Critical Failure chart | EN World Tabletop RPG News & Reviews

I have a fumble chart, though I don't know how to attach it here. It includes various combinations of the following:

- minor damage to self
- minor damage to friend
- full damage to self
- full damage to friend
- critical damage to self/friend
- weapon dropped
- weapon thrown near (10')
- weapon thrown far (20+')
- weapon broken (if magic, save or break)
- shield or helmet broken/slipped
- somehow leave self vulnerable, free attack for opponent

I also have a spell failure table, for when a caster is interrupted or something otherwise goes sideways; usually one of three things will happen:

- nothing (or maybe a small puff of smoke or quiet 'pffft' or 'pop')
- spell reverses if possible
- a wild magic surge

And there's a third table, for when a magic item breaks or magical energy is otherwise released in a way it shouldn't be, results can be:

- nothing
- an explosion of magical energy
- a wild magic surge

Wild magic surges can cause just about any effect you as DM can dream up, from the utterly trivial (a cup of tea appears in someone's hand) to the somewhat confusing (marching footsteps are heard approaching, tramping through party, then receding to silence) to the vaguely dangerous (a 2-12d6 fireball goes off somewhere nearby) to the always-useful (everyone in the party is affected as if by 'Heal') to the completely disastrous (gate in a demon lord or similar, it is not controlled and reacts accordingly) to the wonderful (the next time caster wishes for something it will come true as if 'wish' cast, caster does not know this).

The tables, of course, trend toward the trivial.

Lan-"the only thing worse than wild magic is tame magic"-efan

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