Varianor Abroad
Explorer
Kahuna Burger said:Which leads me to echo a prior poster who liked the idea of a critical fumble provoking an AoO. Maybe they'll use it to attempt a sunder.
Against the wrong opponent, an AoO could hurt. Hmm.
Explain the appeal of critical fumbles to me
- Thread starter Whizbang Dustyboots
- Start date
Against the wrong opponent, an AoO could hurt. Hmm.
Brother MacLaren
Explorer
I really like some of these. Instead of just saying "You trip, break your weapon, or drop your weapon," you say "You provoke an AOO that can be used for a Trip/Sunder/Disarm with no AOO or reciprocal attempt by you." That keeps the action active, rather than passive. You don't disarm yourself, an enemy disarms you. And by making it a maneuver-specific AOO, you tone down the severity a bit (in most cases) and keep those special maneuvers in the game.Celebrim said:
When I think of people dropping weapons in movies, or ending up prone, it's usually as a result of something the opponent did. Inigo disarmed by Westley, Conan knocked prone and disarmed by Rexor, or Luke and Vader "disarming" each other.
I will relent on my previous stance a bit -- people hitting themselves with their own weapons for serious damage is entirely appropriate if they are using a dire flail, orc double axe, or two-bladed sword. Especially people not proficient in those weapons.
Yes, but it's funnier when character performs an unintentional battlefield appendectomy on themselves (or an ally) using their signature magical weapon. Failure can be terribly amusing when it occurs to a virtual avatar.Brother MacLaren said:
BTW, Celebrim's fumble chart is good. A tad long-winded, but it does neatly demonstrate that fumble systems can add variety to combat in the form of unexpected tactical opportunities, without being broken or unduly cumbersome (though I'm still partial to the old, broken and ludicrously entertaining Arms Law-style fumble charts).
Evilhalfling
Adventurer
Whee! I love crit fumbles. They add more drama, to combat, and present unexpected challenges. They also increase the effect of the enviornment on the game ice bridges, fighting in a muddy stream, swinging a great axe in closequarters. They add excitement, humor and fun. They should also be uncommon, as lots of fumbles slow the game and reduce the impact of each one.
Here are my HR
Only the first attack roll can fumble, all other "1's" are merely automatic misses.
This rule prevents hydras and tempests from fumbling every other round.
A fumble will always end any your turn. Its six seconds, anything that goes wrong will throw you off.
Make Reflex save DC 12 (modified by stupidity) dc 18 max. Success prevents further problems.
Agile people fumble less, experieanced people fumble less. Reconfirming a missed roll gives a higher fumble rate than crit rate, as many rolls require at least a 14 roll.
Stupidity involves fighting w/large weapons in tight spaces, fighting with poor footing, fighting next to something it would be funny to fall in or off. Anyone using a spiked chain/flail, who also get the injure self possibility.
A random table is generated on the fly ususally:
1. fall prone
2. make new attack roll vs. ally (not used if no allies threatend)
3. weapon dropped or stuck in scenery.
4. provoke AoO
5. weapon damaged (bow string breaks most likely, magic weapons ingore this except in special circumstances, like stabbing a iron golem)
6. used to double the chance of the most likely event.
The table changes if I can think of a fumble that is especially appropriate to the circumstance. If a player suggests an appt fumble while I am jotting down the table, that is added to the table or just allowed to happen.
We also use the Critical Hit Deck, but as suggested only named villians or those with augmented criticals get to use it. PCs use it every time. I find the crit deck magnifies criticals, and can end a fight much faster than a little extra damage. Next time I run I may add a second level of conformation to reduce the number of villians one-shotted.
Here are my HR
Only the first attack roll can fumble, all other "1's" are merely automatic misses.
This rule prevents hydras and tempests from fumbling every other round.
A fumble will always end any your turn. Its six seconds, anything that goes wrong will throw you off.
Make Reflex save DC 12 (modified by stupidity) dc 18 max. Success prevents further problems.
Agile people fumble less, experieanced people fumble less. Reconfirming a missed roll gives a higher fumble rate than crit rate, as many rolls require at least a 14 roll.
Stupidity involves fighting w/large weapons in tight spaces, fighting with poor footing, fighting next to something it would be funny to fall in or off. Anyone using a spiked chain/flail, who also get the injure self possibility.
A random table is generated on the fly ususally:
1. fall prone
2. make new attack roll vs. ally (not used if no allies threatend)
3. weapon dropped or stuck in scenery.
4. provoke AoO
5. weapon damaged (bow string breaks most likely, magic weapons ingore this except in special circumstances, like stabbing a iron golem)
6. used to double the chance of the most likely event.
The table changes if I can think of a fumble that is especially appropriate to the circumstance. If a player suggests an appt fumble while I am jotting down the table, that is added to the table or just allowed to happen.
We also use the Critical Hit Deck, but as suggested only named villians or those with augmented criticals get to use it. PCs use it every time. I find the crit deck magnifies criticals, and can end a fight much faster than a little extra damage. Next time I run I may add a second level of conformation to reduce the number of villians one-shotted.
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