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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 2091117" data-attributes="member: 8835">So I saw a thread title in the House Rules on Fumble rules, and it got me thinking.&nbsp; Why do gamers feel the need for &quot;Critical Fumbles&quot; and such in the game?What value to the story does it add?What realism does it add?Does it emulate events in any existing fiction, movies, etc that are worth repeating?It's pretty clear that there are some critical hit examples in fiction and movies.&nbsp; Bard's arrow into Smaug's weak scale, slaying the huge beast is an example, perhaps.&nbsp; Conan probably scores lots of critical hits in his fiction.But I can only think of one example in fiction, that could be described as a critical fumble.&nbsp; I believe it was &quot;Where the Red Fern Grows&quot; or &quot;Old Yeller&quot; (both were about coon hunting dogs and I was 12 years old...), where the mean guy in the story is chasing our protagonist with a hatchet, and trips, and falls on the blade.&nbsp; His stomach is cut open and he shortly dies.That's it, and it's not even on a combat roll, so a mechanic of rolling a natural 1 wouldn't work to simulate it (unless it was on his running check).Critical Fumbles often get retold in funny stories about D&amp;D, rather than the epic heroic ones.&nbsp; I'd rather have an epic tale to bore my friends with, than telling the one about the time I rolled a 1 and lopped off my arm with a Great Sword (which I had two hands on).I'm not a fan of critical fumbles.&nbsp; Nor of the way they tend to be implemented in house rules.I've never really played in a game that had them, so I'm puzzled by the desire to have them by some players.But rather then get into mechanics, I'm curious as to what examples in storytelling would make critical fumbles a valuable rule mechanic?Janx</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 2091117, member: 8835"] So I saw a thread title in the House Rules on Fumble rules, and it got me thinking. Why do gamers feel the need for "Critical Fumbles" and such in the game? What value to the story does it add? What realism does it add? Does it emulate events in any existing fiction, movies, etc that are worth repeating? It's pretty clear that there are some critical hit examples in fiction and movies. Bard's arrow into Smaug's weak scale, slaying the huge beast is an example, perhaps. Conan probably scores lots of critical hits in his fiction. But I can only think of one example in fiction, that could be described as a critical fumble. I believe it was "Where the Red Fern Grows" or "Old Yeller" (both were about coon hunting dogs and I was 12 years old...), where the mean guy in the story is chasing our protagonist with a hatchet, and trips, and falls on the blade. His stomach is cut open and he shortly dies. That's it, and it's not even on a combat roll, so a mechanic of rolling a natural 1 wouldn't work to simulate it (unless it was on his running check). Critical Fumbles often get retold in funny stories about D&D, rather than the epic heroic ones. I'd rather have an epic tale to bore my friends with, than telling the one about the time I rolled a 1 and lopped off my arm with a Great Sword (which I had two hands on). I'm not a fan of critical fumbles. Nor of the way they tend to be implemented in house rules. I've never really played in a game that had them, so I'm puzzled by the desire to have them by some players. But rather then get into mechanics, I'm curious as to what examples in storytelling would make critical fumbles a valuable rule mechanic? Janx [/QUOTE]

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