My games critical fumble chart

[jeffh]

There's no escaping the math that says a given random outcome is 4 times as likely to happen if it is given 4 times as many chances to happen.

You completely missed my point. That's exactly the assumption you shouldn't be making. There is nothing a 16th level fighter is doing four times as often as a 3rd level fighter other than making attacks count. Raising your BAB, including the iterative attacks that go with it, means being more skillful. People who are more skillful at something are less likely to screw up catastrophically, not more. Fumble rules that don't reflect that are not reasonable rules.

 

[Derro]

Since we are all doing it, here's mine.

I'm blown away.

Do you have an auto-roller for that? Please tell me you have an auto-roller for that!

 

[Mark Chance]

My turn! I probably use this in my next campaign:

Critical Miss Special Effects
When you make an attack roll and get a natural 1 (the d20 shows 1), you automatically miss your target. Furthermore, you may suffer the effects of a critical miss. Confirm the critical miss by rolling: 1d20 + your Base Attack Bonus.

Table: Critical Miss Results
d20 Roll : Critical Miss Results
1-2 : Throw weapon 1d4x5 ft. Use "Missing with a Thrown Weapon" diagram for direction (PH 158). (Note 1)
3-4 : Weapon damaged. Roll damage normally and apply it to weapon, ignoring hardness. (Note 2)
5-6 : Off-balance. -2 penalty to AC plus lose Dexterity bonus for 1 round.
7-8 : Off-balance. -2 penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls for 1 round.
9-10 : Drop weapon at feet. (Note 3)
11-12 : Weapon damaged. Roll damage normally and apply it to weapon. (Note 4)
13-14 : Off-balance. -2 penalty to AC for 1 round.
15-16 : Off-balance. -2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round.
17+ : No additional effect.

Notes

1. If the critical miss was made with an unarmed attack or natural weapon, the attacker is seriously off-balance. He loses his Dexterity bonus for 1 round. He suffers a -2 penalty to AC, attack rolls, damage rolls for 1 round.

2. If the critical miss was made with an unarmed attack or natural weapon, the attack suffers 1d6 points of damage. Armor CT does not protect against this damage.

3. If the critical miss was made with an unarmed attack or natural weapon, the target is seriously off-balance and suffers a -2 penalty to AC and attack rolls for 1 round.

4. If the critical miss was made with an unarmed attack or natural weapon, the attack suffers 1d4 points of damage. Armor CT does not protect against this damage.

 

[monboesen]

So, a 4-attack guy is going to fumble 9 times in 1000 attacks, just like a 1-attack guy. The only difference is the 4 attack guy will do it in 250 rounds rather than 1000, which is perfectly logical. If he wanted to take 1000 rounds to fumble 9 times, he'd better back down to only taking 1 attack per round.

You think its reasonable that Lord Death, 20th level fighter, terror of the Known World is four times more likely to fumble his Vorpal blade +5 in the span of six seconds than FarmerJoe, 1st level commoner armed with his rusty mace of punyness?

IMO that is the exact reverse of what I would expect.

 

[Lanefan]

You think its reasonable that Lord Death, 20th level fighter, terror of the Known World is four times more likely to fumble his Vorpal blade +5 in the span of six seconds than FarmerJoe, 1st level commoner armed with his rusty mace of punyness?

Let's give FarmerJoe a rusty shortsword of punyness for consistency, and carry on.

Lord Death, by virtue of his outstanding skill at arms, is capable of 4 attacks per round. FarmerJoe is capable of one. Lord Death is going to critical more than 4 x more often than FarmerJoe (his confirms are easier), he's going to hit *way* more than 4 x as often as Joe, and he's going to give out more damage per hit than Joe. These are all due to skill.

Fumbles are not. They are a random interrupt, caused by pushing one's abilities too far (the general assumption is you're always fighting to the limit of what you can do), or by the fog of war, or by any of a host of other circumstances...and yes, Lord Death will, every now and then, do something he doesn't want to. The only difference between Lord Death fumbling and Farmer Joe fumbling is that Lord Death is doing it with a +5 Vorpal, and if it's all the same I'd rather he fumble it somewhere else, thanks. But yes, with greater reward (4 attacks per round and all the other benefits of having loads of skill) come slightly greater risks (you're still going to fumble just as proportionally often as anyone else).

Lanefan

 

[Nylanfs]

Personally I like the rules in Torn Asunder by Bastion Press (now DragonWing)

 

[Celebrim]

I'm blown away.

Do you have an auto-roller for that? Please tell me you have an auto-roller for that!

Players are expected to roll thier 'confirm' dice at the same time that they roll thier attack dice. Thus, if a critical hit or fumble is indicated time isn't lost waiting for a result. Commonly needed numbers are on a legal pad next to me, so all I need is the result of the throw.

Dice are expected to be color coded so that which dice applies to which attack can be easily determined. Generally, 'redder/darker' dice are taken before 'bluer/lighter' dice. Whenever there is confusion as to which dice was meant, the DM's judgment prevails.

I often as a DM roll 8-12 d20's at a time. What's the big deal about a rolling 2-8 as a PC?

In the event of a fumble, the interruption to determine what sort of fumble it was and whether it actually occurred or the PC by virtue of his skill and mettle pulled it out is not time wasted, because it is cinematic and descriptive in character. I'll settle for slightly longer resolution times if it means I have better pictures of what went on than are generated by things 'full attack.... 48 damage.'