From: Benny Moller Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 00:05:19 +0100 To: David Peterson Subject: Re: critical tables (missile) =============================================================================== From White Dwarf #91 O O P S ! ----------------------------------------------------- FUMBLES IN WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY ----------------------------------------------------- by Ashley Dennison with Graeme Davis ----------------------------------------------------- The Critical Hits system in WFRP allows characters to benefit from a lucky or exceptionally well-placed blow, but there is no provision for the opposite situation - where a character gets things spectacurlarly wrong as something really catastrophic occurs. This short article provides a critical fumble system for use in the same vein as the critical hit system. DETERMINING CRITICAL FUMBLES When a character fails an attack roll by rolling higher than his or her WS and rolls a double, a fumble has occurred. Thus, for example, a character with a WS of 45 will fumble on a roll of 55, 66, 77, 88, 99 or 00. When a fumble occurs, make a note of the number rolled and consult the relevant table. TABLE 1: ONE AND TWO-HANDED WEAPONS, INCLUDING POLEARMS 11 In a particularly impressive manoevre, you manage to bring the business end of your weapon crashing down into your own leg (roll D6: 1-3 left, 4-6 right). Ouch! Don't forget to add your Strength to the attack. 22 Your mighty blow misses your opponent and carries on straight into the ground. Your weapon shatters with a bright, crisp crack, and your arm is only marginally better off. Lose 10 Dex and 10 I for the next five rounds and any attacks for the next round - and hope you have another weapon you can use. 33 Your weapon whistles through the air towards your opponent, but leaves your graps and flies D6 yards in a random direction (roll D8: 1 forward, 2 forward right, 3 right, 4 back right, 5 back, 6 back left, 7 left, 8 forward left). 44 Having no sense of fair play at all, your opponents sidesteps a blow which would have cut him in half. You are unable to stop the blow, and stumble, falling to the ground. You take D4 rounds to get up, and while you are down your opponent has a +10 bonus to WS when attacking you. 55 You overreach yourself and almost stumble, twisting your ankle in the effort to recover. Lose 1 M and 10 I for the next 5 rounds. 66 An over-enthusiastic blow misses, and you find that you have stretched just that little bit too far, leaving you open for a counterattack. Lose 20 I for the next round; you may parry, not attack. 77 Your weapon twists in your hand; you don't quite drop it, but you lose any chances to attack or parry with it in this round. 88 Your weapon clashes with your opponent's guard, jarring your arm. Lose the next chance to attack. 99 Your blow goes wild, leaving you in an awkward position. Your opponent will attack first next round, regardless of your I score. 00 Your attack is awkward; you need to recover from it before you can strike again. Lose 10 I and 10 WS for the next round. TABLE 2: FIST AND NATURAL WEAPONS 11 With a loud and painful crunch, the bones of your hand/jaw/whatever break. Lose 1 W; the attack mode is incapacitated until you receive medical attention, and the pain halves all your percentage characteristics. 22 Pain flares as you tear som eimportant muscles; the attack mode is incapacitated for D6 rounds, and even then attacks with only half the normal WS until medical attention is received. 33 Attacking with more enthusiasm than accuracy, you suddenly find yourself on the ground. You take D4 rounds to get to your feet, during which time your opponent gains a +10 bonus to WS and you may only parry. 44 Your blow misses your opponent, and the momentum takes you with it. You may not attack next round, and your opponent gains a +10 bonus to WS. 55 You overreach yourself and almost stumble, twisting your ankle in the effort to recover. Lose 1 M and 10 I for the next 5 rounds. 66 An over-enthusiastic blow misses, and you find that you have stretched just that little bit too far, leaving you open for a counterattack. Lose 20 I for the next round; you may parry, not attack. 77 Your blow connects painfully with something solid - you lose the use of this attack mode until the end of the next round. 88 Your blow clashes with your opponent's guard, jarring your arm/leg/ whatever. Lose the next chance to attack. 99 Your blow goes wild, leaving you in an awkward position. Your opponent will attack first next round, regardless of your I score. 00 Your attack is awkward; you need to recover from it before you can strike again. Lose 10 I and 10 WS for the next round. TABLE 3: NON-GUNPOWDER MISSILE WEAPONS 11 As you are preparing to loose your missile, your hand slips and the missile neatly skewers your foot. Lose W points as normal. You must spend the next round recovering; if you were using a bow or crossbow, you may only move in very small circles during that time. 22 Your weapon cracks or tears, becoming unusable. If you are using a bow or crossbow, the tension of the string brings a piece of wood lashing back into your face; take a S 1 hit, modified by armour only if you are wearing a closed helmet. The weapon, of course, is useless. 33 A crack or tear appears in your weapon. Every time you use it, there is a 20% chance that it will break, with the results described for a roll of 11 above. 44 Your weapon falls from your nerveless fingers; lose all attacks this round. 55 Your bowstring or sling breaks, and you may not fire again until you have replaced it. 66 Your bolt or arrow breaks, or the stone drops out of your sling. Lose this attack. 77,88 You fail to load properly, and the missile falls to the ground. You may load again, firing at the beginning of the next round. 99,00 You drop all your ammunition. Unless you waste D3 rounds picking it all up, your I is halved for determining when you fire, for the rest of the battle. TABLE 4: THROWN MISSILES: 11 You hurl your weapon with savage force, and something goes snap in your shoulder. Lose 1 W. You may do nothing but whimper until medical attention is received. 22,33 You pull a muscle in your upper back. Lose all actions except movement for D4 rounds. WS, BS and Dex with that arm are halved until medical attention is received. 44 Your throw goes wild. Roll D6: 1-3 left, 4-6 right. Test your BS again if there is any creature in danger of being hit. 55 You hurl your weapon and fall flat on your face in a single smooth motion. You take D3 rounds to get back to your feet, during which time anyone attacking you hand-to-hand gains a +10 bonus to WS. 66,77 You hurl your weapon and stumble, but do not quite fall over. Lose your next attack as you recover your balance. 88,99 You hurl your weapon, lose your balance slightly and spin round in a half-circle, ending up facing the wrong way. Halve your I to determine when you act next round. 00 Your missile twists from your grasp at a critical moment and falls at your feet. TABLE 5: PARRYING WEAPONS AND SHIELDS: 11 Your parry fails miserably, and you lean right into the incoming blow. Calculate damage as normal, then lose double that number of W points. 22 You parry with a flourish, but the effect is somewhat spoiled as your parrying weapon spins through the air, coming to rest D6 feet away, or your shield slithers down your arm to land at your feet. You may not parry again until you have prepared another parrying weapon. 33 You parry your your opponent's feint, and walk right into a haymaker. Take 1 W point of additional damage from the blow. 44 Sweeping past your parry, the blow knocks you off your feet. It takes D4 rounds to stand up, during which time you may only parry and your opponent gains a +10 bonus to WS. 55,66 Your feeble parry does nothing to stop the blow, which winds you. You may only parry until the end of the next round. 77,88 Your opponent's blow smashes through your parry, destroying your parrying weapon and cutting into your arm for a normal hit. The parrying weapon has taken some of the force out of the blow; treat your arm as having 1 armour point against this particular blow. You may not parry again until you prepare another parrying weapon. 99,00 Your opponent's blow wrenches your parrying weapon from your grasp, tearing the straps in the case of a shield. You may not parry again until you prepare another parrying weapon. ===============================================================================