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Message: <blockquote data-quote="reanjr" data-source="post: 2091684" data-attributes="member: 20740">There's numerous scenes in novels and movies where a weapon is dropped, stuck, broken, etc. without any intervention of the opponent.  Sometimes people fall or trip in battle.  It adds a gnawing worry to the game, a sense that the game isn't a matter of wittling down HPs until someone drops.  Sometimes the world itself or fate works against you.  It adds value and realism.Those are just killing blows, not necessarily critical hits.  Bard's arrow would be much better represented by a called shot.OK, now I see where you are coming from.  Critical fumble does not mean you hit yourself with your weapon.  I suppose that is a possibility, but a rare one.  I personally think a system of 1=hit self would be pretty bad.So you just proved to yourself that they do add something memorable and fun to the game.Just bad rules.  The rules depend on what you want them to represent, though.  For combat mishaps in general, the KenzerCo rules are my favorite.  On a 1, roll a Reflex save.  Worse things happen depending on how low the save is.  14 or above avoids any weird effects.  Effects include losing next attack, losing next action, falling prone, dropping a weapon, etc.In the past I have houseruled two different, simpler methods.  On a 1, you may provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent or lose your next action.  These were just to spice up the chanciness of combat.As I stated earlier, the mechanics define what they represent in story.  You have to figure out one or the other first, then work from there.  In general, though, it's simply fate causing mishaps and mistakes.</blockquote>

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