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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2079919" data-attributes="member: 1210">Sooo... I've been mulling over reintroducing fumbles imc for a long time.&nbsp; I always used them before; one of the big inside jokes in my 2e campaign was that the worst possible fumble was spontaneous human combustion (you roll a 1 on your attack, followed by an 18 on 3d6 when you have nothing that will lower the severity of the fumble, followed by 00 on d%.&nbsp; It never happened, of course- I mean, come on, the odds are really against it- but it was a great thing to have at the top (or bottom) of the charts.&nbsp; Anyhow, I've mulled for quite some time how to make fumbles work in 3rd edition to my satisfaction.&nbsp; Here's what I've come up with so far, based on my system for adding colorful effects (like disembowlment and limb loss) to crits.Fumbles&nbsp; &nbsp; A fumble, also called a critical failure, occurs whenever an attack, save or check is a modified 0 or less.&nbsp; A fumble can be anything from a minor inconvenience to utter disaster.&nbsp; Though a fumble is similar to a critical hit, it does not require a roll to confirm it.&nbsp; Instead, the requirement that the fumble be from a modified 0 or less fulfills the roll of confirming the fumble while serving to speed play.Although there is no single chart for fumbled skill checks, as each skill can be used for any number of things, some basic guidelines for adjudicating them follows.&nbsp; A fumbled attack roll is another matter; the character should roll on the fumble chart below.Fumble Severity: In many cases, a fumble is a fumble.&nbsp; However, sometimes it is useful to use a certain amount of graduation in rolling a fumble- for instance, a fumbled Craft check might ruin the work in progress, appear fine but have a terrible flaw that won’t be noticed until it’s too late or even develop a curse.&nbsp; On the other hand, it’s no fun to make a character who really botches their initiative roll to wait out multiple rounds (although if the dice go against him badly enough that he fumbles it two rounds in a row, then two missed turns it is).&nbsp; In general, if a dual gradient is desired, a fumble of -10 or less is a ‘minor’ fumble and anything worse is a ‘major’ fumble.&nbsp; If a triple gradient is desired, a result worse than -20 is a ‘catastrophic’ fumble.&nbsp; &nbsp; Adjudicating FumblesGenerally a fumble means the character utterly failed at whatever they were attempting, usually in a disastrous way.&nbsp; A character leaping across a chasm might fall onto especially jagged rocks, a character attempting to escape from a grapple might put himself into a pin, a character attempting to appraise an item might misestimate it by a huge amount, and so on.&nbsp; Sometimes the fumble might have a gradient- in other words the lower the fumble roll was, the worse the results are.&nbsp; (For example, this is the result with a fumbled attack roll.)&nbsp; &nbsp; A character who fumbles an initiative roll does not get to go; she must re-roll initiative at the start of the next round.&nbsp; It is conceivable that someone having a bad day could fumble initiative two or more times in a row.&nbsp; That would be tragic.&nbsp; &nbsp; A fumbled saving throw results in an extra 1 point per die of damage (including ability damage or drain, and also including negative levels).&nbsp; If the effect does not inflict damage, it will be more effective than normal- perhaps it will last longer, inflict a greater than normal penalty, give the caster a +2 on opposed charisma checks to convince the victim to do his bidding, etc. Fumbled attacksA minor fumble on an attack roll (0 to -10) results in a fumble severity of 1d20.&nbsp; A major fumble (-11 to -20) results in a severity of 3d12.&nbsp; A catastrophic fumble (-21 or worse) results in a severity of 4d8+15.Severity---Result1---Off-balance, lose rest of round2---Bite tongue, 1 hp, 15% spell failure, -2 Bluff/Diplomacy for 1 hour3---Move 1d4 squares in random direction (no AoOs)4---&nbsp; &nbsp; Staggered until end of your next turn5&nbsp; &nbsp; ---&nbsp; &nbsp; Moderately important item drops from pack, belt, etc.6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ---Blinded 1 round7---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Weapon caught in wall, snagged in roots, etc; str check, DC 18 to free8---&nbsp; &nbsp; Lose rest of this round and all of next round9---&nbsp; &nbsp; Drop shield or other hand’s weapon10&nbsp; &nbsp; ---&nbsp; &nbsp; Damage important piece of surroundings11---Move 1d4 squares in random direction (triggers AoOs)12---&nbsp; &nbsp; Drop weapon13---&nbsp; &nbsp; Damage environment in such a fashion that you suffer 2d4 hp of&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; damage (shelves fall on you, rocks land on your head, etc)14---&nbsp; &nbsp; Strike self for ½ damage15---&nbsp; &nbsp; Twist ankle, speed -5’ for 1d4 hours16---&nbsp; &nbsp; Break minor item (magic items get a Fort save)17---&nbsp; &nbsp; Blinded 1d4 rounds18---&nbsp; &nbsp; Trip, fall prone19---&nbsp; &nbsp; Very important item drops from pack, belt, etc.20---&nbsp; &nbsp; Twist ankle badly, 1d4 hp, speed -10’ for 1 day21---&nbsp; &nbsp; Twist wrist, 1d4 hp, -2 to attacks and skills using that hand22---&nbsp; &nbsp; Attack nearest ally (move up to 5’ to do so)23---&nbsp; &nbsp; Inflict full normal damage on your weapon24---&nbsp; &nbsp; Throw weapon 2d4 squares away25---&nbsp; &nbsp; Drop entire pack26---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Strike sweet loot in the surroundings, destroying it27&nbsp; &nbsp; ---&nbsp; &nbsp; Trip, lose weapon 1d4 squares away28&nbsp; &nbsp; ---Strike self for full damage29---Trip, stunned 1d4 rounds30---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Break ankle, 2d4 hp, speed reduced to half until healed31---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Break weapon (magic items get a Fort save, DC 10 + ½ your level +&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; str bonus)32---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Throw weapon at random ally (roll to hit)33&nbsp; &nbsp; ---&nbsp; &nbsp; Break major item (magic items get a Fort save)34---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Break wrist, 2d4 hp, can’t use hand until healed35---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Fall prone, break weapon (magic items get Fort save)36---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Break wrist and weapon (2d4 hp, can’t use hand, magic items get Fort&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; save)37---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bite tongue off, 2d4 hp, stunned one round, mute38&nbsp; &nbsp; ---&nbsp; &nbsp; Minor heart attack 39---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Slip, fall prone on weapon (full damage)40---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Minor stroke41---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so)- roll to hit42---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Major heart attack43---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Major stroke44---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Critical hit self (roll to hit)45---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so)- roll to confirm46---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so)47---&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Spontaneous human combustion (Fort save, DC 100 to survive with a&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; mere 20d20 points of damage)Edit: Whoops, sent it out without the cut &amp; paste of the rules!&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 2079919, member: 1210"] Sooo... I've been mulling over reintroducing fumbles imc for a long time. I always used them before; one of the big inside jokes in my 2e campaign was that the worst possible fumble was spontaneous human combustion (you roll a 1 on your attack, followed by an 18 on 3d6 when you have nothing that will lower the severity of the fumble, followed by 00 on d%. It never happened, of course- I mean, come on, the odds are [i]really[/i] against it- but it was a great thing to have at the top (or bottom) of the charts. Anyhow, I've mulled for quite some time how to make fumbles work in 3rd edition to my satisfaction. Here's what I've come up with so far, based on my system for adding colorful effects (like disembowlment and limb loss) to crits. [b]Fumbles[/b] A fumble, also called a critical failure, occurs whenever an attack, save or check is a modified 0 or less. A fumble can be anything from a minor inconvenience to utter disaster. Though a fumble is similar to a critical hit, it does not require a roll to confirm it. Instead, the requirement that the fumble be from a modified 0 or less fulfills the roll of confirming the fumble while serving to speed play. Although there is no single chart for fumbled skill checks, as each skill can be used for any number of things, some basic guidelines for adjudicating them follows. A fumbled attack roll is another matter; the character should roll on the fumble chart below. [b]Fumble Severity:[/b] In many cases, a fumble is a fumble. However, sometimes it is useful to use a certain amount of graduation in rolling a fumble- for instance, a fumbled Craft check might ruin the work in progress, appear fine but have a terrible flaw that won’t be noticed until it’s too late or even develop a curse. On the other hand, it’s no fun to make a character who really botches their initiative roll to wait out multiple rounds (although if the dice go against him badly enough that he fumbles it two rounds in a row, then two missed turns it is). In general, if a dual gradient is desired, a fumble of -10 or less is a ‘minor’ fumble and anything worse is a ‘major’ fumble. If a triple gradient is desired, a result worse than -20 is a ‘catastrophic’ fumble. [b]Adjudicating Fumbles[/b] Generally a fumble means the character utterly failed at whatever they were attempting, usually in a disastrous way. A character leaping across a chasm might fall onto especially jagged rocks, a character attempting to escape from a grapple might put himself into a pin, a character attempting to appraise an item might misestimate it by a huge amount, and so on. Sometimes the fumble might have a gradient- in other words the lower the fumble roll was, the worse the results are. (For example, this is the result with a fumbled attack roll.) A character who fumbles an initiative roll does not get to go; she must re-roll initiative at the start of the next round. It is conceivable that someone having a bad day could fumble initiative two or more times in a row. That would be tragic. A fumbled saving throw results in an extra 1 point per die of damage (including ability damage or drain, and also including negative levels). If the effect does not inflict damage, it will be more effective than normal- perhaps it will last longer, inflict a greater than normal penalty, give the caster a +2 on opposed charisma checks to convince the victim to do his bidding, etc. [b]Fumbled attacks[/b] A minor fumble on an attack roll (0 to -10) results in a fumble severity of 1d20. A major fumble (-11 to -20) results in a severity of 3d12. A catastrophic fumble (-21 or worse) results in a severity of 4d8+15. [b]Severity---Result[/b] 1---Off-balance, lose rest of round 2---Bite tongue, 1 hp, 15% spell failure, -2 Bluff/Diplomacy for 1 hour 3---Move 1d4 squares in random direction (no AoOs) 4--- Staggered until end of your next turn 5 --- Moderately important item drops from pack, belt, etc. 6 ---Blinded 1 round 7--- Weapon caught in wall, snagged in roots, etc; str check, DC 18 to free 8--- Lose rest of this round and all of next round 9--- Drop shield or other hand’s weapon 10 --- Damage important piece of surroundings 11---Move 1d4 squares in random direction (triggers AoOs) 12--- Drop weapon 13--- Damage environment in such a fashion that you suffer 2d4 hp of damage (shelves fall on you, rocks land on your head, etc) 14--- Strike self for ½ damage 15--- Twist ankle, speed -5’ for 1d4 hours 16--- Break minor item (magic items get a Fort save) 17--- Blinded 1d4 rounds 18--- Trip, fall prone 19--- Very important item drops from pack, belt, etc. 20--- Twist ankle badly, 1d4 hp, speed -10’ for 1 day 21--- Twist wrist, 1d4 hp, -2 to attacks and skills using that hand 22--- Attack nearest ally (move up to 5’ to do so) 23--- Inflict full normal damage on your weapon 24--- Throw weapon 2d4 squares away 25--- Drop entire pack 26--- Strike sweet loot in the surroundings, destroying it 27 --- Trip, lose weapon 1d4 squares away 28 ---Strike self for full damage 29---Trip, stunned 1d4 rounds 30--- Break ankle, 2d4 hp, speed reduced to half until healed 31--- Break weapon (magic items get a Fort save, DC 10 + ½ your level + str bonus) 32--- Throw weapon at random ally (roll to hit) 33 --- Break major item (magic items get a Fort save) 34--- Break wrist, 2d4 hp, can’t use hand until healed 35--- Fall prone, break weapon (magic items get Fort save) 36--- Break wrist and weapon (2d4 hp, can’t use hand, magic items get Fort save) 37--- Bite tongue off, 2d4 hp, stunned one round, mute 38 --- Minor heart attack 39--- Slip, fall prone on weapon (full damage) 40--- Minor stroke 41--- Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so)- roll to hit 42--- Major heart attack 43--- Major stroke 44--- Critical hit self (roll to hit) 45--- Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so)- roll to confirm 46--- Critical hit nearest ally (move up to 10’ to do so) 47--- Spontaneous human combustion (Fort save, DC 100 to survive with a mere 20d20 points of damage) Edit: Whoops, sent it out without the cut & paste of the rules! :p [/QUOTE]

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