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RndmNumGen
2011-01-12, 02:29 AM
I've been trying to work on a houserule system where when a player criticals, there is a chance that an extra effect happens, such as crippling a limb or maybe even chopping if off with a good enough roll. I was also thinking about making a critical miss system to go with it, where if a player confirms a natural 1, something bad happens. In most cases this would be minor, such as ending up flat-footed next round, or maybe provoking an Attack of Opportunity or dropping their weapon or something similar. I'm not really sure where to start though; I would like it to be fair in that players won't end up decapitating themselves, but if they roll a 1 on the percentile dice then something very bad should happen. Has anyone implemented a similar system? How has it worked?

Smeggedoff
2011-01-12, 03:17 AM
I haven't tried it myself but have been meanign to pick up This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gamemastery-Critical-Hit-Deck-Printing/dp/1601251955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294820203&sr=8-1)

Ranielle
2011-01-12, 03:21 AM
Look at Dark Heresy critical hit tables for inspiration. Exploding heads, dismemberment, slippery floor because of blood. All sorts of goodies.

Serpentine
2011-01-12, 03:30 AM
There's a few critical hit/miss tables around, although most (I think) end with at least one variety of "death".

I'm thinking of more formally instituting an informal crit system in my game, in which when a crit hit/miss is rolled, I ask where they were aiming for and determine the results accordingly. I might allow them to roll an applicable ability check to avoid/inflict any mechanical consequences, the DC depending on how significant the result would be. Or maybe that would only apply in the case of misses, ionno.

So, take a head shot for example. If the critical hit is confirmed, the enemy may have to do a Constitution check or take a -1 penalty to attack next round (because they've gone momentarily cross-eyed) or be stunned for the next round, or so on.
If it's a critical miss, the misser has to make a Dex check or have their weapon bounce back in their face, possibly dealing a small amount of damage or stunning or somesuch, or swing so wide that they risk an Attack of Opportunity or take a -1 penalty to AC against that enemy for the rest of the round.

You get the idea.

Smeggedoff
2011-01-12, 03:57 AM
We houserules critical misses as a weapon fumble of some kind like snapping your bowstring that meant you spent the next round fixing the problem (restringing your bow, retrieving your weapon etc)

We had one unlucky scout that ended up buying bowstrings in bulk.

Course it got silly later on when the monk started dislocating his wrist... or the Warlock had to keep cleaning the jammed cartridges out of his finger...

Rainbownaga
2011-01-12, 04:24 AM
Look at Dark Heresy critical hit tables for inspiration. Exploding heads, dismemberment, slippery floor because of blood. All sorts of goodies.

Note that critical hits work differently in the warhammer 40k rpgs. In dark heresy and the like, critical effects only occur when you run out of hit points (wounds).

That said, the idea is cool, but it is potentially overpowered: CoDzilla clerics with keen scimitars become a terrifying prospect.

ffone
2011-01-12, 04:51 AM
We houserules critical misses as a weapon fumble of some kind like snapping your bowstring that meant you spent the next round fixing the problem (restringing your bow, retrieving your weapon etc)

We had one unlucky scout that ended up buying bowstrings in bulk.

Course it got silly later on when the monk started dislocating his wrist... or the Warlock had to keep cleaning the jammed cartridges out of his finger...

So a legendarily experienced archer (say, 16th level archer with Rapid Shot for 5 attacks per round) snaps his bowstring over twice a minute on average (20 attacks per 4 rounds)?

Cespenar
2011-01-12, 05:23 AM
If there would be any kind of critical misses, I believe they should be made in threat/confirm way as well. So you roll a 1, it's a threat. You roll again, if you miss, it's confirmed and you invoke a critical miss. Something like that.

Emmerask
2011-01-12, 06:04 AM
If there would be any kind of critical misses, I believe they should be made in threat/confirm way as well. So you roll a 1, it's a threat. You roll again, if you miss, it's confirmed and you invoke a critical miss. Something like that.

We have a similar system although a bit different.

A 1 means you roll again and subtract it, if this result doesn´t hit its a fumble chance. You roll again if this attack doesn´t hit its a fumble else only a miss.

Similar to that are crits 20 only means you roll again and add it to the result (no auto hit). You then roll again if you hit its a crit.

I´ve written a java program that you then consult afterwards where you roll a d100 to see the effect of the result depending on your weapon and crit modifier.
Sadly it uses copyrighted graphics (I wrote it for personal use only and I´m not good with paintshop^^) but if I have some time this week I could rework it and put it up for download if there is any demand for such a tool.

Smeggedoff
2011-01-12, 08:20 AM
So a legendarily experienced archer (say, 16th level archer with Rapid Shot for 5 attacks per round) snaps his bowstring over twice a minute on average (20 attacks per 4 rounds)?

I didn't say it was a GOOD houserule

LibraryOgre
2011-01-12, 12:17 PM
If you can find a copy of 2e's "Combat and Tactics", they have a more robust critical hit system in there. It's also available in one of the Dragon magazines... can't remember the number, however. A lot of grognards also swear by "Good Hits and Bad Misses" from Dragon #39.

grimbold
2011-01-12, 12:45 PM
I haven't tried it myself but have been meanign to pick up This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gamemastery-Critical-Hit-Deck-Printing/dp/1601251955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294820203&sr=8-1)
'this' looks pretty nice
dark heresy has some good ideas
as a general rule it is good to check out other systems than the one you're playing for inspiration

Thalnawr
2011-01-12, 12:47 PM
This book (http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Players-Guide-Sorcery-Studios/dp/1588469611) also has a fairly good system, detailing a lot more of the crippling injury types, and not just messy chunky-salsa style death. It separates damage by body part and damage type as well, and has a decent system for critical misses as well. (Plus other goodies)

Edit: As far as how well the rules in there work... well, let's just say that I got to experience both the effects of a critical miss and hit at the same time... I was playing some archer with a Thundering greatbow, and rolled a critical miss, then another one to confirm that yes in fact it was a critical miss. Because it was a 1, the rules there called it a botch, making the result much worse. Then, I had to roll a d20 a third time, and the higher the result, the worse your botch. I rolled a 20... which is strikes self with weapon, and automatic critical hit with a x3 crit Thundering weapon... The GM ruled it could only really hit me in the leg, so then we consulted the crit results, after dealing 42 points of damage to myself, I also ended up with permanent half movement speed. This could only be repaired by a Heal or Regenerate spell. Oh, and I was unconscious and bleeding out due to quantity of damage dealt to myself, but luckily the healer was nearby and next on initiative.

Sipex
2011-01-12, 12:51 PM
One thing you'll have to decide is "Will monsters have the same benefits?" as this will help you decide the severity of the critical hit/miss tables as well.

RndmNumGen
2011-01-12, 08:11 PM
One thing you'll have to decide is "Will monsters have the same benefits?" as this will help you decide the severity of the critical hit/miss tables as well.

Yes, monsters will be subject to both the same critical hit and miss effects. That's why I would like there to be some consideration for how skilled the character is with the weapon(a skilled fighter is less likely to cut himself than a enemy mook, yet both can still do that.)

FMArthur
2011-01-12, 08:23 PM
Using Critical Misses effectively puts a fully-randomized timer on the life of any attacking adventurer, and an even less-randomized timer or the life of any foolish enough to build a character with lots of attacks.

Using added effects or triple-twenty-kills for Critical Hits is similarly deadly to PCs, since as the campaign wears on PCs will be attacked thousands of times. Even ignoring specific battles where the PCs are outnumbered, just fighting one enemy at a time is unfair to them because it still doesn't actually matter if they critical-explode some goon or boss. They were probably going to win anyway. Then randomly one of them is instantly slain by a beggar with a club on the way out of town, and that matters.

BOTH are horribly flawed things to run in a game.

Teron
2011-01-12, 09:05 PM
Using Critical Misses effectively puts a fully-randomized timer on the life of any attacking adventurer, and an even less-randomized timer or the life of any foolish enough to build a character with lots of attacks.

Using added effects or triple-twenty-kills for Critical Hits is similarly deadly to PCs, since as the campaign wears on PCs will be attacked thousands of times. Even ignoring specific battles where the PCs are outnumbered, just fighting one enemy at a time is unfair to them because it still doesn't actually matter if they critical-explode some goon or boss. They were probably going to win anyway. Then randomly one of them is instantly slain by a beggar with a club on the way out of town, and that matters.

BOTH are horribly flawed things to run in a game.
I agree, and furthermore, characters who rely on making lots of attack rolls per round tend to be weaker (casters > martial adepts > two-handers > dual-wielders), assuming equal optimization; they really don't need the added pain of rolling on a critical fumble table every couple of rounds.

Blue Bandit
2011-01-12, 09:40 PM
When I was DM, I created a % chart to determine the result of a fumble. Its far from perfect, but it was better than our last DM who always made a fumble hit an ally.

On a fumble players roll a %dice and add their base attack bonus plus their primary ability. (str for melee, dex for ranged ect.)

1-5% Weapon breaks or becomes unusable (if weapon is magical, roll saving throw DC 15)
6-10% Weapon is deflected and redirected back at self (roll attack roll against self to determine hit)
11-20% Attack Hits adjacent ally for half damage (roll randomly to determine new target, then reroll attack to hit)
21-30% Wielder is tripped and becomes prone ( flatfooted for next attack, move action to stand back up)
31-40% Weapon becomes jammed into foe’s armor, tree, ground ext. ( DC 15 str check to release )
41-50% Weapon is fumbled and is thrown harmlessly 2d10 feet away (roll 1d8 to determine direction)
51-60% Standard Miss with -2 to next rounds attack rolls
61-70% Standard Miss with -2 to next rounds damage rolls
71-80% Standard Miss with -2 to AC next round
81-90% Standard Miss
91-95% Attack Hits adjacent enemy for half damage (roll randomly to determine new target, then reroll attack to hit)
96-100% Reroll Attack at -5 penalty

Gan The Grey
2011-01-12, 10:43 PM
Haven't drawn up my critical miss chart as of yet, but here is an excerpt from the DM's Handbook I wrote for my E6 setting. Concerning critical hits and:

Grievous Wounds

Adventuring is serious business. With the potential for running into blood-thirsty monsters, devious traps, and other competitive adventurers, it really is no wonder that only the lucky ever survive long enough to make it to the higher levels. Death, though, is not necessarily the only bad thing that can happen to an adventurer.

Death is a rare occurrence in a game using the Death Flag rules(google for explanation), so players need something to worry about for characters that drop in the negatives. Grievous Wounds help provide that fear, and add yet another element of danger to an already dangerous world. There are two possible ways that a character gains a Grievous Wound – either by being the victim of a critical hit, or by dropping into negative hit points.

Critical Hits – There is a 5% chance per critical hit of a victim suffering a Grievous Wound.

Negative Hit Points – Anytime a character takes damage from an attack that sends him into negative hit points, there is a cumulative 5% chance of suffering a Grievous Wound. Each time they suffer additional damage, another check is rolled as appropriate for damage sustained.

Suffering a Grievous Wound – Once it has been determined that a character has indeed suffered a Grievous Wound, it is up to the DM to determine the exact nature of the wound. First, he rolls 1d20 to determine location:

1 Left Foot 11 Left Hand
2 Right Foot 12 Right Hand
3 Left Leg 13 Left Arm
4 Right Leg 14 Right Arm
5 Left Knee 15 Left Elbow
6 Right Knee 16 Right Elbow
7 Groin 17 Left Shoulder
8 Stomach 18 Right Shoulder
9 Chest 19 Neck
10 Back 20 Head

For more specific locations than these, he may roll again to determine additional locations (i.e. choosing between neck and throat on a neck roll).

Next, he rolls 1d100.

Results in the 01-60% range are the equivalent of a minor injury, such as a bad cut or strained ankle. These wounds should have effects that impose temporary minuses of 2 to 4 on skills, or 2 attack or defense, or 10 move penalties, and lasting effects that equate to no more than a permanent -1 to any check. Most will heal on their own, but heal checks and magical healing can immediately lower the penalties, though fixing these injuries solely through a heal check threatens to reopen it upon partaking in vigorous activity. Over time or with magic, most of these injuries completely disappear.

Results in the 61-90% range are serious injuries. Broken bones, bleeding wounds, and permanent disabilities fall in this range. Unlike minor injuries, heal checks or magic are almost always necessary for the character to regain some semblance of their previous selves, though without the use of powerful magics, they will never be whole again. If sustained during combat, many of these wounds threaten to slowly drain Conviction(part of death flag rules) until a character’s Death Flag is forcibly lowered, draining additional Conviction until the character dies.

Results in the 91-00% range are grievous injuries. Compound fractures, internal and arterial bleeds, severed limbs, and brain damage are all possible here. These can sometimes be career ending injuries. If the character doesn’t die from these wounds, he may wish he had. Long-term care is certain, and natural healing is suspended entirely for a time determined by the DM. Magical healing only heals an amount equal the spell level per casting, and Heal DCs are high.


Yes, these are pretty hardcore, and determining them can be a bit tedious. But...that's the game I run. Since players can't actually die unless they raise their Death Flag, I needed something for them to be afraid of. It worked out nicely.

Serpentine
2011-01-12, 10:45 PM
Using Critical Misses effectively puts a fully-randomized timer on the life of any attacking adventurer, and an even less-randomized timer or the life of any foolish enough to build a character with lots of attacks.

Using added effects or triple-twenty-kills for Critical Hits is similarly deadly to PCs, since as the campaign wears on PCs will be attacked thousands of times. Even ignoring specific battles where the PCs are outnumbered, just fighting one enemy at a time is unfair to them because it still doesn't actually matter if they critical-explode some goon or boss. They were probably going to win anyway. Then randomly one of them is instantly slain by a beggar with a club on the way out of town, and that matters.

BOTH are horribly flawed things to run in a game.Uh... All of this only counts if you have an auto-death clause in your critical system. The OP appears to specifically ask for ideas WITHOUT that possibility.
Even when I do use tables that have an auto-death option, I generally only use them for "inspiration", anyway.

Boci
2011-01-12, 10:55 PM
Uh... All of this only counts if you have an auto-death clause in your critical system.

It can also be annoying without instant death. Try making a major opponent leave a serious impression when they stab themselves in the leg/break their own weapon/trip over their feat, but thats more relevant on a thread discussing whether or not to use them.

LibraryOgre
2011-01-13, 12:49 PM
One thing worth noting about expanded critical hits options. We started using them when C&T came out... then quickly discontinued them. The why was threefold.

1) More work, slowing down combat.
2) Rocket tag. In many cases, it came down to "who got the first critical", rather than "who had the best forces".
3) In the long run, a lot more deadly to PCs than to NPCs. PCs tend to have a bit of staying power, so any given PC is going to be subject to a large number of critical hits over his career, while NPCs drop and then leave. This is especially true when you consider that, in a given combat, DMs generally make FAR more rolls than players. Six trolls against 4 PCs isn't unreasonable at some levels... but you're probably looking at 18 attack rolls per round v. 4 for the PCs (2 for the fighter, 1 for the cleric, 1 for the thief and the mage casting a spell). A lot more chances to critical.

There were occasional crowning moments of awesome as a result of the critical table... probably the best was my younger brother's halfling thief with a dagger specialization... knee destroyed from a critical, stuck in a Darkness, 15' radius spell, still managing to kill several people with thrown daggers due to incredible luck, an ungodly Dex, and the 3/daggers/round rate of fire. But he was down because the criticals knocked his leg out from under him, and, in the long run, it wasn't worth it.

gdiddy
2011-01-13, 01:29 PM
It depends on what you are running. Dark Heresy and WHFRPG are both grimdark. It is not uncommon for someone to go through a character per session on a streak of bad rolls.

That's the point. It's supposed to be scary and a little hopeless. At the same time, it also means people are less likely to go "lolcombat!" at every enemy. Because any arrow might easily hit you in the eye and any bolter has the capacity to blow your legs off your body, killing you instantly and making your friends slip around in your entrails.

Players play smarter if there is a high-risk to their characters. They choose their battles and use tactics. Some DH groups in combat are amazing, because they act like a real swat or special forces team. Advancing from cover, springing elaborate traps, clearing rooms with scientific precision, and using terrain to maintain an advantage.

Of course, that is not everyone's speed. And it is somewhat anti-thetical to medieval superheroes that DnD endorses, but I recommend everyone give it a try.

randomhero00
2011-01-13, 01:53 PM
I hate crit misses.

But I like the idea of some watered down version of crit table.

Just to throw some ideas. So after you crit you'd roll another d20 to determine the type:

1: -1 to hit for one round
2: -1 to defense for one round
3 -1 to hit and defense
4 -2 to hit
5 -2 to defense
6 -2 to hit and defense
7 slowed for one round
8 -1 hit and slowed for one round
9 -2 to hit and slowed for one round
10 -2 to hit and defense and slowed for one round
11 dazed 1 round
12 dazed and -1 to hit
13 -3 to hit and defense
14 dazed and -2 to hit and defense
15 -4 to all rolls
16 slowed and dazed
17 slowed and dazed for 2 rounds
18: dazed for two rounds, -2 to all rolls
19: slowed and dazed for one round, -2 to everything
20: stunned for one round, -2 to everything

For example. Fill in fluff during game (since not all monsters have hands or arms and such, or even eyes).

Then attach some fact that the player must describe the crit well enough to earn a chance at the table. Improves storytelling and combat.

Either that or implement some sort of action point or fate or luck or karma point that must be used to use this table. Which can be saved up to 3 points and are awarded for good roleplay.

randomhero00
2011-01-14, 01:24 PM
Any thoughts on my crit table? I'm thinking of using it so feedback is appreciated.

ffone
2011-01-14, 08:33 PM
ramdonhero0000, your crit table is the only one I've ever seen I didn't abhor. Most such tables basically just guarantee you need a new PC every so often irrespective of your tactical skill, but yours seems reasonable - using 3.5's existing status effects like dazing, slowing, and misc. penalties rather than 'you chopped your own arm off! bye bye!'

I also hate these rules b/c usually, the probability is the same for both the L1 mook and the legendary guy. You can be the most awesome swordsman ever, and with the rules you still kill yourself once every 400 attacks or whatever. IMO they all feel likes things that DMs do for power trips. Whereas yours seems pretty reasonable.

I still wouldn't use it just b/c of complexity. If I had to use one it would be something like that though.

Also, using a d20 rather than a d100 is great. Saves a lot of time, b/c you're probably already holding a d20, and over time players might actually memorize it.

I might suggest fewer numerical penalties and more status-based things. Numerical penalties cost time (doing more math), things like dazing and slowing really don't, b/c they simply reduce the number of actions.

Amphetryon
2011-01-14, 09:03 PM
Critical misses in D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder (as far as I can tell) are a fundamentally flawed idea. They punish the characters who have the highest BAB and, therefore, make the most attack rolls disproportionately, giving a double-whammy to the character classes that, at best, are geared toward the middle of the road on the power curve. They punish player characters more than they punish NPCs, because NPCs are by their nature more disposable than player characters are supposed to be, and because the PCs are in every fight, whereas even the most pernicious, will-not-die bad guy NPC is in a small fraction of the conflicts. This means the PCs will hit themselves in the foot, trip over unseen roots, snap bowstrings, and worse, at a rate greater than any of the NPCs will, and the PCs that are the most skilled at combat (and generally among the weaker classes to start out) will be the ones most frequently flailing around like uncoordinated fools.

Unless you're fundamentally changing other dynamics of how combat works, I don't recommend critical misses. They're never as much fun as they seem like they'll be in the design phase.

ffone
2011-01-19, 04:15 AM
Agreed with Amp.

One silly side effect of superfumbles is that, as characters gain BAB or feats like TWF and Rapid Shot, their rate of superfumbles (per second, not per attack) actually goes up. A 16th level TWFer may make 7 attacks a round, or 8 with haste (and more with the inevitable Tome of Battle pileon of Raging Epileptic Naruto Moongoose), for 80 attacks a minute or a nat1 every 15 seconds.

And the rate of superfumbles per attack will stay constant. So the Warrior-1 noob, and Alexander the Great, are equally likely to cut their own heads off on any given sword swing. Lame.

Also, they serve no tactical or strategic gaming purpose since they're simply random; 1/20 or 1/400 or whatever of every attack.

Also you change the balance between two-handers and TWFers and so forth.And most people will say the builds you're hosing are already the weaker ones: TWFers relative to 2Hers, and 2Hers relative to spellcasters.

If you must, consider testing it in your game as a Flaw: a character can take it on in exchange for a feat, in other words.

Altair_the_Vexed
2011-01-19, 06:48 AM
Fumbles that I've houseruled in to my game must be confirmed like critical hits (if your confirming roll misses again, it's a fumble) - and are never directly damaging or fatal, they just cause you to lose actions.

I set two thresholds of fumble - the less bad fumble means you lose your full attack option for one round, and the worse means your weapon is damaged in some way and may need repair as well.

Having your bowstring break, you pistol jam or your sword get stuck in a tree for a moment is worrying and dramatic.
Damaging yourself or others makes your character look stupid. It isn't much fun, and it's certainly not heroic.

Borgut
2011-01-19, 09:28 AM
Kingdoms of Kalamar has a nice critical fumble variant I like and use. One has to confirm a fumble with a reflex save against 16. The deviation says how "critical" it will be". While the number of 1's will be the same, the number (and effect) of super fumbles will decrease with character progress.

I'm against any harsh consequences from criticals or fumbles. Numbers are against the players. In an adventure there will be a lot of encounters with different opponents, but still the same PCs. A street-thug with a broken arm will rest for some days and the his live goes on. A SC with a broken arm will be out-of-game...

Scorpions__
2011-01-19, 09:35 AM
Dragon Compendium has a good set of tables for critical hits and misses near the back of the book in the appendices.







DM[F]R

Person_Man
2011-01-19, 09:40 AM
If there would be any kind of critical misses, I believe they should be made in threat/confirm way as well. So you roll a 1, it's a threat. You roll again, if you miss, it's confirmed and you invoke a critical miss. Something like that.

I've used this method in the past. If you roll a 1, you roll again to confirm. If you MISS their AC again, then it's a critical fumble. If you choose to include critical fumbles, then I highly suggest using this mechanic.

But in general, I agree with people who say that critical fumbles are a bad idea. Like the old Storyteller system, if rolling 1 essentially ends your turn and/or does something bad, then having more dice counter intuitively lowers your chance of success.

I have seen critical hits and fumbles used successfully, but only in games where you roll 1 attack per player per turn, and everyone rolls it (ie, you can't cast certain spells or use variant abilities to avoid an attack roll).

Incorrect
2011-01-19, 09:56 AM
I agree that it is a problem that the master swordsman with 10 attacks fumbles so much more often than a beggar. Perhaps if you could only make one critical fumble each turn?
That would even the playing field.

Though it would be funny to see the Raging Mongoose Mulitweapon fighting thri-kreen go NOVA one round, and then spend the next round Stunned, Dazed, Tripped, Nauseated, and with massive penalties, due to all the statistical fumbles :smallamused:

Amphetryon
2011-01-19, 10:00 AM
I agree that it is a problem that the master swordsman with 10 attacks fumbles so much more often than a beggar. Perhaps if you could only make one critical fumble each turn?
That would even the playing field.

Not if every roll produces a chance for that one fumble, it wouldn't. The character with the highest number of attack/round would be the one thwacking himself in the back of the head with his weapon most frequently. 5 attacks a round means once every 4 rounds, this will happen, statistically. 1 attack a round, like your beggar will probably have, reduces the odds of such accidental hilarity.

Lapak
2011-01-19, 10:15 AM
I've been toying with the idea of using Critical Hits and Misses to model equipment damage. (Fair Warning: Vague Damage Tracking ahead!)

A critical hit damages the armor of the target: buckles have been cut, the armor has been dented such that it is digging into the wearer, a plate has been knocked askew, etc. Reduce the effective AC of the armor by 1 until it is repaired. Armor which suffers damage five times without being repaired is rendered useless - non-magical armor is effectively destroyed and magical armor cannot be worn until it has been fully repaired. Creatures wearing no manufactured armor (or useless manufactured armor) suffer a -1 penalty to AC that remains until they are fully healed.

A critical miss damages the weapon of the attacker: the edge is badly nicked, the grip is loosened, etc. Attacks with the weapon suffer a -1 to hit until repairs can be made. A weapon which suffers damage three times without being repaired is rendered useless: a non-magical weapon is destroyed and a magical one must be repaired or possibly reforged.

This doesn't remove the many-attacks-equal-more-critmisses problem, but it makes a little more sense under this model: the guy who is hammering at your shield faster than you can keep up is also subjecting his weapon to more abuse.

Cyrion
2011-01-19, 10:17 AM
If you're going to insist on a fumble mechanic, consider having the second roll to confirm the fumble also have to be a 1. Otherwise, as you go after opponents that are harder to hit, you increase the chances yet again to confirm that fumble. Rolling a 1 against a critter with an AC of 14 doesn't have nearly the consequences as rolling a 1 against one with an AC of 30.

I haven't used critical fumbles or critical hit consequences in D&D for a long time for the reasons mentioned above, but I have used them in GURPS, and I've always ruled something "interesting" that was some sort of a fumble that contributes to the epicness of the battle- a swung weapon isn't just dropped but tossed across the room, you slip and end up somewhere embarrassing, but potentially useful, etc. I try to use them to add flavor to the fight without dooming the players.