Why do we need Fumbles?

[Morrus]

I've used them in the past. Fumbles do add an element of randomness and fun; that's their primary role.

Realism isn't the issue. Fun is the important thing here - that's why we all play this game, after all. It probably doesn't suit every group through. If your group doesn't find such things fun, then they're not worth considering.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Because they're fun. As long as the players realize the fumbles apply to them as well as the villains and are willing to accept the results, they can really make for some hilarious accidents. My players have loved the crit and fumble tables for years, and as there really is no good version of either for 3e (I have a crit and fumble system that work very well, but we elected not to use them for now) we just don't worry about them.

Lasher, would you mind emailing me your fumble chart? I'd like to take a peek at it.

dungeonmastercal@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sarellion]

In my system I use fumbles and critical hits. When casting spells I often try to bring in something humorous when the caster fumbles.

 

[Liquidsabre]

To enhance the drama of an action-packed situation. Nothing makes the story more dramatic for the audience when a heroic character is fighting and suddenly his situation becomes more dire! Mostly just because it's darn funny! I mean if you can't find humor in playing a game...mayhaps you are taking it a tad too serously. Here's some examples in movies where fumbles play a big part:

Any Movie where the hero/villain dramatically runs out of Bullets

Any movie where fighting our hero/villain loses their sword over the edge of a cliff...

Any dramatic heart-renching moment in a movie when our hero holds the villains only love hostage and the villain attacks, but instead of killing our hero he stabs his love...

Any movie where our hero punches at a villain and fumbles, affording the villain an AoO that lays the hero flat...

For a specific example off the top of my head:

Big Trouble in Little China - Jack tries to quickdraw his boot knife and throw it at one of their attackers, he fumbles. Instead of pulling the knife quickly Jack manages to toss the knife somewhere to the side and behind him!

Oh and now that I think about it, there are many Indiana Jones moments where fumbles make for a *very* exciting action-packed combat sequence. My queston for most gamers usually tends to be along the lines of "Why don't you use fumble tables?"

 

[Rel]

The issue of whether fumbles are "fun" or not is entirely debatable and I fully support those who would choose not to implement them if they don't think they add to the fun of a game.

But entertainment, movies and TV in particular, is rife with examples of the participants in the action suffering mishaps of some sort. Whether it is the hero holding up a chair to defend himself with and having it split right down the middle by a bad guy's sword or having his gun jam at an inoportune moment, these sorts of situations are rampant in the action genre. And they all serve more or less the same purpose: Comic Relief.

With the (supposed) chance of death on the line, these small screw ups give the audience a chance to laugh and show that the heroes are not infallable, making them more readily identifiable with the Everyman. It breaks the tension and makes us more sympathetic to the character because we've all dropped a hammer on our foot or smacked our head on a cabinet door or something like that.

I think that some of my favorite games followed this trend to some degree. In the end the heroes were triumphant but there were a lot of missteps and outright screw ups along the way.

I think I just talked myself into adding Fumbles back into my games!

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

My queston for most gamers usually tends to be along the lines of "Why don't you use fumble tables?"

I agree. They add another sense of uncertainty to the game and can be as much fun as a critical hit, at least in our group.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Lasher, would you mind emailing me your fumble chart? I'd like to take a peek at it.

That'd be no problem... a couple guys that I have been gaming with for years came up with the fumble charts, and I must say they are the best ones I have ever played with. If anyone else wants a copy, just put your email addys on here and I'll send 'em over.

I am at work right now, so it will be a few hours until I can do it.

IIRC I have 3 fumble charts... melee weapons, ranged weapons, and something else... can't remember.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

In the old WEG Star Wars game they explained a critical fumble as the scene in Return of the Jedi when Han is sneaking up on the scout trooper and steps on a twig right before he can get to him.

I have never been a fan of critical fumbles on a 1 simply because it means that no matter how good or bad you are, you always have a 5% chance of fumbling with each swing. This means that a 1st level fighter can be expected to fumble once every 2 minutes of fighting while a 20th level fighter is gonna fumble once every 24 seconds.

DS

 

[The Shaman]

There are numerous examples of heroes in movies and books dropping a sword, pistol, grenade, magical doo-dad, super-science doo-hickey, or whatever at a critical moment, so there is precedent.

If a 1 comes up in combat or similar encounters, the player rolls again - a second 1 elicits a Reflex save to avoid losing control of their weapon, super-science doo-hickey, &c. I don't make allowances for characters stabbing or shooting themselves - that just seems silly to me.

Some games I don't bother, or I limit the extent of the checks - for example, my PbP Modern military game doesn't have critical fumbles except for grenades.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

I have never been a fan of critical fumbles on a 1 simply because it means that no matter how good or bad you are, you always have a 5% chance of fumbling with each swing. This means that a 1st level fighter can be expected to fumble once every 2 minutes of fighting while a 20th level fighter is gonna fumble once every 24 seconds

We take care of this problem in ours. Basically, when you roll a natural 1, it's like rolling a natural 20 but the opposite. You take -20 to your attack and roll again. For an example let's say you have a 15 to-hit with whatever you are using. You roll a nat. 1. OK, so you are at -5 to hit, and have to roll again. Now, if you rolled a 6, that would bring you above 0, so you just missed. IIRC -1 through like -4 or -5 are drop your weapon at your feet. If you rolled ANOTHER nat. 1, now you are at -25 to hit, and have to roll again - hopefully you can "dig yourself out" but if not there are varying degrees of bad things, depending on how deep into the negatives you go.