 10.
16 Weapon break.
17 get into a clinch with opponent - start next turn in a grapple.
18 - Your attack ricochets back and you hit yourself for 1d6 damage
19 - Slip over banging head - stunned one round..
20 - MIRACULOUS recovery - Whole new turn of actions. With advantage !

If a roll calls for a magic weapon to be damaged roll here instead...


D20 roll + of weapon with a + for each ability.
Natural 1 - Explodes in a ball of magic all in 15 ft take 1-6 D6 from magic force damage and bits and are knocked prone no save.
2-3 Explodes with a loud pop, Wielder takes 1- 6 damage from magic force damage and bits and is knocked prone no save.
3-4 Breaks in half with the sound of shattering glass and the smell of green smoke.
5-6 Becomes Damaged.- gets broken conditon- any attacks made with the item suffer disadvantage due to warping.
8 Gets bent slightly - 1 to damage
9 Gets a nick. -1 to hit
10 + no effect. except for light saber like sparks and sound.

Weapon breaking.
1. Break weapon in half.
2. Weapon breaks off at hilt.
3. Totally smash weapon into tiny bits
4. weapon badly damaged - gains Broken condition ( disadvantage)
5. Top 1/4 of weapon snaps off .
6 weapon breaks off tip
7-8 Both your and enemy’s weapons break ( roll D6 )

This is very impressive. It brings drama to the game.

 

[SirAntoine]

So... one in twenty attacks- once every 5 rounds- every *30 seconds* for a level 20 warrior (not counting any attacks outside of plain attack action) he randomly falls over?
By this standard, a fighter is the clumsiest class, and it only gets worse as he levels!

A critical hit is a particularly accurate attack, and a 1 is a particularly inaccurate attack. Disadvantage on your next attack roll is a perfectly reasonable way to handle this, especially with the frequency at which it can occur.

I guess I would increase the round length back up to one minute, but most players don't care that much about that degree of realism. I take the point, being somewhat of a die-hard for realism myself, and if the round is one minute long, then characters would fumble, on average, once in twenty full minutes of combat. That seems quite realistic. Higher level warriors will be able to recover much more easily.

It's not adequate if the character just has a penalty to their next attack. The opposite has to happen, and that means they need to be exposed to more damage by their opponent. They should also lose their next attack because some recovery is needed. I also use weapon breaks, skids on slippery surfaces, falls from horses, and hitting yourself or someone else nearby. When my players roll a 1, they cringe and curse themselves! It adds to the flavor, to the unpredictability of combat immensely.

For higher level play, I don't even just want them to say it's bad, I want them to dread it and there is nothing better than a table of fumble results like the one Murkmoldiev wrote. When they see the DM have to flip to the tables and roll what the outcome is, that's when it gets good. The monsters nearby are just waiting for them to fall down or be disarmed, to take their weapons.

When they're ready for that difficulty, they should get it!

 

[Thyrwyn]

Why roll dice? Just impose a "cool tax": you get to choose how much damage you do, but for every point of damage you dish out, you take an equal amount - that would be fair. To be really fair, it should apply to healing as well.

Random catastrophe does not equal drama.

 

[aramis erak]

I guess I would increase the round length back up to one minute, but most players don't care that much about that degree of realism. I take the point, being somewhat of a die-hard for realism myself, and if the round is one minute long, then characters would fumble, on average, once in twenty full minutes of combat. That seems quite realistic. Higher level warriors will be able to recover much more easily.

I have seen days with dozens of fighters on the field for several hours, and seen only a handful of "visible fumbles" - one per person-hour on the field is way too many.

I says this both of fence and of SCA heavy, and of live steel reenactor practices (with both weighted boffer and rebate steel).

And half of those (namely most of the injuries) are more like crits in the execution.

 

[Diamabel]

I guess I would increase the round length back up to one minute, but most players don't care that much about that degree of realism. I take the point, being somewhat of a die-hard for realism myself, and if the round is one minute long, then characters would fumble, on average, once in twenty full minutes of combat. That seems quite realistic. Higher level warriors will be able to recover much more easily.

It's not adequate if the character just has a penalty to their next attack. The opposite has to happen, and that means they need to be exposed to more damage by their opponent. They should also lose their next attack because some recovery is needed. I also use weapon breaks, skids on slippery surfaces, falls from horses, and hitting yourself or someone else nearby. When my players roll a 1, they cringe and curse themselves! It adds to the flavor, to the unpredictability of combat immensely.

Increasing the length of a round causes alot of problems- Spell cast times and duration- everything would have to be multiplied by 10, otherwise you'd have 1 action and 1 min. cast times become equal.. and have spells with 1 min duration last but a single round! (as examples)

1 in 20 is simply TOO MUCH for a catastrophic event, it doesn't add drama, it adds unmitigated punishment for playing a character with many attacks... or for that matter- attacks at all.
A sorcerer who casts nothing that uses an attack roll will *never* fumble an attack, as the requisite RNG condition can never be met.

By simply increasing the length of a round, you are actually changing nothing: a level 1 with 1 attack will only fumble 1/4th as often as a level 20 with 4 attacks.