Quote Originally Posted by Talakeal View Post
Is the complaint specific to games like Rolemaster which have a complex fumble table? I typically play games which allow the GM a little more freedom, and don't think I have ever been in a situation where the GM had to struggle to rationalize a fumble and have a hard time even imagining such a thing.
I think the system i spent most time with was TDE, which has (rather short) defined fumble tables for combat and leaves it to the GM for other skills or for magic. But i have played many other systems with fumbles as well and most allow the GM some freedom. That doesn't mean every GM can come up with ideas what might go wrong with every action on the spot. That is even more true when the GM is somewhat tired because it is a late after work session.
Likewise, I have been playing predominantly systems with fumbles for decades, and I can't recall any time when there where multiple fumbles happened in short succession, the odds are just too remote.
Just had it last weak in Splittermond (which also has fumble tables for combat and a 3& fumble chance for most cases). PC buffs himself successfully with some see-through-single-enemy-movements action and attacks. Fumbles, falls flat on her face. Enemy, now free to disengage and attack some other PC who has not such an advatage one-on-one, charges the other PC and... fumbles, falls flat on his face.

No one at the table laughed, but eye-rolling all around. Maybe my various gamer circles don't have the same sense of humor as yours do.

And yeah, really funny fumbles are pretty rare, but a good laugh is fun for everyone involved, and my group has several stories involving a fumble that ended up being funny that we still laugh about decades later.
Now, most fumbles are not a problem. It is only occasionally bad for the mood or immersion breaking. But i don't really see any benefit in fumbles, much less one that counters the occasional bad effects.
That really strikes me as unusual. Dungeon crawls and raiding enemy strongholds are, imo, the default form of adventure for most systems. Being on guard duty is pretty rare.
Thinking back, to a session i had yesterday that was "defend a caravan, solve a riddle, defend a town". My sesond to last session (another group) had no combat. The session before (yet another group) was "find people in the wilerness (and fight in a random encounter), do diplomacy and riddle solving, esort them through enemy terrain". I have to go yet another session back to get a "enter enemy stronghold to steal something. Be stealthy" mission.

So... nope. Dungeon crawls and raiding strongholds are not really that common. Especially if you don't use D&D and derivates.



1: They increases verisimilitude and realism.
2: They increases variety and introduces a bit of novelty.
3: They provides mathematical balance to critical successes.
4: They give the Game Master a great tool to alter the mood (I think this is the reason why most people object to them)
I disagree with one and four, think two is irrelevant, dislike critical successes as well.