Fumbles

For 3.5e D&D

Some people have a problem with Fumble rules, on the following arguments:

They make combat more random, and hence more dangerous, hence bias the game against PCs in the long run.
True. Not necessarily a bad thing if the DM appreciates it. By making combat slightly more risky, it encourages more tactics and less raw hack-&-slash when confronted by inferior foes.
Anyway, they're fun.
Higher-level characters with more attacks have more opportunities to fumble. This is especially so with multiple attacks by, say, 6th and 11th level fighters.
So the fumble rules need to make each opportunity less likely to go wrong.
They're not In The Books.
So? Rule 0.
If you analyse some of the Fumble results in a game like Runequest II, you find that in a battle of 10,000 men, some dozens will cut their own heads off.
So the RQ fumble rules are screwed.

That said, I now present my fumble rules.

On a Natural 1 (or maybe 2), ONCE per round

A fumble MAY occur when a character rolls a natural 1 in combat on his first attack in a round. If the character is extremely inept or fighting in very difficult circumstances, it may happen on a natural 2 or on other attacks.
Fumbles may sometimes happen on a skill roll (eg Climbing). The following assumes combat, but the idea is fairly simple and can be extended to other situations.

Confirmation

To avoid the fumble, roll 1d20 against DC20, with the following modifiers:

+BAB
+Dex Bonus
+1 for these feats as relevant: (Imp) Wpn Focus, (Imp) Wpn Spec, Wpn Finesse, [Gtr/Imp] TWF, Imp Bull Rush/Disarm/Trip/Sunder/Overrun, Mtd Cbt
- any penalties for multiple/offhand weapons, wrong-sized weapons, non-proficiency in weapon or armour, mounted archery
-2 if Charging
+1 for Masterwork non-magic weapon
+2 for a +1 to +2 magic weapon
+3 for a +3 to +4 magic weapon
+4 for a +5 or better weapon
+1 for a 2-handed weapon (not a double weapon)
-2 to -10 for an Improvised weapon (eg -2 for a chair leg, -10 for a sofa)
-4 for a flail, spiked chain, nunchaku or other flexible weapon
-2 to -20 for situational penalties (eg slippery or treacherous ground, water, strong wind, steep slope, darkness, etc)

If your modifiers are less than 0 (as might happen for a clumsy 3rd level wizard fighting stirges on an icy ledge in a high wind), you may fumble on a 2 or on other attacks in that round. In this case the DC is 0.

Table

If you do fumble, roll 1d20 on the following table. There are no modifiers (low rolls are usually but not always worse). If the result is improbable, the DM may require a reroll, impose a result or simply declare that nothing significant has happened.

Roll	Melee Weapon	Natural Attacks	Projectile Weapon	Thrown Weapon
1	Accident: Roll twice	Accident: Roll twice	Accident: Roll twice	Accident: Roll twice
2	All opponents get AoA	All opponents get AoA	Hit friend	Hit friend
3	Hit friend, ½ damage?	Hit friend, ½ damage?	Hit friend, ½ damage?	Hit friend, ½ damage?
4	Pull a muscle: 1d4 Subdual hp, -1 Str for 10 mins	Pull a muscle: 1d4 Subdual hp, -1 Str for 10 mins	Hurt self: 1d2 Subdual hp, -1 Dex for 10 mins	Pull a muscle: 1d4 Subdual hp, -1 Str for 10 mins
5	1 opponent gets AoA	1 opponent gets AoA	Bow badly damaged	Break equipment
6	1 opponent gets AoA at -4 to hit	1 opponent gets AoA at -4 to hit	Bow damaged	Weapon broken
7	Pull a muscle: 1 hp Subdual	Pull a muscle: 1 hp Subdual	Drop all arrows, 2d4 break or get lost	Pull a muscle: 1 hp Subdual
8	Balance DC20 or fall over	Balance DC20 or fall over	Drop all arrows	Balance DC20 or fall over
9	Drop many things	Bite something hard: 1d4 damage	Drop many things	Drop many things
10	Drop weapon 1d4 x 5' away	Hurt claw: 1 attack is -4H, ½ dam 10 mins	Hit something unfortunate	Hit something unfortunate
11	Dislodge helmet: 1r blinded	Roll Concentration vs DC 15 to use special abilities next 2 r	Drop 2d6 arrows	Dislodge helmet: 1r blinded
12	Balance DC20 or fall to knees	Balance DC20 or fall to knees	Drop 1d4+1 arrows	Balance DC20 or fall to knees
13	Weapon broken	Lame: ½ movement, -2 AC for 10 mins	Bowstring breaks	Weapon broken
14	Drop something	Concentration vs DC 15 to use special abilities next round	Drop bow at feet; crossbow goes off	Drop something
15	Balance DC20 or slip badly. Waste a round recovering, flat-footed.	Balance DC20 or slip badly. Waste a round recovering, flat-footed.	Balance DC15 or slip badly. Waste a round recovering, flat-footed.	Balance DC20 or slip badly. Waste a round recovering, flat-footed.
16	Balance DC20 or slip. Waste a round recovering.	Balance DC20 or slip. Waste a round recovering.	Balance DC15 or slip. Waste a round recovering.	Balance DC20 or slip. Waste a round recovering.
17	-4 to hit on next attack	-4 to hit on next attack	Bowstring damaged (twice will break it)	Weapon damaged
18	Balance DC20 or stumble. -2 AC next round	Balance DC20 or stumble. -2 AC next round	Shoot arrow a very long way and lose it	Throw missile a very long way and lose it
19	Drop Weapon at feet	Embarrassing but harmless	Drop arrow at feet	Drop missile at feet
20	Embarrassing but harmless	Embarrassing but harmless	Embarrassing but harmless	Embarrassing but harmless

Some of the results need interpretation by the DM. For example:
Hit Friend assumes that an ally (or possibly a neutral party) might be in the line of fire or nearly so. Melee attacks will usually do half damage except when there's a chance of mistaken identity, eg in darkness, fog, invisibility etc.
Weapon Broken assumes a non-magic non-masterwork weapon, though such could certainly be damaged. It assumes that there is a way for the weapon to be damaged, such as by a parry, being bitten in half, striking a stalactite or being drenched in acid.
Drop Something might mean dropping a shield, a backpack, a spare weapon, a wand, a quiver or a mount's reins.
Hit something unfortunate might mean putting an arrow into the alarm gong instead of the goblin sentry standing beside it.
Dislodge helmet is not applicable if the character wears no hat or helmet, so the DM might ask for a reroll.
Balance DC20/15 or... assumes normal, slightly uneven terrain such as woodland, an old dungeon floor or a ship's deck. Decrease it by 5 for a smooth clean surface and increase it by 5 or more for tree roots, slime, stalactites, quicksand, rolling seas, ice, sloping ground etc.
Similarly, if the character is fighting on ice, many of the results will involve Fall Over or Slip in some fashion.

Fighting carefully:

A character can choose to take a little more care to reduce the risk of a fumble, though this has downsides. A Raging or Frenzied character (or one under similar mental stress, eg Frightened) cannot do this.
There are two options, which can be combined:
Stable footing: As a Move-Equivalent action, a character checks his footing and takes more care. He adds 10 to his confirmation roll. In practice, this means that characters with only a single attack in a toe-to-toe fight will fumble much less.
Slowing Down: A character can take a penalty to his Hit rolls and AC to reduce the risk of fumbling. For each -1 (up to a maximum of BAB/4, rounded down) he gains +4 to his confirmation roll.


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Last Revised 21/12/06