Fumble and Critical Tables

[vodokar]

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11911&page=12

I wanted to bring people's attention to this conversation between Dr.Zeuss and myself regarding a proposal to make an extension that adds Fumble and Critical Table functionality to 4e beyond what he had done in the 4e House Rules.

I want to solicit peoples suggestions and opinions regarding this.

I don't intend to ask him to put the work into it if it is only me that thinks it would be a nice and desired feature.

If you've used detailed Fumble and Critical tables in D&D in the past and think it would be cool to have, then let us know please.

[Fot5]

I think that it would be cool, but I think that a utility that pulls DDI character sheets into FGII would be a lot cooler and much more useful.

[vodokar]

I'm sure it would, but it isn't Dr.Zeuss that is working on that project. It is merely an extension of work he has already done.

This project is relatively minor and will take him a few days or less to do. The alternate project you have proposed is a great deal more involved, if its even possible.

In case you aren't aware, Dr.Zeuss is one of the users, not one of the professional developers that make Fantasy Grounds; so this thread was not a wish list on new features for fantasy grounds, but a request for a feature in a user made extension.

Regardless, thanks for your voicing of support.

[tdewitt274]

Would be nice for something like Paizo's Critical Hit and Miss decks.

[Zeus]

I think that it would be cool, but I think that a utility that pulls DDI character sheets into FGII would be a lot cooler and much more useful.

There's already a tool that does this. Eugenez even released the source code for it so that others could help maintain/develop it.

Wizards new Character DDI tool allow you to export to the previous CB XML format which can then be used with the above tool to import to FGII 4E. The challenges lie with referencing the plethora of powers, feats and features. As most 4E users use modules to hold 4E content, scanning these to find the powers the CB tool references can be painful.

Eugenez and Tenian put in quite a lot of effort to try and solve this. The 4E Catalog feature in the 4E Parser was introduced in part to help Eugenez accomplish this. Having said that even having the 4E Catalog didn't eliminate all of the challenges.

See this thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11239&highlight=Character+importer) for more info.

[gmkieran]

Definitely interested in a Crits extension! We're already doing this manually in our games, anyway, having automation would be most excellent!

[devinnight]

I'll second or third this idea.
Are the crits something crazy like losing an eye or a limb, or stunning an opponent? Fumbles would be just as cool with tripping yourself, or losing your weapon.

[Griogre]

If you check the list of them in the link in the original post they are at worst criting yourself or a friend.

Personally I don't use crits or fumbles because I think they hurt the PCs far more than the monsters. While it may be entertaining to watch a Kobold kill himself with a critical, there are always infinite monsters and finite number of PCs. The ability to crit for some monsters is a big improvement over their regular attacks, especially minions.

[Zeus]

Devin/Griogre - I am working on enabling the extension to work with 4E Tables, this way DM's can customise the critical/fumble probability and tables to suit needs/preferences.

At the moment I only use the Fumble rolls in my games (the House Rule option as suggested in the DMG). It works well for my groups and adds that little bit of anxiety to the gameplay. We find it fun anyhow.

The extension will also enable a Game Option to enable/disable the functionality for one or the other or both, so again users will have choice as to what functionality to incorporate.

[vodokar]

These are good concerns. The way I look at it is this.

First of all, there will be only a default 1.5% chance of having an enhanced critical and then a 1 in 20 chance of getting any particular critical.

Only 1 of those 20 is an instant kill. Only a few lead to permanent injuries.

However, the truth is: there is no such thing as permanent in D&D. If someone cuts your sword arm off, you go to a cleric and pay for them to restore it. If someone chops off your head, your friends take both parts to a cleric and it can be fixed...for a price. Death or dismemberment doesn't have to be forever, but it will certainly give some cool memories and lots of roleplaying material. And it will make you think twice before charging that group of kobold minions. Do you feel lucky? Sure that kobold would likely die of shock if he actually managed to kill you, but there is always that very remote possibility. No one should ever feel 100% totally safe in combat.

Sure, it'll hurt. But, it's not the end of the world.

In my experience and opinion, the funny things that can happen using random critical and fumble rolls will be remembered for years and will far outlast the pain of having had an unlucky roll one night.

And lastly, these are only report only. They don't actually apply any damage or effects. So, the DM is free to disregard any effects he pleases.

For that matter, it is possible for the DM to edit the table to change the effects, if he wishes to do so.

[Zeus]

Latest screenshots of the extension in development can be found in the other Armory thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11911) post 123 or here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=106214&postcount=123).